How Do I TRUST in God/Heavenly Father?

 Good Morning, Good Afternoon or Good Evening,

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

Have you ever wondered how I TRUST in God/Heavenly Father in the past and now? 

I think it should not matter how much TRUST that we have in God/Heavenly Father in our lives but we should always try to remember that we all get to wake up to brand new day each day, and if we made it through the daytime, we would be able to sleep overnight. 

This post focuses on how do I trust in God/Heavenly Father in the past and now? I would like to share several ways of how I TRUST in God/Heavenly Father. 

~ I used to be able to participate sacred ordinances in the Temple often; it has helped me to remind myself the sacred covenants that I have made when I have received my endowments in February 2017. 

~ I always feel grateful to have the opportunities to partake the sacrament on Sundays; it has helped me to reflect on my baptismal covenants, I always do my best to remember Jesus Christ and keep the commandments during the week, and I always do my best to remind myself for the promised blessings as I do remember Jesus Christ, and keep the commandments during the week. 

~ I kept a habit of daily personal prayers for ages now (I am not too sure how long to be exact); I always have been enjoying to express to God/Heavenly Father for what I have been going through, I know that he always listening to my prayers even when at times when I do not receive answers straight away. It does teaches me patience to wait for the answers to come. 

TRUST

~ I kept a habit of daily personal scripture study. I have been on and off with daily personal scripture study in the past.

I really want to keep a habit with daily personal scripture study, because it has helped me to know that at times when I do not get answers to my prayers, I get answers through reading my scriptures and doing scripture study to reflect on what I have learned while reading my scriptures. 

                                                                                                ~ Jacob and I have listened some past General Conference talks most days during the weeks, and it has been a habit since July 2020 or August 2020; I always look forward to watching and listening to General Conference sessions every six months. Most times; I have felt the Holy Ghost impressions while I have been listening to the past General Conference talks, and I know that I would do my very best to not ever deny those impressions. 

General Conference talks really speaks me, motivates me to feel inspired to become a better individual, and when I do not get answers from my personal prayers, just by listening to speakers from past General Conference talks has answered my prayers. 

~ I have reminded myself time to time based on the lessons that I have learned throughout youth years to know that I am a daughter of our God/Heavenly Father; I am grateful to that the knowledge that God/Heavenly Father loves us, he cares about us, he is always mindful of us, he has not ever let me down, he has always have the Holy Ghost to keep me to stay focus and make righteous choices. I know that whenever I make a righteous choice, I feel happy. 

In what ways did you trusted in God/Heavenly Father in the past?

Stay Tuned until next time.

Consistent and Resilient Trust

 Good Morning, Good Afternoon or Good Evening,

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on October 2019 General Conference talk, and it is called "Consistent and Resilient Trust" by Elder L. Todd Budge. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was listening to the talk. 

Elder Budge has mentioned the following; "... We too had had those times in our lives when God spoke peace to our souls and caused us to have hope in Christ even when life was hard and uncertain. Lehi teaches that if Adam and Eve had not fallen, “ … “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. 

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

In a paradoxical way, afflictions and sorrow prepare us to experience joy if we will trust in the Lord and His plan for us. This truth is beautifully expressed by a 13th-century poet: “Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. ... Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”

President Russell M. Nelson taught, “The joy the Savior offers [us] … is constant, assuring us that our ‘afflictions shall be but a small moment’ [Doctrine and Covenants 121:7] and be consecrated to our gain.” Our trials and afflictions can make space for greater joy. 

The good news of the gospel is not the promise of a life free of sorrow and tribulation but a life full of purpose and meaning a life where our sorrows and afflictions can be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ.” ... His gospel is a message of hope. Sorrow coupled with hope in Jesus Christ holds the promise of enduring joy.

... Have you ever poured out your soul to God in such a way? When striving to live as the Lord commands and righteous expectations are not met, have you ever wondered if you must go through this life in darkness? The brother of Jared then expressed an even greater concern about their ability to survive in the barges. 

... Have the difficulties of life ever made it hard for you to breathe and caused you to wonder how you can make it through the day, let alone make it back to your heavenly home? After the Lord worked with the brother of Jared to resolve each of his concerns, He then explained, “Ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare [a way for] you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come.”

The Lord made it clear that ultimately the Jaredites could not make it to the promised land without Him. They were not in control, and the only way they could make it across the great deep was to put their trust in Him. These experiences and tutoring from the Lord seemed to deepen the brother of Jared’s faith and strengthen his trust in the Lord.

"Trusting in the Lord includes trusting in His timing and requires 
patience and endurance that outlast the storms of life."
- L Todd Budge.

Notice how his prayers changed from questions and concerns to expressions of faith and trust: “I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; … “Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.”

... To commend means to entrust or to surrender. The Jaredites did not get into the barges because they knew exactly how things would work on their journey. They got aboard because they had learned to trust in the Lord’s power, goodness, and mercy, and they were therefore willing to surrender themselves and any doubts or fears they may have had to the Lord. ... Trusting God may not always feel safe at first, but joy follows.

Merry Go Round

The journey was not easy for the Jaredites. ... Yet it is recorded that “the wind did never cease to blow [them] towards the promised land.” As difficult as it is to understand, especially at the times in our lives when the headwinds are strong and the seas are turbulent, we can take comfort in knowing that God in His infinite goodness is always blowing us toward home.

... We live in a world where the monster waves of death, physical and mental illness, and trials and afflictions of every kind break upon us. Yet, through faith in Jesus Christ and choosing to trust in Him, we too can have light continually, whether above the water or under the water. We can have the assurance that God never does cease to blow us toward our heavenly home.

... They felt joy and thanksgiving even in the midst of their afflictions. They had not yet arrived in the promised land, yet they were rejoicing in the promised blessing because of their consistent and resilient trust in Him. The Jaredites were driven forth upon the water 344 days. Can you imagine that? Trusting in the Lord includes trusting in His timing and requires patience and endurance that outlast the storms of life.

Ultimately, the Jaredites “did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.” 

If we are faithful in keeping our covenants, we too will one day arrive safely home and will bow before the Lord and shed tears of joy for the multitude of His tender mercies in our lives, including the sorrows that made space for more joy. 

I testify that as we commend ourselves unto the Lord and consistently and resiliently trust in Jesus Christ and His divine purposes in our lives, He will visit us with assurances, speak peace to our souls, and cause us to “hope for our deliverance in him.” I witness that Jesus is the Christ. He is the source of all joy. His grace is sufficient, and He is mighty to save. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. He will not let us perish. ..."

If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time; here is the link below.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/27budge

Trusting God When Things Go Wrong ~ Part Three

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on BYU Devotional in September 1997, and it is called "Trusting God When Things Go Wrong" by Brother Todd A. Britsch. This post is part three. I hope that you would be able to learn something new as you read throughout this post.

Brother Britsch has mentioned the following; "The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; ..." [D&C 121:45–46] It is a trust and confidence gained through the ever-present companionship of the Spirit. This spiritual blessing is with us today. ... The message
was relayed to the daughter, who called her father later that week to tell him not to worry. 

She had received a priesthood blessing and was visiting with her Church leaders. Some time later she told her father that she had been contemplating terminating her activity in the Church. She had become so disillusioned by disappointments and seemingly unfulfilled promises that her life was filled with confusion and numbness. Her trials were far from over, but by then she had the support of Church leaders, family members, and, most important, the Holy Ghost.

My fourth suggestion is closely related to the previous one: 

Become alert to the softening and protecting influence of God, even in the midst of troubles. For the plan of this second estate to work, we must be exposed to all kinds of risks. But God often tempers these trials to make sure that they do not push us beyond our capacities. ... All around us there are signs that we, too, are in God’s arms, often when we are not completely aware of the fact. Let me give you an example from my own life.

The October conference of 1993 was particularly moving to my wife and me. For once, we were able to sit down in our family room and listen without interruption. Both of us were especially struck by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk. ... Elder Holland was clearly not aware that his talk would have special meaning for us teaching us to trust but it did. 

And my experiences in priesthood meeting were a critical preparation for us even though we did not know that at the time I had them. Event after event gave evidence that we were encircled by protections and comforts. And these comforts were not a revising of the record to make ourselves feel better. 

Some were so specific that even the cynic would need to concede that God was there for us. What we experienced was not exceptional. Loving fathers often need to chasten and correct their children, and they sometimes need to let them learn hard lessons through experience but they are always there for them. ...

"Trust Jesus." - Jeffrey R. Holland.

Fifth, we should learn that on this earth God expects our obedience and best effort, not our perfection. 

Often, when things go wrong, we feel that it is because we have failed in some way. There are times this is true and others when it is not. We live in fragile, mortal conditions and are sometimes quite weak. 

In chapters 7 and 8 of his epistle to the Romans, Paul discusses the tendency of humans to fall short even of their own expectations and desires. 

... The King James translation of Paul’s apparently complicated Greek seems to be saying this that even those who wish to obey God’s law, and who keep that wish in their minds, are still subject to the temptations of the flesh. Because of this, we sometimes fall.

But, Paul continues, Christ has overcome our frailties, sorrows, sins, and mortal weaknesses. We are enabled through him to live in the Spirit (see verse 25). ... Thus Paul can express his faith: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). 

We should not add to the anxieties of this world a lack of confidence in what God has promised he can do for us through his Son Jesus Christ. He can overcome our sins and failings and cleanse us from our iniquities. Ultimately it is this faith in what God has done for us and revealed to us through his Son that will strengthen our trust in him when things go wrong. 

We believe Christ when he said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). ..." If you would like to read the whole Devotional either now or in your own time, here is the link below.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/todd-a-britsch/trusting-god-things-go-wrong/

Stay Tuned until next time.

Trusting God When Things Go Wrong ~ Part Two

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on BYU Devotional in September 1997, and it is called "Trusting God When Things Go Wrong" by Brother Todd A. Britsch. This post is part two. I hope that you would be able to learn something new as you read throughout this post.

Brother Britsch has mentioned the following; "... Second, it is good to know how trials can serve us. In Gospel Doctrine class in September or October of this year, nearly all of us have read or will read sections 121–23 of the Doctrine and Covenants. These sections concern what was, at least until the actual martyrdom, the low point of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s life. ... At one point he says the following:

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, we are the more ready and willing to lay claim to your fellowship and love. For our circumstances are calculated to awaken our spirits to a sacred remembrance of everything, and we think that yours are also, and that nothing therefore can separate us from the love of God and fellowship one with another; and that every species of wickedness and cruelty practiced upon us will only tend to bind our hearts together and seal them together in love. We have no need to say to you that we are held in bonds without cause, neither is it needful that you say unto us, We are driven from our homes and smitten without cause. 

... It shocks all nature; it beggars and defies all description; it is a tale of woe; ... yea a sorrowful tale; ... too much for contemplation; too much for human beings; ... it cannot be found among the nations where kings and tyrants are enthroned; it cannot be found among the savages of the wilderness; yea, and ... women be robbed of all that they have their last morsel for subsistence, and ... [HC 3:290–91]

It is no wonder then that the Prophet cried out, “O God, where art thou?” and asked how long his hand would be stayed (D&C 121:1–2). I, for one, do not like to tell someone my troubles and then have them respond that theirs or others’ are worse. But the Lord does tell Joseph that he is not yet as Job, that others have suffered even more (see D&C 121:10). 

And later he adds, “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:8). But God does give the Prophet comfort: My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. [D&C 121:7–8] Later Joseph is told, “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).

At the time of trials, it is difficult for us to understand how suffering can be for our good. But all of us have had the experience of learning afterward what great gains we have made when things have gone wrong. ... Certainly it would be wrong to seek out adversity. And it is not likely that all difficult experiences are sent by God. But he has given us the opportunity to be where bad things can happen, and he knows what we can become if we trust him when they do.

"You can trust His light will be there for you."
- Sharon Eubank.

Third, we become more trusting as we accustom ourselves to the divine presence of the Holy Ghost. Latter-day Saint teachings inform us, both in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, of the concept of spiritual death, the separation of our spirits from God. In D&C 29:41, the Lord says: Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he [Adam] should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed.

In calling this separation both the first and the last death, the Lord seems to be telling us that such a death can be temporary that unless we are finally thrust from his presence, this separation can be overcome. 

And the process of overcoming our separation from God is described in the fourth article of faith. When we have developed faith in Christ’s atonement, repented, and been baptized, we can receive the constant companionship of a member of the Godhead. The gift of the Holy Ghost means that we no longer need to endure an existence away from God. 

... Having a member of the Godhead always present in our lives should develop our trust to a high degree. When the Lord promised the companionship of the Holy Ghost, it was to comfort disciples who were becoming aware that they would soon be without Christ.

... Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. [John 14:16–18] He also promised peace: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give 

I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. [John 14:27]

A good place to observe the nonworldly peace that the Comforter can bring is in the lives of those very disciples who received these promises. ... This is clearly the same confidence of which the Prophet Joseph wrote: ... be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Trusting God When Things Go Wrong ~ Part One

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on BYU Devotional in September 1997, and it is called "Trusting God When Things Go Wrong" by Brother Todd A. Britsch. This post is part one. I hope that you would be able to learn something new as you read throughout this post.

Brother Britsch has mentioned the following; "... Mentioning the possibility (or better, certainty) that things can go badly caused me some uncomfortable moments in the past. ... There will be times when earthly hopes = hopes for material rewards, for changed circumstances, for loving relationships, for health, for repentant loved ones, even for lots of sleep and ... and then it will be important for all of us to rely on spiritual hope, on the trust we have developed in a loving and all-wise Heavenly Father.

... Others might think, based on their experiences, that both Mormon and Paul would be bitter or at least perplexed about their lives. But such is not the case. In his last writing but for the epistles recorded by his son, Mormon first laments the destruction of his people and then pleads to those who will come after, especially his enemies, the Lamanites, that they come to Christ and his gospel. 

As he describes Christ’s victory over the grave, he adds: And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat. And he hath brought to pass the redemption of

the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end. [Mormon 7:6–7]

Let’s think of this for a moment. Here is a military commander who, having just experienced the virtual annihilation of his people, concludes his work with a promise of endless happiness to those of his enemies who turn to God. What can cause a person to think this way? We’ll leave that question for a moment.

Paul is equally positive: after declaring himself prepared to be offered, he adds: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. [2 Timothy 4:7–8]

I believe that the characteristic that helped both Mormon and Paul face difficult lives with calmness and optimism is trust in the Lord and his promises. For them this trust transcended any circumstance, however negative and threatening. 

Once believers have come to know that God’s assurances are true, no circumstance can undermine their fervent and, ultimately, optimistic view of the world God has created. They understand that the reason for their existence, even in times of trial, is joy. For the next few minutes I would like to make some suggestions that might strengthen our trust in God even when conditions are not the best.

"Faith is trust - trust that God sees what we cannot, 
and that he knows what we do not." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf. 

First, it is good to know how things will ultimately end. That is, it is important to know that God’s promises of the ultimate triumph of goodness and righteousness are valid. I would like to illustrate this point with an analogy from football. I do this with a bit of an apology to my colleagues who can’t understand how someone who makes his living teaching about poetry, music, and painting could be such a fanatic about this slightly rough sport.

A few years ago, before the time that all BYU games were televised live, I landed at the Salt Lake airport just as a BYU “away” game was concluding. I rushed around the terminal until I finally found someone who could assure me that we had won, although by a very close score. That evening, after returning to Provo, I went downstairs to watch the replay of the game on KBYU. My demeanor was amazingly serene. 

When we fumbled or had a pass intercepted, I hardly reacted. My wife could even let our children get around me. Usually I feel obligated to help my brethren in striped shirts by pointing out their errors in judgment. Because my seats are on row 25, such correction often requires a rather high decibel level. This loudness has carried over to watching football on television. 

But on that day I remained absolutely calm, even when I had the benefit of instant replay to verify my claim that their defensive back clearly arrived early and that the ground had obviously caused our running back to lose the ball. I was a veritable model of football decorum, never becoming unduly upset or ill behaved.

The cause of my improved behavior was obvious: I already knew the outcome of the game - BYU would win. It is amazing how that knowledge changes things: cornerbacks can get beat, running backs can fumble, linebackers can miss tackles, offensive guards can blow blocking assignments, and other things can go wrong. But when we know the final score, such things can be endured and sometimes even ignored.

We also know the final score for the history of this world and for the life of the righteous. The Lord and his people will triumph. It is true that the sorrows of this world and the strength of Satan’s forces will win a number of the skirmishes. ... Satan and his followers, as well as the natural circumstances of mortal life, will inflict many bruises and win many battles. 

But God, who knows the end from the beginning, has promised that those who serve him will receive the fullness of his blessings. When we realize that righteous living puts us on the winning side, we can learn to trust him during trying times."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted

   Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

This post is based on a October 2005 General Conference talk, and it is called, "Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted" by Elder Allen D. Haynie. I would like to share with you some highlights while reading the talk.

Elder Haynie mentioned, "Before we came to this earth, we participated as spirit sons and daughters of God in a grand council. Each of us was paying attention, and none of us fell asleep. In that council our Father in Heaven presented a plan. Because the plan preserved our agency and required that we learn from our own experience and not just from His, He knew we would commit sin.

Because Heavenly Father loves His children, He presented a plan that included a Savior, someone who could help all become clean no matter how dirty they have become. Jesus Christ suffered, both body and spirit, so all could return to their loving Father. “What does He ask us to do in return?” he asked.

"Repentance is real and it works." - Allen D. Haynie.

“He simply pleads with us to confess our sins and repent so that we will not have to suffer as He did. He invites us to become clean so that we are not left outside of our Father in Heaven’s house.” 

What does matter is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind” so “that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people.” 

What does matter is that He was willing to condescend, to come to this earth and descend “below all things”and suffer “more powerful contradictions than any man” ever could.

What does matter is that Christ is pleading our case before the Father, “saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.” 

That is what really matters and what should give all of us renewed hope and a determination to try one more time, because He has not forgotten us. I testify that the Savior will never turn away from us when we humbly seek Him in order to repent; will never consider us to be a lost cause; will never say, “Oh no, not you again”; will never reject us because of a failure to understand how hard it is to avoid sin. 

He understands it all perfectly, including the sense of sorrow, shame, and frustration that is the inevitable consequence of sin. Repentance, of necessity, is not easy. Things of eternal significance rarely are. But the result is worth it. As President Boyd K. Packer testified in his last address to the Seventy of the Church: “The thought is this: the Atonement leaves no tracks, no traces. What it fixes is fixed. The Atonement leaves no traces, no tracks. It just heals, and what it heals stays healed.”

And so it is that our hope to live again with the Father depends on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, upon the willingness of the one sinless Being to take upon Himself, notwithstanding the fact that justice had no claim on Him, the collective weight of the transgressions of all mankind, including those sins that some sons and daughters of God unnecessarily choose to suffer for on their own.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we attribute greater power to the Savior’s Atonement than most other people because we know that if we make covenants, continually repent, and endure to the end, He will make us joint heirs with Him and, like Him, we will receive all that the Father hath. That is an earth-shattering doctrine, and yet it is true.

He who suffered for our sins, who is our Advocate with the Father, who calls us His friends, who loves us unto the end, He ultimately will be our judge. One of the often overlooked blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is that “the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”

I would like to encourage you to read this whole talk either now or in your own time. Here is the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/remembering-in-whom-we-have-trusted

Stay Tuned until next time.

Resolutions ~ Part Three

   Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take four minutes to seven minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a BYU Devotional in January 1994, and it is called "Resolutions" by President Joe J. Christensen. This post is part three, I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the 

Devotional, and I hope that you would be able to learn something new while you are reading through this

post. 

President Christensen has mentioned the following; "Spiritual Resolutions

Finally, the fourth resolve mentioned by everyone in the poll: I will grow spiritually - I will increase in favor with God.

In order to grow spiritually, there are a few items that are essential. ... If we are to increase in “favor with God,” we must resolve to overcome as much as possible the sin of human pride. 

... That means that everyone of us, to one degree or another, suffers from the problem. No one of us is completely free from its effects, but we must do all in our power to overcome its influence. Pride creeps up on us, because as human beings we have a remarkable capacity to fall under its influence even when we think we are in the safest of religious settings. ... Even in Church callings there can be danger. 

We may fall into the trap of aspiring to some position or another. ... Where we serve does not matter. How we serve matters a great deal. Pride causes us to become overly concerned as we compare ourselves with others about how intelligent we think we are, ..., to what organizations we belong, ..., how much money we have, what race or nationality we are, what kind of car we drive, to what church we belong, how much education we have been privileged to acquire, and on, and on, and on.

... Your opportunities, your relative prosperity, and our stratified society make overcoming inappropriate pride a genuine challenge. ... Pride of intellect - the arrogance that thinks it knows more than it does, ... , smiles at the cultural crudity of contemporaries, and ... Pride of power - the passion to achieve it, ..., to feel superior to others, 

to give orders with a strident voice and move men about like pawns on a chessboard. [McCracken, What Is Sin? pp. 11–12; emphasis added]

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is
this: to rise above the little things." - John Burroughs.

Resolve now that you will read from the scriptures daily. President Benson has repeatedly emphasized that we should include some reading every day from the Book of Mormon. It really is another testament that Jesus is the Christ. ... Even slow readers can read two pages in ten minutes or less. 

If we started each January first reading just two pages of the Book of Mormon each day, by the time we came to September, we would have finished another reading. Then we could start over and continue to, as Nephi said, “feast upon the words of Christ.” 

If you don’t think you can handle two pages per day, do as a friend of mine suggests: Try fifteen seconds at least. Read at least one verse. Every decision of your life could be more inspired if you were to do this consistently. 

Next, resolve really to pray and not just say prayers. There is a big difference. Learn to pour out the real in-depth feelings of your heart to your Heavenly Father, rather than merely going through the form of saying about exactly the same trite words and phrases that you have become accustomed to use. 

Remember that if we don’t feel like praying, as President Brigham Young counseled, that is the time to pray until we do feel like it. ... Many of you brethren and some of you sisters have already been on full-time missions. For all of you single young men who haven’t, resolve now that you will prepare yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and morally to serve as a full-time missionary. There is no other experience in which you will grow spiritually more effectively and efficiently than you will while serving a full-time mission. 

... Next, if you are really serious about growing spiritually, then “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” The scriptures tell us that “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work” (Exodus 20:8–10).

... Temptations to break the Sabbath are even greater now than they used to be. Television is a challenge. ... As you know, some of the best games are televised on Sunday, and whether it is Super Bowl or not, the temptation is great. ... Or, maybe for you it is justifying yourself watching other shows on Sunday that are anything but spiritually uplifting.

I have discovered that we can take advantage of technology. You who have them can simply use VCRs to record the program you don’t want to miss on Sunday, and then, in a fraction of the time on another day at your own convenience, you can watch that special event, fast-forward through the commercials and time outs, and not 

miss a thing.

... Choose from among the following suggestions from this First Presidency message: As we plan our Sunday activities, ... set aside time for ... meditation, and for service to others. ... Read the scriptures, ..., study the lives

and teachings of the prophets; prepare church lessons and other church assignments [for example, study for 

your religion class]; write to or visit relatives and friends; write to missionaries; enjoy uplifting music ... ; read 

with a child; do genealogical research, [work on your] personal histories; sing Church hymns; ... develop our appreciation for the cultural arts ... ; friendship nonmembers ...; visit the sick, the aged, and the lonely. 

[Spencer W. Kimball, “Therefore I Was Taught,” Ensign, January 1982, p. 3]

Make Sundays special, and they will help make you special in the sight of the Lord. ... Keeping the Lord’s day holy will do the same for you. ... It will take energy and effort to keep the resolutions about which I have spoken this evening. I pray that we will do this so that we can increase in “wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” And, in so doing, we will become more like the Savior every day for the rest of our lives. ... "

If you would like to read the whole devotional either now or in your own time, here is the link below.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/joe-j-christensen/resolutions/

Stay Tuned until next time.

Resolutions ~ Part Two

  Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take five minutes to eight minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a BYU Devotional in January 1994, and it is called "Resolutions" by President Joe J. Christensen. This post is part two, I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the 

Devotional, and I hope that you would be able to learn something new while you are reading through this

post. 

President Christensen has mentioned the following; "Physical Resolutions

Now for the second resolution. I will be resolute in preserving and strengthening my physical health. It is impressive that more than 160 years ago the Lord revealed a health code that we call the Word of Wisdom, which can make all the difference in how we feel and perform. With good health, we can be happier and more successful. Without it, we are curtailed in almost every other way. Resolve to get an adequately balanced diet.

Getting healthy nutrition is another area where it is hard to perform up to the level of our knowledge. ... Resolve to follow the do’s in the Word of Wisdom: Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. Discover that a meal does not have to feature meat every time in order to be enjoyable. In addition to improving your health, your 

budget will also be benefited. It really is a “win-win” situation.

Then, resolve to avoid completely the don’ts - tobacco, alcohol, and addictive stimulants, coffee, tea, and drugs in any form and you will be blessed in a multitude of ways. If any of these negative practices have been, or are a part of your life, right now, tonight, resolve that in your future there will be absolutely no participation in tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs, ever! 

... Resolve to get adequate physical exercise. Choose some sport or other vigorous physical exercise that is consistent with your situation and physical condition and be regular in pursuing it. Get the blood circulating and give your major muscles a workout. An appropriate amount of time and effort spent in exercising will help you to be more effective in all other areas of your life.

I don’t know what your choice will be. ... Of course, you need to make your own choice, but resolve to do something physical regularly. Resolve to get adequate rest. Really follow the counsel of the Lord where he said: “Cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated” (D&C 88:124).

Some of you are not getting the rest that you need. Some are habituated to going to bed late and sleeping much longer than your system really needs, thus missing out on some of the personal inspiration you could be receiving. Adequately rested, there is great value that can come to you as an early riser. ... "If you are to be successful as a General Authority, ... I will give you one piece of advice: 

Go to bed early and get up early. If you do, your body and mind will become rested and then, in the quiet of those early morning hours, you will receive more flashes of inspiration and insight than at any other time of the day." - Elder Lee. ...  You can change, even if you consider yourself a “night person.” Set the habit in twenty-one days. When it comes right down to it, it is a matter of strong resolve and “mind over mattress.”

"New Year's Resolutions"

Social Resolutions

Now to the third major resolution: I resolve to be a truer friend and to become more socially acceptable to people of high standards. Learn to be the kind of person with whom others of high standards enjoy associating. We all would like to have more friends. 

... Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People. ... You should read and reread the entire book. His suggestions are equally valuable today. Among them are: Become genuinely interested in other people. Smile. [Remember, the Lord commanded us to “be of good cheer.”] 

Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely. [Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982), p. 112] 

Occasionally, look in a full-length mirror. Certainly we should not become obsessed with how we look, but we should work to improve our physical appearance. President Kimball said: ... You might take a careful inventory of your habits, your speech, your appearance, your weight, ... and your eccentricities. ... Take each item and analyze it. What do you like in others? What personality traits please you in others? Are your dresses too short, too long, too revealing, too old fashioned? ... Do you laugh raucously? ... Are you interested only in your own interests? [TSWK, pp. 295–96]

The Lord expects us to do the best we can with what he has given us. ... After you have done what you can to improve your appearance, forget about yourself and think of others and their needs. Rather than working so hard to find Mister or Miss Right, work harder to become Mister or Miss Right and you will more likely have the social life and marriage you desire. You will have good friends, and, in the end, I hope you can be fortunate enough to marry your best friend.

... Our challenge is to resolve to love everyone in the appropriate way. You all know there are different kinds of love - the romantic, the brotherly, and the kind that enables us to love our enemies. The Savior universally commands us to love our neighbors and even our enemies. On the other hand, the expression of romantic love is anything but a universal commandment. 

The full expression of romantic, physical affection by you is designed for you and one other person only, inside the bonds of marriage. If you remember that, then you will avoid the temptation to make the romantic expressions of physical affection merely a game, and you will be sure to protect and preserve yourself from the immense problems that come from the immorality that is so prominent in today’s culture. You have heard so many times that your body is a temple and not a visitors’ center. No tours are permitted."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Resolutions ~ Part One

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

What is your understanding of the word "Resolutions"? What does "Resolutions" means to a immediate relative? 

This post focuses on a BYU Devotional in January 1994, and it is called "Resolutions" by President Joe J. Christensen. This post is part one, I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the 

Devotional, and I hope that you would be able to learn something new while you are reading through this post. 

President Christensen has mentioned the following;

"... You are going in the right direction, and if you continue choosing the right, you will arrive at a destination that will be good for you now and in the hereafter. ... To a degree, we all know the gospel and what we should be doing in our lives. Very likely, we know more than we apply. Right? ... I would like to visit with you about resolutions - resolutions to conform our lives more closely to what we already know about the gospel. 

I am sure that some of us have made a bundle of New Year’s resolutions, and maybe a few of us haven’t chosen to make any because of prior problems we have had in keeping them. Don’t overlook the power that making good resolutions can have to help make your life happier and more successful regardless of your past behavior. 

"may the new year bring peace, love,and happiness."

Let’s explore for a moment the term resolution. As a noun, it suggests steadfastness of purpose. As an adjective, resolute is characterized by firmness or determination. 

As a verb, resolve brings to mind such terms as courage, mettle, fortitude, tenacity, backbone, and moral stamina in the face of hardship, temptations, and unfavorable odds (see American Heritage Dictionary [Boston: Houghton-Mifflin]).

I was anxious to know something of your concerns and aspirations, and so I had an informal survey taken of 150 young adults who were asked to list three resolutions they felt would help them to become more successful and happy during the new year. Almost everyone in the survey (98 percent) included a resolution to increase the level of his or her spirituality. 

Two out of three (68 percent) indicated they would like to improve their social skills. Half (49 percent) indicated a desire to increase their level of physical fitness, and half (48 percent) wanted to grow intellectually. Everyone indicated a desire to improve. After all, self-improvement is at the heart of why we are here in mortality.

... In the Joseph Smith Translation (Matthew 5:50), we read: “Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect.” The translation of the Greek word for perfect means “complete, finished, fully developed.” ... We believe that the Savior meant what he said and that, for us, becoming like our Father in Heaven and the Savior is a commandment - not just a suggestion. We should strive continually to become more like them.

... In other words, the Savior increased or developed in the same areas that those of you who were included in the poll indicated that you would like to improve, that is: - intellectually (in both wisdom and knowledge) 

- physically (in stature) - socially (in favor with man) - spiritually (in favor with God).

I am convinced that if we made and kept resolutions in these four areas, we would have a happier and more successful new year and every year for the rest of our lives.

Intellectual Resolutions

First, consider this one: I resolve to expand my intellectual horizons. I will increase in wisdom. This year, commit yourself to read good books - not just when you are attending the university or college, but throughout your life. Some people learn to read but don’t read. ... At some point in our lives, we learned to read. But the question tonight is: Are we reading? Are we growing in wisdom?

... We do not have a professional, theologically trained and salaried clergy. Leaders and teachers are called from among the membership - people like you and me. In terms of learning, however, the scriptural commandment to 

us is: “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” and, “Become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people” (D&C 88:118, 90:15; emphasis added).

Notice the emphasis on best books and good books. What we choose to read will make a huge difference in the development of our minds and character. We cannot justify mentally shifting into neutral and failing to exert our efforts to make progress intellectually. ... So whether or not you are in school, the challenge is the same. 

We should continue learning throughout our entire lives and, especially, learning more about the gospel. ... If we read continually, we would not be able to read more than the smallest fraction of the books in print. We should

not waste time reading anything but that which would be uplifting and instructive. 

... Remember, the scripture said, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118; emphasis added). 

... Here is a practical suggestion: Ask a few respected people who you know are readers to share with you the titles of the five books besides the scriptures they feel have had the most positive influence in their lives. You will soon accumulate a good list of titles for starters.

In addition to making a resolution that we will read only the best in print, it would be very beneficial if now we resolved not to watch even one R- or X-rated (NC-17) movie, video, or television show from now on. That may sound extreme to some of you, but I assure you that much of our future happiness and success depends on it.

There is safety in following the prophet. President Benson has said: Consider carefully the words of the prophet Alma to his errant [and promiscuous] son, Corianton, “Forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes.” (Alma 39:9)

“The lusts of your eyes.” In our day, what does that expression mean? Movies, television programs, and video recordings that are both suggestive and lewd. Magazines and books that are obscene and pornographic. We counsel you, ... not to pollute your minds with such degrading matter, for the mind through which this filth 

passes is never the same afterwards. 

Don’t see R-rated movies or vulgar videos or participate in any entertainment that is immoral, suggestive, or pornographic. [“To the ‘Youth of the Noble Birthright,’” Ensign, May 1986] In our day, this is one of the most effective tools Satan has to pacify and lull us into carnal security, cheat our souls, and lead us carefully down to hell (see 2 Nephi 28:21). ..."

Stay Tuned until next time.

New Year, New Me

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

I know for myself that I have read a lot of posts on social media accounts that some friends has stated "New Year, New Me." How accurate is that saying? How often do you hear people who has said that saying at the beginning of each year? How can we choose to become new to ourselves during the new year?

"New Year. New Me. Same dreams. Fresh starts."

 I would like to share with you some suggestions of what I have considered about ways of how I can choose to become new myself throughout this year.

~ I would like to focus on drinking more water each day, and I will do my best to keep track of my daily water intake. 

~ I would like to focus on eating more healthier food each day. 

~ I would like to focus on making a habit of regular exercising with a friend. ~ I would like to focus on spending less money towards purchasing extra items. 

~ I would like to focus on getting minimum of seven hours of sleep at night. ~ I would like to focus on doing personal scripture study daily. ~ I would like Jacob and I continue to focus on more into listening to General Conference talks.

Why would I like to focus on drinking more water each day? I know that it is healthier to drink water more than it is to drink soda drinks and drinking juices. 

Why would I like to focus on eating more healthier food each day? I know that for the past several months; I have gotten myself into a habit of eating small serving (62 millimeter/2.2 oz to be exact) of ice cream each day and I know that is not healthy. Each day when I consumed ice cream, I have also been eating a fruit each day. 

I hope I would be able to eat ice cream a few times a week instead of everyday of the week.

Why would I like to focus on making a habit of regular exercising with a friend? I know that at times when I go on walks by myself, I feel lonely and sometimes I just do not feel like listening to Spotify during my walks. I think it would be the best for my well-being if I was able to go on walks with a friend.

~ Why would I like to focus on spending less money towards getting extra items? Throughout last year; I have spent $100 US dollars ($130 ish Australian dollars) towards video games for Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 because I missed playing the Playstation 2 when I was younger, and Jacob and I have been given to us Xbox 360 for free by a friend. 

We decided to keep the Xbox 360 because a friend thought the Xbox 360 was broken, and she told me that if I could fix it, Jacob and I can keep it. It was a simple fix, and in order for us to keep it to use it, we needed to spend money towards getting controllers. 

I have spent money towards new clothing because I have not been able to fit some clothes that I used to wear in Australia because I have been gaining a lot of weight, and I would lose weight but just not a whole lot for me to fit into clothes that I used to wear in Australia.

I have been able to donate a portion of clothes that does not fit me, and I have been able to put into a box aside for Jacob's and mine future children to fit into. I am hoping that this year I would not get tempted to spend as much as I did last year into clothing. Every piece of clothing does adds up quickly. 

Why would I like to focus on getting minimum of seven hours of sleep at night? I know that last year, I tend to struggled of getting enough sleep at nights because I would be too focused on playing games on my phone after my bedtime and I do not keep track of the time. I would hope throughout this year that I would do better and not playing games on my phone beyond my bedtime. I used to get minimum about six hours ish of sleep last year. 

I do hope that I would be able to self-discipline myself and allow myself to have seven hours of sleep at night. I would like to avoid having myself feeling too tired in the morning when I wake up, and I would like to be able to achieve as much as I can throughout the daytime when I do get enough of good night sleep. 

Why would I like to focus on doing personal scripture study daily? I would like to get into a habit of doing personal scripture study daily, and I missed reading my scriptures daily. So far of this year, I have not missed a day of doing daily scripture study. 

Why would I like Jacob and I to continue focus more into listening to General Conference talks? I know that Jacob and I have been doing great at listening to past General Conference talks as a couple ever since August last year during most mornings before we start our days, and during most evenings before we go to sleep. 

We currently have thirty-five years worth of listening to past General Conference talks until we have catch up to the most recent General Conference sessions (October 2020). We love learning so much while listening to past General Conference talks and it certainly does help me to work out topics to type up during the weeks time to time. 

In what ways are you going to do to become better yourself this year? 

Stay Tuned until next time.

The Time for New Year's Resolutions ~ Part Two

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on BYU Devotional in January 1975 and it is called "The Time for New Year's Resolutions" by Brother Sterling W. Sill. This post is part two, and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional. 

Brother Sill has mentioned the following; "Living according to the Bible

There are many places where we do not want to have any recessionals. It is very important that the Lord should be with us yet, lest we forget the promises we have made to him. ... If you read in the Book of Mormon the vision that was given to the prophet Nephi, you will see that he was permitted to see us and our time and what we did here as this great nation was being established upon the Western Hemisphere. 

The angel pointed out to Nephi that these people carried with them a book as they went forth in this great accomplishment. The angel said, “Knowest thou the meaning of the book?” Nephi said, “I know not.” Then the angel explained to him that this book was the great Bible record that was carried by these people as they came to our shores (see 1 Nephi 13:21–23).

As the “land of the Book,” we sell more Bibles in the United States than in all the rest of the world put together. We do more toward trying to help other people. This is the place where the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. This is the center of education. This is the center of invention. 

This is the place that the Lord looks to for the gospel to go out all over the earth. ... Every one of us was permitted to come to this earth with the hope that we might qualify for the celestial kingdom. If we are only interested in the terrestrial or the telestial kingdoms, it is not necessary to be baptized. 

"Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right."
- Oprah Winfrey.

... You can get into the telestial kingdom without any education. If you are only interested in the telestial kingdom, it is not necessary to be married in the temple, because if you qualify only for the telestial kingdom you won’t have your families anyway.

One of the greatest ideas there is in the world for us is that we should be the “land of the Book.” Our lives should be lives patterned after and following the great commandments and directions that are given us in the Holy Bible and in the other volumes of scripture that have been given to assist us. 

This ability to prelive the future includes the opportunity to prelive our eternal lives. ... I do know that it would be something less fine, less glorious, less satisfactory, and we would be less happy. It would be as far below the celestial as the twinkle of a tiny star is below the blaze of the noonday sun.

Planning for our last hours

Somebody said that the most important event in life is death. That is the graduation day. Death is our only possible entrance into immortality. The last hour of life is the key hour. That is the hour that judges all of the other hours. Nobody can judge anybody’s life until his last hour. ... But suppose you go forward today and prelive your last hour and find out what kind of a person you would like to be at that time.

... Every day each one of us in some way trades off some future birthright for some present pottage. ... So on this occasion, I’d like to remind you again of this period of the New Year, when we must not forget the lessons that we have learned in the previous year. 

We should not forget the month of January with the authority Janus had of doors and beginnings. This is the one time each year when we look back into the past and then start over with new beginnings on a clean sheet. This past year we may have been plunged into several kinds of recessions which have made it a little more impressive that we should let no recessions get a hold in our lives.

We pray to God that no recession will ever take place in the significance of Easter or Memorial Day or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or that first day or each week which is our Heavenly Father’s day. And as we commemorate Thanksgiving and that tremendously important period of Christmas, we ought not to cause a recession by packing up our tinsel and our ornaments and forgetting the significance for which these periods were set apart. 

Father, we ought to pass into the New Year as one of the greatest of all great days where we form convictions and make decisions that will govern all of our future lives. ... I don’t know of any place in the world that is a better place for you to be than here where you can partake of the Spirit of the Lord ... May God help each one of us to be successful ..." 

If you would like to read this whole Devotional either now or in your own time, here is the link below.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/sterling-w-sill/time-new-years-resolutions/

Stay Tuned until next time.

The Time for New Year’s Resolutions ~ Part One

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

I know that I hoped for last year that this blog would reach total of either 9,500 total page views or 10,000 total page views. Overall, I was well pleased to know that this blog has reached over 9,500 total page views in December last year. 

This post focuses on BYU Devotional in January 1975 and it is called "The Time for New Year's Resolutions" by Brother Sterling W. Sill. This post is part one and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional. 

Brother Sill has mentioned the following; "... The custom of celebrating holidays

We have a very interesting custom among us of setting aside special days on which we think about special things. We set aside the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, and on this day we let our minds reach up and try to understand the purposes for which this day was set apart. 

We set apart the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day for the same reason. Someone has said that the human mind has some of the qualities of the tendrils of a climbing vine; that is, it tends to attach itself and draw itself upward by what it is put in contact with. 

Then we have some other great days on which we think about other wonderful ideas. We have Memorial Day, Easter, Pioneer Day, and the Fourth of July. We set aside the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving. On this day we try to build gratitude and appreciation into our lives. ... As we recount our blessings, we increase them. ...

Importance of the New Year

... This is a time when we make New Year’s resolutions. This is the time when we could make some determinations about the things that we have been thinking about during Christmas. Sometimes after some great event is over, we close our minds on it and forget about what we have done. 

That is, after Christmas, we repack our boxes of ornaments and tinsel. The Christmas themes are taken off the radio, and we go back to doing the things that we did before. Of course, when we do that, we miss one of the greatest values of Christmas. 

When we lay down the ideas that we have associated with during this high point of the year, we frequently have a corresponding recession in our lives. ... The Christmas season loses much of its constructive purpose when we repack our tinsel and forget about it. ...

"NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
Something that goes in one year, and out the other."

Looking backward and forward in time

We come now to this very important period of January, this time of a new beginning. ... Janus had one interesting peculiarity; he had two faces. With one face he looked back into the past year to discover his own mistakes and his own successes. 

Then through the other face he looked up into the future to make plans for a new year and to put these great ideals into operation that had been formed during the past year.

... Now, God has a time-traveling ability, some of which he has given to the prophets as well as to us. We remember that Abraham was permitted to go back and relive the preexistence. He said, “Now the Lord has shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and that among all these there were many of the noble and great ones” (Abraham 3:22). 

The Lord also put John the Revelator into a time machine and sent him up into the future to prelive the final judgement. We have been given that same ability in our dreams and imaginations. ... President McKay didn’t learn how to be the President of the Church when he was ninety or seventy or sixty. 

He learned those lessons when he was five and ten and fifteen. And then in his dream he went back and relived that important experience so that he could reabsorb the original good. When he had awakened the next morning, even though now his mother had been gone for many years, it was as though he had actually had that experience with his mother during the nighttime.

Preliving the important events of our lives

But no one needs to be asleep in order to dream, and with equal benefit we can go back and relive our marriage vows. We can relive and revitalize the covenants which we made at the waters of baptism when we promised God that we would be faithful. 

We can go back and relive all of those sources in the past from which we may regain strength and ambition, and we can remake our decisions about them. Or we may push the lever in the other direction and prelive the future. ...

We can also prelive our marriage vows and determine in advance the kind of people we would like to be when that great occasion arrives. 

This is much better than being faced with the pressures of the moment when the occasion arises so that we clean ourselves up temporarily to get married. ... However, after the goal has been accomplished, we sometimes drop back into our past mediocrity because we are not prepared to carry through. 

Sometimes we even go to college or we go on missions or we do some other great thing, but because we lack the necessary buildup to give us the follow-through and determination, it doesn’t do us the good that was intended. ... But for all of us, this month of January is a month when we look up into the new year and also plan for more effective lives. We can prelive our marriages. We can prelive our deaths. 

Suppose we think occasionally of the kind of people we would like to be on that very special future occasion of our marriage, when we stand up in the house of the Lord that has been dedicated for his sacred purposes and take some very special person by the right hand and promise her or him that throughout our lifetimes we will be faithful. We will be true to those great trusts of life that have been given us as we have come into mortality."

Stay Tuned until next time.

What are you looking forward to in 2021?

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

What are you looking forward to in 2021? - Well let me ask a proper question, what are you looking forward to achieve in 2021? I know that I would be looking forward to achieve a lot in 2021. If everything goes smoothly and well for me; I think 2021 would be a great year for me. 

I know that I would be looking forward to hopefully finally getting my Green Card and my Social Security Number in the mail because I have been waiting for my Green Card approval and my Social Security Number approval for over a year since I have applied for my Green Card, and my Social Security Number. I think that I would have to reapply for my Social Security Number after receiving my Green Card, but I would not know for sure until that moment of time happens. 

I know that after getting my Green Card approval and arrived in the mail; I know that my husband is happy for me to decide whatever I want to do next. It would certainly open up more opportunities for me to achieve throughout 2021. 

I know that I would be really looking forward to finally getting a current Driver's License, and indeed it would be a Texan Driver's License not Australian Driver's License. It felt so weird for me to go through 2020 without having a Driver's License and not being able to drive anywhere where I would like to and where I needed to go. It has been over a year ago since my Australian Driver's License has expired - to be exact my Australian Driver's License has expired in September 2019 to be exact.

I would be really looking forward to finally legally allowed to work. I do not know how I managed of not going insane for not being able to work for over a year. I do miss working, I do miss earning an income from having a job. I know that everytime I saw places like Domino's, Pizza Hut, Walmart, etc - it seems like everywhere I went had job openings and it was always seeking for full-time positions to be filled. Darn at times I really wished that I had my Green Card already so I could have worked throughout this year. 

I would be really looking forward to finally legally allowed to study. I have been thinking about studying again, I do plan to study online because a course or courses that I have in mind to sign up to and studying is only offered online and it is based on one of the BYU campuses. 

I would be looking forward to more blogging, I would do my best to be more persistent and constant of keeping up to date with this blog. I enjoyed blogging a lot over the past seven years on and off, so I do want to continue with the habit of blogging. 

I would be looking forward to do more vlogging, and creating vlogs. I have enjoyed so much of vlogging on and off for over the past three years. I love sharing videos and photos of excitement and fun times, and also highlights. 

I would be really looking forward to getting into more of my photography. I have been hoping for a very long time to become successful into photography one day. I would like to claim myself as an easy going, budget friendly, caring, and understanding photographer one day. I know that it certainly take time to get there but I would get there eventually. I would be looking forward to make some income from doing photography after receiving my Green Card. 

I would be looking forward to turning twenty-five years old. I always look forward to my birthday each year, but I still do not look like my true age, and maybe just maybe I may look like my true age one day. 

Stay Tuned until next time.

Summary of Some Achievements in the Past Decade

 Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish. 

What has been the proudest achievements that you have accomplished duration the past decade? 

I have seen posts by more than five friends to share what they are proud and what they have achieved for the past decade. I would like to make a post that focuses on what I have been proud and achieved for the past decade. 

2010 - I successfully passed my first year of Seminary, and  I have attended my first stake youth conference from ages fourteen years old to eighteen years old).

2011 - I obtained Certificate I in Information, Technology and Communications, and I volunteered at The Coffee Club for work experience.

2012 - I have attended EFY (multi-stake youth conference that goes for five days and four evenings, and it is for ages from fourteen years old to eighteen years old) in January, and I have made many new friends. I came second place in Butterfly Stroke 50 metres out of my age group; I have made it into Districts but I was so close and I did not make it into Regionals. 

I gotten approved to Griffith University to study Bachelor of Communications, I have attended my first annual multi-stake Priest and Laurel's Ball, and I have obtained Certificate II in Business. 

"I HAD A GOOD DECADE." - Brady Anderson.

2013 - I have graduated High School, I went to my ever first date, I had a learners permit, and I have graduated Seminary. I accomplished some Certificate Courses. I obtained Certificate II in Hospitality, Certificate II in Retail,  and Certificate II in Workplace Practices. I worked at Cottone's Discount Feed Shed for temporally. 

2014 - I turned eighteen years old, I went to my ever first group date, I gotten my Australian Driver's License after my second attempt of doing the Driving Practical Test. I flew to Perth and I went to my ever first YSA End of Year Convention. 2015 - I lived in Perth for short period of time, I purchased my first ever car (Mazada 121, 1994), and I had my first ever car accident/car wreck. 

2016 - I completed a degree in Digital Photography, I have graduated Institute successfully. I have submitted my full-time mission papers, and I gotten accepted into a job at Richlands Domino's in Australia. 2017 - I turned twenty-one years old, I received my endowments, I was promoted to be in management position in Richlands Domino's in February, I was in management position in July, and I met my husband on LDS singles website in November.

2018 - My husband and I have started dating as boyfriend and girlfriend stage in January, I finished the BYU-Idaho Pathways Program in April, my husband applied for my k-1 visa in September, I had my first ever experience of Thanksgiving in November, we finally met in person in February, and we gotten engaged which made us fiancé and fiancée in November as well.

I gotten set apart and called as a Temple Ordinance Worker in Brisbane Latter-Day Saint Temple.

2019 - I turned twenty-three years old, I gotten honorable released as a Temple Ordinance Worker in Brisbane Latter-Day Saint Temple, I attended my k-1 visa interview in early July, I gotten my k-1 visa in the mail within just two days after the interview, my k-1 visa gotten approved when I landed in Dallas in July, I flew to Dallas United States from Brisbane with one way plane ticket, my husband and I gotten married in September, my husband and I applied for my adjustment to status as known as my Green Card in October. 

I have accomplished two Self Reliances courses; I have completed Personal Finances in December, and I have completed Starting and Growing My Business in December as well. 2020 - I have lived in Texas United States for a year, and I finally gotten updates about in relation to my Green Card. Let us hope that I would get my Green Card in 2021.

Stay Tuned until next time.

What am I Grateful for in 2020?

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

Have you thought about what you were grateful for in 2020? What were you grateful for in 2020? Did you appreciate all of the memories or even some of the memories that you have made throughout this year?
Did you made met and created new friendships throughout the year?

This year must have been a tough year for everyone because we all went through to learning about and knowing about Coronavirus, some people went through lockdowns, most stores has reduced their hours from sometime in March this year, fast foods including dine in restaurants does not offer dine in option to customers - they would have to go through drive thru, places where it has been enforced of wearing face masks, weekly worship places has been closed, schools has been cancelled - students has been taught at homes via Zoom, and so forth. 

"The more grateful I am, the more beautiful
I see." - Mary Davis.

I would like to share with you some of things for what I was grateful for in 2020.

I am grateful for all of the memories that I have had throughout this year; 

I know that I have enjoyed bike riding by myself at times, and with my husband at times. I enjoyed video calls to my family members, and my close friends. 

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I am grateful for meeting and creating new friendships that I have made throughout this year; I could not think of how my life would be like without the new friendships that I have made throughout this year. 

I am grateful for being diagnosed and experiencing small Ovarian Cyst on my left ovary because I was able to be diagnosed early enough without needing to go in for a surgery.

I remembered that I did some research online about what was an Ovarian Cyst shortly after finding out that I have Ovarian Cyst, and I know what symptoms that I should watch for so I can be aware of what to expect if I went through an Ovarian Cyst in the future.

I am grateful for having a dental appointment that involved of me having three fillings to be done because I have not had any fillings done since 2015 when I was focusing on dental requirements for my full-time mission papers - first attempt.

I am grateful for my husband for having a reliable full-time job. There has been some long days, and there has been some short days but by the end of the day, I am grateful for him to be able to work to make an steady income and provide to pay for finances. 

I am grateful for finally being able to go inside Dallas Latter-Day Saint Temple after over nine months for not being able to go to the Temple due to the coronavirus. I enjoyed attending an Endowment session (it has been almost over a year since I last attended an Endowment session) and I enjoyed attending Jonathan and Taylor Lindsey's sealing. 

I am grateful for my in-laws for organizing family gatherings. It has always been good and fun to get together at least once a month, and spend some time together. The fun parts are catching up with each other, playing games, and eating meals together. 

I am grateful for Heavenly Father hearing my personal prayers, and the couple prayers that my husband and I have together. I have personally felt that he has answered my personal prayers by several ways that I did think of before. 

I am grateful for blogging and vlogging throughout this year. I certainly learned so much while reading past General Conference talks, and Devotionals. I know that I had so much fun with sharing my own inputs as well. 

Stay Tuned until next time.