Words to the Wise

I really love the way my blog looks now and I really wanted to post something. So... here are more things I learned and liked from conference. Enjoy being enlightened or just refresh your memory.

Russell M. Nelson

• Our faith now becomes part of our posterity's faith later
• Parent's bear the primary responsibility of strengthening the children's faith
• Obedience allows God's blessings to flow without constraint
• Unfailing faith is fortified through prayer
• President Monson said, "...Fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."

Richard J. Maynes

• Learning, teaching, and practicing the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our homes helps create a culture where the spirit can dwell
• Parents are responsible for teaching their children in love and righteousness. Parents will be held accountable  before the Lord in how they perform their sacred responsibilities.
• We should do everything in our power to establish a Christ-centered home

Dallin H. Oaks (I really loved this talk)

• Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.
• The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.
• Righteous desires cannot be superficial, impulsive, or temporary. They must be heartfelt, unwavering, and permanent.

President Uchtdorf

• Those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know him
• If we ignore the promptings of the spirit, they become less noticeable until we can't hear them at all
• Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits
• By becoming the answer to some else's prayer, we often find the answer to our own - I've actually noticed this in my own life
• The most effective way to preach the gospel is through example

Paul V. Johnson

• "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted." ~Orson F. Whitney - This was the second time this quote was shared during conference. Repetition = important. It may not seem like it when you're dealing with things, but afterwards you realize that it's true. This is something that I struggled with for a long time. Now I'm grateful for the opportunities I'm given to grow, even when they are difficult or painful.
• We need to remember that "after much tribulation come the blessings" (D&C 58:4)
• We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13) - I know for me, having a testimony of the atonement and knowing that Christ has been where I am gives me the strength I need to overcome whatever come my way. 
• Whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day (Alma 36:3) - We need to have faith. We need to "trust in the Lord with all thine heart" (Proverbs 3:5, yay for scripture mastery)

Silvia H. Allred

• Loving and serving one another is the essence of discipleship in the Church of Christ
• When love becomes the guiding principle in our care for others, our service to them becomes the gospel in action
• The pure love of Christ is expressed as we give selfless service

I Love Old Men

Not in a weird way, but in that aww...what a cute old man kind of way. The way you love your grandpa kind of way. Why am I talking about old men? Because a little over a week ago, I had the opportunity to listen to some very special and profound lovely old men of God. I'm referring to General Conference. For anyone that doesn't know what I'm talking about, feel free to find out here (yay for a possible missionary opportunity!). Anyways, I love conference. It may not appear that way when I happen to fall asleep every time, but I really do. Even with enough sleep the night before, I still have to fight the ever increasing weight of my eyelids as I watch. Which brings me back to old men. I think it's their voices. There's something so soothing about listening to old men talk. Am I the only one that feels that way? It's sad that I miss out on some great insights, inspiring words, and important  life counsel when I lose the fight with my eyelids. I am getting better though, I stayed awake for more conference this time compared to October. Lucky for me they put the talks online and have the conference edition of the Ensign.

I've started reading the talks online, including the ones I was awake for. I missed some good quotes because I couldn't write fast enough or I lost (or was in the process of losing) the head bobbing battle. You know what I'm talking about. So just a heads up, future posts will probably be conference related as I read and find things I like and want to share.

One that I read today was by President Boyd K. Packer, titled "Guided By the Holy Spirit". One quote from his talk that I really liked was, "If you have been offended, forgive, forget it, and leave it alone." I needed to hear this one after an incident last week. There were some comments in a family newsletter that really upset and offended me. I need to forgive this person because they are dealing with their own pain regarding a certain matter and I need to forget about it. I have no problem with leaving it alone because I don't want to cause problems by saying anything about it. I'm a person that tries to avoid confrontation as much as possible, unless it's really necessary. Then I have no problem (*cough* my mother).

Another thing I liked from his talk came from the title page of The Book of Mormon. "And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ." I think more people need to learn this. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to everyone. Don't blame God for these things. Yeah he gives us some difficult roadblocks in our lives, but it's not all him. There are other people responsible. A few years ago when my world was falling apart, surprisingly I didn't blame my Heavenly Father for what was happening. I did think "why me?"(who doesn't?), but I didn't blame him and think how he could let this happen to my family. [The why me was really more along the lines of "why more crap?" (because I've had my fair share), rather than why me instead of someone else. Not that I'm saying other people don't go through as much as me, because I'm not.]

This actually goes with something from Elder Richard's talk. "Opposition is part of our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. We all encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father's love and of our need for the Savior's help." He goes on to say, "The savior is not a silent observer. He himself knows personally and infinitely the pain we face." This is so true. Confession: I know I'm definitely more consistent with my prayers when I'm going through a difficult or painful trial because I become more aware of the fact that I need more help and comfort than others can give me. It always reconfirms and strengthens my testimony of faith, prayer, and the atonement.

President Packer ended with this counsel: Do a lot of forgiving and a little repenting. I know forgiving people is hard. It's something I admit to struggling with and I'm sure many other people do too. But here's a thought. Which is harder? Forgiving someone or having to repent (admitting your mistakes to God and asking him for forgiveness)? Yes, I can be deep sometimes.

Cupcakes and Conference

So I have discovered my new FAVORITE place in Provo, The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe. It's only a quick 15 min walk from campus. It's so cute and has a lot of AMAZING cupcakes, with Red Velvet being my absolute favorite.


I love how reasonable the prices are and the size of the cupcakes. They are bigger than normal and I love getting more cupcake for my money. The only thing I don't like about it is that they only have certain cupcakes on certain days of the week. They only have red velvet three times a week so I need to plan my cravings accordingly. Of all the flavors to not have daily, red velvet should not be one of them. They are the best.

Now on to general conference...

A few weeks ago I went to Sunday dinner at Heidi and Bill's. Bill asked if I had ever been to conference and I told him no so he gave me two tickets to the Sunday afternoon session. I invited my friend Haley to go with me. It was a great closing session and a wonderful experience. We were in the center front row of the balcony so we had a pretty AWESOME view.




The girl in our hall that gave us a ride had an Easter dinner to go to and wasn't able to take us back to BYU until later. Haley and I had around four hours to kill. We saw everything there was to see in both visitor centers and and we were approached at least five times by the sister missionaries. I felt bad that I didn't have any referrals for them. It was a great day in Salt Lake City.