Ruins

something about times of old
the magic of a story told
enchantment, wonder, and romance
the seeming fool's errand of taking a chance

unsaid until the very phrase
the perfect coupling of clarity and haze
unknowing of what the future holds
so long as together it folds

the charm of a broken palace
of all it's past hearts housed
to enter in without malice
praise and awe upon it dowsed

if we know better now
than they knew in the stories
it is only because of how
in their ruins, we see the glories

marvel every broken piece
every cobbled floor
fingers tingle at each parchment's crease
every dent adore

Ruin, you see
makes enchantment.
The wonder and romance enhancement.

Beauty, to me
is when he or she
embraces and learns how to dance it.

but in order to be
something naturally
another must the ruin see
and know to chance it

something about the times of old
the magic of a story told
each crack, dent, pebble, and break
the reason for your wonder make.

Eye to Eye

I read something hopeful in my study today.

18 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. (3 Nephi 16:18)

The world is full of so much confusion and disagreement.  Everyone is constantly coming up with arguments and trying to prove their way right and other ways wrong.  It's hard to know what sides to take sometimes - and it's very confusing when you want your personal beliefs to coincide with everything else you think about, be it morality, modesty, equality, etc.

Besides making me think of this song, which is happy in and of itself, this scriptural promise is comforting.  First off, it is comforting in a sense of a future perspective, looking toward when the Lord will come again, rule, and the world will simply make more sense.

It's also hopeful in another way, though.  The chapter summary says this will happen "when the Lord brings again Zion," which could very well be referring to what happens when people are close the the Lord.  When we seek Him, He helps guide minds and hearts, and people tend to agree more. The Lord, through both His infinite wisdom and His astounding love for all of us, makes things match up.

Maybe love is the reason why

For the first time ever,

We're seeing it eye-to eye

Guided.

From the Thoughts of Life blog

Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them. - Helaman 13:8

I've been thinking a lot lately about how the Spirit works and what it does for us.  Whenever the Nephites win a battle in the Book of Mormon, the prophet who is writing acknowledges that it is because they had the Spirit of the Lord with them, which gave them strength.  I think this can be interpreted in various ways, one being that the Spirit can literally give us strength when we are fighting our battles, because the Lord fights alongside us.  Sometimes, the strength of the Lord even keeps enemies away instead of letting them attack in the first place.

Another way that rings true to me is this: when we have the Spirit, we are more in tune with God's will, and we are thus guided through our battles to an end that He wants for us.  The truth is, we do have battles to fight, and often our enemies are stronger than we are.  The Lord doesn't always take these battles away or fight them for us, usually because He needs us to gain something from them.  However, the Spirit gives us guidance, and because that is Heavenly guidance, it is another kind of strength - a strength in divine knowledge - that cannot be gained any other way.

I am so grateful for the guidance of His Spirit in my life. It really does help me through my battles.

Perfect Power

I made an exciting and enlightening connection in my study today. I'm currently reading My Redeemer Lives, a compilation of Easter talks. The talk I'm on is Elder Belnap's To Them Gave He Power to Become.  In this talk, Elder Belnap discusses the Atonement and the perfection of Christ.

In one section of the talk, he references Hebrews 4:14-16, which says that Christ is without sin.  When I thought about this, I realized that it feels right to me to think of it this way: Christ isn't endowed with some unique anti-sin power that we can't have - He has power over sin because of His closeness to His Father, and because of his determined resistance to temptation.  If we want Satan to be bound, we must do that same thing - come close to both Christ and our Father so we can gain the strength to resist temptation.

Christ really did set the example for us in all things.

Carry

To be the star most glowing
Wandering revealed
Progressing images of you showing
What with me was once concealed

We'll find if in this world we might -
Wondering if this was right...
If I was right.

Justifying.
My doubts
Along with my faults
My heart pining
Searching for a way to prove
That, to all of me, you can move

Desiring past experience varied
Fearing that it must
As with memory away carried
Carry with it trust

Spark.
For the light that you will have to earn.
And will my thoughts upon you mark
But fall on me to burn.

Letter To Me

Dear me at nineteen,

You just moved away from home for the first time.  This is the most dramatic change of your life so far, and you're excited, scared, shy, and feeling a little small - but you are also overcome with the feeling of BIG.  This is a big thing for you - and the roommates you have now will become the best thing that ever happened.  You'll gain so much from them, laugh more than you thought possible, scream at the TV, learn beauty tips, and experience Pangaea (you just wait).  Your heart will never let go of these girls - even when they get married before you do.

I may very well have listened to Letter To Me by Brad Paisley for inspiration here (yes, you will come to love and appreciate country).  You will receive a lot of comfort from that song come March – thank you to one of your darling girlfriends for that one.  You’ll be roommates with her in Summer 2014, and she’ll continue to be a great example of love, understanding, and acceptance for you.  Take advantage of that.  In fact, take advantage of all of the wonderful examples in the next twenty months.  You will meet many, some very unlikely, and they will teach you a lot.

One will help you realize there is messy craziness in the world, but that entropy is part of life and it’s okay.

One will teach you how to be truly observant of yourself.  He will help you feel yourself out and be in tune with your emotions in ways you didn’t know you needed.

Another will remind you that even the happiest, most social people need to feel noticed.

One very important person will show you that you are worth loving, and that soaking up each moment is the best way to live.

That same person will teach you to embrace your quirks, love your under-appreciated movies, and not be embarrassed of your affinity with exceptional phrasing… even puns.

You will be reassured that God is with you through many sources, scriptural and otherwise.  The Lord will be closer to you than ever before.

A dear friend at work will remind you to move forward in faith, taking action even when you are unsure.

One will help you solidify the idea that listening to silly pop-stars helps – especially when you are crazy emotional.

Similarly, you will learn from multiple people that indie music can brighten your mood and really help you think.  Don’t reject this idea – I know you want to.

Shannon Hale, that lovely genius of a woman, will teach you that embracing your love of the Austen world is okay.  Beneficial and therapeutic, even.

You will learn to see beauty in the world more fully.

An unlikely friend will help you break barriers related to sharing your emotional stories.

He will also show you that, even though things are messy, you are strong – and, more importantly, you need not be ashamed of your past.

One will tell you the meaning of matching energy levels to make connections.

One will show you to challenge your beliefs.  Don’t reject this, because it will only strengthen your convictions.

A supervisor will teach you that there is meaning in rules and guidelines.

Following promptings will come to mean more to you.

You will learn to be persistent, encouraging, and even how to change lives.

You will read, listen to, and watch things that will blow your mind and change your perspective about absolutely everything.

You are going to learn things about yourself that you’ve never thought of.  In all honesty, chica, I don’t believe in writing “what I wish I knew in…” style things, because 

I don’t wish 

                   you knew then 

                                         what I know now.  

                                                                      I know you.  

You learn things when you are ready for them, and you’re not ready to learn everything you will yet.  I will tell you, though, that you will be ready to learn more than you ever thought you could when it’s all over.

You will find heroes, and you will discover just how much the concept of heroes means to you, because of your connection to their personalities.  Keep your heart open, and these next twenty months (I can hardly believe it has only been 20 months) will be the BIGGEST of your life.  Listen to people, especially to your own thoughts, and you will stretch yourself.  You will learn, and you will change – but don’t be scared of that. 

Remember how mom once said, very wisely, that the only thing constant in life is change?

That’s still true.

Love, with all the encouragement and reassurance I can muster,

You at twenty-one.

Pink.

My heart was very full yesterday. Testimony meeting was incredibly uplifting, Sunday school gave me stuff to think about, and Relief Society brought me a lot of comfort and a great reminder of God's Love for me.

What about it reminded me of God's Love?

This.

(sorry for the poor quality, there's not much of this short available on YouTube)

In this super-cute Pixar short, a sad little sheep is reminded of his unchangeable worth, regardless of his absence of fluff.  He complains how his friends think he looks "ridiculous, funny, and pink."  The jackalope responds to this by assuring him there isn't anything wrong with pink.  The sheep is pink, so what?  It's part of his sheep-ness to be pink.

"Pink. Pink?  What's wrong with pink?  Seems like you've got a pink kink in your think."

This made me think of what things I don't like about myself - and that, hey, "what's wrong with pink?"  It's part of my me-ness to be (fill in the blank).  This, combined with the message from President Uchtdorf that we matter to God really strengthened me.

"God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him."

This is a testimony from a Prophet of God, and is my testimony as well.  Be okay with everything that makes you YOU, all the "-ness," because you matter to Him.

A Powerful Day

Today has been powerful for many reasons.  I have been comforted by the Lord in ways I hadn't felt for a while, and I have been reminded of just how much that comfort can mean for me.  It is always comforting to feel that the Lord needs me, and even more so to feel that He is proud of me.  I have really needed everything the Lord has given me today, so I am feeling very grateful.

But one of the biggest reasons today was so powerful was that it was the official homecoming of (former) Elder Keith Eberhard, one of my dearest friends.

This is Keith.

In his homecoming talk today, he spoke with such deliberance (is that a word?) and surety.  I know he has a very strong testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of His Gospel here on the earth today.

We must decide to choose the path of happiness, or not-so-happiness.

This is the truth.

We are imperfect.  But God gives us imperfections to help us grow.  I know we will grow from our trials, because I have grown from mine.

Our spirits are blessed with gifts.  These are part of our personality, and also things we learn to develop.

That's how we make decisions. By following the Spirit.

Through God, all things are possible.  Through God, we can become the people He wants us to become.

I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I declare it amidst much opposition.  I know, through the Spirit, that this is His Gospel.

He's pretty cool.

It was so good to see him today and to hear his testimony, which has been strengthening my own from the time he gave his farewell talk, to the very first letter I received from him while he was in Washington, until now.  I know it will only continue to do so.  I'd like to thank this astounding young man for his faith and strength.  You've done great things for the lives you've touched,

and I know you will never stop.

Good to have you back, bud.

Gifts.

In my study of Preach My Gospel today, I did a lot of thinking about charity.

Love is the first and great commandment of God (Matt. 22:36-39).  Charity is Christ's pure love, and we are to develop it.  It is also a gift from God to us.  Charity is something we receive from God, but that does not mean it is something we obtain and then leave alone.  We cannot have charity if we are not close to God,as  it is a gift from Him.  However, we also need to do our part: use the gift and develop it.

I think this is true of all gifts from God; we need Him in order to have and keep His gifts, but it is our responsibility to develop those gifts.  Charity and all other gifts mean very little unless we use them and help them grow.

Onward and upward.

Another Testament

I have been learning and re-learning many simple truths of Christ's Gospel lately.  Today in my study, Preach My Gospel   asked the question: How has my study of the Book of Mormon influenced my testimony of Jesus Christ?  I would like to share my thoughts on this.

http://www.reflectionsofchrist.org/

What I have learned from the teachings of the Book of Mormon is the bulk of what I know and believe about Christ.  I got some basics, crucial ones, from primary songs and teachings of those around me when I was young, but the central point to my love for and testimony of Christ lies in the Book of Mormon.  I learned so much about Christ my freshman year at BYU when I was in Brother Tyler Griffin's Book of Mormon classes - largely because he was a very good teacher, but also largely because of how he helped me understand the Book of Mormon and just how perfectly it helps us understand and get to know Christ.

The Book of Mormon really is, as it says on its title page, "Another Testament of Jesus Christ."  The Bible and the Book of Mormon together contain the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. (Doctrine and Covenants 42:12).

A central purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince all people that Jesus is the Christ. (Preach My Gospel, Chapter 5.)

And that it does.