Just Keep Swimming

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..what do we do keep SSWWWIIIMMMIINNNGGG!

I really hope that nice little jingle is stuck in your head for the rest of the day. It is super catchy and teaches a great lesson! Marlin and Dory are swimming into the dark, eerie and unknown depths of the ocean following the path the goggles have floated off to so they can be led to Nemo. It was definitely scary for them not being able to see and all, but they kept swimming because they knew it was necessary in order to get to Nemo. 

As we go throughout life trying to make our way back to our Father in Heaven, we often have to take steps into the dark unknown. We may not see how things are going to work out but just like Marlin and Dory, we MUST keep swimming! That requires faith. It can be scary to push through trials or to make certain decisions that he guides us to make because we can't see the outcome. It is like going from swimming in the light to taking a dive in dark waters. President Uchtdorf wisely said, "There are times when we have to step into the darkness in faith, confident that God will place solid ground beneath our feet once we do." We must have FAITH that God has a plan for us and that all of the things he places in our path are going to help us. But lets back up... what is faith??

In the Book of Mormon, there is a great definition of faith. "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." We can't see the way things are going to pan out but we can have hope that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is leading us in the right direction. When we have faith, it leads us to act. We take that step into the darkness trusting that the Lord is going to make is all work out! Once we take that step of faith, we have to keep moving forward with faith even if we don't see the results yet. KEEP SWIMMING!! In the Church, this is often referred to as "enduring to the end." 

Enduring to the end isn't easy. So HOW do we do it??? Well, Elder Perry is awesome and gave a great conference talk in 2008 that tells us what we need to do! 

1. Enduring to the end requires the Savior's redemptive power:
We aren't perfect and "no unclean thing can dwell with God" (1 Nephi 10:21) so we need to repent and rely on the Savior and His Atonement. 

2. The Holy Ghost is required:
The Holy Ghost is a great gift from our Heavenly Father that guides us and sanctifies us.

3.We must be an integral part of the community of Saints:
We are all God's children and we need to work together and unify ourselves in Christ.

4.Share the Gospel with others:
Sharing the Gospel helps us to dig our roots deeper in the Gospel. We experience the most incredible joy as we share the things we know to be true! In Doctrine and Covenants 18:15 it says, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" Open your mouths...great things will happen!

5.Always maintain faith and hope in our Savior, Jesus Christ:
We can increase our faith in Christ by reading the scriptures, praying, fasting and going to church. As President Uchtdorf said, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." 

The blessings that come from enduring to the end are more than we can even imagine! In 2 Nephi 31:20 it says, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." This is eternal life that's on the line so we better keep swimming.

God will never turn his back on us. As we turn to him, we will be able to feel his loving arms around us, helping us endure to the end. We are not alone! 

Something I love about Dory is that she is always happy. Their journey was not easy but she kept swimming and singing with a smile on her face, brightening everyone's day! We should all try to be more like that! Life is hard, but we should smile anyway because, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." As we all strive to endure to the end by following the steps the Lord has given us, let us do it with a smile on our faces. When things don't go the way you planned, LAUGH!!! Find something to smile about. I know you can find something. 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us all so much and He wants us home. The Lord is on your side pushing through it with you; He believes in you. No matter what happens in life, just keep swimming! 

Forever Families

In the Disney movie "Lilo and Stitch," Lilo and her sister (whose name has left my mind) have this family saying that repeats throughout the movie. "Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten." Think about that for a second.... NO one gets left behind or forgotten. I know that as a daughter of the worlds greatest parents, they will never forget me! Neither does our Heavenly Father. He is the Father of all our Spirits and He doesn't forget His children. Our parents on Earth want what is best for us; they want us to have success and happiness and become like them. That is exactly what our Heavenly Father wants for us! He wants us to have experiences that allow us to grow so we can become like Him. When we chose to follow God's plan and come to this Earth, we were put into families. I don't know about you, but I love my family so much! They mean the world to me. Families help us to grow, feel of God's love and give us strength to endure the trials of life. God intends for our families to not only last for this time on earth but for FOREVER!!! Yeah...that is right. I said FOREVER!!! With the fullness of Christ's Gospel restored to the Earth, the priesthood power (the authority to act in God's name) gives us that opportunity to be with our families forever. In the temple, we can be sealed to our families not only for time, but also for eternity. 

When Christ was on the earth, He gave His apostles the power to seal. In Matthew 16: 19 it says, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Because Christs' Gospel is on the earth again today, so is that power. The relationships we have with our families do not need to end at death! Christ performed the Atonement for us so we could be forgiven of our sins, overcome our weaknesses, sicknesses and pains that we all face in life (Alma 7:11-13). Christ overcame the obstacle of death through His Atonement so we will all be resurrected. What happens after is up to us. If we choose to follow the example of Jesus Christ, we are promised that we will "dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness" (Mosiah 2:41). If we, along with the members of our family "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" (2 Nephi 31:20) we can be together with our Father in Heaven because of that sealing power that has been restored to the earth. 

I am grateful for temples where we can be sealed to our families for time and all eternity! And I am so grateful that my family is forever! :) They mean so much to me and knowing that God plans for us to be together forever makes me super happy! I know that as we trust in God's perfect plan and are obedient to the commandments, we will be blessed to be with our families forever. Forever families IS part of God's plan. 

This is my cute family... They are mine FOREVER!!!

I am a child of God

One of my all time favorite movies is Toy Story. I just love Disney! Something I love even more than Disney is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel has helped me to know WHO I am and the great potential that my Father in Heaven sees in me. God is the literal father of our spirits. We are ALL His children. Just as our parents here on earth love us, God loves us. He knows that we can become something great. In Toy Story, Buzz believes that he is something great...he thinks he is more than just a toy! Woody, tells him that he is just a toy. He even screams it at Buzz to try to get it in his head! Most of the time, Buzz didn't believe what Woody was telling him but after awhile it really started to get to him. He started to lose faith in himself. He began to believe that he didn't have great potential. Many times in our lives, people will tell us that we aren't good enough or that we don't have a purpose. They doubt our divine nature. Sometimes what people say eventually gets to us and we forget who we are. We are children of God! In my life I have felt what Buzz felt. I started to forget that I was a child of God. In the Young Women program, we state a theme that starts, "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love Him." Stating that helped remind me that I am a child of God. He does love me and is very aware of me. He knows that I can become something great. When I came to really believe it, I started to act like it. Being surrounded by many girls who knew that they were children of God helped me to see that we all can become something great! In Toy Story, Woody eventually changes his heart and realizes that even though they may be toys, they are also something more. They are Andy's toys!!!!! They love Andy and Andy loves them. When Woody and Buzz were able to see that they were of great worth, miracles happened!! They were able to be strong and help each other get back to Andy. We are all striving to get back to our Father in Heaven. When we can come to see that we are His children and that He loves us, we will be strengthened to get through the tough trials of life and we will be happier! There is so much joy found from knowing who you are! I invite all of you to pray to your Heavenly Father and ask Him to help you see yourself through His eyes. I promise that you will be able to feel of His love and you will be able to come to know for yourself that you are a child of God!