We thank thee O God for a prophet!//Amos 3:7

A few days ago I was in charge of the seminary devotional. If you're unsure what that means it's pretty much the opening spiritual thought for early morning bible study. We had to draw scriptures out of a bucket and I happened to pull out Amos 3:7. At first I have to admit I was a little disappointed because it isn't super duper close to conference, but then I realized it was our dear prophet's birthday recently (I actaully ended up giving it the day before his birthday...) and I couldn't help but think how stunningly perfect the timing was for me to study about prophets. Isn't it just amazing how everything always works out?!

Amos 3:7 says.......

 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

After looking at the foot notes I loved the Joseph Smith translation. It tells us the word but means until, so here is what it is really saying....

 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, until he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

(As a side note secret means vision or revelation, not some kind of sneaky thing.)

I thought that was pretty cool. There is so much changing in a world where wicked is becoming the norm. There is so much we need to be prepared for. And we can, We can be prepared for those things that knock us off our feet and take us by surprise. Those crazy disasters and confusing society shifts.

Here are a few recent examples.....

• We were counseled to get food storage prepared. Since then the economy has dropped, jobs are harder to find, and countless natural disasters have taken place. Countless people have been  less hungry for following this inspired counsel. 
• In 1995 The Family a Proclamation to the World was announced. Since then laws have changed, divorce has increased, gender is being questioned, and countless priorities have tried to overtake our few hours of family time. By listening to that advice so many years ago and strengthening our families many latter day saints have been prepared to face these strong attacks on the family. 

I just wanted to wrap this up with one more quote:

{source: lds.org}

I am so grateful for the profound influence prophets have had on my life and the comforting knowledge that I never have to be taken by surprise and unprepared if I will just listen to the prophet.

uplifted & inspired

Conference was pure amazingness.

I just realized that was almost 2 weeks ago. Wow. That went by pretty fast. But it has stuck with me throughout the busyness.

As a slowly reread all the super inspiring talks, the importance of defending and growing close to family, the Savior's love and grace, being a light and example, and so many other important principles stick out to me,

I have been trying so hard to apply what was said in conference. I've been trying to read my scriptures and say my prayers more consistently. Aside from the broader areas it has helped me specifically too. Once a month members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints fast for 2 or more meals, we fast for a reason. I woke up especially hungry and thirsty, but I knew that I wanted to fast. After printing out Elder Erying's talk and reading about the blessings and importance of fasting it helped me have the strength and determination to keep going. While this was a tiny example it really shows how conference can impact our lives.

My favorite talk (it is super hard to pick a favorite! They were all so good!) was Elder Holland's. I loved the story about the 2 brothers. It is such a comfort, a humongous indescribable peace and blessing, to know that the Savior lives and loves me (and each and every one of you) and will never let us fall. I can just see the scene between the 2 brothers, but instead I imagine me falling and the Savior's arms. No matter who you are or what religion PLEASE read this talk for me?

I could write pages and pages about how much I loved conference and how I feel so uplifted and inspired, ready to tackle the world and become a better person. Please don't take it from me though, go read a talk or 2....... or all of them.....preferably all of them:)

-Shelby

Come and Hear

Source

General Conference is coming up and boy can you bet I am excited!!! General Conference makes me as giddy as a 5 year old in a candy shop where everything is free!(is that analogy even make sense?) You will probably hear a lot on various Mormon blogs about this wonderful thing we call conference. It is the opportunity to hear God's word. I loved the above print about why we have conference found at LDS Nest (Follow the link for other printable awesomeness!). So I am here to officially invite you to conference.

Who? Anyone at all.
When? (All times in MDT)   
General Women's: Saturday, March 28, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday Morning: Saturday, April 4, 10:00 a.m.
Saturday Afternoon: Saturday, April 4, 2:00 p.m.
General Priesthood: Saturday, April 4, 6:00 p.m.
Sunday Morning: Sunday, April 5, 10:00 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon: Sunday, April 5, 2:00 p.m.

Where? In Utah, OR online at lds.org
How? Go to lds.org it will prompt you to watch it live. If you can't watch it on the original air date or time you can watch the videos that come up a few hours later or read the talks that come out a few days later.

Why? I promise you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired. I know prophets are called of God. I know our Heavenly Father cares about us and wants to bless us. I know he lives! He leads and guides us and wants the best for us! Why would Heavenly Father leave us abandoned and only help those in bible times? He loves ALL his children and would never leave us comfortless. I know these things are true. Please watch or read at least a little General Conference,, do it for me, for yourself, and your Heavenly Father. Thank the Savior for what he did for us by dedicating some time to him. I promise if you have prayed and come with an open heart you will leave feeling inspired and loved as you discover your divine identity as a child of God.

come be inspired

I highly encourage EVERYONE (Mormon or not!) to tune in tonight and listen to the Women's broadcast! I promise you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired! It is amazing!

I admire these women (and men) who speak. I admire their courage and strength and the way they give up parts of their life to serve others. I hope I can be as amazing as them someday!

Busy tonight? That's ok! You can watch it later on lds.org.

Only 3.5 hours! Ahhhhh! I am so excited!
Please watch it, I promise you will be blessed!
-Shelby

Conference Countdown!

How is it already September?

This year has flown! 

I honestly feel like it should be May and Summer should be just starting! But instead I'm in school. Kind of a disappointment:) 

I found an amazing Instagram account that you all should follow called 30daysofconference. Each day it gives you one talk form the previous conference, so that by the time next conference rolls around you will have read all the talks. This is such a wonderful way to be more prepared to hear the words of our living prophet, President Monson!

My Personal Progress Advisor suggested that this would be a great Personal Progress goal, it isn't too late to start- you could just read 2 a day until you catch up.:) This doesn't have to take a bunch of extra time either- you could read each talk right before bed or on the bus to get a spiritual jumpstart for your day.

I know that we have a living prophet and apostles on the earth today! Why would God leave us stranded on earth with no guidance or help? He is a living, caring God who only wants the best for us! I know that if you accept this challenge you will be blessed.

                          

 

Who's going to follow them? Comment if you're in for the challenge!

WOW! General Women's Meeting

I was blown away by the amazing General Women's meeting this past weekend. I felt such a strong spirit of unity, love, devotion, and strength! The women of the church are amazing and we can learn so much from them! I highly recommend watching it! Please do! It will strengthen you and uplift you and inspire you to do better! One of my favorite quotes was:

 

We are unstoppable!

Courage

 

Happy (late) Halloween! I hope everyone had a fun, safe night! The whole theme of Halloween is scariness, right? So I thought I would do some posts on courage, you can come back for my next post filled with some great scriptures about courage. When ever I think of Courage, immediately my thoughts turn to Esther. I LOVE her story. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has made a wonderful Mormon Message about Ester and 3 other women who have demonstrated courage.

 

It is amazing to me the courage that Esther had! In today's world it is vitally important to have courage- especially the courage to say no. The courage to stand alone for what is right. The cool thing is, even though we may feel alone the Savior is always at our side. He will never leave us alone. I also love the Mormon message below about a time when President Monson felt all alone.

I also love these two prints from All things Bright and Beautiful from this past general conference:

(source)

(source)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know that our Father in Heaven will NEVER leave us alone and that courage is VITAL to staying on the correct path in the world today. When have you shown courage?

 

PS: Sarah over at The Sprinkles on my Ice Cream  posted a great post for Halloween that you can read  here.

The Acorn of Honest Inquiry...

If you watched this past General Conference you heard President Uchtdorf's talk, in it he said:

In his talk he also talks about how it is okay to have questions and doubts about the gospel- everyone does- we just can't let them get in the way of our faith. On Sunday a speaker in church was talking about faith. She made a really good point: If Joseph Smith had never doubted, the restoration wouldn't have happened. The important part is that he acted on his doubts. Once he acted his inquiry truly did grow into a great oak of understanding.
You can read his whole address here:
 http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/come-join-with-us?lang=eng&query=
Have a great day!

PS: I got the chevron background from Doodle Craft. http://www.doodlecraft.blogspot.com/2012/08/minty-chevron-freebie-madness.html