Life's Motto

I want to share a talk I gave in Chruch a few weeks ago...it's kind of my motto for life:
"To begin I would like to broaden your perspective of Eternity. I once heard that a lifetime on Earth is about 5 mins to God and i thought, 'Wow! and we can't behave ourselves for 5 mins?!'

But we are little children who forget we're even suppose to be behaving for only a few mins for which we'll be greatly rewarded, because 5 mins seems like forever when we have No concept of time. We have forgotten who we are.

Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith once said, "In the pre-existence we dwelt in the presence of God our Father. When the time arrived for us to advance in the scale of our existence and pass through this mundane probation, councils were held and the spirit children were instructed in matters pertaining to conditions in mortal life, and the reason for such an existence."

We had 'Councils' more than one 'instructing (us) in matters pertaining to conditions in mortal life." We were told explicitly what life was going to be like and as Pres. Kimball said, "We eagerly accepted the chance to come earthward...we were willing to take life as it came and as we might organize and control it, and this without murmur, complaint, or unreasonable demands." Why de we often not do so now?!

I love the quote, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritaul beings having a human experience." I KNOW I'm going to miss this human experience someday, which encourages me to enjoy every moment of it, to take the good with the bad, to accept the sorrow with the joy, to embrace the pain to know the peace. We have eternities before us completely pain free, this is the ONLY time we GET to experience adversity.

I love Pres. Eyring's April Conference talk on Adversity. He said, "The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of their (God and Jesus Christ's) infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be Prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is Eternal Life."

I love my gift of mortality and hope I'm preparing well to receive His greatest gift.

Pres. Brigham Young expounded upon what it takes to prepare, "All intelligent being who are crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives MUST pass through EVERY ordeal appointed for intelligent being to pass throug, to gain their glory and exaltation. EVERY calamity that can come upon mortal beings will be suffered to come upon the few, to Prepare them to enjoy the presence of the Lord. If we obtain the glory that Abraham obtained, we must do so by the same means that he did. If we are ever prepared to enjoy the society of Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...or of the faithful Prophets and Apostles, we must pass through the same experience, and gain the knowledge, intelligence, and endowments that will prepare us to enter into the Celestial Kingdom of our Father and God."

Embrace your adversities. Use them to their full advantage. I once knew a crazy girl that prayed for adversity because she had glimpsed eternity and knew it's the only way to return to and become like our Father in Heaven; which requires EVERYTHING!

One of my favorite scriptures is the one Pres. Eyring shared in his conference talk, it's D&C 121:7-8: "My Son, peace be unto thy soul; (which is a command from God) 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." That's a promise from All-mighty God, Do we believe Him?

Pres. Eyring continued: "the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle." Pres. Eyring shared a story of a young man who lost his job, but had "prepare(d) his heart to be worthy of the lord's help which he knew he would in the near future need." Pres. Eyring "felt assured as they seemed to be assured: 'Things will work out.' Tragedy did not erode their faith; it tested it and strengthened it. And the feeling of peace the Lord has promised has already been delivered in the midst of the storm. Other miracles are sure to follow."

Last night in the General Relief Society broadcast Pres. Eyring said, "That our Faith doesn't take us around the strom, but gets us through it." Continueing with the conference talk Pres. Eyring said, "the Lord ALWAYS suits the relief to the person in need to best strengthen and purify him or her. Often it will come in the inspiration to do what might seem especially hard for the person who needs help himself...(the Lord) often sends (us) to do for others what (we) might reasonably have thought was beyond (us) and which (we) would (hope) He (the Lord) would give (us)."

When we are lonely we need to visit, when we are depressed we need to cheer others, when we're hurting we need to give comfort. When we're sad, we need to bring happiness to someone else.

I pray that I can be worthy of the blessing Pres. Eyring gave to his friend who was dieing: to "have (the) time and the strength to do all that God (has) for (me) to do in this life, to pass EVERY test." I pray that I will not shie away from adversity but recognize it as a compliment from an all loving God that He knows I am prepared to learn more and to grow stronger.

I find it interesting that the strongest substances on earth are those that have endured the hottest fires, and so it is with spiritual beings as well.

I would like to share one of my greatest lessons in adversity. I carry this piece of paper in my spanish hymn book that I carry with me every sunday to remind me not to ever give up. On it is written a name and address. I was on my mission. I was struggling. I had just been to a conference where we were asked to be exact in our obedience to mission rules, one of which included only emailing family each week. John had just gotten home from his mission and was struggling. I felt that I needed to tell him that for the Lord to bless me I had to obey this rule and only write him through snail mail...which in Argentina sometimes took weeks and even months at times. He was the person who meant the most to me. I had a new greeny (a missionary that just got to the mission and was learning how to do the work) and my first Latina companion.

One day every investigator we had been teaching told us that they no longer wanted to meet with us. That evening we taught an English class, which no one showed up to. I was so discouraged and heartbroken. Just as we were locking up to leave the Elders showed up and gave me this piece of paper. They told us of a young man that the Elders in Tupengato had given a Book of Mormon to. As we walked toward home I carried this paper and debated if I had the strength for one more rejection. I asked my sweet companion and trustingly she responded that she would support me in whatever I chose to do. I wanted so badly to give up and go home to bed. I wanted to be finished with this day. But the day was not over and I had a job to do.

So we set out to find this young man. That night his mother told us he wasn't home, but that he really wanted to talk to us and had been looking for missionaries. When we went back Ramon welcomed us as family. He had read half of the Book of Mormom-to Alma, already. When I asked if he would be baptized in two weeks-which is usually VERY quickly-his face fell in disappointment, "I HAVE to wait that Long?!" I stammered, "You want to get baptized sooner?" "Yes!" Ramon thrieved on the gospel. He was baptized and received the Aaronic priesthood one week after we met him. I know Ramon was one of the spirits I promised to bring the gospel to.

When we get to the point where we say, "I can't do this Lord.' He opens a door we didn't know existed.

I account two of my greatest gifts from God as a few glimpses into Eternity and the ability to rise from a fall better and stronger than before, which I suppose is why I am knocked down so often.

May we say as did Paul, "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." 2Tim 4:5-8 FIGHT a Good Fight! And the rewards shall be endless.