Dualism

Haha, again, Swanson wanted a blog post so he's getting one. :)

This particular topic has been on my mind since about...midway through this past semester. It's kinda crazy how my life worked out this past semester because my classes lined up PERFECTLY and were exactly what I needed to hear/learn. I took a Student Development class because I needed 2 more credits and I thought it would be helpful. Its focus was life planning and decision-making. At the start of the class, I had no clue what my "ideal life plan" was nor did I think I was that good at making decisions.  But this class helped me more in my personal day-to-day life than any class I’ve taken at BYU.

Anyway, life got busy and I made a list of all these possible blog post options, back when I would use my blog as an escape for my thoughts. I revisit one of the topics I wanted to write about awhile ago.

In my Student Development class, we talked about this study done by a guy named William Perry. His research, "Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in the College Years," talks about four stages that college students go through. The four stages Perry identifies are "dualism," "multiplicity," "relativism," and "commitment." 

Quick definitions: 

Dualism = black/white; right/wrong.

Multiplicity = differences recognized; everyone's opinion is equal

Relativism = truth depends on evidence; context matters

Commitment = faced with reality, choices are made.

The theory goes that through every year of college, students leave the dualistic way of thinking and begin to make commitments and life changing permanent decisions.

However, in my "professional opinion" (that was sarcasm), I think some people don't grow into these stages and stay dualistic for most of their life. Maybe I can't judge that right now, seeing as I only deal with sophomores in college everyday but I think that some of these sophomores I know right now will not grow up. Let me explain. 

I think we all know those people who just can't compromise. It's not in their nature. They are literally so stuck in their ways that it's their way or no way. I’ve worked with people like this on school projects and I’ve found that it’s better not to speak up; just let them voice their opinion as loudly as they want and not argue.  William Perry would classify these people as “dualistic.” In the past few months, I have found myself interacting with dualistic people like this on a daily basis.  And I’m not saying it’s bad thing.  It’s great to stick to your guts and not back down.  But there are some things that can be compromised.  Everyone has good ideas.  It doesn’t always have to be your way or no way.  In addition, these dualistic people don’t always listen when you’re talking.  Is there anything more frustrating than spending 15 minutes explaining or discussing something and realizing that the person you’re talking to hasn’t said a thing in return and is clearly off in their own world? Okay, maybe there are things that are more frustrating but to me, this bugs me to pieces. I think it's because when I ask how someone is, I honestly want to know and listen.  I have many phone conversations where someone explains their problem and goes through a step by step discussion of events that led to this problem and I listen.  Then, I take control and try to give advice.  But when a dualistic person is involved a conversation similar to the one described, they tend to take the topic right back to them.  It can be something simple such as a person saying, “Oh, I had such a good workout today!” and then the dualistic individual saying, “I really need to workout, I ate chocolate cake today.” 

 

And I don't think I'm perfect.  I just don't see myself as dualistic.  In my own mind, I tend to weigh out all the possibilities before I make a judgment.  I try to see all sides or try to figure out why someone acts a certain way.  But I think I can be dualistic when it comes to some things and I think it's important to stick to your beliefs.  My main point of this blog post is don’t be dualistic! Simple as that.  Instead of seeing the world in black and white, look for the shades of grey and maybe blue or purple.  Next time someone is talking to you, instead of thinking about yourself, take the time to listen…and really listen….and listen again…and again.  It can help, I really think it can. 

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things.”

—	Morrie Schwartz

A Little CHIRSTmas Cheer

It's been a rough couple of weeks. And I've haven't been as happy as I should have. I haven't been as service orientated as one should be during Christmas.

When did I figure all this out? Funny you should ask.

Last Saturday, the train was finished and it was the "preview day." The train now runs from Salt Lake to Provo, quite nice if you don't have a car and have to rely on public transportation. Kevin and Julia (my aunt and uncle in Lehi) asked if I wanted to join them on the train preview day to go up to SLC and see Temple Square lights. I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to see them or temple square lights, so I agreed. What I did not know was everyone and their DOG wanted to take the train! So I got to the train station at 3, to be on the train at 3:30 and didn't get on the train till about 5. And, of course, it was freezing cold with WIND. So here's a picture of me and my excitement...

Anyway, I got on the train, met up with my uncle Kevin and my 3 little cousins on an overpacked, warm, train to SLC. Julia decided to drive, just in case the train going back was as overcrowded as going up. She picked us up and we headed to Temple Square.

First of all, City Creek? Beautiful. I love the church, haha. It's a great shopping center and so nice, especially at Christmas time! We crossed the street in the light SNOW and headed over to the temple. We went around by the viewing pond, took some pictures, and then walked to the side of the temple. I took a picture of Kevin and Julia, then asked them to take a picture of me on my phone.

As I was studying the picture on my phone, my back was to the current flow of traffic when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around, expecting someone to ask me to move. Instead I was handed a white envelope and heard "Merry Christmas," from a blonde woman pushing a stroller.

I opened it up and it was a simple card that said "JOY" with $20 inside. I was really kind of shocked. My initial reaction was to ask my aunt if I looked like I was homeless, or a poor college student and my uncle said it's probably just a tradition in their family to hand out cards to people at Temple Square.

My soul was touched. A tear fell down my face. It was such a simple gift, an act of kindness, and in all honestly I don't need $20. My parents help me out with college, and I feel extremely grateful and blessed for that. So why did this happen to me?

If you haven't been involved in my life in the past few weeks, it's been finals and I've had a really rough time on top of that, with drama and the possibility of one of my dear friends not coming back to school. It's been HARD. After this experience, I realized I was going about things all the wrong way. I was relying on friends and family and I'd rant, rave, and was just super unhappy with everything. After this experience, I knew I needed to rely on my Savior and his Atonement. I knew He has felt everything I have been going through. I started praying and received a blessing from my awesome home teacher/FHE dad. Everything that has happened since has run smoothly. And if it hasn't, I've felt calm.
I realized through this simple Christmas gift from a complete stranger, that Christmas is way more than presents and gifts. It's the Spirit of Christ and a reminder that He is my Savior.

Merry Christmas to all. And may we remember the true spirit of CHRISTmas.

A Missionary Experience

WOW, it's been awhile since I've posted, as Swanson pointed out to me! And I had an awesome Saturday night that I had to post about.

For those of you who don't know, Provo has this awesome place called the MTC, or missionary training center. It's right across the street from the Provo Temple and it's the place you go for a few weeks to learn how to teach the gospel and possibly a language, if you go on a foreign speaking mission.

MTC!

Anyway, about two weeks ago, my roommates started volunteering at the TRC, aka Teaching Resource Center. They go in and roll play with missionaries so the missionaries can get experience before they are out in the field.
On Saturday, I asked if I could tag along and our whole apartment went! It was crazy cool to walk into the MTC cause it kinda felt like we were breaking the rules...and I was super giggly because I had been in the library for 5 hours with Lydia...so I was brain dead!
Anyway, we all went in and met for a prayer meeting, sang a Christmas hymn and got directions on where to go. Then, we went to another building and there were MISSIONARIES everywhere! And you see, we've had experiences with the missionaries when we go to the temple and they don't talk to us. I don't blame them, but they act like we're not there and it's funny cause we never know if we're suppose to say hi or ignore them as well.
Well, apparently, when you're in the MTC, all the elders say HI or how's it going Sisters? I was like....hello....I don't think I'm suppose to talk to you!!!
Anyway, so Whit and I were together and basically you decide how it's going to go-who's going to be the investigator, what your story is, etc. So we're sitting in this little tiny room, 6 feet by 6 feet, with 4 people. CRAZY SMALL. So the elders came in and Whitney and I decided we had live in Utah all our lives went to UVU and had a lot of Mormon friends but weren't members.  We said we were just interested in learning more. The elders started teaching us and bearing their testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel.  In this tiny little room, I felt the Spirit so strongly, it almost brought tears to my eyes. They asked about our family situation and my curiosity got the best of me so I said my parents were divorced. One of the elders began to bear his testimony about how through the Atonement, Christ had suffered for me and my sins and felt the pain I had gone through. I really felt the Spirit so strong from these two fresh on their mission elders. Their testimonies strengthened mine so much. At the end of the lesson, one of the elders said that they weren't sure if they could teach us our second lesson but that he could go find us a Book of Mormon right now if we were interested! The Spirit was so strong in that little room and I couldn't deny the fact that the Church is true.

 Also, for those of you who do not know, the missionary age changed in October.  Now, boys can serve when they are 18 and graduated from high school and girls can serve when they are 19. It caused quite a commotion, especially because I was about to turn 19 and most of my roommates and friends are about that age. Suddenly, girls everywhere were posting on Facebook that they were going to leave and friends and family were texting me and asking me if I was going to serve. If I'm being honest, I never thought about serving a mission because, in my perfect life, I thought I would be married by 21 (scary thought, as I'm nearly that age!). I've felt every pressure from everyone to serve a mission and I was one of those girls who shied away from the conversation and never said a word when the missionary age was brought up. After lots of fasting, prayer and temple attendance, I have gotten the answer not to serve a mission...right now. It's been hard, as 3 of my roommates are going to leave and many of my friends are...and I want to. I'd love to give 18 months of my life to the Lord but right now, I feel like it's not for me. I hope to serve one day, whether as a couple missionary or in a year from now, but for now, I think I will stick to sharing the gospel through my testimony and helping out at the TRC. I know this gospel is true and that it brings so much happiness to me. I can't imagine my life without it. I know Christ is my personal Savior and that He suffered for my sins. I know that through the Atonement of Christ I can be made whole and be clean again. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

"Count Your Many Blessings, See What God has Done."

First, an update of my life is coming...eventually. I was actually going to finish my Halloween post, and talk about this past weekend and then I went to Sociology 111. I've been having a very thought provoking week I suppose so I just really need to sort out my mind...so here we go.

I guess this all started a week ago. In my favorite class, Student Development, we started talking about an "end of the semester" project. The task was simple-figure out an area of your life you want to change, be sure you can measure your success and do it. See what works and what doesn't and change something! I got all gung ho about it and was going to exercise more, sleep right, and eat healthier.  I talked to members of my group and one of the girls expressed wanting to be better about the little things; prayers, scriptures, temple attendance, etc. This expression of being better spiritually was on my mind a lot. I wasn't able to start my "healthiness" project because, haha, my health was failing this past week. So I decided to try to make goals about doing the little things.  This in turn lead to a very interesting conversation with one of my roommates about how we both feel inadequate because we're suppose to be getting an education, increasing our skill set, making friends, finding a husband and OH YEAH, make sure to keep serving, be kind to those around you, and be perfect. Ha.

As I thought more about that, Sunday came around. I feel like every Sunday is refreshing way to start over-it's the first day of the week and I can focus on my individual spirituality for at least 3 hours.  It's a way to keep myself in check and make sure I'm living my life the way I want to. We "class hopped" on Sunday and ended up going to a different Sunday School class. It wasn't a complete immersion of the scriptures-instead, it ended up being a lot of mission stories about how simple changes in every day life can change a whole person. I guess I knew that, but the way the teacher presented it, it felt mind-blowing. I decided right then and there, I was going to read the Book of Mormon and pray every day, finally building a better relationship with my Heavenly Father. So far, so good.

Well, I ended up going over to the Riv for dinner, a Disney movie, and good company. On my walk home with Cortney, we ended up getting into our "deep" discussions that normally turn into an analytically discussion of the people around us or different life circumstances that make a person who he is today. They happen to be the very best conversations, as I learn a lot from Cortney. We started talking about different women we know and I made the comment that the female mind is very likely to belittle herself and her worth.  As we've talked about in sociology (and history, interestingly enough), the "housewife" has a rough time living day to day, cooking, cleaning and taking care of everyone in the house. So what does she do? She needs to prove to the world her worth and takes on more than she can handle.


SO...stay with me here, cause I'm getting to my point....with all this in mind, I attended my normal two sociology classes. In all honesty, I don't love my second class. I am exhausted today and I was thought to myself as she loaded up another documentary, "great another hour of wasted time" and considered getting up and going to the library. But I stayed. And I'm so glad I did.

We watched a documentary that followed four families through their daily life--their life meaning being in poverty. One of the families was a divorcee who was working as a waitress, another was a single mother with 6 kids, working low wages and unable to give her kids a good Christmas. The documentary showed that there are people at the poverty line who are trying everything in their power to get out of poverty (attending school, working as many jobs as possible, etc.) and just can't.

As I watched, my professor suddenly went out of the room and we heard crying coming from her microphone. Being the sympathetic crier that I am and realizing just how good of a life I have, I started crying too. At the end of the documentary, our professor explained to us that the crying we had heard was a student. My professor helped her out of the room, as the girl couldn't hold back her emotions because she had grown up in a single-mom household and had experienced that life first hand. The girl told my professor that, she got out and is here at BYU and my professor in turn told us that the reason she shows these documentaries is to help us feel the need to give back and not pass judgments on those around us who are less fortunate. My professor went on to explain with this "video-game" analogy. Many of us are blessed and able to "play" life on "the easy level." But, there are many more who are struggling and sometimes, we may not realize that those around us are on "level hard." I again started crying. I am so blessed and I don't take enough time to realize that.

At the end of class and for the past 40 something minutes, my mind has been racing. My question is...do you ever just feel completely inadequate? I do. We've been given SO much and at times, I think we forget that. I'm just one girl, so I can't change the world on my own. As Carrie Underwood sings, "or do you tell yourself: 'you're just a fool, just a fool to believe you can change the world'...the world's so big, it can break your heart and you just want to help, not sure where to start. So you close your eyes and send up a prayer..." For the past hour, I have searched my life. What am I doing to give back? What *can* I do to give back? Maybe I just need to be happy. Maybe I just need to raise a family and continue to strive to be good. I'm just one girl...but maybe with determination and the love for mankind, I can make a difference. 

"Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, seen what God has done."

"There's No Place Like Home"

Man, I had a great weekend! I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a really long time and when the week finally came, I was so relived and ready to go home! I just went through an awful time—midterms. I had all 6 in like one week. Gross. But anyway, a little about school.  My grades are WAY better than last semester.  I think I’m finally getting a hang of this college thing! I mean…I studied in the LIBRARY this week!? Whaaaat?! I know. I shocked myself too! I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all in the library and found that I’m able to get a lot more done—they aren’t any distractions and I feel like pressured to do homework and not go on Facebook or even listen to music! Haha!
Well, after a history quiz, relief society activity, driving to American Fork with Shelby, I was packed and ready to go.  The shuttle came Friday morning at 7:30 AM to pick me up and I drove in silence with a girl my age, a guy in his thirties and a shuttle driver that looked like Santa. Not my ideal perfect morning, but that’s all good.  I was alone in the airport for awhile, my favorite again, and then I headed for the plan.  It was cool—I actually sat by someone who wanted to make conversation! I never caught her name, but it was a women in her late forties or early fifties and we talked awhile before the flight took off and a little during it.  It was embarrassing…okay, I was really tired! But the lady and I were talked about BYU and she asked me if I liked living off campus or on campus better.  I said I liked on campus because everything was super close and I have to walk everywhere but I like living off campus because we can actually hang out with boys more than 2 hours a night.  She said she was surprised that boys were allowed over at all and I said, well they can only stay over till midnight and they aren’t suppose to go into our rooms.  She asked if people checked up on that and I said no not really and she was like Oooh par-tay! I was like, well you know us Mormons, we know how to party hard when we’re sober!  Embarrassing! I forget there are people in the real world, seeing as I live in the Provo Bubble. Well, I was productive and got some homework done on the 1 hour and 30 minute flight...SO short! My mom, Amanda and Lauryn were there to pick me up and I was close to crying when they got there. I was just so happy to be home! We made a stop at Sit-n-Sleep (Yeah, I got a new bed…but I didn’t get to sleep in it because my grandparents stayed at our house…can’t wait till Thanksgiving!!!!) and then went home to relaxed until the fun began at three…

Grandma and Grandpa Jones REALLY liked taking professional pictures at Picture People in the mall with all 18 grandchildren.  It must be their idea of fun or something because the girl who worked there remembered us from a few years ago..awkward.  Well, it was loads of fun and took 2 hours.  I really liked this random creative pose, and as I was placed first, I had NO IDEA what was going on!! There were lots of poses and lots of children and lots of stress! Haha, but Grandma and Grandpa were happy so I can’t really complain J.  After that, we crashed Castasic Ward’s Halloween party and Kevin, Julia and I decided to sneak in and watch Hayley perform at her fall concert. She’s such a good little performer, it’s AWESOME! I crashed that night by ten. I love sleep…

Well Saturday was crazier, if that’s even possible!? We went to two soccer games, Lauryn’s first.  She’s a good little soccer player, she grew up so fast! We went home and I watched the BYU football game. Can’t believe we won, and Jaamal Williams, the guy who scored 4 touchdowns? In my sociology 112 class. No big deal! Anyway, we went to Amanda’s soccer game, who is taller than ever and so skinny! Give that child a hamburger, please! We all then got ready for the craziness of Lauryn’s baptism.  It was just grand.  I really needed that.  You know, you get so busy and caught up in everything that sometimes you forget the small things, like reading your scriptures daily and praying for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  Not only was it a family weekend but it also gave me the spiritual fill I needed.  I love this gospel! Ellie was baptized too and it was a really great service.  Julia and Grandma gave great talks, Hayley, Amanda, Mauri and I sang and it was beautiful! Afterwards, we had a dinner at our house with friends and family.  It was crazy with so many little kids but when is it not? Chelsea came over and it was great to see her J

Well, Saturday night, Mom and I went on a late night shopping spree. I love spending time with my mom, even at Kohl’s at 11 PM! We came home, filled out our ballots (WOOHOO!) and then crashed.

Church was really great—it was nice to have some background noise for once and I helped out in primary.  Weird, but I really miss being around little kids at college. I love seeing little kids on campus and I always smile to the little girls and boys I see. Does that sound creepy? I hope not haha. We had a third hour lesson on the recent missionary age change, which helped clear my mind and give me strength for all the recent talk among us 19 year old girls.  My flight home went smoothly (the man I sat next to—we talked for a few minutes before he went to sleep and I did homework) and the shuttle ride home was one of the best I’ve ever had—3 BYU students, a democratic Catholic who lives in Orem and a Mormon shuttle driver from Orange County.  We had some lively discussions and it was a good way to end my trip. I love going home. I miss my family so much, it’s kinda crazy.  Luckily, 18 days till Thanksgiving break!!!!! 

Birthday Weekend Fun!

I'm NINETEEN. Say whaaattt!? I remember turning 18 like it was yesterday! Last year, my girl friends surprised me and I walked into the lobby and all of May Hall was in the vending machine room. We got in cars and drove over to the mall for my first haunted house. It was a very random but fun night!

First, let me say, this has been a really hard and stressful week. (Some of you reading this are probably going, it's you Megan, every week is stressful!?) Okay, well this one was worse. I had 6 tests this week (and still have two left). Six. SIX. Ugh. Well, I took my first one on Wednesday, history, and I wanted to cry when it was done. It was SO LONG, an essay and 15 short essays. My hand was dying and I still have no clue what I got on it but hey, IT'S DONE. Thursday, I took my New Testament midterm. Cortney and I studied for an hour before we took the test and two hours on Wednesday night. And we did NOT do well!? I really don't like that class....Grrr....anyway after that darned test, Cortney came over and we made a delicious chicken alfredo meal and man, that kid can cook! I need some seriously cooking lessons, obviously lol. But it was nice relief before I had to continue studying.....
Friday morning, Janel, Colleen and I went to the temple, which was super nice and strengthening as always, even though it was 6:30 in the morning. Feels like seminary all over again! And I swear, everyone in Provo goes to the temple then!?!? After that, I went in for test #1 of the day--Living Prophets. It was a breeeeze.
While turning in my test, I ran into Jen and Emily Aranda! We walked for a bit and caught up, it was really fun to see people from back home! After that, I met up with Cortney and Lydia and we headed to our normal Awful Waffle brunch. When we got to my apartment, I was fed up with living and Cortney and Lydia took advantage of that and turned me into their pillow, as pictured here. :P I took my 4th test, Sociology 111, only after studied for about an hour total. 81%!!!!! You gotta me KIDDING ME. I was kinda mad, not gonna lie that I studied 3 hours for New Testament and did so poorly!? UGH, oh well. I went home and veged for a bit before we went to our ward's Halloween Party in Salem! It was SWEET and just like a huge dance party. I had a BLAST! And we won the "nerdiest costume...." Creative, right? But it was super awesome.


Well obviously, I'm turning older because it was my first birthday when I had to go to a test review (yeah, on a Saturday, I know, right?) and grocery shopping. Reality check, that's for sure! I woke up and my wonderful roommate left me a super sweet note, California themed present! I MISS CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!! But not the weather-that's for sure!

Anyway, then I decided I wanted to straighten my hair so Whit and I got creative! JUST KIDDING, she used a straightener, lol. But it took so long and Whit burned her thumb so she's officially my hero <3 I love that girl!!!!! After that, the Spendloves dropped by with cupcakes, bless their hearts! We went grocery shopping, bleck, and then Shelby made two ice cream "pies" and I was off to a test review with Swanson. Our TA was definitely on something (called lack of sleep) and rambled on forever and a day....she told us about what happened the night before when she was sleeping with her husband....it was AWKWARD.
Swanson and I walked back to his apartment and Cortney gave me 120 songs on my iPod while waiting for those with cars to pick us all up. Best day ever! We all headed over to Cafe Rio where my best friend paid for my meal....which was totally sweet because I was going to use a giftcard I received from Whit's family but instead I can save that for SOME OTHER TIME. Woooooo!!! After we all ate, we returned to my apartment and played a few rounds of the resistance. We switched to Mafia after awhile, ate cake and that was that! The boys all left and Colleen, Whit, Emily and I watched FREAKY FRIDAY. BEST. GIFT. EVER! I love that movie, I really do. Ahh.

It was a good day :) Thanks for all the presents, well wishes, and acts of friendship I received yesterday. I felt special and that was something I really needed. :)

“Don’t Forget Where We Are”

For those of you who don’t know, my current church calling is temple patron.  I remember finding out about this calling last year and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  For those of you who aren't members of my faith, our temples are a house of worship, but different from our churches.  One must be a worthy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to attend and many sacred ordinances are done in the temple.  When I received this calling, I was going through a really rough patch and I remember a friend telling me, “This is an answer to your prayers. You’ve been praying to find peace and now it’s your calling to go to the temple.”

Janel, my roommate, was also called to be a temple patron.  So we decided we’d go once a week. We started with temple Wednesdays, where we’d go at 3 PM but that only lasted for a week.  Since then we’ve been going on Fridays and it seems like 6 AM is a good time. Yes, I willingly wake up at 6 AM on Fridays to go to the temple, and let me tell ya, I love it. I love going to the house of the Lord and spending time thinking and praying for strength and inspiration.

This past Friday it was especially busy and when we got there at 7 AM, we didn’t leave till 9 AM because there was quite a crowd. First and foremost, a bit of bragging, I was recognized by one of the temple workers. This is a pretty cool feat, because the Provo Temple is SO BUSY and so many people come through every week.

Anyway, as we were walking out, the man at the desk said this to us: “Come back soon. We’re looking for ya. Don’t forget where we are.”

I was thinking about that for awhile and I think I might have made a little analogy.  Work with me here. When we lived in the pre-mortal existence, we lived with our Father in Heaven.  He loved us dearly and wanted us to receive a body here on Earth and have the experiences necessary on Earth to return to Him.  I expect that we were nervous.  I venture to say many of us were worried about the challenges that would befall us and were scared about making it back.  In my mind, I imagine hearing advice and words from our God about our life and how to get back and how to make it through this life with as little pain as possible.  Our Heavenly Father, in His infinite wisdom, probably told us to “come back soon” and that He was “looking for us” and not to “forget where [He] is.”  I think we are all too busy in this life.  How often do we get caught up in the midterms, dating, drama, TV shows, new Taylor Swift album, video games, movies, etc.?  How often do we fall to our knees in prayer?  How often do we serve our fellow men and feast upon the words of the prophets?

What did I say, you may ask, to the man behind the desk?
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back again next week!”
What did we say to our Heavenly Father before making this journey here on Earth?

I think it’s safe to assume we said, ”Don’t worry. We’ll be back soon.” And I pray that we all find our way back to Him one day.

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice!

WOW, talk about a historical and life changing weekend! For those of you who don't know, it was General Conference. It's this big 5 session conference that's broad casted on TV and directed towards Latter-day Saints ("Mormons") but it is also for the world! It's awesome! We have a prophet on the earth today who speaks to us and gives us counsel. We learn how to be more Christ-like and better followers of our faith. I just wanted to share a few words and ideas that stood out in my mind.

First of all, I have some amazing friends. :) Janel, Whit and I showed up at the Riv at 9:30 and Devin and Janel made crepes! YUM! It was super good and a great way to start off Conference. On Sunday, Katie and I made German Pancakes for the apartment and Whit and I made a 7 layer dip to bring over to the Riv for the last session, where Cortney made burgers and Jess made fries. Do I have some great, talented, service-filled friends or what!?!

So, now onto the talks. My all time favorite talk was President Uchtdorf's on Saturday morning. This man is so inspired and literally speaks to me every time he speaks. In March, he gave a talk that pertained to exactly what I was going to with his famous "Stop It!" talk. (If you don't know what I'm talking about...go here. Here's the short quote. The whole talk is AMAZING, I definitely recommend it!) Anyway, the main point of his talk this time was to slow down and enjoy the moment. I am finding this particularly important to my life as it's already October and my awful midterm week is upon me. But another important thing he said is that YOU AND I are in charge of our happiness, no matter what our external circumstances are. I LOVED THAT. It's so true. I find myself often becoming a victim of my circumstances and let's be honest, I live a good life! I'm here at BYU, an amazing beautiful campus, surrounded by friends who support me. My family misses me and I know they love me and I can literally talk to them anytime I want. So let's be honest again, I have no reason to complain! He also talked about certain regrets we might have in life, such as not living up to our potential. I sat there wondering what my potential is? Who does God see me to be and am I living up to that potential? Probably not. That is definitely something I'm going to work on in the upcoming weeks. He ended with the thought that life is not a race, it's a journey! I'm going to work on enjoying the little things in life, like spending time with my roommates or spending my 2 hour breaks on Mon/Wed caring and being involved with my friends!

My other favorite talk was our prophet Thomas S. Monson on Sunday afternoon. He talked a lot about listening to the promptings we receive from the Spirit. Too often, I find myself distracted by Facebook, my iPod or just the noise of the world. How often do I pray to be an inspiration to someone else? To lighten someone's burden? Not often enough. He shared some awesome stories about how he has been an inspiration to others prayers. He also mentioned that, yes, this world is becoming worse by the day and it's hard to find happiness in the negative. He challenged us to  take a step back and look our blessings so we can find greater happiness. Another thing I definitely need to work on. I am blessed with so much and I get discouraged easily. I am committed, though, to find the positive in the negatives from now on. Even though I have 2 papers due this week and 5 tests next week, I know that if I do my best the Lord will provide the rest!

In conclusion, I am SO grateful to be apart of a wonderful religion and so proud to be a Mormon! I know it! I live it! I love it!