Hello Friends and Family!
I have been a bit of a slacker in keeping up my blog. To be honest, I have no idea how to really create anything related to the blog and it became such a mess that I just walked away....LOL
Fall is my favorite season for many reasons. I love the colors, the weather cooling off, I love that it gets darker later (and that we get an extra hour of sleep) but most of all I love General Conference.
This past Sunday was the General Relief Society broadcast. It was held up at our stake center. I loved going with some of my favorite people in my ward. I loved all of the talks given by the Relief Society Presidency, they were very touching and just what I needed to hear.
When President Uchtdorph stood up to speak I had chills from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I love this man. He truly loves the members of our church and is an instrument in our Savior's hand. He began his talk by reminding us about the "Forget me not" flower. He spoke of it being smaller than the other flowers but nevertheless just as beautiful. He then gave us these five "Forget me Nots" to remember....
1. Forget not to be patient with yourself!
2. Forget not a good sacrifice, for a foolish sacrifice!
3. Forget not to be happy now!
4. Forget not the "why" of the gospel!
5. Forget not that the Lord loves you!
He stated that as an apostle of God I proclaim that you are not forgotten, no matter how dark your days have been, you are not forgotten. You are loved by the King who knows you and knows your name. He also said that God loves us because we are His children, that we are closer to heaven than we suppose. That we should never forget how much our Father in Heaven knows us and loves us.
He also posed this question..."Am I committing my time and energy to the things that matter most?" I have given this so much thought over the past couple of days. I always want to do those things that matter most in life. To be the kind of friend that is always there when someone needs me, to be there for my family but most importantly to be there for my Father in Heaven when He needs me for something.
I am so thankful for the leaders of our church, we just had a change in our bishopric on Sunday. It was a bittersweet day for me. I love Bishop Smedley, he has been there for me during my darkest hours in the past couple of years. I panicked a little when I knew he was going to be released. Then yesterday the sustained Gregg Richardson as our new Bishop, the little panic I had felt went away. I am thankful for both of these men. I love them and am grateful for their loving example in my life. I love my home, my ward and the people that surround me. I know this is where I should be. I am so thankful for our Father in Heaven and for the knowledge that He will never forget me.
Well I am going to get busy. I may be having surgery soon, it is a long story... hopefully it will be over soon! I will know more tomorrow when I see the doctor. I am excited for the new seasons in my life and look forward to getting back to work and to where the Lord wants me to be!
Have a great week!
Karley
Listening
Hello Friends!
Boy this past week has been full of surprises! I cannot begin to fully understand everything that has happened and yet I am very thankful for the promptings of the spirit and the love that I have felt for me and others in my life.
I have always known that the Lord knows me. Sometimes I think He probably wishes He didn't... but He never leaves me alone. This past week, including today I learned that the Lord knows each of us by name, He loves us, He wants us to be happy, to make good choices and be good examples wherever we go and whomever we associate with.
I know these things more today, than any other day in my life. You see I believe in the promptings of the spirit, I always have, and yet this week for whatever reason I have seen first hand the Lord's loving spirit speaking straight to my heart through the leaders of our church.
I will not share my experience today or the other experiences I have been blessed with this week for they are sacred to me and to the people I love and care for. I want you to know however that the Savior know us, I mean really knows us each one individually. My patriartical blessing reassures me that personal revelation will come to me at a time when I can be of service to someone who needs a tender heart to listen. I have always wondered when that time would come, I believe in certain places it already has, but I also know that today more than ever I need to follow the promptings of the spirit. I know that if we follow those feelings the Lord will make our hearts instruments in His hands.
Here is part of a talk I heard today, I would like to share it with you.....
Boy this past week has been full of surprises! I cannot begin to fully understand everything that has happened and yet I am very thankful for the promptings of the spirit and the love that I have felt for me and others in my life.
I have always known that the Lord knows me. Sometimes I think He probably wishes He didn't... but He never leaves me alone. This past week, including today I learned that the Lord knows each of us by name, He loves us, He wants us to be happy, to make good choices and be good examples wherever we go and whomever we associate with.
I know these things more today, than any other day in my life. You see I believe in the promptings of the spirit, I always have, and yet this week for whatever reason I have seen first hand the Lord's loving spirit speaking straight to my heart through the leaders of our church.
I will not share my experience today or the other experiences I have been blessed with this week for they are sacred to me and to the people I love and care for. I want you to know however that the Savior know us, I mean really knows us each one individually. My patriartical blessing reassures me that personal revelation will come to me at a time when I can be of service to someone who needs a tender heart to listen. I have always wondered when that time would come, I believe in certain places it already has, but I also know that today more than ever I need to follow the promptings of the spirit. I know that if we follow those feelings the Lord will make our hearts instruments in His hands.
Here is part of a talk I heard today, I would like to share it with you.....
To learn the Spirit of God, we must learn to listen with our hearts. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said: “The Spirit is a still, small voice—a voice that is felt rather than heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought put into your heart.” 4
President Packer also taught: “Inspiration comes more easily in peaceful settings. Such words as quiet, still, peaceable, Comforter abound in the scriptures: ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ (Ps. 46:10; italics added.) And the promise, ‘You shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom.’ (D&C 36:2; italics added).”
President Packer added: “While we may invite this communication, it can never be forced! If we try to force it, we may be deceived.” 5
Of utmost importance in our schooling process is our responsibility to act, without delay, in accordance with the spiritual promptings we receive. President Thomas S. Monson stated: “We watch. We wait. We listen for that still, small voice. When it speaks, wise men and women obey. Promptings of the Spirit are not to be postponed.” 6
Learning to hear and understand the Spirit is a gradual and continuous process. The Savior said, “He that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24). “For unto him that receiveth I will give more” (2 Nephi 28:30).
Just as Christ “received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace” (D&C 93:12), so also, as we keep His commandments, we will “receive grace for grace” (D&C 93:20; see also John 1:16) and “line upon line, precept upon precept” (2 Nephi 28:30). Our schooling process is often as gradual as the descent of the dews from heaven (see D&C 121:45; 128:19).
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that “there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow [us] to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit.” Rather, “our Father expects [us] to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ.”
Elder Scott continued: “What may appear initially to be a daunting task will be much easier to manage over time as you consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit. Your confidence in the direction you receive from the Holy Ghost will also become stronger,” and “your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.” 7
As part of our schooling process, the Lord will help us to see the results, in our own life and in the lives of others, of our acting upon the promptings we receive from the Spirit. These experiences will strengthen our faith and give us greater courage to act in the future.
Learning to hear and understand the Spirit takes considerable effort. But the Lord has promised that the faithful will “receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that [they may] know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (D&C 42:61).
I made a promise today, and I will follow through, I trust the Lord, I trust the leaders of our church and I am thankful beyond words for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our lives. I need to "act" and not postpone the promptings of the spirit that President Monson talks about.
Does this mean it will be easy, I don't think so..... Does it mean I will have the opportunity to grow and help another person...yes it does! Does it mean I know exactly what to say or do....nope! but, I will follow the spirit. I am thankful for sacred and beautiful promises that the Lord will give to each of us if we open our hearts and listen.......
I hope you all have a great Sunday and fun holiday! Let's talk soon!
Love,
Karley
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