Come Listen

Something that sets the LDS church apart from other Christian churches is that we have living prophets here on the Earth today. Just as Christ spoke through prophets in ancient times, he still speaks through modern-day prophets today.

It just so happens that this coming weekend is what we call General Conference. Twice a year we are blessed to hear from these modern day prophets. We get to hear and receive council, learn what God would have us do. General conference always brings great comfort and guidance to me in my life. I can’t tell you how much I love it. It brings with it innumerable blessings.

I hope that you will all try to watch at least some of it! I promise you will benefit from it if you keep your mind and heart open.

// Sara //

Not So Backbreaking Burdens

I already shared this experience on Facebook, but my heart is too full right now not to share it here too.

About a month ago when I was reading my scriptures I felt inspired to write the reference “Mosiah 24:14” on a sticky note and put it on my bulletin board, but I wasn’t really sure why. Tonight I got my answer… I was in my room on my knees pleading with the Lord for help with some “afflictions” I am dealing with and after I got off my knees and looked up, that reference was the first thing I saw and it was a direct answer to my prayers and exactly what I needed to read at that moment…
I am oh so grateful for the Lord’s hand in the little details of our lives. He knows what we are going through and what we need to get through it and he will provide a way. Every. Time.
A month ago, he knew that I would need to read that scripture tonight, and so he inspired me to write it down. So I did, even though I didn’t know why. Because he had a reason for that. I am just glad I followed that inspiration and that he was kind enough to let me know why I felt I should write down that reference. It is such a tender mercy.
I don’t know what I would do without divine help and the guidance of the scriptures. They have gotten me through so much that I could have never ever gotten through on my own.
The scriptures are TRUE. The gospel is so TRUE. God is REAL. You are HIS child. Christ is REAL. He is your SAVIOR. They LIVE. They WILL LIFT your burdens if you give them the chance to help you. I can testify that this is true will all my heart <3

I hope you can recognize experiences like these in your own lives. If you are struggling, please pray! Talk to God, your Heavenly Father, and let him help you, because there is nothing he wants to do more. He may not always take away your burdens, but he will always always ALWAYS find a way to lighten your load and help you get through it. I promise.

Please don’t be afraid to leave comments about experiences you have had if you feel so inclined : ) I know for me personally, my testimony only grows stronger through hearing the thoughts and experiences of others as they put gospel principles to the test and as they strive to become more like Christ.

// Sara //

Tender Mercies

It never ceases to amaze me how aware my Heavenly Father is of me. He always knows what quote I need to read or what verse I need to study in the scriptures or what will make my burdens light. I can feel his love for me so strongly tonight as I reflect on my day today (and yesterday) and his obvious hand in the way things played out.

I feel like I am supposed share this personal experience with you all, so here we go…

Lately I have been reflecting a lot on the tender mercies of the Lord, so when I saw this yesterday I saved it onto my computer:

Love this quote!

Well because of my recent reflection (I can see now), today during my scripture study I felt inspired to start the Book of Mormon from the beginning, rather than study specific topics like I have been recently. As I was reading I came across this verse, which made a strong impression on me:

[…] But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. –1 Nephi 1:20

I took time to ponder that verse then listed out several tender mercies I have been given this school year in my scripture journal, finished my scripture study, and moved onto my homework. However, I quickly became stressed and distracted due to my impossible workload and forgot about that verse for a while. Thank goodness the Lord sent me a reminder : )

As I was working I became completely overwhelmed with the sheer amount of homework I had been assigned to be turned in tomorrow, not to mention the hard difficulty level. It would be literally impossible to complete it all and actually get some much needed sleep. Thankfully it was time for dinner about then… I really needed to take a break. Later, when I got back onto the computer to continue working on one of my assignments (one of the largest, most time consuming ones) I noticed a message from my friend was waiting for me. When I opened it she told me that the assignment I was about to keep working on was no longer due tomorrow and that my teacher had extended the deadline five days.

It doesn’t seem like much to most people but as soon as I read that message I KNEW without a doubt that it was a tender mercy from the Lord. I couldn’t help but kneel down right there and say a prayer of thanks, haha. My teacher who gave that assignment isn’t always the most reasonable about our workload so him moving a due date is definitely a miracle and the Lord definitely had a hand in it. I felt (and still feel) so much peace and comfort because I know he is looking out for me (Related post here). He delivered me from an insane amount of homework just like Nephi said he would : )

I have to get back to my homework now but felt I needed to write that down. I want to expand on this topic some more though because it has been weighing heavily on my mind as of late. Look forward for that in upcoming posts and keep your eyes out for tender mercies of the Lord! They aren’t hard to find.

// Sara //