It's Better Than CHOCOLATE

So the other day my companion and I were walking through a supermarket, picking up enough food that would last us through the week.  As we were browsing the aisles, we saw a woman at one of those taste-testing booths.  Standing in the middle of the aisle with a lot of people milling around her, she looked a little uncomfortable at the position that she had been given within the store.

Do you know what she was offering?  CHOCOLATE.  Little free squares of delicious, wonderful CHOCOLATE.  Yet, no one was taking her offer of FREE chocolate.  Even as my companion and I walked past her booth she asked, "Would you like some chocolate?" And I passed down her offer and kept walking.

This seemed to be a common reaction from most of the people there, they'd glance at her and keep walking, only the occasional person would reach out to receive the gift.

Upon reflecting on this moment, I had to face palm myself.  She was offering FREE CHOCOLATE and I just walked by her without even pausing to taste it!  What was I thinking?  What was everyone else thinking?  I mean, hello we're talking about CHOCOLATE here people!  The brown stuff that is full of sugary goodness that people go crazy over!  You eat it in parties, give it away at Halloween, and mold it into funny shapes at Easter, it's the wonderful, desirable, indescribable CHOCOLATE...and yet we all just walked by it as if it was a normal day occurrence that we didn't want or need.

So why did all these crazy people pass up this opportunity to put a smile on our face and get a little bit fatter?  Obviously it wasn't the chocolate...my guess is that it was the woman manning the booth.  She wasn't comfortable or confident in her desire to give out the chocolate.  Perhaps this was her first day on the job, or perhaps she was thinking about other things, in any case I don't think the people there felt like taking it from her.  She wasn't excited, energized or enthused to do it.

Now, I'm not saying she should have been bouncing around like the energizer bunny, but perhaps a more confident smile would've helped others feel comfortable with taking the tasty treat.

Flash forward a couple of hours to two Sister missionaries walking down the street.  Up comes a person walking on the opposite side of the street.  "Hello, I'm Sister Butts.  Could we share a message with you about Jesus Christ?"  Come the words out of my mouth like I've done many times before.  The person looks at the name tag and responds a little uncomfortably, "no thank you, I'm good." and keeps walking.

Does this experience remind you of anything?

I was doing exactly what the woman in the store was doing.  I felt uncomfortable talking with people, I wasn't sure if anyone would want to hear what I had to say, I wasn't sure in myself and the person walked right on by, missing out on the opportunity to partake of the greatest gift given to man.

What is this "great gift"?   It's the knowledge of the gospel.  The way we can be cleansed from sin and guilt.  A way we can progress and become better every day.  A way to feel comfort in our deepest distress.  A way to find knowledge and guidance in this world of turmoil and trouble.  Direction.  Peace.  Power.  Ultimately, this gift is one of eternal happiness.

This gift comes from Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for us.  We can receive this gift as we believe in Him, repent of the things we have done wrong, make sacred covenants (or promises) with Him, listen to the quiet promptings of the Holy Ghost, and refuse to give up when it gets tough.  Our part is so small when it is compared to the sacrifice He has made.

This gift is so much better than chocolate.  It's non-fattening, it's longer lasting, you don't have to spend money to receive it, and it improves your very character.  Why then, why did that person pass us up from the wonderful opportunity to improve their life?

Likely it's because she had no idea that is what we were offering.  Why?  Because I was too scared to tell her more.  I needed to be more excited about the message that we share, the knowledge that we have.  I needed to be more bold, and more loving as I reach out to others.  I am going to learn from this experience.  I am going to share my testimony more and offer the gift of the Gospel with more zeal.

Why?  Because it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He has offered it to me and I have felt the change in my own life.  I have felt the power, the comfort, and the direction that comes from it.  Who am I to withhold it from others?  If you have any questions, or if you know someone who is struggling with something difficult in their life, will you point them my way?  I'd love to give them a "free sample" of the gift our Savior has given me. :)

Taking Out the Trash

Today I wanted to talk about cleaning our apartments effectively.  (Or homes if you've got a bigger place to live in than most missionaries.)  As much as I would like to have someone come in and clean out everything for me, we can't have maids that do it.  So we have to do it ourselves.  Are you ready?  This plan is going to help you get your home clean in 3 easy steps!

First, go around your entire living quarters and collect all of those objects that are cluttering up your life.  Whether it's the wrappers to the chocolate you ate yesterday or that closet full of lotion you've received for every anniversary, birthday, and Christmas for the past 5 years, pull it out and put it in the trash!  That's right!  Into the trash!  If you don't really use it and it's taking up space and you don't really need it just let it go and throw it away!

Have you done that?  Great!  It's okay if you can't fit everything into the little garbage that lives under your sink on your first try, that's why we have extra grocery bags, so we can eventually fit everything...eventually...so after you've done that, you need to take the garbage out.  Yes.  Out of your house.  The garbage man won't come inside to take it all away, you've got to take it out to him.  

Sometimes that takes a little bit of extra work.  Maybe you have a really long drive way or you live 6 floors up in a high-rise apartment building.  Trust me, it's worth it.  You don't want all of those bags and bags of garbage stinking up your home, you have to get it out.  

If you're like most people, you don't just leave the trash bags on the the sidewalk.  No, you have to put it in a specialized compartment, formally called a "trash can".  That's the third step.  Use an authorized can to put your trash in.  And then...just walk away.  Leave it alone, don't go back to retrieve something, just return to your much cleaner home.

Doesn't that make you feel better?

You know...this process of cleaning out your home - taking out the trash - reminds me of something...it too is a process that we all must go through if we want to live happier lives.  It's called repentance.  I'll ignore your shudder and just keep going.

Have you noticed that?  Taking out the trash and repentance seem to have a negative air about it when really the whole reason it's there is to improve our lives.  To make it so we don't have to live with excess waste that we produce.  Now I'm not going to merrily skip down the hallway as I throw my trash into the "rubbish" chute, but perhaps I'm going to look at it a little
more like it's a blessing and less like it's the bane of my existence.

What does it mean to repent?  Basically it means we take out all of the things we've done wrong in our life, when we make mistakes and feel guilty about something we did we can change and live a happier healthier life.  Repentance is the way that we can be relieved of the things that hold as back.  How, do you ask? 

Well, by taking out the trash.

First thing you'll need to do is to do a self inventory of the things that you do or have done.  What are some of the things that just get in the way of things?  Eat up time?  Clutter your day?  Put them all in a mental pile.  What about some of the excess things you do that aren't really productive?  (You know, like that weekend where you spent 7 hours just watching movies?  I know.  I was there.)  Put them all together and become determined that they won't be a part of your life.  Make the decision to stop.

Next?  It takes a little bit of effort, but you need to make the effort to stop.  Ask for forgiveness from those you may have harmed, spend some time and effort on your knees talking to Heavenly Father in prayer about what is going on.  Prayer is a form of work, after all.  This process might be long and it may be challenging, but with every step you take you'll be closer to getting rid of the things that hold you down.

Just like you have to put your garbage in an authorized trash bin, there is only one way that we can be rid of our transgressions.  That way is through Jesus Christ.  We can't forgive ourselves of our sins and expect to be made clean, we simply do not have that power.  But He does.  When Christ suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross, He took our sins upon him, paying the debt and making it possible for us to be cleansed from it.

Just like the trash man though, he won't come into our houses and into our lives and forcefully take out the things that aren't good for us.  That would take no effort on our part and we wouldn't learn anything from it, nor would we appreciate it.  We need to do our part by asking for forgiveness and taking the steps necessary to give him our sins, to give him the things that we have done wrong.

When we have done that...we walk away.  We don't go back.  We don't say "just kidding, I think I'll keep this" to our favorite sins.  We don't remember the things that we've done in the past and hang it over our heads for eternity.  No.  Once it is taken care of by Christ's atonement, we have to trust that it's taken care of and to simply let it go.

You will receive more power in your life as you repent.  And just like we have to clean our apartments daily to keep them clean, we have to repent daily to keep ourselves free.  It's not a one-time event, or even a yearly thing like spring cleaning.  It is a daily process to do our best to live like Christ would have us live.  It is a powerful opportunity for us to feel an increase of light and joy in our lives.

As you repent your life will change.  You will be happier, and you will find the peace that you are searching for.  I know because this is what I have felt in my life.  My apartment is far from perfect, but I'm finding greater joy as I live in it.  Repentance makes that happen.  My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, makes that happen.  And I'm so very grateful that He has.

Mothers: God's Greatest Job Offer

When I was younger, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being a mother.  My thought process was, "I'll finish High School, go to College, get my degree and a good job, and get married at some point."  Family life was far from my desires, let alone my thoughts.  Education was #1 in my life.  

Then one day as I was walking along the Weber campus, I was thinking through what kind of job I wanted to go for.  At this point I knew I loved Physics and Theatre, so a job as a high school teacher seemed like the best option.  As I reviewed everything my thoughts fell along the line, "I want a job that will challenge me, one that I can constantly learn from and won't get stuck doing the same thing over and over.  One that's flexible, I'll be in different environments.  I don't care too much about the pay, I'm more interested in loving what I do.  What is something that I can continue to learn from and grow in...hmmm....?"

I spy 3 moms and 3 future moms.  Happy Mother's day!

As I was thinking I suddenly stopped in my tracks.  (Literally, I think I might have thrown off the traffic of college students a little bit.)  The perfect job hit me out of nowhere: motherhood.  Where else would I learn about every sort of subject under the sun?  Where else would it ask me to be able to do a variety of tasks day in and day out?  Motherhood takes children outside to play in the playground, at school, at home, on vacation, everywhere!  The payment isn't in monetary value, it is far greater to watch the ones you love grow in themselves.  It was the perfect fit!

What prompted me to think of this "job" that I had never honestly considered before?  It didn't come from me, I can tell you that.  It came from my Heavenly Father.  It was a prompting of the Holy Ghost.  Why?  Why would a member of the Godhead lead me to a greater desire to have the title of "mother"?  The answer is simple:

It's because families are the most important thing to Heavenly Father.  Mothers are very much the center of the family and it's been said that "Motherhood is near to divinity.  It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.  It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels".  

Mothers are gifts from God to help us in our every day moments, and I am so grateful for mine.  She always taught me that I was a daughter of God and that He loved me.  <3  She always supported me when I struggled and cheered me on in my accomplishments.  She truly is a precious gift to my life and I hope to follow her example as I continue to grow.

Motherhood is not without its challenges though, and our Father in Heaven knows that.  He has provided prayer, scriptures, and even a woman's program called the Relief Society to specifically help mothers with their special calling.  Every mother can receive help from on high and revelation for her family.  They simply couldn't do it without it.

I invite you this Mother's day to be especially grateful for your mothers.  Whether you get the chance to see her every day, or you haven't been able to give her a hug for more than a year, show her that you love her.  Christ's final act was to make sure that His mother was well taken care of.  He knew and was appreciative of her important role in His life.  So too must we.