"Another day another destiny...this never-ending road to Calvary..." - Jean Valjean, Les Miserables

Do you ever feel like the weeks just fly by? That's how I feel at this point in my life. One year ago I could hardly imagine the year that awaited me - so many things have happened. I've made so many new friends, gone through many new trials, and learned so much. I have come closer to my Brother and Friend Jesus Christ, and strengthened my relationships with family. This week feels no different - so let me summarize it in part to even remember what happened!

Monday: Went to class, studied and did homework. Oh! I forgot to mention - my cousin J is helping me to get into shape, but by doing so we're on a strict diet-and-exercise program. It consists of the following: Eat cottage cheese and toast for breakfast, meat and salad for lunch (lean meats and no dressing, or fat-free dressing), and pasta or protein + fiber for dinner, with two snacks in between. It actually isn't too bad - it's really filling! Unlike other diets where you're starving all day...the killer part is working out twice a day. We wake up at 6am and work out for an hour before I go to school, and then when I get home from school we go to the gym again and work out for an hour. Sigh...hopefully this will get me into that tuxedo I need to fit into for his wedding ;)

Tuesday: Also went to school and did homework. Then after school, I went to go see Beauty and the Beast in 3D with a friend!! It was awesome. Did I mention how I just love Beauty and the Beast??? Ahhhh..... :) In a...manly way, of course....

Random quote that my brother wanted me to post on here...because we both find it hilarious:

      Gwen: "Do you have anything that's 5% fat and 20% sugar?"

      Ice Cream Server: "Napkins. Next?"

Wednesday: Went on visits with C, P, and R. (hahaha...I just realized that's what their initials spell :) We were able to see a lot of good people, and were very uplifted by our visits with them. In institute afterwards we learned about...well, the thing that kept standing out to me was about patience. I guess it's because I've been working a lot on having more patience, and controlling my impulses. You know, those impulses you get at 11 o'clock at night to eat a whole sleeve of oreos and a glass of milk? Don't lie - I know you have those impulses too. I think....well, I do anyways. Amongst other bad impulses. So I'm trying to work on patience, and I think I got more revelation on how God wants me to work on it. So...I prayed for it. AAAHHH!!! Just FYI, whenever you pray for patience....God gives you the opportunity to build patience. Ha...haha...so I'm kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I know it'll happen the way He wants :)

Thursday: Our basketball team won! Yeah, we're pretty awesome. .....that's it.

Friday: Saw Brian Regan!!!! In Salt Lake City!! He was soooooo funny. I love his humor. Then went over to M's house and watched Tangled, and clips from Phantom of the Opera. Night of awesomeness!!!

Saturday: Ran a lot of errands with my mom, and did a lot of homework. Then, just chilled and spent the day with family. It was a good day :)

Sunday: As usual, just writing about Sundays  makes my head hurt. Got up at 8 to have prayer with the family, had meetings from 10-12, visited families in the ward from 12-1, had church from 1-4, met with the Stake President and Bishop until 5, had dinner with the family from 5-6, and then visited other families from our ward from 6-8. Whew! Now I'm home, typing these experiences up in an attempt to remember the things that happened this week, and try and analyze what exactly God is trying to teach me.

In writing this, it seems clear that...well, for one I'm not very specific involving these blogs. But I guess that makes sense - I don't want to bore you with all the little things that happen each day. But as I think about it, God is in all the little things that happen each day. I don't see His face every day, or get an appearance from an angel. But I do miraculously get through traffic to get to my class on time, or work hard on a paper that gets 100%, or run into a friend that I haven't seen for years just in time to talk with them about trials that they are going through. Does God care about these little things? Well, yes, actually. He cares about if I get an education; He cares about the relationships that I have. But most of all, He cares about helping me to have the mortal experience that enables me to become like Him. To have faith in Him, to believe that He can do all things, and that it is through His will that I receive the greatest happiness. 

I am so grateful for the lessons I've learned, not just this week but this past year. I have really good friends, and an awesome family. I have great professors at school, and am learning more and more about what I want to do with my life. Most importantly, I have a Savior who atoned for my mistakes and trials, so that I could repent and receive comfort and strength through the hard times that I experience. I know that if you come to this knowledge as I did, then you will find more happiness than you can find in just about anything else - money, fame, power, etc. 

And so we go.

"Hear Ye the Words of a Prophet" - (1 Nephi 19:24)

 Well, what a week has passed my friends. So much happened - the family met J's fiancé, Alabama beat the snot out of LSU, much homework was done, and...we were able to listen to the voice of a living prophet of the Lord. But, let's start with the other notable events.

Tuesday: Helped my mother sort out our DVD collection downstairs. Yeah for organization! Oh, and lots of homework :P
Wednesday: Went on visits with C, and was very humbled by the people we were able to meet. I feel like Heavenly Father has been molding me and shaping me to become more like His Son, but I'm still so far from that goal that I feel like there's still so far to go. Meeting these people helped me to realize how little I know about the gospel of Christ, and how to partake of His divine nature. After this experience and institute, I made a resolve to try and do better to be like Him - in my relationships with others, in my priesthood responsibilities, in my schoolwork, etc.
Thursday: I think I did nothing. Wait! I watched almost an hour of Homestar videos with my brother. Yes, Homestarrunner. Why? Because he's hilarious. And Strong Bad emails. Do you doubt? Click on the link to the right entitled "Hahahaha...". You'll find out.
Friday: Went to the ward activity, a Murder Mystery party! We learned more about the Book of Mormon and the purposes of descriptions of war and chaos. Then, a group of friends and I were going to watch Beauty and the Beast in 3D...but I had a friend of mine practically begged me/dragged me all the way to his house so we could watch Les Miserables: The 10th Anniversary in Concert. Still a good choice - I love Les Miserables. Its story of sacrifice, redemption, and love touch my heart and always make me want to be a better person. Isn't that the definition of good entertainment? Well, it should be. Also, I just wanted to put a plug in for Anthony Warlow - the greatest Enjolras and Phantom of the Opera of all time. Kind of a tangent, but nobody's heard about him - and yet he is so fantastically talented. Watch these clips, and you'll see what I mean:

Saturday: The day to end all days. In a good way, that is. :D I was busy during the day, at a meeting with our Stake Presidency and other elders quorum presidencies discussing the patterns of repentance and rescue that Christ practiced, as well as basketball and other fun events. At night, I went with my parents to go listen to Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Who is this man, you may ask? He is an apostle of the living Christ, the Son of God. He was specifically called by Him to bear His name to all the nations of the earth. Specifically? He is my hero. Well, one of them anyways. He held a question-and-answer session with all the members of the church in our area, and many questions were asked and testimonies given by Elder Scott. I was fortunate enough to be able to ask a question of my own that I'd been wondering for some time - just a simple inquiry about how to exercise greater faith in the Savior, and come to know him better - and received deep instruction from him that launched me on a journey of self-discovery that has blown me away. It was one of the best nights of my life. :)

Sunday: Went to meetings at 7am, 9am, 11am, and 12pm. Church from 1-4, and then reports and visits from 4-6. Dinner from 6-7, a fireside from 7-8, and then visiting with friends until I went home to bed. Sunday are the busiest days of my week...yeesh. Just writing it down makes me tired.

The things I learned from Elder Scott, both on Saturday and through his many, many conference addresses that have touched my heart, have been of great meaning to me. I have learned much through his simple testimony of the Savior, and of principles that the Savior taught. Things like spiritual guidance, faith, integrity and character, prayer, and repentance among others. I would invite each of you to look up a talk by this man on www.lds.org, on any topic that you feel you need help or encouragement on. I can promise you that if you listen carefully, you will feel the Spirit touch your heart and whisper to you things that you need to know. Things like "Heavenly Father loves you", or "This hard trial will pass", or "You need to be nicer to your mother", or "Read the scriptures more", etc. I can even give you a head start on one of my favorite topics (not to go through, but to learn about): Why is life so hard?

I bear testimony that Elder Scott is an apostle of the Lord, and he receives power only insofar as he is obedient to the Savior's will and commandments. I know that if we listen to him, he will increase our faith in the Savior and His teachings. I love him, and I love my Savior especially. Through Christ we can do all things, and if we live worthily we return at the end of this life to our Father in Heaven. Christ tells us Himself with love, "I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)

And so we go.

But If Not...

Hello again! It's been a few days, so let me tell you what happened. Actually....."No, it's too much. Let me sum up." - (My Big Fat Greek Wedding):

Sunday: Christmas!!!!! Soooo good. This was also the first Christmas for a long time that our relatives were able to spend with us. I got a Macbook!!! Well, actually I split the cost with my parents. It still was a very generous Christmas present. Then we left for Disneyland!!! .....that's it. :)

Monday - Friday: DISNEYLAND DISNEYLAND DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!! This was the first time I'd been back since I was 15! Needless to say, I was very excited. :D :D :D We spent all week going on rides, seeing Fantastmic and World of Color (twice each), and lots and lots of Indiana Jones. That's my favorite ride, just so you know.

Saturday: Saw our cousins who live in Corona, California. Played volleyball, then went to their house and pigged out on Little Caesar's and peanut butter m&m's. Then we played Just Dance 3....not the best idea after pigging out on junk food. Just FYI.

Sunday (January 1): We drove home. .....Yup.

Monday through Saturday (2-7): On Monday, I got ready for school and spent the day with my cousins and family. Same thing for Tuesday. Wednesday through Friday I went to school! For the first time this year...haha. I really like all my classes this semester, but...they're also all really hard. So I have a lot of homework. I guess that's life, right? You learn to do hard things. This, however, meant that I spent most of my waking hours on Saturday doing homework. AAAAHHHHH!!!

That brings us to today. I went to church, learned about the life of President George Albert Smith, and reflected on the experiences I've had in the past two weeks. I realized that I have been kind of letting myself slip away. Not that I'm loosening my morals or anything, but I'm getting more lazy in my personal life. Besides working out (which I do all of the time now, thanks to my cousin J), I almost never push myself. I never pretend that I'm perfect, but I'd become complacent in considering my accomplishments "good enough". There is a fine difference in feeling "good enough" as in feeling worthwhile, and feeling "good enough" as in "I'm already a good person, and I just need to keep being myself." While that is true, we should always be striving to be better. We are always changing - either for good, or for ill. My goal is to always be changing for the better - for the rest of my life, hopefully. So that helped me to write down changes that I wanted to make, and make plans to carry out those changes.

I would also like to mention a lesson that I learned over the past few weeks. Throughout our lives, we will experience hard things. The word "hard" can range from "man, I had an extra-long homework assignment!" to "my father just passed away....he was shot". Yet in all things that we go through, it is important to keep proper perspective. I just finished reading a book series called "Pendragon", the chronicles of a boy named Bobby Pendragon who flies around the universe saving worlds of people with his abilities. Corny, right? Yet in this book I found an extraordinary principle. In these books, Bobby struggles with saving the universe from an evil demon named Saint Dane, while still fighting "the right way", or "the way it was meant to be". These two sayings permeate the books, and are so important to Bobby that it is better for him to lose the right way than to win the wrong way. Because, in the end, if he loses the right way, then eventually right will triumph and evil will be thwarted. In the same way, we too must concentrate all of our efforts on doing the right thing. Then, regardless of what happens to us, we will eventually prevail. This requires a perspective beyond this life, for there are many things that cannot be made right in mortality - premature death of a parent, physical or sexual/mental abuse of a sister or cousin, murder, etc. Yet if we hold fast to the way of Christ, in the end all these wrong things shall be made right.

"Shadrach...knew that they could trust God—even if things didn’t turn out the way they hoped. They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him. Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him." Elder Dennis E. Simmons But If Not...

If you are dealing with struggles from relationships to stressing about future pain from financial struggles or future responsibilities to dealing with the death of a loved one, the only way that is guaranteed to bring us happiness is to follow Christ. Listen for His voice, study His words, and keep His commandments. His Spirit will then be with us, and will guide us to make right decisions. He will give us peace and joy in the meantime, even as we struggle with our difficulties. Then, if we prove faithful to Him through our lives, eventually we will be brought before Him and He will accept us with open arms, whispering tearfully into our ears, "I knew you could make it." If the most powerful Being in existence is on our side, and is our Brother, we can overcome anything. I love Him. He is my Savior, my Master, and my King. I worship Him, and I do all that I can to become like Him - He is my hero. At the end of the day, I know that faith and trust in Him will bring me the peace and comfort I seek.

And so we go.