Time is a tickin

Dear Amigos!!! 

   So we have a new rule in the mission that we can only email for 90 minutes so that is why the subject is that. We also got the rule that we will not be allowed to drive cars on Saturdays... lame but blessings will come from being obedient. Sometimes we don't always understand why but we do it because we know that others know better than us. So this week we great just like every week and well I learned a lot and got spiritually fed a lot as well! 

Monday: We had a totally awesome FHE with a member. She is amazing and is really strong. She's had a lot go on in her life recently and she was just so grateful that we could come over and share that time with her. I also gained a stronger testimony of how important it is to always have FHE!!! When the family gets together after evening work is done we learn to love each other by popping corn and having fun!!! (I think that is the lyrics I could totally be wrong) 

Tuesday: We had a lesson with our potential investigator named Hunter and it was great! He listened intently and the spirit was really there. He said that he had a few questions but that though out the lesson we had answered them. The member that we took with us, Sister Savage, asked what those questions were and he said "Why would I need the Book of Mormon?" and "How could the Book of Mormon help me?" It was amazing! I love finding people who are interested in the Book of Mormon because then you know that they are prepared!!! The elect resonate with the Book of Mormon! We also had dinner with a new couple in our ward and we love them! They are awesome! They actually just moved here from Tacoma Washington and Kelly Muro served in their ward and they had a picture of him on their refrigerator! That world is so small especially if you are a mormon!  

Wednesday: We had dinner with the pierce family and I just want to comment on how polite their boys were. They are 14, 12 and 9! They responded well to questions and they didn't argue with their mom and also they took our plates away after eating. It was just great! I want my kids to be that polite that would just be marvelous. 

Thursday: Alright, this was our first full day on bikes this week and boy was it cold!!!!!! Our toes were about to fall off they were so cold. As we were door knocking we just kept thinking "oh man it is going to get colder and this is only the beginning." I honestly don't know how I made it through last winter. Whenever anyone asks I just say "by the pure grace of God," which is very true. I wouldn't have been able to if I didn't have a testimony of the gospel and angels round about me the entire time! 

Friday: We met with the Woods family and we watched some Mormon messages and holy cow they are amazing! The church is really using technology to make the world a better place and I love it! There is a new video called "You don't Know" and it really is amazing and it brings tears to my eyes just about every time I watch it! The Lord truly knows what we need to do and we are made instruments in his hands more then we think! 

Saturday: We had stake conference adult session and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong and I was spiritually fed so much! I came away with tons of notes and having a greater desire to do better. It was also great because we were able to see Pres. Jacobsen and he called all the missionaries serving in the stake to come up and sing "Called to Serve" it was really powerful and it almost, key word, almost started to cry but I didn't because we have reason to rejoice and no need for tears! 

Sunday: Cool thing. Sister Chisholm and I got to eat lunch with Tilah Parker who is the sister of Jabarie Parker an NBA player who was quoted in last April's General Conference. STAKE CONFERENCE!!!! I think there is a theme going on here or a message that must be received because 2 of the people in the stake presidency talked about following the prophet and let us not forget that 2 General Conference talks were given on the same topic. I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell us something..... FOLLOW THE PROPHET!! In all sincerity though stake conference is wonderful! I loved it and my testimony deepened about the gospel and about how important it is to take notes in a meeting and really how much you put into it is how much you get out of it. I feel like the gospel really is centered on that concept. I know that the effort that we put into listening to talks will not be wasted and that we will be able to know that the Lord wants us to hear through his servants. 

Spiritual Thought: In stake conference our stake president talked about a plane accident that happened I think in the 70s. In this incident the pilots didn't realize that the plane was descending and before they could pull up the plane crashed killing many on the flight. I thought about this and I thought about when we get preoccupied with worldly things we don't recognize that we are slowly descending by degree and when we finally realize this, we crash. I makes me think of a story in the Book of Mormon. An evil captain of the Lamanites, who is compared to Satan, slowly poisons his other captain by degree so that he doesn't even know that he is being poisoned! That is how Satan is attacking us and that is how he has always attacked us. He slowly brings us down to hell. That is a little scary, but luckily we are told that we can avoid that fiery darts of the adversary by reading our scriptures, praying and all those small and simple things that really turn out to be the great deciding factors of our futures. I know that I talk a ton about the small and simple things but I'm telling ya these things are what help us to build our foundations on Jesus Christ. I've been on the other side where Satan was slowly bringing me down, and it wasn't a joyful happy life. I'm now string everyday to do the small and simple things and I've never received  so much happiness in my life! I love every minute of everyday! This is the key to true happiness! It'll save us from slowly decreasing. I know that as we do the small and simple things that the Lord has commanded us to do we will go "onward and upward" and we will find everlasting joy! In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.

Love Always, 

Sister Smith    

Helaman's Army!

Dearest Family and Friends! 

   This week has been TOTALLY WICKED!!!! I am just loving life and enjoying every second of being a missionary. I love that as a missionary you learn and grow and you are able to be stretched more then you could ever imagine. Sister Chisholm and I have been talking about how much we change in such a short amount of time because of our missions. It would take like 30 years to learn what we learn in about 18 months, as long as we let it! How cool is that! 

This is what my week consisted of! 

Monday: We had a lesson with a recent convert named Heather! I love her so much! She is a huge inspiration to me! She is only 18 and she amazes me every single time I talk to her. The cool part of the story though is that Elder Derricott and Elder Krebs were teaching her while I was in Midland 1st ward and when I left I told her that I was just getting to know her and that I was so sad that I wouldn't get to know her more. She then moved to Midland 2nd ward and well so did I!!! I love how the Lord works!!! Also I've realized that some of the best members are converts and those who haven't been found yet. 

Tuesday: Oh man this was a good day! Sister Chisholm and I were driving and then we saw this older woman carrying bags of leaves our to her curb so we decided to park the car and get out and help her. We got out and asked if she needed our help and she said no. Well... okay so we started talking about our purpose as missionaries. and asked if she needed our help after talking a bit more. No she said again. We talked to her more and then we asked a third time to help her and she finally said yes!!! We were so excited that someone actually wanted our help! It was totally great! 

Wednesday: Oh man we had one of the most spiritual lessons in my entire life!! It was amazing!!! We were all on the same page and we were intune with the spirit and it was just amazing. We were teaching our investigator named Jason! He has been taught for about 4 years now. He opened up to us a lot! It is amazing! I really can't even describe it, it was just like you could feel how much Heavenly Father loved this man and you could just feel the potential that Jason has as he comes unto Christ. I love being a missionary, experiences of a life time! 

Thursday: Alright this is awesome! There is a woman who just moved here from Tennessee and she loved the members there. She came to the building and asked to know if there was anyone who could babysit her kids. Well they put us in charge of talking to her. We met with her and she knows a ton about the church!! It is awesome! She was talking to us and telling us that she was feeling the spirit! She is so prepared but she doesn't really know it. She is a devout Catholic actually.... keep her in your prayers! She's great! Her name is Julia! 

Friday: Let's see.... it started to snow! It was crazy!!! We were racking leaves and it was cold! We had a lot of fun though and I love doing service it really just makes you feel so good inside. I love the scriptures Matthew 25:40 and Mosiah 2:17 which both talk about service and how we serve our fellowman we are serving God. We also went to a member's home and made pizza which was great! We played Catch Phrase and our team totally won! It was great! We were all laughing and really enjoying that time that we had together as a district! 

Saturday: I'd say the miracle of the day/week was the fact that Sister Chisholm and I have been praying for referrals and we got 3 in one day! It was totally amazing! We were like well pray really works! We know that already but is always nice when you have your testimony strengthened because of it! 

Sunday: I learned a lot about how important it is to listen to the spirit and how much the spirit can really help you in lessons. Sister Chisholm and I had a lesson planned for our investigator to watch a movie but unfortunately they didn't have a DVD player that works. Sister Chisholm and I didn't have a back up lesson but we were able to listen to the spirit and have unity with each other and we were able to have a good lesson with them. I am so grateful for the spirit. I know that without him I would not be a good missionary. It is so important that we live our lives in a way that we will be able to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost because he helps us in every aspect of our lives! 

Spiritual Thought: Alright so I have been obsessed with studying about the small and simple things that bring us closer to Christ in our everyday lives! Sister Chisholm loves running and today in studies I made an analogy about running and doing the small and simple things. "When you are running a marathon every step that you take brings you closer to the finish line. It is by those small and simple steps that you are able to make that great distance. The same is with the small and simple things of the gospel. As we read our scriptures and pray everyday, attend church weekly and attend the temple on a regular basis we are getting closer to the end goal which is eternal life. We can't stop doing the small and simple things in the middle of life and think we'll get to the finish line just like you can't stop in the middle of a race and quit. We can't expect to finish a race that we never start either so we must start now to do the small and simple things in life. Remember we've been trained for this. We know what we need to do. We know how to receive eternal life, now we must go and finish our race by taking it one small and simple thing at a time." I know that by small and simple things great things are brought to pass. They will lead you to eternal life. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love Always, 

Sister Smith 

Happy Halloween! From Sister Chisholm and Sister Smith 

Our Super Hero Bay City Zone! 

It is Halloween!

Frightening! 

Service! Raking leaves for Halloween.

and having a pizza party!

Everyday I'm Strugglin'

Hey Hey Hey Everybody!!! 

   Alright this week has been awesome!! Sister Chisholm is great and wonderful! We already are teaching well together and having a great ole' time laughing and getting to know each other. It is a little weird to be in Midland 2nd ward and to have the first ward like right by me but I can tell that I will love this ward just as much I love the first ward. Seriously though I am so excited for this next transfer I think that it is going to be great! Here is a totally random side note: while Sister Chisholm and I were in studies we discovered why missionary time is so weird. The Lord's time is like 1 day to our 1000 days well that is why our 18 months to 2 years feels so short because we are representatives of Jesus Christ therefore our time is going to be off and faster and not seem as long! We answered the million dollars question!!!!! Yeah!!! 

So this week's letter is going to be a little different then other weeks because I forgot my planner. I know that doesn't happen a lot but I did so I'm going to write you about what I studied everyday instead!! 

Monday: I already wrote you about the people of Ammon last week. Just know that I still love that story in The Book of Mormon and those people who changed so much to follow Jesus Christ. 

Tuesday: I was reading in Alma 28 and I got caught on the word light and why Jesus Christ is compared to being the light of the world. I then thought about all the attributes of light. It helps us see more clearly, it is a sense of happiness and warmth, light casts away darkness so light and dark can't occupy the same place. The sun is a great source of light and without it we would all die just like without Christ we would all die as well. Jesus Christ has the attributes of light. He helps us to see the end and helps us get through the darkness. When we have Christ in our lives we are happy and can feel the warm feeling of peace and comfort from the spirit and we follow the example of Christ. Light is a signal of hope and Jesus Christ is our signal of hope and is a beacon for us to follow. 

Wednesday: I ready in Alma 29 and in verse 10 in talks about Christ's merciful arm being extended towards us. I thought about myself and how His arm of mercy has been extended to me many times. I thought more about how I reacted to his arm of mercy. I sometimes turned away because of pride and feelings of unworthiness. I have also found myself latching on to His hand and letting him more fully guide me in my life. I thought more about why is it that we turn away from the Lord and His mercy. I pondered and cam to the realization that it is the small and simple things in life that bring us closer to Christ. I know that as we do those things we shall be guided and have the desire to cling to His hand that is ALWAYS extended out towards us no matter what. 

Thursday: I was reading in Alma 30 in verse 8 and it says "choose ye this day, whom ye will serve." I thought about what leads to the decision to follow Christ and His gospel. I came to the conclusion that it is by experimenting and seeing the fruits of following him. I then thought about why we choose not to follow Christ and the very first thing that came to my mind was pride. Pride keeps us from following Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ which lead me to think about how we can remain humble so that we may follow Christ. I came up with 3 things. 

1) Prayer: when we pray our will aligns with God's will

2) Count your blessings: we have the opportunity to recognize that all things come from the Lord and we are nothing compared to His greatness. 

3) Weaknesses: Ether 12:27- we are given weaknesses that we may be humble. Recognize our weaknesses and turn to the Lord to help them become strengths, they're there for a reason. 

Friday: I was in Alma 30 and I studied about small and simple things and how that helps us discern good from evil. I also studied the Law of Chasity. We talked about how it is one of the hardest commandments to keep because of all the influences that are in the world. We know that to keep the Law of Chastity it starts with our thoughts and how important it is to keep our thoughts pure and clean. It is important to surround ourselves with good uplifting things that help bring the spirit into our lives. Sometimes we have to make the decision to throw something out or to not watch or listen to that any more but there are so many blessing from keeping this law like: 

-Trust and confidence in family relationships

-self-control 

-happiness and peace

-self respect

-you'll be closer to God 

I know that it is so important that we surround ourselves with goodness so that we are being filled with the spirit! 

Saturday: I was in Alma 30 still and that sent me to a scripture in 2 Nephi 28:14 which talks about Satan and how he pacifies us and leads us carefully down to hell. Pacify means to settle or soothe. It also means to disarm. Satan tries to disarm us! We need to fight back by doing that small and simple things in our lives because that is what arms us. We can't think that the path of righteousness is too hard. It's hard I'm not going to lie but there is so much more happiness and joy that comes from following the commandments. It is so important to realize that it is by that small and simple things that great things are brought to pass. I thought of this little saying to help to have a great desire to do the small and simple things "We don't have to do the small and simple things, we GET to do them!" We are so blessed to have these things that protect us from Satan and we get to use them everyday!!! 

Sunday: I was reading in Alma 31 and verse 23 popped out to me. It says that the people worshiped God only at the time there are in their synagogues. How often do we find ourselves not worshiping Christ and Heavenly Father through out the week. Sometimes we go to church never to think about what we learned or what we did that week until we return to church the next week. It made me think about how important it is to treasure up in our hearts continually the words or life. We have to apply the things that we learn in order to repent which helps us to change and better follow Jesus Christ. 

I am so grateful for the chance that I get to study the gospel everyday and be filled with the spirit. It has blessed my life so much and I am so grateful. I invite all of you to "feast upon the words of Christ" In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love you lots, 

Sister Smith 

P.S sorry for the long email. 

BLACK OUT!!!!!

Hey Ya'll!!!

  This week has been another good one! We're being blessed and seeing a lot of people open up and have a desire to at least invite us back to hear more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! Bay City is ready to explode, hopefully everyone is ready for it!

Monday: I can't really remember exactly what I did this day..... Oh no! I'm getting old! Ahhh! We had dinner with a less active member which is always a great opportunity. She's great and has a few hurdles to overcome but don't we all on this path to eternity.

Tuesday: TRANSFER CALLS!!!! Normally they are on Fridays but Pres. Jacobsen had somewhere to be so we did it on a Tuesday. It kind of threw off the week but that's okay. So the verdict is in that I'm being transferred... hopefully for the last time! I'll be heading over just a 30 minute drive away to Midland!!!!!!! HaHa! Ain't that great! I'll be serving in Midland 2nd ward and I'll be finishing off Sister Chisholm's training!!! It'll be a blast! I get to see everyone from Midland 1st ward! I will have now served in all the sister areas in the Midland Zone so now I have ZONE BLACK OUT!!!!!!!! Let's just say that traveling around to tour my mission shouldn't be to hard because I've spent 14 months in the same zone! Crazy!

Wednesday: This was my last district meeting in the Bay City District which is basically full of elders! Crazy ones at that! They're super funny though and watch out for Sister Jordan and I. We had a great meeting though on Christlike attributes with emphasis on patience. I'm so grateful for Christ and His perfect example.

Thursday: Man, we had like a full day planned with lessons and all but one cancelled. That my friends is why we have back up plans because no matter how much you pray and have faith these people will show you are still dealing with other people's agency. The church is so organized it is amazing!!!! It is only possible through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The organization, I think, shows how true the church really is!  We also had an awesome lesson with Erin and Richard and their family! It was amazing! A member talked about how a temple is built on a landfill then she talked about how Heavenly Father doesn't care about our past but that we wants us to look forward to the future and build upward. Onward and Upward is what Elder Holland said to us!

Friday: We rode our bikes again.... this time luckily my skirt didn't get caught and my handle bars didn't fall off so all in all I'd say that it was a successful biking experience. Well, actually our tires were flat and that makes for a lot more effort to ride a bike. Heavenly Father is just trying to help me work out more! HaHa! Oh man though there is a story for this day! Sister Jordan and I were door knocking on May street and a woman answered the door. She told us that we were wrong and didn't were lost. She kept saying that the Bible was the only word of God and that we should read it for ourselves. Sister Jordan and I stood there letting her speak and then we just testified about the Book of Mormon and how we know it is the word of God. I bore my testimony and I almost started to cry! I told her that I wouldn't be at her door step if I didn't know for a surety that it is true! I felt the spirit very strongly but it just seemed like the spirit stopped at the door.... she wouldn't let it into her heart. We asked if she had ever read the Book of Mormon and she said no but that she had read a book about it. We invited her to read it and pray for herself, but she wasn't open to it. It's always sad when you bear our testimony and people don't accept it, but I am so grateful for opportunities like that that build my faith and strengthen me. I am blessed!

Saturday: I'm grateful for meals with members! I feel like I learn so much from the members when I eat with them and have a lesson with them. We talked about the Restoration and it is amazing the insights that others have on this significant event! It is amazing and I love it! Members are everything to this work and we would be nothing without them!

Sunday: TRACY CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!! It is a miracle!!!! She was in the hospital the night before and she still came to church!!! I have a huge testimony in the power of prayer and as well in the power of the Book of Mormon. She has been reading it and I know that it is giving her the strength to do what she needs to do! I love love love love it!!!!!!!

Spiritual Thought: While in my scripture reading this morning I learned a lot about the people of Ammon! Let me tell you how much I love those people and their example to me! The people of Ammon were once the Lamanites who killed many people and sought to do evil always. Their fathers had turned away from the Lord. Ammon, a missionary, who had been changed by the atonement wanted to share the gospel with them. He taught the people and they were converted. They were so converted to the Lord that they buried their weapons of war in the ground so that they would never take a life again. They made this covenant with God! They would rather die a most painful death then take a life. They were truly converted to the Lord. I think about how converted I am to the gospel and how much I need to be better at keeping my covenants I've made with the Lord. Are we truly converted to the gospel to stand up for the right in any situation? I want to be like the people of Ammon. They were a zealous people and highly favored of the Lord. "And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end." Alma 27: 27 They were faithful til the end! I have a quote that says "Conversion is not a one time event, but it is a life long journey to become more like the Savior." I know that when we keep our covenants that the Lord will bless us and we will find great happiness in this life and in the life to come!  I love the scriptures and what I am able to learn from them. They truly are the words of Christ! Every time I read them I am filled with the spirit and have a desire to do good and to be good. The best is that you learn something new even when you've heard the story many times! I love being a missionary and serving the Lord! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Smith

Missionary work.... stalking 101

Family and Friends and everyone else not sitting on cushions!

   Let's see.... what cleaver thing do I have for you this lovely Monday morning? You know something that Sister Jordan and I realized the other day. She's been on her mission as long and I have left. That was a scary moment for me!!! Also you know you've lived in Michigan for a year when 53 degrees is nice and you're wearing a long sleeve shirt and no tights! That's right! I'm adjusting to the weather except when it's windy.... the wind is terrible. They call it the lazy wind because it just goes right through you. Haha! Anyways... here's a bit of my week!

Monday: Sister Jordan and I finally were able to carve pumpkins!!! They actually turned out a lot better then I expected and I'm pretty excited about that!

Tuesday: We actually had a lesson with our neighbor across the hall. She is this older woman who grew up Lutheran. She is looking for more happiness in her life! Haha well do we have the recipe for happiness for you!!!

Wednesday: Totally awesome amazingness!!!! We were blessed with the opportunity to watch Meet the Mormons! I must say that is was a great movie! The spirit was really there and it was uplifting and inspiring. I would recommend seeing it because it will brighten your day and give you a sense of  gratitude of having the knowledge that we have as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Go see it, you'll love it! Bring tissues especially if you have a missionary out! ;)

Thursday: We had a lesson with our investigator Sister Rogers! She is really making steps forward. She is doing so much better with not smoking and she is really everyday which is wonderful! We are so excited for her and hope that she will be able to continue to move forward and make it to the waters of baptism!

Friday: We went finding more today then usual and I have got to tell you sometimes I miss door knocking. I think it is great to bear your testimony to your brothers and sisters and I think it is a great challenge! I love it! I also have so many fond memories while door knocking so I just love it!

Saturday: Alright this ties in with the title of the message. Sister Jordan and I were out by the bay and it was dark and we were trying to find less active members but unfortunately it was too dark to see the house numbers which also caused us to drive a lot slower then usual. We then decided that  it would been a good idea to get out and try to find them and that still didn't work out either. I'm just saying that on my mission I've felt more like a stalker then ever. I'm pretty sure I'm going to join the FBI when I get home! :D

Sunday: I say this every week but I can't get enough of church!!! I love it with all my heart! I was so grateful to take the sacrament and to be able to renew my covenants! I'm so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and how much that has helped me in my life and how wonderful and amazing that gift truly is! Through Christ we have the power to do all things that are align in his will.

Spiritual Thought: I love the scriptures and this is a verse I came across while reading this week. "Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—" Alma 19:6 I feel like this is what has happened to me as I have embraced the gospel more fully in my life. The darkness has been cast away and it has been replaced with light and consumes me! I love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! I have been infused with joy and have been carried away in God! I know with all my heart that this is Christ's church. Our Savior lives! We are children of our Heavenly Father who have been divinely designed by our Creator! We have been blessed with the gospel and a rich knowledge. I am grateful for my mission which has strengthened my love for the gospel and my Savior. This really is a gospel of joy and I love, love, love it!!!! I know that as we are
"anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27) we will be "filled with his love, even unto the consuming of [our] flesh." (2 Nephi 4:21) The light of the gospel will come into our lives and the darkness will no longer occupy that space. The power of the atonement is real and it can and will change us as we open our hearts to it and let the light in! In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.

Love Always,

Sister Smith 

The Church is TRUE!!!!

What's Crack-a-lackin'!!!!

   I hope that everyone enjoyed their Christmas and that you took delight in the spiritual feast that was given to us this conference weekend! We are so blessed to have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us a prophet on the earth today to lead and guide us back into His loving arms! SO BLESSED!!!!

Monday: Down by the bay where the watermelons grow back to my home I dare not go for if I do my mother would say...... That's right my friends, I finally got to see one of the great lakes of Michigan and let me tell you my friends was it great! It's like an ocean but not!!! I highly recommend coming to see one of these wonderful creations because it is LEGIT!

Tuesday: I am grateful for the gospel in my life because without it I don't know that I would do with my life! I can't even express how grateful I am that I was so blessed to grow up in a home where the gospel was taught and that I was able to learn about my Savior from such a young age!

Wednesday: Oh man! One of the struggles of a mission is not having a car. My heart goes out to all of the missionaries who had to walk their entire mission, you my friends are champions! Whenever I walk it always seems like all our lessons fall through and things just don't go as planned. We missed our bus and didn't have a way to get to our appointment so we had to cancel, but we decided to door knock a street and we happened to meet two sweet potentials! If your plans don't go the way you planned remember that the Lord is watching over you and His plans are always better then our plans!

Thursday: Today was a bit of a bummer. We had like 4 lessons planned and 3 canceled on us! They were pretty good reasons to cancel but hey the gospel is wonderful and all I want to do is share the good news with you! We did however have a good lesson with a less active member that we are working with! She has somethings that she is working through but she really wants to do better and improve!

Friday: We had a lesson will the Guiths..... well Misty actually. She is great and she was taking notes and wanting to know all these different things it was great! We are hoping that they're family will start progressing more and getting closer to baptism. We are still taking some baby steps, but baby steps are better then no steps, right!

Saturday: It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right General Conference baby!!! I'd have to say that all the talks that were given were just wonderful! Nothing I can say can describe how great all of them were! If you weren't able to watch it, I invite you to watch it and then watch it again because you won't be able to get enough of it!

Sunday: Alright, was it just me or were you thinking that President Monson was going to announce something crazy because of all the follow the prophet talks. I was getting myself ready for whatever was to come our way, but then nothing crazy happened. Oh well, the messages about following the prophet were still wonderful and I have a huge testimony of how following the prophet can bring you so much peace and happiness! They really do know the way and are servants of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Thought: Alright, now that we have been blessed with so great a feast "shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren (and sisters); and on, on to the victory" D&C 128:22 The next part of General Conference is applying what we learned into our daily lives. If we don't apply it's like buying a ticket to a movie but then never going to see the movie. I know that this can be hard but we learned that through Christ we can do hard things and that we must make sacrifices to follow our Lord. So, how can we apply what we learned in Conference? We can make a list of things we want to improve on then pick one or two things to start working on in our lives. Don't pick so many things to work on at once because we don't want to get overwhelmed. We can pray about ours lists and I know Heavenly Father will tell us what we can work on to reach our potential. Something that just came to my mind was to read the talks and look at the blessings that are given and if you feel that you need that blessing in your life, do what the speaker invited us to do. There are many ways to apply Conference in our lives and I know that when we do we will see the promised blessings from the Lord and our lives will feel enriched and full. In the name of Jesus the Christ, amen. 

Love Always,

Sister Smith

The Beauty of  Michigan!

Blister on My Toe!