My Mission Papers

I'll go where you want me to go dear Lord

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Let's start with a video: Watch here

Do you remember where you were when this was announced in October of 2012? I sure do. I remember being filled with Spirit and knowing inside, that someday I would go on a mission. I pushed that thought aside as soon as it came to me however because I never before said I was going on a mission, so I wasn't changing my mind now. But oh boy did the Lord have a different plan for me!

Today I wish to share with you an experience I started today, that is leading to the biggest adventure I've had to this point in my life. Today I officially started my mission papers!!! (This means that I started meeting with my bishop to get things in order, and started doing the paper work to be recommended to the the first presidency of the church to be assigned a mission call.)

I cannot believe this day is here already. I feel like just yesterday I "announced" my decision to go on a mission. (announced on Jan 18, 2015!) I was so excited and could not wait to get everything in motion and get out on a mission. I could not start my papers that early though, so I had to wait: and now the wait is over!!

My availability date is December 26, 2015
The date I can submit my papers (120 days prior to availability date) is August 28, 2015! That's in 9 weeks!

I just want to bear my testimony that I know that the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints is the one and only true church on the earth today. I know that the Priesthood has been restored to the earth in this dispensation by the true prophet Joseph Smith. I know that our church is led and guided by a living prophet, Thomas S Monson, and his apostles. I know that the sealing power in the temple is real and that by that power I can be with my family forever if I choose to follow Christ in my mortal life. I know that temple is sacred and that the family is ordained of God. I know that marriage is a beautiful gift from God, and that it is ordained for a man and a woman. I know that inside the temple we find peace, and we can do work for the dead. I know that this life is not the end, that Christ and Heavenly Father are waiting for us in mansions above. I know each of us has a divine mission on earth- not of us are a "mistake" or forgotten. I know we are here to learn. I know that I am daughter of God. We are all His children. I know the power of the Atonement is real and I have been cleansed by it. I have been healed, and I have been lifted because Christ died for me. He loves us, He knows us, and He never leaves us. I know that this true. And I cannot wait to share that message with the people I will be called to teach. I love Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength and I cannot wait to serve Him full time.

I bear this testimony,
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love,
Samantha

Happy Father's Day!

I love you daddy! 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today I wish to say Happy Father's Day to all the different kinds of Father's and Father figures we have in our lives. I want to share a video with you about Fathers and Sons. (But I'm going to ask the daughters to include themselves in it too!)
Click here to watch the touching story of Dylan and His dad.

I would like to point out the 3 things Elder Ballard shared.
1. Trust your Father
2. Take an interest in your Father's life
3. Ask your Father for advice

I love these 3 points because I believe and know that if you use these "guidelines" in your relationship with your fathers (and mothers) your relationship will grow and increase so much! I know these things from experience. But we must remember that it is a 2 way street- Fathers (and mothers), you need to allow your child to trust you, take interest in your life, and ask you for advice. I believe, and know, that if you do these things for your child: the relationship will be even stronger. You both need to execute these 3 points in your life so that the relationship is stronger and equal effort is coming from both parties.

Now- with that being said I wish to share some experiences that will help prove my point of the importance of Elder Ballard's 3 points.
1. Trusting my Father- Once there was a time where I was certain that I was smarter than my dad. Everything he said was silly and "he had not a clue what was best for me." (doesn't every kid go through that?!) In reality, my dad knew what was best, and he was just trying to protect me from harm and heartbreak. As the months passed and I continued to ignore my dad, my relationship with him dwindled, and we never talked about important things. Now, looking back, after I have used the Atonement and I have learned more: I see that my dad was right all along. I see that if I would have just trusted my dad and did what he asked: I would have saved myself a lot of heartbreak and trouble.
2. Take an interest in your Father's life- My dad has a crazy life. He has a ton of crazy hobbies that I know nothing about. My whole life my dad has always had a project he'd be working on- usually it was a car/truck overhaul. At first, I would ignore this, seeing as I knew nothing about a car/truck. This is not my area of expertise. For a little while I thought this was a pain in the butt and that it was taking away from my time with my dad, and for a little while it did because I refused to help my dad. But one day I realized that my dad is always there to help me in my talents and hobbies so I needed to be there to help and support him in his. Because I made that change- our family has come closer together because now his trucks are starting to be a huge thing for us and we always go to car shows together, and teach about them together. Now we are always together in my dad's hobby.
3. Ask for your Father's advice- My dad's advice is some of my favorite advice. It's usually something that you have to think about and make it personal for you. However one of the best things I have ever learned from my dad is simple. "Learn to Love to Learn." My dad taught me this at a young age because he felt it was important for us to learn that we will be learning for the rest of our lives. Life is about learning, so we needed to learn how to love it- or be miserable forever.

These are just some simple examples with my own Father. I just want to say that I love my dad so much and I don't know where I'd be without him. I am so thankful for my dad and his example in my life. He has taught me so much about my Heavenly Father because of the way he lives his life. Because of the way my dad lives worthily every day- I can see my Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for the example that my dad has set for me, and for teaching me what kind of a man I should be looking for to marry someday. I am so thankful for my dad and love him with all my heart! I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and that He always knows what's best for me and that He sent His son to die for me, and that He sent my dad to be my earthly Father. I know the church is true and I am so thankful for the priesthood and that my dad is worthy to bless my life with its power. I know this is the true gospel. Happy Father's Day! I love you daddy!
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love,
Samantha

Thinking About Christ

You need the Atonement every single day. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This week I have been thinking a lot about the gift of The Atonement and all the many blessings it brings into my life. Between discussions with my friends and family, this topic has been on my mind a lot more than usual. Although- the Atonement should be on our minds every single day, as we need to use its power, healing, and cleansing every single day of our lives.

Today as I was looking for things to share, I found a video that I want to share with you today. While the video is playing I want you to think about your life and how you too need to use the Atonement every day of your life in order to be ready at all times to do The Lord's work. Click here to watch.

I just want to bear my testimony that I know that the power of The Atonement is real and that it works every single day in our lives if we allow the power to work inside us. I know that there is nothing too deep for the power of the Atonement to reach and clean. I know that Christ felt every pain and sorrow we have ever felt. We will never be alone because of Him and His infinite sacrifice for us. I just want to challenge you to think about your life every single day and to use the power of the Atonement to be made clean and ready to be in the presence of our Savior. I know these things are true, I have experienced the power of The Atonement in my own life and I know it's real. I want to bear witness of these things in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love,
Samantha

Some Experiences This Week

He will guide your paths- trust Him and listen to His voice.

Dear Family and Friends,

I want to start off with a video entitled: Trusting In The Lord

I wanted to share this video because this week- I had to learn to trust The Lord. My faith was tested, and strengthened as I was reminded that The Lord has a better plan for us than we have for ourselves.

This week was a crazy one. It was the first official week of summer for me. I had been looking for a job starting in early May, so that I could start work on June 1 (Monday). I had a job that was looking promising, but I still hadn't heard back from them, so on Monday I decided to go in and talk to them and see what was going on. I was told that I was not what they were looking for and that they would call me in 2 weeks to see if anything had changed. I really wanted this job- it seemed it was everything I was looking for, so feeling disappointed and heartbroken I walked out to my car trying not to cry. Thinking to myself the whole way home: "Heavenly Father, I really wanted this job. I loved everything about it. Why was I not good enough? I really need to start a job today. Now I'm back at square one. I don't know what to do anymore."  

When I got home, my mom suggested that I call around and see who was hiring in the field I was looking for. Not really in the mood to be let down again I put it off till that night. All the places I had wanted a job weren't hiring and I didn't want to work somewhere I knew wouldn't be a good experience. My sweet mom could see that I was feeling like I could never get a job. I had already been let down by a lot of places I wanted to work and I was done trying. So instead of waiting for me to come around, she tried to help me come around by helping me search online to find places near by that I could call and ask if they were hiring. Finally, at 6 o'clock at night, my mom found a place for me to call, and luckily they were still in the office. The sweet lady who answered the phone set up an appointment with me to have an interview the next morning! Feeling excited, but nervous I went and got my resume ready, and chose out my outfit for the interview. I also decided to learn as much as I could about the facility that I was interviewing at. The more I learned the more excited I got; this place seemed even better than the place I thought I was going to work at earlier that day! I was ready for this interview.

The next morning I got up, got ready and was about to depart for my interview, when suddenly I remembered I hadn't said my prayers or read my scriptures. Feeling like I could say a quick prayer and read later, I knelt down by my bed and asked Heavenly Father for help with this interview, and asked Him to please help me get this job. As I closed my prayer, I felt an overwhelming urge to read my scriptures. Looking at my clock I decided I had just a few minutes. Quickly I sat at my desk, and flipped open my Book Of Mormon to a random page. I scanned the page, and felt like I needed to go back a few pages, so I flipped backwards, and saw a page with some markings. Stopping to read what was written I came across a verse in 2 Nephi Chapter 4. Verses 20-24 which read:

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

 21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

 22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.

 23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

 24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.

Then my eyes skipped down the next marked verses. (34-35)

 34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

 35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

These verses touched my heart and I felt very impressed that "God had supported me thus far, He wasn't going to abandon me now if I would put my trust in Him." Kneeling down again I prayed to Heavenly Father giving thanks for this reminder, for my scriptures and the way that they bring me answers. Giving thanks for Him and for the Gospel. Then I told Heavenly Father that I trusted Him. That if this was job I needed to have that I would be able to get it, and that if not- I would be okay. That I trusted Him to guide me to where I needed to be in His own time. Feeling peace in my heart and body I closed the prayer and stood up to go to my interview. I felt renewed and I felt confident. I could do this because I knew Heavenly Father knew what was best and He has power to do all things. I wasn't doing this alone.

About an hour later my prayers were answered as the lady interviewing me told me she had a really good feeling about me and hired me on the spot. She even started me working the very next day. Feeling over joyed as I walked to my car, I started to cry tears of gratefulness. As I sat in the drivers seat of my car I bowed my head and I gave thanks. I know it is because of Him that everything happened the way it did.

I just want to say to any of you who may be struggling in anyway: Trust in Heavenly Father. He loves you more than you know and once you trust Him: He will take you to unbelievable new heights in His own due time. And His timing is perfect, so don't be worried when things don't happen immediately. Trusting in the Lord means trusting in His timing too. I promise you that no matter how long you have to wait- no matter where the path leads that God takes you on: if you are with Him it is the right path and it will lead to eternal happiness.

I just want to close with my testimony that I know that God lives, and He knows each of us personally. He loves us with an unconditional love and He will guide us if we just put our trust in Him. We are never alone. Because of Him, anything is possible. I know that the scriptures are true, and if we read and study them we will find answers to our prayers. We will be able to find peace. I know that if we put God first, everything will fall into place or fall out of our lives. I am so thankful for the Gospel and the knowledge of the Atonement and it's ennobling power to do all things- and that because of the Atonement: I will never be alone.

I bear witness of these things,
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love.
Samantha