It's Coming!!

What will you do for Him this Christmas??

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Only 25 more days! It's almost here! Can you guess?! For those of you who are Christmas fanatics like myself- you know: CHRISTMAS IS IN 25 DAYS! (Christmas Eve) What are you doing to prepare for this special day? What does this day mean to you? 

For me, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Why do I love it so much? With all the shoppers, the traffic, the hustle and bustle, the snow, the traditions, the work, the long hours of cooking, etc. Why do I love Christmas so much? Because my Savior was born. 

Click here to discover "Why We Need a Savior".

1- Watch the 2 minute video called "A Savior is Born" 

2- Watch the 2 minute video called "Imagine a World Without a Savior" 

3- Explore the website! 

Think about what you can do this Christmas to make it a little more special, heartfelt, and for the Savior than you did last year. No Christmas is not about the getting things, it's not about spending money, it's not about Santa Clause- Christmas is about giving, it's about helping and serving, it's about being with those you love and hold most dear, and most importantly: it's about the Savior. What will you do to make it about Him this year?

I just want to leave you with my testimony that I know that a Savior was born more than two thousand years ago in a little village called Bethlehem. I know that He was sent by our Heavenly Father to earth to live and die for us. This Savior is Jesus Christ- our elder Brother, and advocate with the Father. He suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and He was raised on the cross on Calvary's Hill for our sake. He was buried in the tomb and rose again on the third day. I testify that He lives again. I testify of His love for you, me, and every single person that lives, has lived, and ever will live. He knows every single one of us personally and individually. He took your life individually and suffered for you individually. There is nothing you will ever encounter that He has not yet been through for you. He walked your life in your shoes so you will never ever be alone. Because of Him- you can be forgiven, and you can return to be with Him and our Heavenly Father and Mother for eternity if you choose Him. I know these things are true. I beg you to find out for yourself these truths. He will make it manifest unto you, as He continues to do for me, I so testify, In the name of Jesus Christ. 

Amen 

Love, 

Samantha 

Let Go and Let God

Let Him heal you. 

Dear Family and Friends,

As I partook of the Sacrament today, I prayed for the Lord's guidance and forgiveness. As some of you know I will entering the Temple this Wednesday to make sacred covenants with my Heavenly Father. I have been praying for weeks that I will not only feel the Holy Ghost, but that I will know that I am in the presence of Heavenly Beings. (My Heavenly Father & Mother and Savior Jesus Christ) I have been praying that I will also be worthy to be in Their divine presence, continually asking for forgiveness and striving to do and be better than I was yesterday. As I took the Sacrament today I truly felt the Spirit testify truths to me and bear comfort and peace to my heart and soul.

As I have been on this journey to enter the Temple and then go on a mission, there has been a constant question in my mind: "Am I really worthy to enter into such a sacred place and be with such clean, divine, pure, Heavenly Beings?" I am far from perfect. I have made choices in my life that were contrary to The Lord's teachings- but I have also repented, and I know that I have: so why then, am I feeling this way?

The once sort of "muddy" answer has become quite clear over the last few weeks and especially today as I took the Sacrament.
1. I know that we still feel guilt after we have repented and been forgiven: this is to help us to not make the same mistake again. Guilt is something that we, with time, prayer, and faith: overcome. He heals us.
2. Satan uses that guilt to make you doubt. That is one of his biggest weapons against us: doubt! Dieter F. Uchtdorf, of the First Presidency, once said: "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." Satan will see and use any tiny trickle of doubt to make you doubt more and cause that trickle to become more of a stream, then a river, then a pond, then a lake, and eventually an ocean if we let him get it that far. I saw this happening in my own life- and I didn't like it.

The short version of: My Story of Doubt:
I chose to go on an LDS mission.
Satan knew it would be a long hard road, so before my call even came he started to send doubts to my mind. He knows that I have always been hard on myself. He knows that I tend to think I am consistently not good enough- so using these thoughts he made the fears of my mission grow deeper and deeper.
I have always wondered: "Am I really worthy to enter the Holy temple and be set apart as His witness?"
Satan used this doubt to make me feel guilty all over again for things that I thought I had dealt with, cleaned up and "put away." My constant thoughts were: "I know I've repented. The people who have helped me along the way have helped me know that I have truly been forgiven- so why am I feeling this again?!"
Along came my mission call and I was feeling confident and ready! But then came the preparation for my mission and I was suddenly very un-confident and very overwhelmed.
Satan used my overwhelming feelings and turned them into doubt and frustration with myself and others. I was suddenly not very happy about my mission. I wanted it to be further away. I didn't even think I wanted to go anymore. The only thing that kept me holding onto my call was that I didn't want to be a quitter. My fear of giving up too early was greater than my fear of "not being enough or having enough to give."

So now we are here: with questions and thoughts entering into my head that are making it next to impossible for me to love my mission call. I almost quit. I didn't think I could do it anymore. "Wouldn't it just be easier to stay home and do school?" But then I remembered a quote my mom always had on the wall while I was growing up. It had a picture of Christ and it said "I never said it would be easy- I only said it would be worth it." and that kept me going. He walked-alone, the hardest path ever known to man or God, and He did it for me, so I could therefore walk this path, with Him and for Him.

Still as I am preparing for the temple, I was unsure if I was really worthy. But I knew I was- so why did I feel this way? How could I feel better so that I could really feel His presence in His Holy Temple? As I have been pondering this- and as I took the Sacrament, praying for answers- I heard a voice tell me: "He wants you there too. Don't let fear keep you out. You are clean and forgiven. Both you and He know that. Go to the Temple. He will be by your side." Then- "Let go, and let GOD. His power and grace is sufficient for you." Go be with Him." I felt peace. I didn't want to open my eyes. I just wanted to sit there and enjoy that feeling and that knowledge for hours. I could feel His love.

Brothers and Sisters, I do not know what trial you may be dealing with. I do not know what things you are working through, but I do know that our Heavenly Father knows and He knows perfectly. You are not alone. He loves you more than you understand. If you are struggling with anything- please: let go and let God. He truly does have the power to make you clean before Him. He will forgive you. He will heal you. Let Him. He will bring you back into His presence if you let Him. Please: Let Him.

I love you, and I know you can do this. Do not give up. He is right by your side.
Of this I testify and bear my witness,
In the sacred name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love,
Samantha

The Priesthood Blesses My Life

Your situation matters to Him. 

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a rather busy one for me. I have been helping some of my great friends to take care of their kids while they were out of town. Well, this week I have also been feeling the pressures of the world with friends and family and trying to prepare to enter the temple and go on a mission. I have been feeling very overwhelmed with everything going on lately- and right in the midst of my crazy busy week right when I was feeling like I was about to drown in things to do: I had some immunizations for my mission and came down with the flu. Thinking I could just sleep it off I went home early and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and wanted to get ready for the day- but my body had other plans. As I went to get ready I could suddenly feel myself blacking out. I yelled for my mom and before I knew it I thought I was dreaming- but the next instant there was a cold wash cloth on my face, my body was tingling and I heard my mom talking to me asking me to respond to her. I realized I had passed out- and according to my mom, I had hit my head too, maybe causing a concussion. As soon as I could I asked my mom to call someone to give me a blessing. She ran and got the phone and called my dad home from work. As soon as my dad heard what was going on, he left work to come home and help me. By the time he got home I was able to crawl across the hall to my bedroom so I could lay down. After we had gotten me back into bed my dad gave me a priesthood blessing. In the blessing he not only asked Heavenly Father to help me get better, but he also reassured me that Heavenly Father is aware of me and my challenges. He also let me know that Heavenly Father is proud of my choices to go on a mission and that He needs me out there and that with His help I can do it. It was a beautiful blessing- one that I'm sure I'll never forget- not only for its healing power(I got better quickly and didn't have a concussion!) but also because it reconfirmed to me the power of the priesthood. My parents knew that I was feeling overwhelmed, but only Heavenly Father knew exactly why, and that was addressed in the blessing from my dad- reminding me that the blessing wasn't from my earthy dad, but my Heavenly Dad and that my earthy dad acts as His mouthpiece when he acts worthily in his calling as a priesthood holder.

I just want to bear my witness to you that I know that the power of the Priesthood is real and it has been restored to the earth today. I know and testify that Joseph Smith restored that power back to earth. I know that without a shadow of a doubt. And when things get hard and sometimes I question my own testimony- I always remind myself to trust my Heavenly Dad- because He knows all- just as this experience reminded me. He truly knows each of us personally, He cares about us and He loves us more than we know. I know these things are true.

In the Name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love,
Samantha
* Here is a video about the blessings of the Priesthood if you'd like to watch it click here.
Anyone can receive a priesthood blessing if they ask a worthy and willing priesthood holder to give them one. Also- blessings are reliant on your faith in Heavenly Father to answer you and your plea for His help.

If Necessary Use Words

You are the Message!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week I wanted to share a message about being the message. During one of my mission preparation classes this week we talked a lot about the saying: "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words." What does this mean to you?

In Sacrament meeting today one of my friends talked. He reminded me once again of a lesson that he shared with us in another mission preparation class a few months ago. He always told us: "You are the message!"

Looking through the lds.org web page tonight deciding what to share I found a video called: "The Lost Purse." I've seen this video before but after having these lessons this week, I thought about it differently. Not only do the items in this purse tell about her, but because of the items in her purse, her actions tell you who she really is; bringing me back to the statements: "Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words." and "You are the message." Ask yourself "What am I doing to preach the gospel at all times and how am I being the message?"

I just want to testify that I know that actions speak much louder than our words.** I know that when you let others know you care about them first- they are more likely to respond when you want to teach them something. Living your faith is much different than just teaching your faith. I want to challenge each of you to LIVE your faith in a way that people can tell you are different, in a way that they can see the light in your eyes. Live your testimony! I know that if you can do this, you will change lives. People will want to be like you and with continued good influence, you can change their life and they can be like you. Remember: your testimony should never "go on vacation", in fact- that's when you should be on your best game to be a good example and live your testimony. Remember, people are always watching you.

I want to leave you with this, my testimony, that I know that our actions, our examples, speak louder than what we say. The way we act will forever leave impressions on those watching us. What impression will you leave? Would Heavenly Father be proud of that?
I know that He lives and He loves each of us and knows us. He will help us to make our actions pleasing unto Him always- no matter where we are or who we are with. Be willing to change.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen

Love,
Samantha
** These are lyrics from a song called: "Show them" my Maddie Wilson Click here to listen!

What Is Being Said?

"What kind of a friend am I?" "What kind of friends do I have?"

Dear Family and Friends,

Today I want to share a thought with you that has been weighing on my mind lately. The thought is about friendship: "What kind of a friend am I?" "What kind of friends do I have?"

I talk to a lot of people, I get lots of advice from many different sources, and I ask Heavenly Father to help me be a better friend and know how to serve others and meet the needs of those around me so that I can keep my baptismal covenants (promises with God) to ease other's burdens and make them lighter. As I have been talking with others and helping them with problems, especially with my siblings, I have been wondering: "What kind of a friend am I?" "What kind of friends do I have?"

As I was pondering what to share this lovely Sabbath day I found this video and it perfectly fits my thoughts this week. Pay attention to the way these friends talk about each other and the things they share that strengthen their relationship with each other and with Heavenly Father. Click to watch: Sisters in Zion

In this video I noticed the women sharing things about others. Every single thing they said was loving, kind, uplifting, building, and heartfelt. Not once did they say anything degrading, tearing, unloving, or unkind. They were honest and they were seeking the goodness in each other. This is a friendship that will last forever; because while I'm sure these sisters have hard times and I'm sure they get upset with each other once in a while, I do not believe these sisters solve the problem with gossip. That is not the kind of friendship these sisters have, and they know it because they see the good in each other even when there is bad. The Spirit definitely guides this relationship to the Savior. They see the good qualities and ignore the weak ones- while still helping to make weakness' strong. In a world where it's easy to focus on things that don't really matter or that are not positive- they seek goodness and build each other up. So much so that the sisters in this circle of sisters love each other like family, and they truly know they are sisters.

Now I ask you to ponder this:

"What kind of a friend am I?" "What kind of friends do I have?" 

Do you gossip when things get difficult inside your circle of friends? Or do you talk things out and build each other up and closer to Christ? Do you seek goodness or do you seek bad? Truly ask yourself: "What kind of a friend am I?" "What kind of friends do I have?" If you see a problem, ask Heavenly Father to help you change. You cannot change others- focus on you and your example will inspire others to change too. Sometimes it's going to be painful but the change to come closer to God and help your friends and family come closer to Him will all be worth it in the end. 

I want to bear testimony that I know that the all the relationships we enjoy here on earth will be carried with us throughout eternity. (What kind of relationships do you want to have for eternity?- because eternity starts today!) I know that we are all Heavenly Father's children. He loves us infinitely and He will guide our efforts to love and serve others. Do not give up! He will help you- all you have to do is ask for guidance and push forward with faith. He will bless you. Be the friend you would like to have. Take time for others and let them know that you really care about them. Don't be afraid to say sorry and ask for Heaven Father's help to mean it. Share your testimony and beliefs with your friends too- you goal as a friend should be to do all you can to help your friends feel Heavenly Father's love and bring them closer to Him. You can do it, He will help you.

I know these things are true, In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen
Love,
Samantha