Family Home Evening

Every Monday my family has family home evening. During family home evening everybody has a specific task to do. We have a person pick an opening song, pray, say a scripture, give a lesson, pick an activity, and so forth. I love family home evening because it's a great spiritual strength for me, as well as a time for family nourishment It's important to have some time each week to spend valuable family time. Family home evening enables me to have bonding with my family and creates unity in our home. Family home evening allows us to spiritually lift and help each other and our family. It helps me to enjoy spending time with my family, and more clearly see the value of my family. In family home evening today, I learned about faith. Faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Father isn't just believing , but requires action. When we have faith in Christ, we're obeying His commandments and applying His atonement in our lives. With Faith we do all that we can to return to Christ because we have faith that he is real and its possible to return to live with him. Alma 32 is a great chapter on teaching us how to increase our faith. It starts with a desire to believe and experimenting on the word(gospel). Faith is believing is something that is real without seeing. We can have faith on worldly, or temporal things, but then we don't get the eternal blessings. Faith in eternal things leads to eternal blessings. Faith in temporal things has a limit, while increasing spiritually has no limit.. We are to continue progressing and growing. Giving up my Mondays can sometimes be a challenge, but it's worth. I rather stay up later doing homework, or miss one day with my friends, than missing out in the blessings I receive from family home evening.

Atonement

I've been studying the importance of the Atonement and how to apply it in my life. Understanding the Atonement has helped me deal with my everyday teenage challenges. I just finished reading a book called " Believing in Christ" That made me more fully comprehend the significance and greatness of the Atonement. In order to use the Atonement in our life, I learned we must have faith in Christ and faith that Christ can heal you. Everybody makes mistakes, and it gives me relief to know that I can repent. Don't get discouraged if you can't change right away. Repentance is a process. Repentance involves changing and becoming like Christ. Repentance starts with a desire to be like Christ and a desire not to sin again. Repentance means putting our trust in Christ. I'm glad that the atonement doesn't require being perfect, but doing our best. This reminds me of a story of a little girl, who was trying to buy a bicycle. Her dad told her to save all of her money and she'll be able to buy a bike. She saved all her money, but still wasn't able to buy the back. Her father paid for the rest of it. That's how the atonement works. Christ doesn't care if we earned one dollar or two. Christ cares more about if we're trying our best and giving our best effort. In the book I read, it related the atonement to a physical trainer. Every time we do a push up the trainer asks us to do another push up, until we can't do any more. The trainer doesn't get mad at us when we can't do another push up he just wanted to push us to our fullest capacities. It's the same way with the atonement.  Don't get discouraged when you make a mistake after trying your best. Jesus just tries to get us to use our full capacities and to get us to our full potential. Many times we don't see our full potential. I'm glad that Christ loves us so much that he went through all of our pains, sins, and sufferings.  Christ worked so hard for us, so now it's our job to use the gift Christ gave us. I know that I feel bad when people don't care about the gift that I gave them. The more we sin and the longer we sin, the more consequences. I like to compare sinning to putting ourselves in a box. The more we sin and longer we sin the more tape that is put around the box to keep it closed. Sin leads people trapped, in bondage, and miserable. We can still repent, but we must deal with the consequences of our actions. Repentance causes are very nature to change. We developed Christ- like attributes and happier. When we repent we become self less and seek for ways we can help us. Our desires change through repentance. It is only through Christ's grace and mercy that we are saved. We all are given time to repent, but we'll be sorry if we don't. (Alma 34:32-34) Remember perfect really means completion. Through Christ we are complete. I know the atonement can really help me in my life , as well as you. Christ's yoke is easy. By easy it doesn't mean his yoke isn't hard , but totally in our hands. I encourage you all the gain a testimony of the atonement and apply it in your lives. The atonement can really shape your lives for the better. At least I have.

scriptures

The Lord provides us with sources to help us stand up for truth. We have seminary, scriptures, and the Holy Ghost. The scriptures defiantly helps me make right choices. The scriptures increases my testimony of the gospel. Every time I read the scriptures I feel the spirit. It's kind of hilarious how every time I read the scriptures I get something new out of it. The scriptures provide examples of people's actions and what their actions led too. Sin always leads to misery and righteousness leads to happiness. I learned from the scriptures that the Lord is more likely to hear my prayers and help me. I know that the scriptures can really help me when I apply them to my life. I can learn to be more like Nephi, instead of Laman and Lemuel. The scriptures teaches me how to live my life and helps me to understand the gospel better. It provides information on the Lord's will for us. The scriptures just doesn't include The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Bible, Pearl of Great Price, but it also includes words from the living prophet and apostles. I love to read the scriptures every day. I found out that my days don't turn out as well when we don't.

Seminary

As a LDS teen it can be hard standing up for my church, especially when there aren't' t very many LDS my age. One thing that has greatly impacted my life and has helped me in many ways is seminary. Today my seminary teacher had the class pretend to be a non member and ask questions to one of the classmates. That classmate then had to answer the question using a scripture mastery. At the end of class my seminary teacher asked me " Why do I attend church every morning." At that moment I was dumbfounded and was unable to answer the question. Now, after contemplating over the question, I realized the true significance of seminary. Seminary provides me with spiritual nourishment and spiritual food throughout the day.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day , as well as early morning church. I view seminary as my first period class. It's important to gain both spiritual and secular knowledge. Besides, What better class can you have than church. Why do we have school classes every day? Isn't church just as important? I love seminary because it increases my testimony in the gospel and it helps me have the courage to stand up for what I know to be true. When I get tempted by my peers, the spirit bring back to my remembrance of what I learned at seminary. Seminary gives me a new understanding of the gospel and scripture. Seminary also, prepares me for my future life. Well, I better get to bed, so I can enjoy a wonderful, early morning, Seminary (LOL)