This Is The Christ

Hey all! After a year I'm back with a new blog post. (If it doesn't make complete sense that is because I am trying to post this while feeding my 2 yr old sister breakfast and watching the 4 yr old and praying the the 5 mo. old doesn't wake up while mom is away- yea for a taste of motherhood!).

Okay but on to what I really wanted to write about. Yesterday while talking to two wonderful people after church, the fact that I used to play piano came up in conversation. I remembered one of my favorite pieces I ever learned with the little skill I developed was "This Is The Christ". 

If you are not familiar with this song, the lyrics were written by Pres. James E. Faust and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings it. I first heard it I think somewhere towards the end of The Testaments movie, loved it, and found the sheet music in an Ensign I think later on.

Anyway, it has been so long since I've played that sheet music so those two wonderful people challenged me to relearn it and then to play it for them sometime. This music got me thinking about Jesus Christ and what He means to me and my life. I love reflecting on the Savior and coming to know Him. And I am still learning more and more about Him and developing my relationship with my Redeemer and Heavenly Father. I encourage you also to take some time, it doesn't have to be long, and ponder on Jesus Christ. I'll end with one of my favorite scriptures:

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

2 Nephi 25:26

Hearts

Since it is Valentine's Day I have some thoughts regarding hearts :)
But first here is a Mormon Message video because it's just cute!

Alright, so this last summer I got to hear from Paul Cardall. He is a heart transplant recipient and professional pianist and he uses piano music to share his testimony too. His talk was based off a theme scripture: Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

He mentioned that just like an actual heart transplant recipient must take medication to make sure that the new heart is not rejected, we need to be careful and take care with a spiritually changed heart that it doesn't become hardened.

But what can we do, when we've had our spiritual
heart surgery and our hearts are changed, to ensure they don't harden?

My stake also go to hear from Elder Craig B. Terry of the Seventy. He gave me ideas of what we should do to keep our heart's spiritual well-being.

1. There is no substitute for the power of the word of God in your lives, particularly the Book of Mormon.

2. Make sacrament one of the very sacred, close to your heart things you do each week.

3. Love the standards in For the Strength of Youth. Study and reconnect with them everyday because we grow into them, never grow out of them. The standards will protect your heart.

4. Don't take your covenants lightly and become lax! We need to be serious in our covenants or we allow the Adversary to take place in our hearts.

5. Ask yourself, "What is the condition of my heart in relation to where Heavenly Father would have my heart be?"

~ A properly functioning spiritual heart is essential to our well-being just like a proper physical heart is crucial to living. When a person exercises agency to develop faith in God, it is a part of the miracle of receiving a new heart as mentioned in Ezekiel.~

What Nephi Taught Me About Visiting Teaching

A couple of weeks ago I was complaining to myself about how difficult visiting teaching is. I mean it took me a while just to get a hold of my partner and then we had to figure out a time that worked for our two ladies we visit. We thought we had it figured out until both ladies shortly before declared they were actually unavailable for the week.
Well I found this a little frustrating {wouldn't most of us?} and so the murmuring began.


Why is my YSA Relief Society stressing so much importance on visiting teaching?

Don't they know how busy we are being college students, so how we supposed to visit multiple sisters every month?

And why do they want us going with a companion sister?

It would be easier to just go without having to work it out with a companion's schedule too.

Then I came across this in my daily scripture reading: Nephi 3:5

  And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord.

Lehi was talking to his son about going back to Jerusalem to face the difficult task of obtaining the brass plates from the powerful Laban. The key phrase Lehi gives is that it was "a commandment of the Lord".

I realized that it isn't just my Relief Society requiring visiting teaching of me, it is Heavenly Father that asks it of me. And I know that good things and blessings come from keeping the Lord's commandments.