Patience

"And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye become sinner likes unto them...But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions." Alma 34:40-41

I love this scripture, because it tells me to have something that I don't have and I very much wish I did. Patience. I read this scripture at the perfect moment in my life. It was on a day I was struggling with a trial I was facing and I just wanted it to end. It was one of those trials that seems to keep repeating in my life, so I was having a hard time not asking the question "why does this keep happening to me?". I finally decided that I needed an answer to solving my problem. I sat down with my scriptures and flipped open to a random page and I read this scripture and patience...not my favorite answer, but it was one of the most comforting answers I've received. So, I tried it. I had patience and my patience paid off. Every time I say a personal prayer I ask to be blessed with patience and I've noticed a difference in my life. Patience is a key that unlocks one of the many doors to happiness. It's easier to go through life if we learn to unlock that door first, though.

Words of a Book

"And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered." 2 Nephi 27:6

I absolutely love those scriptures that prophesy about things that are to come to pass and already have. This one is of course about the Book of Mormon. I consider the Book of Mormon to be one of the greatest gifts in my life. I would not be where I am today without it. There are few things that bring me more joy than reading the Book of Mormon and learning about it. It contains my testimony. I've read it four times and I am now and my fifth round. I remember the first time I read it and I could barely remember a word I read. The second time was similar, but I picked up on a few familiar stories and scriptures. The third time I was able to remember quite a bit and I was connecting things more. I loved the fourth time, because I remember reading 1 Nephi 1 and just thinking "I GET IT!". It took me four times to understand the Book of Mormon and I still am learning more and more of it. The fifth time through has just been amazing. The one thing that stayed constant though, was the feeling I had. I'm happier when I read the Book of Mormon and every time I finished it and knelt down to see if Moroni's promise would ring true, my heart has been filled with warmth and emptied of any doubt that the gospel is true. I know the gospel is true and I know the Book of Mormon is true and I know it will change lives and has. 

Ye Are Free

"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life." 2 Nephi 10:23

This scripture cannot ring more true. We are free to choose. We are given two very clear paths in our lives and we have been blessed with the agency to choose which path we want to pursue. For me, the path I have chosen has been very clear all my life. I have always chosen the way of the Lord and by it I know that you cannot find true happiness and joy outside of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And like any path we take, there are two directions: forward and back. Choose the path of everlasting death and you can return to the crossroad. Choose the path of eternal life and you can still return to the crossroad. But know that the path of eternal life is true freedom, true joy, and true happiness while the path of everlasting death is true bondage, true suffering, and true despair. I cannot say my life has been unhappy, because I have always had the gospel and I have always believed in it. I choose early in life which path I would pursue and although there were times that I took a few steps back I know that I am further down that path than I have ever been before. I love this gospel and love my God. Through God I am set free.