Food for the Soul

My sweet husband and I were recently called as ward missionaries in our new ward. And what an adventure it has been ever since! I have never spent so much time with the missionaries. We have been blessed to have their sweet spirit in our home multiple times a week and we help them teach lessons all the time. 

Recently, I had an experience that strengthened my testimony of our Heavenly Father’s love for each of His children and His awareness of us all. I was at the grocery store to get the things I needed to make dinner for the missionaries that night and I had the prompting to make twice the amount that I normally do. I followed it, thinking that if anything, we would have some leftovers and I would be off the hook for cooking for a day or two. 

That night, the missionaries and Ty were extra hungry and ate almost the whole 2 pans of enchiladas, leaving 4 behind. As we were heading out the door with the missionaries to go visit one of their investigators, Mike, Ty had the distinct prompting to bring the last 4 enchiladas with us. We packed them up and went over to the investigator’s home as quickly as we could.

When we arrived, Mike opened the door in a panic. He told us that he didn’t have time to talk because he was frantically looking for some food for his sick, 90 year old mother who stays with him. He ran out of food and money that day and his mom desperately needed something to eat, but no one would help him.

We tried our best to calm him down and told him that we had some food in the car that we felt we should bring with us. Ty went and got the last enchiladas and we brought them into his house so they would have some food until Mike got his paycheck the next day.

That lesson, we were able to share how I had been inspired to make extra food and Ty was inspired to bring it with us because Heavenly Father was aware of Mike and his mother. I wish I could say that he was converted on the spot, but that’s not the case. More than anything, I learned that we can be a powerful tool in the hands of the Lord when we choose to listen and obey. Just like Heavenly Father was aware that Mike would need food that day, He is aware of each of us on such an individual level.

It is my humble testimony that we are never forgotten by the Lord. He is so involved in the intricate details of our lives and will always provide a way for us as we seek His help and do all we can. Not only does He remember us, but He remembers our brother’s and sister’s around us too. I know it is our sacred privilege to be His hands to help those around us, especially because we see His hand so often in our own lives. The Lord loves his children and what a privilege it is to help Him care for each one.

We are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father

A few recent experiences have taken my mind back to the times when I was a young girl and a teenager. I recall, more clearly than I would like probably, how hard it was to be growing up LDS. Perhaps the part that made it most difficult for me was I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb when, during those vulnerable years, I really would have preferred to just be invisible. At that point in my life, I truly did not have a strong sense of who I was and what it meant to be a daughter of God. Every Sunday I would standup and recite the Young Woman’s theme, only to go back home and feel like I could not measure up to the standards the world appeared to be setting for me. I was told over and over that my God loved me and loved everyone, but I still felt the constant pressure from media and peers telling me that my value was rooted in what I looked like.

I made it all the way through Personal Progress, completing every single one of the values. I was 16 when I finished. Yet, it wasn’t until just a few days ago, now that I am 21 and at BYU, that I believe I realized what it means to truly be a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me.

In one of my classes, we were discussing the sexualization of women and how dangerous that has become in our world today. At the conclusion of our discussion, my professor had all the girls in the room stand. He asked if we remember the Young Woman’s theme that most of us hadn’t recited for many years. We all began to recite the theme in unison and as we completed saying all the values, he quickly told us to pause and hold on for a second.

He looked directly in my eyes and the eyes of every other woman standing in the room and then at each guy and said something to the effect of “Those values you just said to me are what make a real woman. Your value to this society lies in your adherence to those values, not the size of your jeans, your waist, your hair color, or anything else. Everyone is of infinite worth, but what you contribute to this world is not based on how you look; It is based on who you are and what you contribute through those values you just gave to me. That is what it means to be a daughter of God” 

I had never before had my role as a daughter of God explained to me so powerfully and directly than I did that day. What makes a REAL woman? One who encompasses Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue. Nowhere in those values do we say we believe that we value “a perfect waste, designer clothes, perfect makeup” or anything in-between. What the Lord sees as a true daughter of God is rooted in values much deeper than any of that; it is all about who we are and who we are striving to become. I hope more young women figure this out sooner than I did. We can listen to the voice of the media around us telling us what we should value, but I know that my true value is rooted in the values I hold in my heart. 

“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

—1^st Samuel 16:7--

Promises Through the Priesthood

I have recently been working on cleaning out my room in preparation for moving to Texas after Ty and I are married in a few months. As I was cleaning it out today, I came across an old journal entry that recorded some of the things that were mentioned in a father’s blessing I received over 2 years ago. My father has always been extremely close to the spirit and I have always admired his ability to be so in tune with it, especially as he gives me priesthood blessings. I have seen every promise and blessing he has pronounced lovingly on my head come about. And the counsel and advice he gives through the inspiration of a loving Heavenly Father is always what I need. At the time I received this specific blessing, I was sending off a missionary who, as I mentioned before, I was sure I would be with forever. It was the day before he was to enter the MTC and I was an emotional train wreck, but luckily my family was visiting for spring break so my dad was there to give me a blessing. At one point, he stopped for a long period and I could tell that he was nervous to tell me the words the spirit was prompting him to say to me. He eventually told me that “at the right time in my life I would meet a wonderful man at BYU who would cherish me, love me deeply, and bring me true happiness and joy.” I honestly felt like within in a matter of seconds, my world came to a screeching halt. My Heavenly Father just told me I would find a different man than the one I had planned out my entire life with and I was in shock. It was hard to swallow.

A few month later, I received another blessing from my dad when I was home from college for the summer. This time, he said “when things don’t work out the way you have hoped for and planned, don’t be disappointed. Know that the Lord has wonderful blessings in store for you and that he knows what is best.” I tried to think that maybe I would just “realize” that my missionary was the right one after a while. Or that he would come to “love and cherish” me as the blessing said. I tried to think of how other things in my life hadn’t worked out to try and comfort myself into thinking that the blessing wasn’t talking about my future with my missionary. But every time I approached the matter in that mindset, I had an unsettling feeling. There were even times when I could distinctively point out the spirit telling me in my mind and heart “I have someone different out there for you.” As I talked about in a previous post, my heart softened and I eventually followed what my Heavenly Father asked of me in letting go of my missionary.

Today, I am 55 days away from marrying the man that was talked about in my priesthood blessing years ago. Things have not worked out the way that I hoped and planned they would have 2+ years ago, but I couldn’t be more grateful that such is the case. I can testify with all my heart that the priesthood is real. The blessings and counsel we can receive from the worthy men who hold it is astounding and real. There is no other church where worthy men can act so directly in the name of God because the LDS church is the only one with the priesthood keys. Just like the blessing I was promised years ago happened for me, I know that any promises we are given by the Lord in any way, can be ours. I’ve learned so much through everything in the past couple years and that stands out to me. The priesthood is worth more than gold to me because of the direct counsel and guidance from a loving Heavenly Father it can provide. No matter the promise, know that the Lord will come through as we do our part. He is bound by the promises he gives to us and he is a God of his word. He wants to give us the blessings he’s promised. For anyone out there seeking a blessing that doesn’t seem to come, I testify that we can trust in the promises he gives, no matter what the timing may be, because He loves us and wants to see us succeed.