I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. -Alma 29:9
Posts tagged: tumblrstake
So a while back, I was in the adult class to help out the sweet teacher. He had two copies of the Book of Mormon sitting on the table. My dad turned to me and asked me if I had anybody in mind that I could give a BoM to, and I had been thinking about my econ teacher. So when the teacher asked if anyone would like a copy to give out, I asked for one.
It left it on my desk, and I was planning to write a letter to him explaining why I wanted to give it to him. (He’s an American history teacher, and he also mentioned how he would love to go on the trek.)
This morning came quickly, and I turned and realized I had done nothing to prepare to give this to my teacher. Today was my last day of high school (yay). So I rushed out of my room asking my sister if giving it to this teacher was a good idea, to which she yelled at me because she was going to do the same. I had also been thinking about my junior English teacher.
So instead of writing to my econ teacher (I let Katie do that since she actually has him for history) I wrote to my AP Lang teacher. I wrote something cheesy like “You introduced me to a lot of your favorite literature, and now I’d like to present you with mine.”
I wrapped it up, and after first period I went to his classroom to give it to him. (My sister also has him this year, so she yelled that it was her idea first. For the record, I had that BoM a long time ago. She still doesn’t have a copy to give out.)
Now, to give a quick understanding, I haven’t talked to this specific teacher in about a year. He wasn’t my favorite teacher, and he actually scared me at times. But because I thought of that cheesy line, I couldn’t shake the idea of giving it to him.
Later, I was walking with my friend on my off hour, and this teacher was walking the class down to the library. He stopped me and said, “Thank you. I had a copy, and I gave it to a student about… eight years ago. He loved it so much that he converted. But I haven’t had a copy since. Thank you.”
So here I am, talking to a teacher I don’t really know, and at one point didn’t really like, and yet a miracle is being revealed before my eyes.
Top: My seminary class!
Bottom: Brother Rockwood! Now you get a face to the name! (New icon, yes?)
Seminary graduation was great. I only nearly cried when giving my talk.
I’d just like to take a brief moment to talk to the young men (and possibly young women) who might read this.
In the For Strength of Youth, it says to avoid going on frequent dates with the same person. It can limit the amount of other people you both can meet and get to know better.
There are three distinct “couples” in my seminary class, who say that they aren’t in a relationship, yet are most likely to go with the other if a date night is introduced.
One of the young women in this situation is asked by a single young man on all date nights, dances, and even Valentine’s Day. It breaks my heart, because early on she mentioned how he was nice, she just didn’t like him that much. But she was in a position where it wasn’t exactly breaking up.
Because this young man has been so open about how much he likes her, the other guys in the class tend to stay away. Sixth months after she turned sixteen to the present time, where she is almost eighteen, she has mostly gone on dates with this one guy. Limiting the other people you both get to see? I think so.
Along with effecting someone you ask frequently, it can also affect those few you happen to ask when the one you want can’t come. I was asked by this same young man to homecoming, and his exact words were, “____ can’t come, and I heard you can’t pay for dinner. Want to go with me?”
The whole night I felt awful because I couldn’t compare to this other girl he practically idolizes. During dinner he was texting her, and found out she was able to come to the dance. He danced with me the very first song, then proceeded to spend the rest of the night with her.
Please, please, PLEASE, if you are still in high school, don’t make this situation a reality. 2 of the 3 dates I’ve been on I felt I was just a replacement for someone else, and it hurts so much. I can’t imagine what being in a relationship like that would be like, feeling guilty if not going with a certain person, or feeling obligated to wait for them on their missions.
I am not saying these young men are not righteous; these are some of most fantastic people I know, and their testimonies are so strong. But everyone can make mistakes, and this one seems to be common among those really righteous guys.
If you decide to become girlfriend/boyfriend, great. I wouldn’t suggest that, but it makes a distinct line. If you only date someone a few times throughout high school, even better. What I’m asking is do not apply boyfriend/girlfriend type guidelines and claim you’re not steady dating. More people get hurt than you think.
The substitute for my Sunday School class today is perhaps one of my favorite people ever. He asked this question:
What is the most important scripture every person can memorize?
Before I give the answer he gave, think about what you would say.
Just in case you guys haven’t seen this yet.
Someone brought this up on their smartphone during a group date. It’s not the best quality thing, but it gets stuck in my head a lot.
My friend Kevin’s favorite part, one he quotes often: “I’m saving my armpits for my wife.”
Also, I couldn’t understand most of the autotune part, so I pretend it’s not there sometimes.
As I said earlier, I was going to compare D&C 18 and Alma 29. I’ve also added the RM’s additions in here.
This is a longer post, so I’ll do a read more break. Although it is long and took me a couple hours to even write, I think this is one of the best, if not the best post I have written.
I can’t learn something for someone. I can’t feel something, or grow a testimony, or understand something for anyone. And this is one of my biggest frustrations.
Oh how I wish to show everyone how much this gospel will change their lives. I wish I could apply forgiveness for fellow members in place of someone having a hard time seeing past others’ mistakes to the core doctrine. I wish that I could feel happy, charitable, humble, forgiving for someone else.
I feel this way often, and I know that it would be messing with others’ agency. A reason I like Alma 29 (other than 9 and 10) is the first part of the chapter.
1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.
4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.
6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?
Alma 29 is just one of those chapters that I read and I can almost hear Alma saying “I know that feel bro” (or, I guess, a more reverent response.)
So I’ve seen this done a few times and thought I’d jump on the bandwagon!
1. First and middle names: Hannah Kristine
2. Preferred name: anything that doesn’t have to do with bananas or Montana.
3. Post a picture of yourself:
(That was one of the senior pictures I liked if it weren’t overexposed)
4a. Year in school: High School Senior
4b. College major: planning on Media Arts!
5. Native language: English.
6. Other fluent languages: Gringo Spanglish
LIFE STORY
7. Member, investigator, or other?: Member
8. Baptism date (if applicable): June 28, 2003
9. Current relationship status: Working on my relationship with God at the moment, does that count? (Single)
10a. Did you serve a mission/are you hoping to serve a mission/not planning on a mission? Planning, hoping!
10b. If you served or have your call, where? N/A (for now!)
11. Family members: Parents and three younger siblings, Katie (16), Jacob (12), and Mandy (9).
12. Birth month: June
13. Current country/state of residence (if you’re comfortable sharing): Colorado!
FUN FACTS
14. Write your favorite scripture on a piece of paper and post it here so we can see your handwriting!
I love Alma 29, and then it was obvious I had to do D&C 18:10 as well.
15a. Favorite color: Green/Blue mix
15b. Least favorite color: Orange
16: Any fandoms: I don’t know. Psych? But I wouldn’t say I like it as much as fandom people usually like their TV shows.
17: Favorite temple (include a picture):
It’s not built yet, but the Fort Collins, Colorado temple is looking quite beautiful to me.
18. If you plan on having a family, how many children do you want? I kind of only want two but I feel that might not be the case later on. Not that I don’t like kids, just, having three siblings with a wide age range can get frustrating to me really quick, and I don’t want that to happen if I can avoid it.
19. What (English) accent do you speak in? Coloradan? I don’t know, the most bland American accent you can think of. It’s not Western or Southern or New York or anything. I don’t pronounce the t in mountains though, which seems to be a common thing in Colorado.
20. Describe your personality in 5 words: reserved, cautious, sincere, determined, forgiving.
So, a quick little story that I heard a while back.
A little over a decade ago, there were three high schools in my city. A, P, and AW. AW had enough kids to establish release time, and it was at that point the stake started to set it up. Around the same time, a fourth school, RV, was built. Half of the kids left AW to go to RV, so release time was no longer a possibility.
Brother Rockwood said that had RV not been built, students at A and P would just do ward seminary classes. That would mean like, six active people in my class (all grades included. It wouldn’t be very fun I don’t think.)
One of the major blessings I count daily is my seminary class - at a stake level. If it weren’t for stake early morning seminary, I wouldn’t have met a majority of my friends. I wouldn’t have gotten the courage to take a single film class for half of my school day this year. I wouldn’t have gone to any dances (especially Mormon Prom). I wouldn’t have been very social. I probably would have decided church wasn’t my thing. I very well could have gone inactive and followed my friend into a whirl of self-harm, depression, and drugs.
The people I had the privilege to meet at seminary got me excited about church, about having good friends, about being me. For that reason, I cannot consider RV and AW rival schools, because people that go there are the reason I can get up most mornings without feeling like crud.
Have you guys ever read 1 Nephi 13 with a historical view? I’ve always loved this chapter but when I mention it, it seems not very many people know about it.
(It talks about Christopher Columbus, the pilgrims, the Revolutionary war, etc. So cool!)
And that, kids, is the reason we do not play with matches.
