Friendship

This last weekend I went to my roommate's grandma's house and we had a roommate reunion sleepover. It was so much fun! We got to update each other about our lives and new developments but most importantly, we got to rekindle our friendships. I am so happy that I was able to spend that time with them - it is a memory that I am not likely to forget soon!

When we woke up in the morning we went on a hike to overlook the city. Our shoes got really muddy, we fell in snow that was deeper than we thought and the hike took a lot longer than originally expected. However, we entertained each other and had a grand old time! On the way up we made a friend - a little white cat who followed us since we reached the dirt trail. She (we called her sarah-emily - on behalf of two of our roommates who couldn't stay the night) was obviously domestic as she responded to our encouragements and petting and was clean. As we continued to walk farther and farther from her home, I half expected her to turn back. Sarah-emily stayed with us though, through the mud (although she whined at some of it haha) and allowed us to carry her through the snow. (this is a picture of my roommate, Kimmie, holding Sarah-emily).

I would like to connect this to the fact that we all need friends and we all need to be loved. I love my roommates and they provide a type of support that no one else can. For a time, this little kitty loved us, because we played with her. Jesus loves us all the time, but not because of anything we have merited. He only asks one simple thing of us, that we love eachother! "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34 http://scriptures.lds.org/)

Blessings and Happiness Comes From Keeping the Commandments

Dr. Martin Seligman, director of the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center, gave a lecture at BYU today about "well-being." http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/; http://byub.org/devotionals. He shared with us many, well-proven facts which show that well-being can be laerned and taught. In other words, we can learn how to be optimistic and happy. He talked about techniques such as discovering what your strengths are and then using them everyday. He mentioned metacognition, focusing on questions such as "what went well today?" "why?" He also talked about participating in meaningful activites like service and how the satisfaction gained from altruism differs from the happiness we feel while we watch a movie. All in all, his thoughts were very insightful.

I would like to add another dimension to this idea: God. Another aspect to life that adds deeper meaning and greater happiness is making God a part of everyday life. Specifically. I would like the blessings that come from keeping the commandments. A children's hymn, "Keep the Commandments" reads:

"Keep the commandments; keep the commandments!

In this there is safety; in this there is peace.

He will send blessings; He will send blessings,

words of a prophet: Keep the commandments.

In this there is safety and peace.

We are His children; we are His children,

and we must be tested to show we are true.

Hold to His promises; hold to His promises,

heeding the prophets: Keep the commandments.

In this there is safety and peace" http://www.lds.org/cm.

As a little child I was taught that I will be happy when I am obedient. This applies to my relationships with my parents, with school and with my Heavenly Father. Recently, I just got engaged to a wonderful man and we will be married in temple for all time and all eternity. I feel so blessed to have access to the wonderful privelege of being married in the House of the Lord and I know that, in part, it is because of my steadfastness in keeping His commandments that I am able to do this.

John 15:10 states: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love http://scriptures.lds.org/. I have truly felt of his love as I have kept the commandments. I know that He has always loved me and always will, but when I am choosing the right, I am happy and am more sensitive to the Holy Spirit thus I greater feel of His love. When we keep the commandments, the Lord blesses us for it and we are happy. In addition to what Dr. Seligman taught, we can find deeper meaning and happiness in life through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is no end to the good we can do!

This last week I had a new roommate move in to my apartment. Before she moved in and before I had met her I wondered how we would all get along. Our roommate who moved out (because she got married) was amazing and was the one who glued us all together. Now that she was gone, our apartment made the conscious decision to put forth the effort to stay united and maintain the wonderful feeling we had in our little home. This meant reaching out to our new roommate and helping her feel like she belonged. It turns out that she is an amazing girl and getting to know her has been so much fun! I think that because we approached this situation with love and with an open mind, we were blessed and have had a smooth transistion.
When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus answered, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." but coming in second is: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22: 37-40; http://scriptures.lds.org). I believe that this Christ-like love is the beginning of success to any relationship. From my own experience, I have seen that when I serve others, I begin to care for them. With new roommates, this is only a precurser of our friendship; with my family members, my love for them deepens; with strangers, I gain a greater understanding of their situation in life and can appreciate their decisions.
As a prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley stressed this point: " have wondered why there is so much hatred in the world. We are involved in terrible wars with lives lost and many crippling wounds. Coming closer to home, there is so much of jealousy, pride, arrogance, and carping criticism; fathers who rise in anger over small, inconsequential things and make wives weep and children fear. . .There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us" (Gordon B. Hinckley; The Need for Greater Kindness, May 2006; http://lds.org). From this we learn that today, more than ever, we need to be more sensitive to the needs of those around us, we need to be thoughtful, kind and loving and actively engaged in doing good because like President Hinckley said, "there is no end to the good we can do!"

Trusted in

President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, David O. McKay said, "it is better to be trusted than to be loved" (http://ww.lds.org/). As I thought more on this statement, I came to realize that I agreed with it. There are many people that I love: God, my family and friends to name a few. However, I do not put my trust in all of them - in other words, I am more selective in those I trust than of those I love. Even among those I trust, there are still varying degrees. For instance, I would trust my father for providing sincere advice and I would trust my roommate with insight on a relationship issue. Ultimately, I put all of my trust in the Lord and I know that in return, He will direct me (Proverbs 3:5).

I think Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ also use discretion in whom they trust. They love everyone - to a degree that is incomprehensible to either you or me. But as history shows, they do not, nor can they, trust everyone at that same level. For example, Jesus Christ trusts Thomas S. Monson enough to allow him to lead His Church in the right direction, with some help along the way, of course. He trusted Paul enough to have called him to preach His gospel to His children. Also, He trusts me enough to visit and care for the women in my ward (whom He loves more than I ever can) that I am assigned to visit teach. Thus, as I go about my life and serve, in various capacities, in the Lord's kingdom, I must strive to remember that the Lord is putting his trust in me. I will do my best to serve them so that in a small way, they may feel the love that He has for them. After all, I am on the Lord's errand and He is trusting me to do my best.