Remember, To be HaPpY :)

Well, its that time again! Transfers!!! Every 6 weeks we find out if we either stay in our areas for another 6 weeks, leave for a new area, get a new companion or both. Pretty exciting and quite intense, waiting for that call to come. (Phone call comes).......

Yes!! Staying in Napa for at LEAST another 6 weeks, and I get to stay with Sister Tuifua for another 6 weeks. Very exciting!

The thing I look forward to every transfer is zone conference. Which is a certain number of missionaries in certain areas gather together and hear some words of wisdom (as I like to call it) from other missionaries and President Bunker and Sister Bunker.

We had it today!! Ah, I was so excited and pumped to go to San Rafael. Its such a testimony to me, that the Lord really does know what we need and the desires of our hearts. Everything that was shared to us missionaries is just what I needed to hear.
The past few months I have just felt so.. so.. I don't even know how to describe it. Just felt tired and blah.

Something that dear Sister Bunker talked about really touched me and to be honest helped me kinda snap out of it. She has been a great example to me since I came out here on the mission field. She was diagnosed with breast cancer not to long after I came out here. Every time I have seen her or talked to her, she has always been cheerful and always greeted me and other missionaries with a smile. She has been very positive with this trial of hers and is doing much better.

She asked a question today that really made me sit back and think alot. What do we have to not be cheerful about? 

She quoted a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 123:17,"...Let us cheerfully do all things..." She is SO right!! I have no reason to feel blah! We are SO blessed I have no reason to not be cheerful. This gospel has brought much happiness into my life, and I am so grateful to be reminded of why I am here serving the Lord.

I'm so grateful to be here in the California Santa Rosa Mission. I learn something new everyday.

I know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us, and Jesus Christ is His son, and He is our Savior.

Our greatest source of happiness, is found in the gospel. I'm grateful for Sister Bunker's testimony that she shares to us every month. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember... "We are the Lords hands here on the earth."

A morning of moving furniture, packing boxes, and loading trailers. Yup, helping someone move, on this beautiful Saturday morning. So sad to see them leave, but its exciting for them to be in a new home to start their family. When we got there, there were people already there working hard.

As we started helping clearing things out of their house, I sat back and just watched the people around me. I watched everyone that was there and watched them all interact with each other. It was interesting to me that I saw so much laughter and smiling faces. Moving can be a stressful thing, and it was at times but it didn't hold back any of the laughter.

Back home, I hated doing service. It was something that I always tried to get out of, but hey what teenager didn't right? I remember I always felt so good after I did something for someone else.

Yesterday we visited with an older lady. She is a very sweet, kind and loving lady. She expressed to us how busy she was, taking care of her friends and neighbors that live around her. I told her how sweet she was and caring she was for these people. She immediately said, "No I'm not, that's how it should be."

Later that night we had dinner with a member. I asked him how he feels when he shares the gospel. He expressed to us that the gospel brings much happiness to his life and he knew and recognized that. So, there was a time that came in his life when he had the opportunity to share the gospel with one of his dear friends. Because of his act of faith, good works, and love for the Lord a life of that friend was changed.

Its amazing that doing a service to someone in need really does show and express our Heavenly Fathers love to them. I love what President Thomas S. Monson says,"We are surround with people who need our help, comfort, our kindness. We are the Lords hands here on the earth. He is dependant on each of us."
I am grateful for these people, I have been with these past couple days, who have been an example to me and have shown me the love that they have for the Savior. I agree very much with President Monson,"we are the Lords hands here on the earth." 
Hymn #223
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?
Remember who you are and what you stand for.

I ended up getting ready super early this morning so I had some extra time for personal study, LOVE it when this happens.:)

I read in my personal progress book on knowledge, number 1. It gives some scriptures to look up on knowledge, then asks you to explain why is knowledge so important?

2 Nephi 28:30 is one of this scriptures it asked me to look up. I love the blessing it has in this scripture, we will learn wisdom as we study.
Then, in Doctrine and Covenants 130:18 it says,"Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection."

OK! Well, after my mission, I guess this means I should probably do some school.:) Its so important for us to have knowledge and be well educated in school and also the gospel. Everything we learn here in this life, we take it all with us when we die.

I had myself an "Ah-Ha" moment this morning. After I read about knowledge, I was studying about the gospel of Jesus Christ and reading up on baptism. I read about the reasons we are baptized. One, said "we are baptized for a remission of our sins." After reading that a scripture came to my mind, 2 Nephi 25:26. "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 my know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
Ding, a light bulb shined so bright as this scripture came to mind. It makes sense to me now.

It is through the scriptures (Bible and Book of Mormon) and the restoration of the gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith that we can know how to be forgiven and what we must do to return to live with our Father in Heaven and be clean of our sins.

You would think that I would already know this but, this is why we must continue to study the gospel. We forget things, and also some things start to make sense to us.
I know that I will continue to learn about the gospel for the rest of my life. I know that the Lord will continue to bless me with more "Ah-Ha" moments as long as I show Him that I am willing to learn and study His words, and do the things which He has asked of me.
I invite all of you to open your minds and to be willing to learn. Whether its about the gospel or regular school subjects. I know that it is important to the Lord for us to learn and to grow.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Bad Dreams, or Good Dreams?

There have been some nights that I have had some pretty crazy dreams. No, not like a Dr. Seuss wonderland, but actually really pretty intense scary dreams. I talked about it with some other missionaries and expressed to them that I shouldn't be having dreams like this. I study the scriptures everyday and I pray everyday so why am I having dreams like this.

My life back home, before the mission, I watched alot of scary movies. Not going to lie, I like scary movies ALOT. I didn't watch like super crazy scary movies but there were some that were a little disturbing and I know didn't invite the spirit.

I've felt like its all catching up to me. The movies that I watched that didn't disturb me, are now starting to bother me.
I really like scary movies, so I kinda pondered on what the big deal was. I came across an article, "Its Only Violence". Amazing talk and was looking for someone else, but I found that it really helped me out alot. Something it said in the talk pretty much helped me, "they offend the Spirit and make you less able to respond to others in a sensitive, caring way. They contradict the Savior's message of love for one another."
I never thought of that before, "they contradict the Savior's message to love for one another." That's what this gospel is and brings to others. It is that Christlike love for everyone. Watching these things doesn't show the love, the Christlike love.  

It is going to be a hard sacrifice for me, but I know that it is important to the Lord. I wanna be able to have good dreams instead of the scary ones that I have been having.

I want to invite others to also think of this and read this talk. I know it will bless all of our lives and we will be able to be sensitive to the spirit and to Gods love for all of His children.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember, I don't know everything...But I know enough

                         
A full day of walking and knocking doors. We knocked on this one door and he was a great man of faith, and diligence. However, he did have some questions and concerns.
Some of his questions left us in silence. I sat there and thought to myself, "I don't know enough. How can I be here and talk to people when I don't know everything."
I watched this video and felt some comfort. I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I stand as a witness of Him. My message, along with other missionaries in the world, is to talk about our Savior Jesus Christ. I don't know everything but I do know enough.
I know that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ helps us and our families be together forever. I know that we all face questions and concerns, but with the help of this gospel and our Father in Heaven our questions can be answered.
I love my Heavenly Father, and I'm grateful that I don't know everything. If I did life would be lame because there would be nothing left to learn. I'm learning everyday and will continue to learn through out the rest of my days. I'm grateful for this life that I have to live, and to learn through the mistakes and challenges that come my way.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember, that ladder is always there.

This morning my companion showed me something that I really like, so I thought I would share it.

As you can see on the left, that is us. We are trying to make it back to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. But we have ditches along the way.

The first one is death. A bridge is built to walk over death, because of Christ we are able to walk over death.

Then the next ditch is sin. As we go through this life we aren't perfect we will fall into sin. But there is a ladder we can walk step by step to make our way back to Heavenly Father. To climb the ladder requires work each step is a principle of the gospel.

The first step is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second step is Repentance. Faith in Jesus Christ leads us to repent to try and do better.

The third step is Baptism our first ordinance and covenant (promise) to our Heavenly Father. Our faith, and repentance leads us to baptism. We are able to have all of our sins washed away so we can be clean.

The fourth step after baptism is we receive the Holy Ghost. A wonderful gift our Heavenly Father gives us. The Holy Ghost helps guide us to make right choices and comforts us. He also testifies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Of course it doesn't end after baptism, we have to continue to climb that ladder. At times we might slip and fall back into sin, but we can always get back on that ladder and start climbing back up to Heavenly Father.

That is the only way we can return to live with Him, its by climbing the ladder taking it one step at a time.

We role played teaching this principle this morning and this is what my companion showed me. Ah, it makes so much more sense than how I was trying to explain! :)

I'm grateful she showed this to me, it opened up my eyes in a way. I love this gospel. I know that at times we will fall into sin over and over again through out our life. We might even just sit down at the bottom for awhile, but that ladder is always there! The Lord will always be at the top of that ladder cheering us on to keep climbing then at that last step He will reach is hand out to us.

Remember.. to be obedient

This morning during my personal study, I was studying on Christlike attributes. The one I decided to study on today was obedience. It is a short section in Preach my Gospel, but an important one. The first thing that really stood out to me was, "[obedience] it is an act of faith, you may sometimes be required to do things you do not completely understand." This is so true, and it is hard for us to do sometimes. I had an experience like this and it wasn't easy, but I knew it was something I needed to do. Everything turned out for the best, as it usually does when we are obedient and do what the Lord asks of us.
I've been reading in the Book of Mormon again, the first family it talks about it Lehi's. Its amazing to me how obedient Lehi is to the Lord, and does what the Lord asks. Lehi's son is just as obedient as his father is.  

They left their home in Jerusalem, and traveled for a time close to the Red Sea. The Lord told Lehi, that they needed to return to Jerusalem to receive the records of his forefathers.

I love Nephi's responce to his father when he asked them to go back. "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7) 
Being obedient is something that I have really desired to do. Which is weird, cause before the mission I did the complete opposite of what people asked me. It wasn't anything to crazy, but for example, my mom would ask me to do something and I just didn't do it.
I want to do the best I can to be as obedient as I can. To the Lord and to other people as well. I know that being obedient is sometimes hard. BUT, this morning during my study I read something that Nephi said that really made me think. Nephi's brothers Laman and Lemuel were always rebelling. There was this specific time when Laman and Lemuel were rebelling and Nephi said, "And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity..." (1 Nephi 18:10)

Sometimes I worry about what others think of me, but I should worry about what the Lord thinks. I want to be obedient to Him, because I love Him. It explains it very simple in the scriptures,"If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15) I love this quote that was said at one of our zone conferences, "Our willingness to obey is most frequently tested before we are actually taught how to obey."

I'm grateful that I do have a desire to be obedient. I do love the Lord, and I know I can show/express my love to Him by being obedient to the things He has asked of us to do. I know that we truly are happier when we obey. I would like to challenge all of you to be obedient to the Lord and also your parents. They both love you and our here to help us. I promise you will feel that freedom and that happiness that the Lord wants us to feel.

Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember your Father(S)

                          
To be honest I got on here and had no idea what I wanted to talk about. I started watching videos and reading talks to see if an idea would come. I watched this video of father and son, and it hit me real hard. Even though this is of a father and son it reminded me of me and my father. I love my dad, he knows I love him but I felt the same way Dylan did in this video. I rolled my eyes when he wanted to talk to me, and talking to him was just weird. During the video I started thinking of my dad and our relationship, I've thought about him alot, being here on a mission. I wouldn't say our relationship was terrible but I know it wasn't the best. To me there is nothing like a father and daughter relationship.
I think about my relationship with my Father in Heaven. To me that is very important and I know its important to Heavenly Father as well. If I want to have a close relationship with my Heavenly Father, I have to do these things that Elder Ballard counsels..
1- Trust Your Father- I know that Heavenly Father knows what is best for me and wants me to be happy.
2-Take an interest in your Father- I know that enjoying His creations we can take part of Him and who He is. I believe our talents are a huge part of this. I believe that when we share our talents with others we are taking an interest in our Heavenly Father.
3-Ask Him for advice- I know that we can talk to Him about anything. I have asked my Father in Heaven for advice, and I know that He has given me counsel.
My Heavenly Father has blessed me with a great earthly father. I want to take counsel to Elder Ballards counsel to my earthly father. I know that it is just as important to be close to him as it is with my Heavenly Father.
Thank you Heavenly Father for being there for me when I need the advice. I do trust you and am willing to do whatever you ask of me.
Thank you for my earthly father. I'm sorry for not showing my gratitude towards either of you. I am grateful for him, and I will do better to be an example to my father.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember, we are daughters of God.

 Click here

Once upon a time, there were beautiful daughters of our Heavenly Father, prepared to come to the earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose. 

We have been going over Personal Progress with a recent convert. She is so excited about personal progress and is very eager to start. She wasn't sure of how to get started or what to do.

I received my Young Women medallion very early in young women's and I haven't looked at the book until recently. I have been reading through it and decided this was something that I wanted to do again. As I have been reading it and working on it, I see why it is important for us girls, young women and women to constantly work on personal progress, whether we received our medallion or not.

The theme on my blog is "Remember who you are, and what you stand for." This is phrase has been said to me since I was 16, and I think I now just fully understood it more than I ever have. We are daughters of God and we are here for a purpose, Satan knows who we are and he will do what he can to make us doubt and forget who we are.

We can have a happily ever after, and I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ helps us to receive that.
Start on personal progress, we can fully understand who we are and why we are here. I love personal progress.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

The Tree of Life: Part 2 of 2

                            
"I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed... And after they tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost." (1 Nephi 8:24-25, 28)

I read these verses and thought to myself.."Is this something I would do? Am I sometimes ashamed of who I am and what I believe." I thought back and pondered on this.

As I pondered on this question, while reading an ensign talk, I came to a scripture that was quoted. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16)
The only thing that I could say was, "I hope not." I hope I'm not one of those people, like in the video, that feels ashamed and lets go of the iron rod. The mist of darkness is everywhere around us, Satan in constantly tempting us. I know that if I just hold tight to the iron rod I will be able to feel of Gods love for me, and everyone else around us. I know that to be true for everyone. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ does make us happy. It doesn't matter about the people in the building laughing, mocking and pointing fingers. Yes at times it is and can be hard, but I know that if we have the courage we need to stand as witnesses of Him, He will help us. Don't be ashamed! "We will have the courage to face whatever comes." So I ask.. Are you ashamed?
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Tree of Life: Part 1of 2

The beginning of the year I started reading the Book of Mormon again. I, of course, started reading from the beginning in 1 Nephi. I came to the part of Lehi's dream of "The Tree of Life."

Lehi explains to his family," I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.... I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof... it was most sweet. As I partook of the fruit, it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it." (1 Nephi 8:10-13) Later Nephi says that the tree's "beauty was far beyond all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of driven snow." (1 Nephi 11:8-9) The tree represents the love of God. 
Lehi desired for his family to come and partake of this fruit.

Then, he says, "I beheld a rod of iron and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood." (1 Nephi 8:19-20) The rod of iron represents the word of God. (1 Nephi 11:25) He saw many people holding to the iron rod making their way to the tree. (1 Nephi 8:21)

"There arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost." (1 Nephi 8:23) "The mist of darkness is the temptations of the devil, and blinds the eyes of the children of men." (1 Nephi 12:17)

" I cast my eyes round about, and beheld, a great and spacious building... it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female. They were mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit." (1 Nephi 8:26-27) This great and spacious building was the pride of the world. (1 Nephi 11:36)

There are so many symbols in this vision that Lehi had. I've been reviewing this vision, and thinking alot about what it means.
We can see that the tree is the love of God. It was white and beautiful and desirable. This is how the love of God is, we feel His love for us and we want more and more of it. How do we get to the tree? The iron rod, the word of God, leads us to the tree. If we keep the commandments we will be able to feel His love for us and make our way back to live with Him again.
But, we have to hold on to the iron rod because there are so many obstacles that come our way. The mist of darkness!...........
Hold to the Iron Rod.!!

Remember, The Spirit is a Still Small Voice.

We were asked a question the other day by a recent convert of ours. "How do you recognize the spirit?" How do I explain this? Well, I read something in Preach My Gospel about the spirit. "That the spirit is quiet, a still small voice, a whisper and it can pierce the very soul (3 Nephi 11:3)."
Yes, scriptures help but I thought of a personal experience of mine.

Before coming on my mission I thought of somethings that I needed to do before I came out here. One particular thing I was very concerned about and to be honest was afraid of the answer. But, I needed to know what the Lord wanted me to do. No matter what the answer, I kneeled down, and I remember just pleading to the Lord of what I should do. I told Him I would do anything He wanted of me so that I could be prepared and ready to serve Him. After asking Him and just sitting there beside my bed pondering on this question, I had this feeling of this thing I needed to do. The next day, at work, I started having my doubts. I started asking myself, "is this something the Lord wants me to do? Did I really feel the spirit?" I believe we always have our doubts after we feel the spirit. Satan puts those doubts into our minds to make us think differently. He knows that we did indeed feel the spirit but he wants us to thing otherwise.

I took a minute to myself and asked Heavenly Father again if this was something that He wanted me to do. I can't really explain the feeling that I got, but it was just a calm peaceful feeling. The scriptures teach us that the Spirit gives feelings of peace and comfort. I thought about that moment I was beside my bed. I knew that the Lord told me what I needed to do. I did not know why but I told myself this is what I need to do. Later that night, I did what the Lord asked me to do. It was hard for me, because I didn't know why and later wondered if I made a mistake. I expressed to the Lord how I felt, that I was unsure about the decision I made. I felt that comfort feeling come over me and I knew everything would be OK. Now about a year later after this decision I realized that the Lord had something else in store for my life. I'm very grateful that I listened to that still small voice, I didn't know why at the time. Now, I do. (Doctrine and Covenants 9:8-9)
I invite you all to remember the feelings you have when you pray or read the scriptures. Pay attention to what the Lord is trying to tell you. I know that He speaks to us through the Spirit. "...Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good."
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember... Weak Times

Its a foggy morning here in Napa!!! We rode bike again today, and I have to say.. Its beautiful riding in the fog. It gave me alot of pondering time.
I thought back on the past couple of days, and realized that this week so far has been a spiritual one for me. I feel like the Lord has really been talking to me.
For the past month, as I said in my previous post, I have been struggling at somethings. I felt like I wasn't doing anything I needed to as a missionary. I was "WEAK" I guess you can say, and that's all I have been noticing is my weak points.

Well, we had a meeting with some missionaries and our mission president. He asked us to read this talk before the meeting, titled "The Atonement: All for All" by Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy. Something he said in that talk didn't hit me until I heard our mission president say it. "If you're seeing more of your weakness, that just might mean you're moving nearer to God, not farther away." Once he said that, I sat and thought about it and it was like a HUGE relief/burden that was lifted off my shoulders. I look back now on the past month and look at my "weak" points and realized that there are some things that I wanna change. In the Book of Mormon, in Ether 21:27 it reads, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Its so true, the Lord shows us our weakness so that we can try to be better, and be more like him. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father loving me and caring for me so much that he is willing to show me my weakness so that I can, with His help become stronger.

I'm grateful for our mission president for the words that he said yesterday, they really helped me out and I know that the things he said to us missionaries was an answer to one of my prayers.
I love this gospel very much, and I know that Heavenly Father does care about each and every one of His children. I'm grateful that I am able to notice my weak moments, so that I can work harder to be more and more like my Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, because of the atonement, I'm able to repent of my mistakes and try harder. Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember, we all have "Challenging Times!"

I read a talk yesturday morning and this morning, that was really something that I needed. It was perfect for the way I have been feeling lately.
Yes, even though I am a missionary I still have my hard times. This past month I've just been stressing. I dont exactly know why, I'm just really trying to do my best as a missionary in serving the Lord.

I read this talk, "Finding Strength in Challenging Times!" by Elder Allan F. Packer. One thing that really stood out to me in this talk was when he talked about football and his experience in high school. He said, "We practiced until the skills became natural and automatic. During one play against our biggest rival, I had an experience that has helped me over the years. We were on defense. I knew my assigned opponent, and as the play unfolded, he moved to my right into the line of scrimmage. There was a lot of noise from players and fans. I reacted as the coach had taught us and followed my man into the line, not knowing if he had the ball. To my surprise, I felt the ball partially in my hands. I gave it a tug, but my opponent didn’t let go. As we tugged back and forth, amid all the noise I heard a voice yelling, “Packer, tackle him!” That was enough to bring me to my senses, so I dropped him on the spot.

I have wondered how I heard that voice above all the other noise. I had become acquainted with the voice of the coach during the practices, and I had learned to trust it. I knew that what he taught worked.

We need to be acquainted with the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and we need to practice and apply gospel teachings until they become natural and automatic. These promptings become the foundation of our testimonies. Then our testimonies will keep us happy and safe in troubled times."

How do we get to be acquainted with the promptings of the Spirit? I asked myself this question as I was reading it. There are several things we can do... 1 is to have the desire. "...He granteth unto men according to their desire..."  2 Study and learn, also to ponder. I feel like I have been doing alot of pondering lately and I find that those are the times when I find my answers in what I am pondering about. Its so important for all of us to be aquainted with the Spirit and to feel and understand when he is trying to help us, for it is the Lord speaks to us through the Holy Ghost.

I agree with what Elder Packer says at the end of his talk, "This is a great time to be alive! The Lord needs each of us. This is our day; it is our time!"

This is my time to serve Him here in California. Im so thankful for the Spirit to comfort me and guide me in the things that i need to do. I know that as long as I continue to study the scriptures and pray to my Father in Heaven I will come to be aquainted with the Spirit.

Remember who you are and what you stand for!

We barried OUR swords

2011

It is officially a new year. How exciting!!
New Years Eve Sister Tuifua and I were having our companionship study. We both talked about how we looked back on this past year and just pondered on the accomplishments that we have done, and how our relationship with God has increased.
During my personal study that morning I read, in the ensign, about a mother that was concerned with her children and the language that they were using with each other.

After church one Sunday, her son told her about the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon and how they buried their weapons and made a promise to the Lord never to kill anyone again. Alma 24:17-18 

...all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man's blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

We were inspired to do as they did. We had some habits, or more like words, that we wanted to bury and be done with. So... I drew swords on a piece of paper and we wrote our own words on our swords that we wanted to bury.

So New Years Eve night, we dug a hole and had a ceremony. We read the story of the Lamanites then we barried our swords.

Now we help remind each other with these words that we barried. If we slip and say these words we tell each other, "HEY! We barried that remember?"

Its funny I think about it now, and I look back at that night and I never thought that I would be so happy to get rid of some of these words in my vocabulary. No, they weren't necessarily bad words, BUT I thought to myself, "ya I don't want to say these words around the Lord." 

It wont be easy for me to stop saying these AT FIRST, but its nice to have the reminder, Hey we buried that.

I'm grateful for the Lamanites, for being an example to me. I hope, like them, I can keep my promise to the Lord and keep them barried.