To the Folks Back Home; Why?

Over the last 18 months I've been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It has been the most fun, thrilling, unexpected, sacred year and a half of my life. I've been able to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all my dear Hispanic friends and to my fellow southerners. I have grow to love and appreciate both cultures. However, because I have been assigned to labor in this part of the Lord's vineyards I haven't had an equal opportunity to let the folks back home know why I chose to dedicate myself to The Lord and His work for a period of my life.

Many of you from home know that for a long time I was a rebel without a cause. I spent many nights with good friends living the country song "red solo cup". To be honest I didn't hate that life, I actually really enjoyed it, but constantly found myself stuck in the same situation,same problems, and same solutions. I started wondering if there was something that would actually make me happy for more than a night. I never managed to find it until I was reintroduced to the Book of Mormon by two young representatives of Jesus Christ. At first I just thought they were cute and fun to be around. With time, I understood that the happiness and joy they had was an outcome of their testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They actually believed in everything I thought my parents were crazy for trying to make me believe. "How do they know it's all true?", is what I thought. "How will I ever be able to be as happy as them after I've made such huge mistakes looking for the happiness the have?"

I continued to stick around the missionaries and started going back to church. As I began to leave my old life behind I started noticing that my struggles became easier to bare, I felt more direction in life and a sense of who I was beyond the party girl. The main source to receiving this new perspective was the Book of Mormon. A book of scripture written by prophets here on the American continent thousands of years ago. It was filled with stories of people finding faith, direction, and hope from and in God. I was able to find the happiness that I had been looking for for so long in this book that, to be honest, is more than just a book. It's like a big instruction manual for how to be happy in this life and in the life to come.

I was told by the missionaries that if I prayed to know if it was truly more scripture from God, that God would give me an answer. I didn't believe them at all. I just kept reading to continue to feel good.

I still remember how everything felt that night. I was sitting in my college bedroom by myself reading the Book of Mormon. Nobody else was home. As I was reading I felt this deep burning desire in my heart to know if it was all true and what significance it had in my life. I decided to get on my knees and offer a prayer. It wasn't anything fancy. I just simply asked my Heavenly Father if Joseph Smith was a true prophet and if the Book of Mormon was true. My dear friends, in that moment I cannot completely describe to you the way I felt. My heart and mind went blank. The worries, doubts, and challenges I had been facing with changing my life around all left my mind. All I could feel was peace. I knew that was my answer. Since that day I have never been able to deny that I knew the Book of Mormon was true. It has completely changed me.

Since that day I have always known where I could turn to find true and everlasting happiness. I didn't always stay on the path but I can tell you now, as I've lived the gospel, that it is the only way to be truly happy. A happiness that doesn't leave. Yes, I still have struggles which many of you have read about in emails but they are easier to overcome. I don't have to wait until the weekend to find happiness, I feel it everyday. I am still the same KC, just a little bit more refined and sure of my divine potential as a daughter of God.

So, here's my invitation to you. I invite you as your friend, sister, cousin, granddaughter, niece, or whoever I may be to you to read in the Book of Mormon. Do as I did and as an acient prophet directs and ask of God if it is true. I promise you as a representative of Jesus Christ that you will find EVERLASTING HAPPINESS and a sure knowledge of who you are, why you are here, and that your Father in Heaven wants you back. You will know exactly how to return to Him.

I testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. He does have more for us! What loving Father wouldn't want to give more to His children? I testify that the Book of Mormon, as well as the Bible, is the word of God. It will only bring you closer to Christ. I have testified of these things the last 18 months of my life to my dear friends in the South. I have seen lives changed, families repaired, hearts healed, guilt swept away, and purpose of life found.

So, when you see me next week and wonder why I don't do the things I used to do or why I left home for 18 months, take my invitation to heart. When you do, you will know why!

Game 5

Game 5. It is the tie breaker game of a volleyball match. Any volleyball player knows that when game 5 comes, it's crunch time. It is the moment that you dig down deep and give everything you've got left in you. You have already played 4 exhausting games and hundreds of rallies, but all of that will only be worth it if you win game 5. To put your whole heart on the court in these final minutes of a match you have to be physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared.

My volleyball coaches from high school taught me just how important it was to be prepared in all aspects for when it came to these 15 crucial points. I took what they had tuaght me to my college coach and asked if we could implement their workout, called "Game 5", into our game prep. To break down exactly what the "Game 5 workout" entailed, we would practice for about three hours at the end of the day and then in addition to practice we would do an intense 15-20 workout that would max out our bodies and minds. Most of the time, I never thought that I would live through those 20 minutes.

Feeling the same way as I did in those workouts, as we walked in the blistering Tennessee heat as missionaries, I couldn't help but compare the game 5 workout to the gospel.

Just as the workouts prepared my team for the mental and emotional battle of winning game 5, our scripture study, daily prayers, and church attendance can prepare us to overcome any temptation or battle we may face in this life, and eventually gain eternal life.

All of my years of playing volleyball I didn't read my scriptures, say my prayers, or go to church. I was always away at tournaments and didn't see them as something that would be of any benefit to me. I made a lot of preventable mistakes that could have been avoided if I had prepared myself to face the situations I was in. It wasn't until my mission that I understood that studying the scriptures, saying daily prayers, and attending church are the little habits we need to make in life to be prepared to win in any "game 5" situation. "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."

Some people might think that these simple primary answers, whether we do them or not, will not have any effect on our eternal destination. Personally, I think this is one of the biggest lies Satan feeds us. I KNOW that as we do the simple task of daily prayer, scripture reading, and church attendance that Satan will have less influence upon us and we will be able to keep our minds focused on our ultimate goal. As my college team and I diligently and whole hearted committed ourselves to push through the 20 minutes of brutal workouts, after we had already sat in classes all day, worked, and practiced for 3 hours, we were blessed to see the results. That season we were victorious over every 5th game we played, including the 5th game of the NWAACC Championships.

Now is the time to prepare to meet God. I promise that as we put the effort in to do the small and simple things, The Lord will perform miracles in our lives. "That by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." I've seen how studying the words of the prophets, prayer, and attending church has not only blessed my life but it has given me a completely new perspective on how precious this time is that we have to prepare to meet our Father in Heaven. Personally, I can't wait for this day. I can't wait to stand before my God and tell him that I tried my best. That I put in the extra effort needed to be prepared. That day will be the best "game 5" that I have ever won.

These simple principles matter. Going to church EVERY Sunday matters. Picking up your scriptures for 30 minutes out of our busy day matters. Conversing with your Father in Heaven matters. What you are working for as you make these a priority in life is much more grand than a championship trophy....it's eternal life, with God the Father and His son Jesus Christ.

23 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)

What will you choose?

Should I talk to the Bishop?

There I was sitting in my car in the church parking lot. The trunk or treats, Sunday mornings, and young women activities I had in that very spot consumed my mind. I never thought I'd be in the position I was, at that moment, in this same place of happy memories. I wondered what happened initially to lead me into the hole I had dug for myself. I didn't want to do what I was about to do. It was going to be really hard, embarrassing, and uncomfortable. I didn't know what I was supposed to say in the next few moments, what would be said to me, and especially, what was going to be thought of me. All I knew deep in my heart was that what I was about to do was right and would bring me the relief and peace that I was searching for. So I unbuckled my seat belt, walked in the church, knocked on that familiar door, and was greeted by my smiling Bishop.

 

My Bishop at the time was like a second Dad to me. Because of this I definitely didn't want to tell him all the mistakes I had made. However, I proceeded into his office. I sat down in the chair, sitting directly across from him, and just smiled like nothing was wrong. In that moment all I wanted to do was bolt out the door and run away from all my problems, but I didn't. We opened with a prayer and the Spirit that filled the room consumed my soul just as it had during my first temple interview as a 12 year old. I knew that what I was doing was right. With tears running down my cheeks I confessed what I had done. We both cried. We talked. We read from the scriptures. When all was said and done, I stood up, gave my Bishop a big hug, cried some more, thanked him for being understanding, and walked out the door.

 

When I went to my car I felt as if this extra burden I had carried around for so many years was gone. I had truly given all my problems, worries, mistakes, and weaknesses to The Lord through His servant. I felt this great rush of hope that everything would be okay.

 

I felt free.

 

Our Bishops are servants of God. We don't confess our "big" sins to them so they can judge us and tell us what horrible people we are. We counsel with them because they know how to help us overcome our weaknesses and shortcomings. They are directed by our Heavenly Father through the Priesthood authority to guide us through the repentance process. Not once did my Bishop tell me I was a lost cause for doing the things I had done or that I would never be able to be clean again. He always hugged me, as I imagine my Father in Heaven would, and said "you are so special, your Heavenly Father loves you so much, as do I, and you will make it through this."

 

Our Savior loves us. He knows how to help us. He cannot take our burden if we are not willing to hand it to Him. He says " for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; (3 Nephi 18:32)". He wants to heal us. Some sins are much bigger than others. We are counseled to confess these sins to our Bishops because Heavenly Father knew they would be easier to bear with someone guiding and supporting us.

 

When Christ was suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane His loving Father sent him an Angel to strengthen Him as He bore all of our sins. My bishop was that Angel for me.

 

I cannot express the gratitude I have in my heart for the love and support of my Bishop and for the courage my Father in Heaven gave me to go see him. I remember going back to my Bishop a few months after my initial meeting with him, sitting in that very seat, across his desk, when he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Sister Schmit I feel that you are worthy and ready to hold a temple recommend again and enter into the House of The Lord." I have yet to experience a more powerful witness of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

 

I know it's not easy. Your Savior knows it's not easy. Despite it not being easy, it is so worth it. If you are burdened down by guilt, sorrow, or pain caused my sin, I plead with you to confide in your Savior and listen to His counsel to go speak to your Bishop. I promise you will receive the guidance, comfort, and peace that you are yearning for. It was the best decision I have ever made.

 

You will be set free.

 

"Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments." (Alma 7:15)

 

"But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven."(Moroni 6:8) 

What Would Jesus Do?

The other day my companion and I didn't know why we needed to walk down this certain street. It was dark, we were about a mile from home, and it was getting late. We said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father where we needed to go. We felt that the street we were on was where we needed to be, so we kept walking. Then we came to this cute little cafe where a woman was sitting outside by herself. We said hi to her and asked how her night was going. Looking into the cafe we saw there was a big crowd inside that she had seperated herself from. Wondering why, we asked her if she was okay. She began to cry. She told us her fears of crowds and how she thought she would be able to overcome just this one night but she just couldn't combat it. We talked with her. We told her that God loves her and knows her. We hugged her. She thanked us for stopping and went on her way.

I don't know the struggle that anyone around me is having at this very moment. I can't read their thoughts. I don't know their hearts. But God does. He knows you and I, very personally. He may not be able to physically be with us right now but that is why He has you and I. We are His daughters and He has sent all of us here to lift, encourage, love, and comfort just as sisters should do for each other.

As I have been on my mission I have met some amazing women that have had a great impact on my life. I've also met many women that I could never see myself loving in a sisterly way, but yet I have tried my hardest to reach out with a helping hand to them. I've come to realize that yes, you and I are so different, however we will always have one thing in common. We are daughters of God, we are sisters, and we need each other!

My little sister, Kallie, is my best friend! I don' think there is anything I wouldn't do for her. Why do we, as women, not have that same love for all the other daughters of God around us, despite the differences we do have?

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson stated a fact in which I take very seriously now. She said "To be sisters implies that there is an unbreakable bond between us. Sisters take care of each other, watch out for each other, comfort each other, and are there for each other through thick and thin. The Lord has said, “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”

I get so sad as I see the world becoming more and more selfish and not kind. It is like finding golden treasure when you find a friend who you know truly cares about you. As women I vote we change this!

Let's lift each other rather than point out our differences. Let's speak kindly, instead of ridicule. Let's put the feeling of love towards our sisters over the feeling of jealousy. Let's reach outside our circles and welcome someone different in. Let's be willing to respond to the little voice in our heads nudging us to go help the elderly women put her groceries in her car. Let's stand up as sisters in Christ and show the world that God does exist through our love and actions towards one another.

The famous saying "What Would Jesus Do" just popped into my mind.

He tells us what to do:
"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

"The Savior has commanded us to love one another as he has loved us; to clothe ourselves “with the bond of charity” as he so clothed himself. We are called upon to purify our inner feelings, to change our hearts, to make our outward actions and appearance conform to what we say we believe and feel inside. We are to be true disciples of Christ." -Howard W. Hunter

Let's do what Jesus Christ has commanded us to do and love our sisters around us! Let's make the world happy again!

Because of Him

 Do you know who this is?

 

Because of Him you don't have to feel alone in this world. He is our personal Savior. His name is Jesus Christ. He was sent to this earth to live and die for us. He suffered every feeling of pain, regret, sorrow, heartache, depression, loneliness, illness, etc. He has felt it all. He is the One who was nailed to the cross. He, however, is the One who rose again three days later.

When we think no one else in this world knows what we are feeling we can take comfort in the knowledge that He is our faithful friend who will never leave us alone. When we feel like our world around us is crashing down we are able to find peace in His way. When we feel like all hope is lost, we can count on Him to take us by the hand and guide us to a better tomorrow. When we can't seem to find our way out of darkness, we can trust in Him to be our light.

He knows you. He knows how to help you. He stands before us beckoning us to "come unto Him" and be healed.

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen." D & C 6:34

 

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." John 16:13

#BecauseofHim I have become a new person

The Lost Sheep

 I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of my childhood I sang "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" and "Popcorn Popping". We had family scripture night and attended church regularly. My parents taught me that I am a child of God. They did everything they were counseled to do. There came a time when I reached my young adult years and I left the church. I put myself in all kinds of situations that got me in trouble. I got to a point in life where I saw no way out of the hole I had dug for myself. I felt hopeless and "too far gone."

 

I don't know what it is like to be a parent. I don't know the heart ache that comes when your child strays from everything that you've tried to teach them. I don't know what it's like to have sleepless nights worrying whether or not they will come home.

 

Despite all of this, there is one thing I do know.

I know what it's like to be that child that is worried over, prayed for, and desired to come back home.

 

I know what is needed from parents to make it back onto that straight and narrow path.

 

I don't know the situation your family may be going through with a child that has strayed off that path but I only have one piece of advice for you. LOVE THEM.

 

I know the power that unconditional, non-judgemental love can have on oneself when feeling as the one lost sheep. I can testify that it will have more of an impact on your child than yelling, punishment, or disownment. Christ, our perfect example, showed us what to do when we have a child that strays. Through the parable of the one lost sheep out of the 99. "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?"

 

Why would he expect any different from those with children? Doesn't he expect us to love them despite of their weaknesses, trials, and shortcomings?

I know there are many Latter-day Saint parents around the world who have a child that has gone against everything you taught them. I was one of them, and I know many others that have left. This is my plea to you as parents. Love your children as Christ loves them. The Atonement of Jesus Christ applies to all of us, including your child. Keep praying. Keep fasting. Rely on the merits of your Savior who knows the heartache you feel and the despair your child feels. Trust in Him.

I am a witness of the unconditional love my parents showed me through my mistake making years. They triumphed in my small success, rather in my failures. They savored the time I did spend with them and made me feel like I was loved, despite the life I lived. The most meaningful thing they have done since I came back is forgotten all the pain and heartache that I had caused them. They "remembered [my] sins no more." I will never ever forget what they did for me.

Your child needs you. Don't give up on them. The scriptures say, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" What if that one soul is your child?

As long as the days, months, or years may seem, I can promise you as a representative of Jesus Christ that your love with never be wasted.

Hocus Pocus and Caramel Apples

We are going to do a little throw back to Halloween for this post...

A few years ago Halloween night came around and I remember everyone getting ready for the parties and texting me and asking if I was coming. The thought came to my mind.."You can go and just enjoy everyone's company, you don't have to participate in anything. Just have fun, it's harmless." Then I got a text from my best friend saying. "Do you want to come over to my house and we can make caramel apples and watch Hocus Pocus together?"

"Which should I choose?" I thought.

I felt like the cartoon character with the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other.

I knew what the right decision was in this situation.

I knew that staying with my best friend would be the safest option and is what Heavenly Father would want me to do.

But yet, that little devil was still on my shoulder saying "No, go to the party, you wouldn't want to upset all of your friends by not going."

IT WAS SO HARD! I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

Ladies, we all have values. Sometimes they are a little lower than we should set them but we all should have some. I know what it's like to be faced with the desicion between what you want to choose and something that you should choose. I know how influencial friends can be. I am the biggest people pleaser in this world, and I know that it's hard.

BUT

You need to stand up for what you believe in! I got myself into a whole bunch of situations that I would have never been in if I would have stood up for what my values were. I did, with the help of Heavenly Father, choose to spend that Halloween night with my best friend watching Hocus Pocus and making caramel apples. Did I feel like I was 10 again? ABSOLUTELY! However, it was so much more fun and fulfilling being there with her and doing something worthwhile rather than living with the regret of going to that party.

You may not have had the specific situation I had but you have had one similar. Whether it be deciding to uphold your standards of modesty, of clean language, or of appropriate music and movies. What every it may be, we all go through decision making every day.

Whatever your struggle BE STRONG  and

STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN!

 

Regarless of who is convincing you to do something. I have lots of family that believe differently than me but I have to be firm in what I know and in my values. It doesn't mean I don't love them because they don't decide to follow 

                                                                                             the path I follow, I still love them the same, I just

                                                                                             CHOOSE to walk a different path.

Someone who loves me so much always left me saying REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.
So, Who are you? What do you want to stand for?

An Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ said:
"O, youth of the noble birthright, make your decision here tonight: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Ne. 3:7). There is power in His way. There is no greater joy in this life than to be found in His service. I bear you my solemn testimony that a decision to live according to His law will bring you life eternal."

My volleyball coach always asked me,
What legacy do you want to leave?
I invite you to ask yourself that same question the next time that you face a challenging decision that will determine the legacy you leave. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone?

Be Salt not Sugar

Mmm I can just smell those fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies coming out into the oven. When I think of chocolate anything I always think of those skinny models eating Dove chocolate so perfectly on commercials. My companion and I don't eat Dove chocolates or chocolate chip cookies so graceful!
I love to bake! Cakes, especially cookies, bread, and pies! Mmm I just love it so much! I learned how to bake a lot from my Aunt who lived with me for a while. She is the master chef! Of course we always load up on the sugar when making yummy chocolate chip cookies but there's one ingredient that you can't forget or else it might taste a little off. Can y'all guess what it is?

 

SALT!

Who would have thought, right? Not me!

 

So many people use salt to add just that final ingredient to a delicious meal. Salt will
enhance the taste but you hardly ever use a lot of it on anything.

What does salt have to do with anything?

 

In Matthew 5:13 it says "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of man."

 

When I read this I thought there is way too much sugar in the world, as in the same type
of person. It's hard to find the salt of the world that hasn't lost it's flavor.

 

                       EVERYONE IS TURNING INTO SUGAR!

 

We were all created as individuals so why don't we all become individuals? Why is it such a "thing" with us women to be just like the next coolest girl? Why can't we be happy and comfortable with who we are, who God has made us to be?

 

I've learned over my mission that it's okay to desire to have have attributes that someone has but it's not okay to want to become completely like them. It's actually breaking one of the ten commandments when we do that. #commandment10

 

I have a dear friend who is so close and special to my heart. Her name is Sister Hargadon. She is salt for sure. She is so confident in who she is and is a light to so many people. She has let the world become her playground and used each one of her life experiences to make her the INDIVIDUAL she is today. When I first met her I wished I had the energy for the mission, the way she helped people feel comfortable, the light, the earthiness, and so many other things that she had. I wanted to be her. As I was around her for about 6 months I learned that the things she had I couldn't take because I wasn't her. I am Hermana Schmit and I am different but I was able to learn from her. She taught me to open my heart and see things in a different light and to connect with who I really was as a Daughter of God. I always call her my soul sister because I feel like she helped me open my soul. She helped me become "salt of the earth" instead of just some more sugar.

 

Sisters of all ages!! Don't desire to be someone else. Be You! Learn from others, and apply their teaching to your life but don't lose your savour just to become the prettier than the prettiest, richer than the richest, or more popular than the most popular. Remember the salt is the least amount of an ingredient that you put into those delicious cookies you love, but it makes all the difference.

                                                         

                                               Be the "salt of the earth".

 

 

 

Click to read a great talk by a living apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ: The Moral Force of Women

Our Royal Search

Imagine this...
You go to sleep at night, looking forward to a good nights rest...all of the sudden you wake up outside, in the dark, cold night, and don't exactly know how you got there or what was happening...you start crying and screaming for someone to help you....

Pretty scary right?
This actually happened to me when I was younger and lived in Alaska where there were bears!! Lucky me, my Dad got to me before the bears :)

I have felt this same "lost" and "confused" feeling this past week. I don't really know why I am on my mission, why I wake up everyday in Tennessee and not in Washington, and what my purpose is here.

GIRLS.... do you ever feel like that? Like your just another person in this giant world and that NOBODY understands what you are going through? Sometimes I feel like Mia Thermopollous from Princess Diaries who gets sat on all the time by the cute popular cheerleaders of the world because I'm apparently "invisible".

Just as Mia found her purpose as a Princess and later a Queen in her life, we are all on the grand search of what our purpose is in our own lives. Ask yourselves this...Why are you where you are right now, in this very second? How did you get there? What decisions led you to that specific place? But most importantly why are you there?

Through my high school years up until now I have searched up and down and around everything to find the "why" of everything. Finally after a lot of heartache, mistakes, and hitting rock bottom I KNOW why I am here. Why I am here sitting on this computer in Hermitage, TN writing to all of you. I know why I decided to come on a mission. I know why I decided to come to this earth.

You want to know what the greatest part about all of this? I KNOW that YOU decided to come to this earth and live this life also. As I've studied the Bible and Book of Mormon and listened to prophets, and prayed my heart out I KNOW that each one of us chose, before this life, to follow our Perfect Brother Jesus Christ and because of that decision you were given a beautiful body to live this life in and experience the joy that you get when you see your very best friend and the sorrow you feel when nothing goes right.

                                                

YOU HAVE A PURPOSE TO LIFE.

We might have our Mia moments or a moment like mine where you wake up from life and and don't quite know where you are. That is the moment that I invite you to get on your knees and pray. Pray to whatever God you believe in and ask for direction, comfort, peace, love, guidance, whatever you feel that you are in need of. I promise you that you will receive the very thing you are asking for, as you pray in faith. The scriptures say, "Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."  You are His daughter and He knows you better than you think and knows what is in store for your life. Just as you wish to ask your teacher for help during a test, YOU CAN ASK FOR HELP FROM YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN during this earthy test or what we call life!

"Never forget that you came to earth as a child of the divine Father, with something of divinity in your very makeup. The Lord did not send you here to fail. He did not give you life to waste it. He bestowed upon you the gift of mortality that you might gain experience—positive, wonderful, purposeful experience—that will lead to life eternal. He has given you this glorious Church, His Church, to guide you and direct you, to give you opportunity for growth and experience, to teach you and lead you and encourage you, to bless you with eternal marriage, to seal upon you a covenant between you and Him that will make of you His chosen daughter, one upon whom He may look with love and with a desire to help. May God bless you richly and abundantly, my dear young friends, His wonderful daughters." -President Gordon B. Hinckley    

Don't lose hope my dear sisters! You have something amazing to do in this life! Be like Princess Mia and find your purpose and achieve it! You have a Heavenly King as your Father and He is waiting for you to become His PRINCESS! 

A New Beginning

Well, I decided that I wanted to start a new blog frankly because my last one I just wasn't very passionate about, but this one...wow, it's going to be good so listen up!

Isn't that the beauty of life? That we have passions, desires, and dreams? That is what I live off of! I love to dream and be passionate about everything I do. That's why I wanted to write this blog just for girls #sorryboys.

I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I LOVE JESUS! Can I get an Amen? Even though I have dedicated 18 months of my life to the Lord, I had a time where I dedicated all of my life to sports, boys, and having a good time. For anyone who knows a Mormon missionary or sees us on the streets walking, we probably seem perfect to you, very well put together kids, and have all our priorities straight. That's at least what I thought of the missionaries who taught me and who would visit with my family. When I got to the mission I had a big REALITY CHECK...we are far from perfect!

I'm going to really honest and pretty blunt about what I post on here. Even though I'm a missionary now, before my mission I lived a life in the fast lane. My life was, lets just say, a little bit on the wild side. I've been where a lot of parents don't want their little princess to go. I've experienced a lot in my short 23 years. The best part about it is that I have come out of it for the good!

 I want all the girls in the world to know that someone knows what they are going through!

This world is such a beautiful but ugly place to live in. There are so many traps that us girls can and probably will fall into but the beauty of it is that WE CAN CHOOSE. Our Heavenly Father has given us agency (or the ability to choose) which enables US, not anyone else, to choose what we really want to do.

I know it's hard. I know there is that one cute boy who maybe your parents don't want you to date, or let alone even look at. There are all these kids asking you to do things that aren't what you have been taught to do. There is so much pressure to wear the cute new style that I personally think shows more of your skin than any random person should be allowed to see, and I am one that used to dress a little crazy! Are all these things appealing? I'm not going to lie, they were once to me but the question is...Why? Why do you want to be part of that?

My goal with these posts is to help all you sisters of mine to see your divine potential and realize that you are something so much greater than you think you are and have such a bigger purpose in this life than to become the most popular girl in school. I have found my purpose for my life and that I hold so dear to my heart. It took me a few years to get to that point but I'm so grateful for the journey that brought me here. I promise you will feel so beautiful, so popular, so worthwhile, and so happy when you find your true-self!

Look for my next post...coming soon! Things are about to get exciting!