POTASSIUM!

Tomato Soup has 690mg of Potassium!

Last post I talked about something I know about-erosion. This time I want to talk about something I know very little about-potassium.

A couple of weeks ago we were out walking and I started having a muscle cramp. Sister Franson, in all her wisdom, informed me that potassium helps with muscle cramps, so we decided to go on a potassium hunt.

Rumor has it that bananas have tons and tons of Potassium.

We got to the grocery store and went first to the bananas... Unfortunately the bananas they had at the store were very green and I wasn't in the mood to eat an under-ripe banana, so we kept looking.

I don't have a picture of the V8,
but carrots have lots of Potassium too.

After looking at many Nutrition Facts labels we found a large bottle of V8 Fusion.

I had high hopes for the V8, because it had lots of Potassium and I actually like the fruit flavored V8 juice. But we didn't want to buy a big-huge bottle of juice to carry around so we went to the "personal size" drink section in search of it. Unfortunately we didn't find any V8 Fusion, but there was Orange Juice, which also turned out to be loaded with potassium. So we bought our orange juice and went on our way.

I know very little about Potassium. I don't really know what it is or why it is listed on Nutrition Facts labels. One thing I do know about Potassium is that it works in making muscle cramps go away. Many people are that way with Heavenly Father. They have heard of Him, they believe He exists, and they like Him because they know that He helps when they pray to Him. The sad thing is very few people understand much about the character of our Father in Heaven. They forget that He is a loving God and that He wants the best for us, His children.

Just as I know that there are resources I can go to to learn more about Potassium, there are resources that you  can go to to learn more about your Father in Heaven. Throughout time, God has called prophets to teach the   people and communicate His will for us. The writings of the prophets can be found in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. And, because God loves us so much He has not only provided us with ancient witnesses of His existence, but modern ones as well. The weekend the living prophet and apostles will be speaking to the world in General Conference. I can think of no better resources to come to know more about our Heavenly Father than His prophets and apostles who teach us about Him and testify of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Click Here to find out more information about General Conference.

"Oh, I wish I were a little bar of soap..."

Ever since I started "missionary blogging" I've been looking at ordinary things in a different light. I look at lots of things in terms of whether or not I can make a connection to a gospel topic and then I take a picture and write a post.

Well, I've been thinking about doing something for my blog called "The Soap Erosion Experiment." The idea was that I would buy two identical bars of soap and put them in two different places in the shower. One "in the line of fire" (being hit by water whenever the shower was on,) and one out of the way. I would still use both bars of soap equally and I would see which would run out first. I was going to take weekly pictures of each bar of soap and watch the erosion process. (Yes, I am a science nerd if that was what you were wondering. I even made a diagram of the shower.)

As I considered doing this, it hit me that it would be a ridiculous waste of time and money. It isn't really like I didn't know which bar of soap would erode faster (the one in "the line of fire.") I would really just be doing it for the sake of doing it. Then I had the idea of doing a meta-blog post all about going out of my way to make a blog post and relate it to the gospel. So here goes nothing.

This is my bar of soap.

What I learned from this whole idea/ thought process that I had is that you don't need to try something in order to know what the outcome will be. I knew that the bar of soap that is constantly being hit by water whenever the shower was on was going to erode faster than the one that was kept away from the stream of water. I knew this because I learned it from my science teachers in elementary school. It works the same way with the gospel. I don't need to sin in order to find out if it's bad for me or not. I know that when I sin it will damage my soul. I know this because I have been taught. In the Book of Mormon, Alma talked about the effects that his sins had on him. He said,

"But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins...I was tormented with the pains of hell...the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror...for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul...I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins." Alma 36:12-17

That description alone is enough for me to never want to commit sin. I know that Heavenly Father wants all of His children to know the effects of sin so that they will choose to avoid it. He doesn't want any of us to have to feel that way because His son already did.

“There is no greater evidence of the infinite power and perfection of God’s love than is declared by the Apostle John: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son’ (John 3:16). Another Apostle wrote that God ‘spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all’ (Romans 8:32). Think how it must have grieved our Heavenly Father to send His Son to endure incomprehensible suffering for our sins. That is the greatest evidence of His love for each of us!” -Dallin H. Oaks, Love and Law

So, rather than making an experiment of our lives and trying everything to see what the effects will be. Let's learn from the experience of others.

What I KNOW

Sometimes, I like to have a scripture and quote automatically posted for everyone to read. Today, I'd like to do something a little different. I want to share with you what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call my personal testimony. Basically, it is what I know to be true, so here goes...

I know that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. I know that He lives and watches over each and every one of us as we stumble through our lives. I know that His literal Son is the Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross in order to pay for my sins and to know how to comfort me in my sorrows. (Alma 7:12) I know that it is only through His grace and mercy that any of us have the opportunity to live with our Father in Heaven again. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God. I know that they have been provided for God's children to learn how to find the way back to Him. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in a grove of trees in answer to his sincere prayer. I know that there has been an unbroken line of prophets of God on the Earth from that time up until today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God on the Earth today. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church. I know all of these things because I asked my Heavenly Father in prayer and He answered by the power of the Holy Ghost. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

So, that is what I know. What do you know? What makes you who you are? What do you know about your eternal identity and your purpose in life? How do you know what you know? Think about these things, I'm not asking you to pour your heart out in a comment. I do want to invite you to think about this and talk to your loved ones about it. Share with them what you know and find out what they know, and if you're not sure what you know, go to your Heavenly Father in prayer and ask Him. I know He will answer you.

Short Introduction to Heavenly Father's Plan

Unicorns & Rainbows

I love serving others, a big part of doing "missionary work" is doing service for people. One of the things that we do as missionaries to keep up the spirit of service is we always ask each other if there is anything we can do to serve them. 

So the other night, we were on the phone with some of the missionaries in our district and they asked us what they could do for us. After we told them what they could do for us, (get us a ride to a meeting that we were having the next day), we asked if there was anything we could do for them. They proceeded to ask us to draw a picture of a unicorn for Katrina, a 9 year old girl who just got baptized. Even though neither Sister Franson or I wouldn't refer to ourselves as particularly talented at drawing, we were excited to do it. There are very few things that I have experienced as a missionary that have made me happier than someone accepting our invitation to serve them. This is the unicorn we came up with. 

Sister Franson used her mad drawing skills, and then I colored it.

King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon said about service,

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." -Mosiah 2:17

When people agree to let us serve them, I am always so excited! Because it is not only an opportunity to serve another one of Heavenly Father's children, it is an opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. I could never pass up an opportunity to do anything for my Father in Heaven who has already blessed me so much.

I haven't heard how Katrina felt about the unicorn, but I know that Heavenly Father is pleased that we took some time out of our day to brighten somebody else's.

Mom

My Dad and Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday! My Mom has played a huge role in my life, she has always been a great example to me. It is because of her example that I knew I'd be able to serve a mission. It is because of her that I studied my scriptures in high school. I remember several times I would get home from school and I'd see her sitting on the couch in the living room studying out of the Sunday School lesson manual with her scriptures on her lap and marking pencils on the couch next to her. Suddenly I would be hit by a pang of regret that I hadn't read out of my scriptures personally for over a week or more, then I would go to my room and study myself.

Seeing my Mom set aside the time to do what the Lord commanded even though I knew she was busy showed me the importance of the Savior in her life. For as long as I can remember I have known that my Mom believes in and strives to follow Jesus Christ. I always knew this because of how she acted. It has been a goal of mine for quite a while now to become that kind of person. I want to be someone can be picked out of a crowd as a disciple of Christ (and not just when I'm wearing the name tag). Someday, when I am a mother I hope that my children will grow up knowing that I believe in Jesus Christ by what they hear me say and see me do. I hope that because of that, their faith in Him will increase. I am so grateful to have been blessed with a mother who loves the Savior and showed that by the way she loves my brother and sister and me.

Happy Birthday Mom! Thanks for being you!



P.S. My Dad is pretty fantastic too, but I didn't talk about him because it's not his birthday. 

Love is a strong word... or is it?

As a missionary, I go out on a daily basis and share things that I hold dear. I tell people what I know. I tell them that I know that God is my Father in Heaven and that He knows me by name and loves me. I share that I have felt the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life personally. I share what I have felt as I have read the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I share the confidence that I have that my family can be together forever because the same power that Jesus gave to Peter that whatever he will "bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," has been restored to the earth and it was used to bind my family together forever.


I share all of these things with many people whenever I feel that it will touch their hearts. I share because I love my Heavenly Father and I know that He wants all of His children to know His plan for them. A direct result of me sharing the things that are close to my heart is that I grow to love the people I share them with. I have only been out on my mission for a little over 3 months and in that time I have grown to love so many of the people out here. I used to think that loving people is hard, that it shouldn't come easily because "love is a strong word." But I always tried to love others because loving each other is a commandment,

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
"This is the first and great commandment.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39

I have discovered that loving others isn't hard at all, when you share what is most dear to you, and the Spirit of the Lord is there, then love will just come.

Things that Make me Happy

I am a generally happy person. I'm happy with my life and with the things that I'm doing. Sometimes I may be blue, and sometimes there are things that I want to change. But normally I'm pretty good at being happy. Here are some pictures of things/people that make me happy.

My Favorite Sister, her smile is contagious.

Living in the Bible Belt. I love being surrounded  by people who love God and Jesus Christ.

Playing the Sousaphone with my friends. (I'm the shortest one in the back row.)

My Toyota Corolla, my sister named her "Big Red".

The Salt Lake Temple, my family was sealed here for time and all eternity by someone holding authority from God.

I love sharing things that make me happy, that's why I'm serving a mission. I can think of nothing better than sharing what has given me the more happiness than anything else. The restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth today makes me so incredibly happy, and I would love to share it with all of you. Go to www.mormon.org to learn more about this or ask me on facebook. I'd love to tell you myself.

Happy New Month!

I know it's not the New Year yet, but it is a new month!


So I've been thinking a lot about how there are things every day that I want to change. Unfortunately, I repeat a lot of the same mistakes, even though I consciously think about most of them every day and wish I could do better. When I do this the devil on my shoulder says, you've been doing it this way for such a long time, you can't go back. Or, more frequently he will say, yeah, you should change, how about tomorrow, or next week, or next month? There is nothing you can do to change right now, just wait for the new month/day/week. When those thoughts come to me I recognize that it's procrastination, and there is no reason to wait, but even though I recognize it, more often than not, I just go on in my same old rut.

I think a big reason why I don't change when I say I want to is that I look back. I look back at when I didn't succeed at changing and I subconsciously decide that I can't succeed now. Suddenly I turn into a pillar of salt and am capable of doing little to nothing. I have resolved, not because it's a new month (but if I'm really being honest I have been anticipating September 1st as a perfect day to change), to make today "the first day of the rest of my life." How am I going to do that, you ask, I'm going to not look back. I've got my eye on the future and there is no turning around. Talking about faith and how it relates to Lot's wife Elder Jeffery R. Holland said,

"“Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11)." -The Best Is Yet to Be

I know that Heavenly Father wants the best for me and He knows better than I do how I can get there. I know that if I trust Him and have the faith to do what He asks, I  will have a better future than anything I would construct for myself. So I'm changing now and never looking back. I invite all of you to look forward to the brighter future that the Lord offers by changing something in your life today, and then never look back.