Seek The Lord Often

I'm just gonna say it—I don't enjoy temple garments. They are uncomfortable, pricy, ugly, and just weird. That said, I believe. I believe God wants to protect me and give me a reminder that my Savior literally has me covered. Everywhere. All the time. Elder Holland's talk from the October 2025 General Conference hit me hard.  He said this: "Another truth that is evident here are the instruments the Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them are used to provide this miracle: spit and a handful of dirt! These very unlikely ingredients declare that God can bless us by whatever method He chooses. Like Naaman resisting the River Jordan or the children of Israel refusing to look at the serpent on the staff, how easy it is for us to dismiss the source of our redemption because the ingredients and the instruments seem embarrassingly plain."  It really made sense to me, and it's my testimony that God uses "embarrassingly plain" things to protect us a...

Some very troubling, very real, very visceral, visible, and scary attacks against Christians have happened over the past few weeks. As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints myself, seeing these attacks has been troubling. At the same time, I aim to see other people's viewpoints and seek to understand how people could get to a place of such anger and hate to carry out such murderous acts. What is it about Christians that people seem to hate. Perhaps it's the "other" things that come along with being Christian. Being different. Being bold. Standing for things that aren't popular. Standing up for heterosexual marriage. It can be complicated. I have good friends and even family members who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. They are wonderful people. In my eyes, they are even Christlike, often in more ways than I am. I can not even imagine how painful it must be for them to grapple with the fact that if they marry someone they love of t...

 There are some days when we're just not feeling it. Sometimes we feel that all the cute churchy answers are nice on the outside but that they're really not going to make anything better. Sometimes it feels like wishful thinking. It seems weak.  At times I just want to rest in God's love. I just want to feel my Savior next to me. Sometimes I feel him there. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes there's a lot of negativity towards and around the church. And sometimes I can see why. I do see some things that are troubling. What I always hang on to is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost I've been given. I know that sounds cheesy to some. They don't think it's a real thing. But I have felt peace so many times through the Holy Ghost. I've felt him tell me that Jesus says, "It's all gonna be ok. Just trust. Be patient. Ponder. Let go. Know that I've already paid the price. You don't need to prove anything to me...

I wonder if to some it feels counterintuitive that you can find long-lasting joy and exaltation by just “doing what you’re told” and keeping the commandments.  It sometimes seems like you could potentially be happier by just living “your truth” or doing whatever makes you happy in the moment. We aren’t forced to do anything. We are only invited. We make covenants of our own free will and choice. We can keep them and see if it makes us happier. I wonder if some people keep them (or at least say they are keeping them) and don’t ever feel that true joy. If so, how can that be? Why is that? Perhaps we aren’t even promised joy. Maybe we just THINK we are promised joy. Reviewing our covenants might be informative there. I know that Elder Chrisofferson has said that keeping covenants brings joy in this life. Maybe there’s a difference between joy and happiness. Can't we find joy doing other things that aren't necessarily in line with the commandments of God? Like couldn't I find j...

 This is sucah a powerful chapter. Verse 7 stood out to me. "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I was reading today and I was struck by how the Lord doesn't turn anyone away. I feel that as church members, perhaps we have turned some of our gay brothers and sisters away. The Lord hasn't commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation. On conditions of repentance. All men are privileged the same. NONE are forbidden. All are alike unto God 2 Nephi 26   25   Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith:   a Come  unto me all ye  b ends  of the earth,  c buy  milk and honey, without money and without price. 26  Behold, hath he commanded any that they should  a depart  out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. 27  Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his  a salvation ? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath  b given  it free for  all men; and he hath commanded his people that they shou...