Personal Progress: a fitting title

When I see young men earn their Eagle Scout or Duty to God, I sometimes wonder what's going through their head. I know it sounds stalkerish but, I guess since they're usually my peers I just find the topic interesting.

Anyway, I've never really been able to find out, but recently my friends and I earned our Personal Progress medallion and I'm sure it can't be much different.

The first, of course, was accomplishment. I felt I'd done something worthwhile. Something that had changed me for the better and brought me closer to my Savior. Something that had led me to bring others there as well. Dozens of instances came to mind from teaching a silly dance to a bunch of little girls to crying over a scripture that answered multiple prayers.

Next was love. I love my ward family. And they don't call it a ward family for nothing. As my two friends and I, (announced as the 'Three Nephets by my bishop) stood up there, I saw an ocean of smiling faces. It was as if they had all raised me and were reaping the fruits of their labors. And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that they had. They were. 

Then, of course, utter excitement. You know when you feel so utterly happy you could just laugh at everything? Even the corniest joke on a Laffy-Taffy wrapper? Yeah, that's about what it felt like. Us three just kept grinning at each other and then grinning at the congregation and grinning at our bishop and then grinning at each other.  

Two tangible rewards come from this. A pretty little necklace and a small statuette of a beautiful young woman. Both of these, I think will forever be prized posessions of mine. I'll take them to college. I'll take them into whatever house I end up living in. I'll take them everywhere! Because both taught me something that day. Something I never want to forget.

My father came up to put my medallion on, as the tradition went and I'll never forget my mother's soft whisper as he his calloused fingers struggled with the tiny clasp.

 "Do you want me do it?"

"No," he whispered back, "I got this."

I giggled, of course, but I was also filled with appreciation. How I loved these two special people!!! I've alreay described how much I know there couldn't be any better parents out there for me. And I realized that as I wore this symbol of a virtuous young woman, in my case it would also be a tribute to the two earthly angels behind her. Telling her to pull it together when she stresses to much and yet holding her when she cries. Telling her the sky's the limit and providing the opportunities to get there. I could go on and on, but I guess my point is that I honestly think there are two ways to react to an accomplishment. You can become focused on the cold awards of recognition stamped with your name just as cold with arrogance, or you can become overwhelmed with gratitude and as humble as those who helped you. I never really realized until then what humility was. It's not being down on yourself, it's the opposite of arrogance. Remembering that you're not the only one around.

The next item was the little statue thing. It really wasn't until I sat back down and I was looking at it that the lesson came. I was kind of wondering why they gave us a statue of just a plain young woman. Yeah, it fit the name of the Young Women's program head-on, but...why bother? We saw a young woman in the mirror every morning.

And then it came. This young woman, though simple, was beautiful. Not because they gave her some super-model face or desighner hair-do, but because she was pure. he whole thing was white, signifying that. It slowly began to dawn on me that this statue was not only supposed portray a girl between the ages of 13-18, it was to portray a girl living the gospel. She looked peaceful, clean, happy, loving. The type of person I guess you'd be if you finished you're personal progress.

It was almost like a self-portrait! Of course, I wasn't always peaceful, clean, happy, or loving, but it was a reminder that I could be.

And that, folks, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of silly dances and heart-touching scriptures. One of accomplishment, love, and excitement. One of humility, of friends and family, of ever reaching to that which is better. It's not always an easy pathway through life, but if you take it you'll find it's the easiest. Why? Well because you have the compaionship of the one who made the path in the first place.

Not Hiding Talents

Today I was reminded of an awesome set of movies that inspired me to share a few clips. Some of you have probably seen a few of them. They're called Liken The Scriptures and they basically do as their name suggests. That is, likening scriptures to their modern viewers and showing lessons easily applied to our lives now.

And they add a touch of music and humor...

This one comes from a story in 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Though I'm sure ancient Isrealites didn't rap...

I love the exaggeration in this one about Esther, though it wouldn't let me post the actual movie. So here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwUWPDxm9Hs&playnext=1&list=PL31ED576A8813EC75

Anyway, I tried to find the Ammon one where he whips out an ancient-american missionary handbook, but youtube only carries so much.

Even though some of the scenes in these movies are off-the-cob-corny, I love how the people who make them use their talents to help others. Make them laugh. Build them up. Make them think. I learned in Seminary this week about creating. How we are children of the most creative being ever and how the Lord blessed us with talents--in all areas, not just artistically--to create. To beautify. To make more of what we have whether it be a blank page, a messy room, a contentious mood, or a sad face.

Or, I guess in these people's case, a plethora of ideas and funds. As Dieter F. Uchtdorf put it, "You might say, 'I'm not the creative type'. If that's what you think, think again."

Fear and Faith

I really tried to think of what I could write about this week. School started. But nothing really happened there other than I wish I had a nickel for everytime I heard, "You're a Senior?!" I don't blame them though because, frankly, I can't believe it myself. In fact, as I write this, I am anticipating yet another adventure with all my cousins this afternoon. Its really easy to forget how old you are when you're running across balconies, sword fighting with nothing but soundeffects, and pretending you're the only human in a halloween-themed highschool.

Yeah, it probably won't sink in until I'm standing in the front of some college campus.

Anyways, I realized with school came seminary. And with seminary came reading assighnments. And with those, of course, came scriptural--and life--lessons.

So, Moses 1:20.

This is an amazing chapter (as most chapters are) and I feel bad for being half-asleep when I read it. But there was part that actually turned my thoughts away from my pillow. For now, however, I just want to share a small part of it. The beginning of verse 20 reads, "And it came to to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he recieved strength..."

There are probably close to a hundred different lessons you could get out of this verse alone, but the one that stood out to me the most was that Moses didn't see 'the bitterness of hell' until 'he began to fear'. Before this verse it describes God talking to Moses face to face. Right after that Satan confronts him and he becomes a little weak in the knees.

I think this happens a lot in life. We hear or see something amazing and inspiring to the point that we even feel a little bit of God's presence there. And then, almost as soon as we are trying to apply it to our own lives, opposition comes. It comes in countless forms, but it seems the root of all of them--or the reason we don't want to try and overcome that opposition--is fear.

Again, Moses didn't see 'the bitterness of hell' until 'he began to fear'. I realized that (and here we go again turning another page in my open-book of personal problems :) I, like Moses, had a testimony. I was trying so hard to do everything right and be the best I could be. But I still had human eyes and things, mainy those annoying doubts again, began to look a little scary.

So after reading this, I tried to change my perspective a little. Say I didn't fear. Say I took all those worthy desires, callings, and goals with some confidence in the Lord...

Like some sort of magic trick, they began to fade away. Because I knew my Heavenly Father was there and because I knew he loved me, I could replace that with fear with faith--like Moses in the rest of the verse, "...Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory."

And suddenly, things didn't appear so scary. As President Monson so less-wordedly put it, "The future is as bright as your faith.

Funnies

Okay so I realize I haven't done a just-for-fun post in awhile. So this one's just going to be a plethora of things I thought were funny that I haven't already posted on facebook. :)

First off, my baby brother. Oh, my baby brother. A ball of energy that already comes up to my hips in height and towers over me in videogame skills. He's the only person I know who can live on a diet of juice and cheetos and run laps around the house, asking us to time him. He's the only kid I know who likes pepporoni and yogurt (yes, together) and flies walking on him, as he recently told me. And sadly, he's more popular in my highschool than I am. So here are a few of his quotes,

When looking at a display of plastic fingernails, "Look at these sunflower seeds!!"

When our neighbor's kid, two years younger than him, came over, "Ugh, little kids don't know anything do they Lee?"

His version of namecalling: "You...you peice of paper!!"

Reffering to my other little brother who's now 14, "Gus, you're my bestest brother." (can I que an "Awwww"?)

"No, Gus, I dont (pronounced dawnt) do that a'cuz, a'cuz, a'cuz it makes me all jacked up!"

Reffering to Gus' deoderant and my cousin, Steven, who's in college, "Gus, spray that on me! I want to smell like Steben."

And my other little brother. Not only do we not look alike,

When I'm sprawled out on the couch with the Fresh Beat Band on, "You're seriously watching that?" 

When I'm happily pounding away on the piano before school, "C'mon, we're going to be late."

When I'm giggling away at some driving mistake I made, "Oh my gosh, we're going to die! I can't believe you did that. You won't be laughing when we wreck."

When I parked the car wrong, reversed, parked it wrong again, reversed, park--"Alright, I'm getting out."

And you all thought he never talked :)

I love that kid soooo much! He's amazing! A lot of times I wish I had his level-headedness, his contagious laugh, his sensible outlooks on life, his observance, his logic, his arguing skills, his subtle sense of humor...

And then, of course, I get distracted by a butterfly or something.

Lastly, this: http://youtu.be/Zp1BYzIVi0U  I wanted to post the actual video but I couldn't get it to show the whole screen. So, though its not as pretty, click on the link. Click on it. You know you want to...