Why Talking About Spirituality and Religion is Important

 Hello one and all!
Things are so wild and so good. I have suffered some immense difficulty over the past few months, but that is only fair when I consider all of the amazing joys and blessings that I get to live every day. I love school, I love my job, I love the people I live with, and just all of the small and beautiful things about everyday life. And of course I love getting to write with all of you!

As you all well know, I am a very religious person. I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it plays a huge part in my life--like, such a huge part that it can't really be described; I often am asked what my life would look like if I didn't know about the things I believe and I genuinely couldn't tell you because they are such a fantastically large part of me.
With that said, and as many of you well know just from knowing me, I can hardly have a conversation without God coming up. Since God is at the center of everything I do, it only makes sense that God is at the center of everything I talk about. Sometimes I feel like it might come off as a gimmick, but the truth is that if I don't mention God frequently I feel guilty. As I believe it, God gave me everything in my life. Every good thing that happens to me is because of Him. For me, I talk about God and my religious beliefs a lot because in my eyes God is the origin of every wonderful thing in my life.
To be honest, though, I know that I'm a pretty rare person in that regard. Most people aren't like that. A lot of people avoid talking about religion or try to hide their beliefs altogether. Some people fear being bullied or belittled, and others don't want to cause contention or arguments. In fairness, therefore, I get why some people are hesitant to talk about their spiritual beliefs.
But I don't think it should be that way. I in fact think that sharing spiritual beliefs is so important and, that if it happened more often, the whole world would be a lot better off. My hope is that I can start a conversation here today on why this is important and how we can let go of the things holding us back from having these amazing conversations with each other.
In my religion, we believe that all religions hold truth. Since that's true, I love learning about other people's beliefs. Everyone's ideas contain such great insights on our spirits, on the world, on the purpose of life, on God, on so many things. When I hear other people talk about their religious beliefs and share their ideas with me, I learn more about my own beliefs and who God is. The love and joy of hearing someone sincerely talk about what they believe is so pure and beautiful that it is simply uplifting just to hear.
The problem we have with talking about religion is that we have made it a bad thing because we've turned it into a debate when it should really just be a conversation. We have so much to learn from each other that we can't afford for it to be an argument. Here's the thing, people (and as a return missionary for my Church, I can say this with more conviction than probably anyone else): people are not going to listen to you if you are mean and belittle them. So when I want people to believe in God because He has blessed my life so much, I do not tell them they are going to hell! Because no one wants to go where love is not present. I tell them how much I have felt the love of God and how He has made me a better person, and I leave it at that. Because that's the truth, and that's all anyone that wants to learn more about my religion really needs to know at its core.
The thing to keep in mind with religious conversations is that no one needs to convince anyone of anything. I have friends across many religious denominations and talk about religion with them frequently. They know it's important to me, and it is important to many of my friends as well! Like I said, we don't all believe the same. But we're friends, and we're okay with that. We see that our beliefs are deeply personal to each of us and that all of our beliefs stem from goodness and a desire to do the right thing. When you think about it that way, there is truly nothing to argue about. Everyone is trying to do what's right! Only pure intentions here! That means that good things are going to happen. When we walk into a conversation about spiritual beliefs knowing that no one there needs to convince anyone of anything, we just need to talk about things that matter to us, everyone can be uplifted by the conversation and learn a lot. I know I sure have learned a lot from people of other religions. For example, I love studying Judaism because it teaches me so much about my religion. I've also enjoyed learning about symbolisms and rituals in Catholicism. There is so much to enjoy about each religion and I love hearing about what other people believe.
This subject makes me think of a personal experience in my life that took place just over a year ago. My best friend of about four years is an atheist. You all know I am a very devoted Christian. She is so kind and understanding of my religion. She lets me share the things that matter to me, and understands that there are some things in life that I hold sacred, even if she does not believe those same things. This friend of mine was also raised in a Christian home, but she decided preteen/teenage years that she didn't believe the things she had grown up being taught.
Since I knew her religious origins and I knew her present religious standings, I was always curious about her spiritual journey and how she got to the point of the holding her new beliefs. I always wanted to ask, but I was too scared to do it. Who can say why? Maybe it was because I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, or maybe it was because I was afraid she would think I was trying to make her feel ashamed of her beliefs, when all I genuinely wanted was to know.
Well, as you can imagine, being a missionary kind of changed that. Talking to random strangers (a number of which later become good friends) about religious beliefs all day every day will quickly make it absolutely comfortable to do in every context. One day I was writing to my friend and told her that I had always wondered about her beliefs and her religious journey and I wondered if she would be willing to do a phone call with me sometime just to talk about it. She said that she would love to, and that (get this, folks) she usually just didn't talk about religious things because she didn't want to cause an argument.
We did a serious of phone calls in which we talked about her beliefs and mine. We got to understand how we both came to believe in/not believe in God, and what our thoughts on life and death were. She asked any and all random questions she could think of about my religion and I answered them. And we even talked about how good it was for us to have these conversations with each other, how it made us both think about what we really believed. Neither of us changed our religions during that time, but I do think that both of us changed. Having these conversations is a great opportunity to learn from those around us and even from ourselves.
So I guess if I had any invitation to give it would be that. Don't be afraid of talking about what you believe; in fact, seek out opportunities to do it. It will be hard to get other people on board at first, but it's just because they're afraid. Maybe if we make it clear that we have no intention or desire to cause an argument that will help. Maybe it will just take some explaining: "Hey, my religion means a lot to me so I just like to talk about it a lot. I like to learn about what other people believe too. I think it's so fascinating how much can be learned from what other people believe." I think that is what the majority of people want out of religious conversations, but they are afraid that others will perceive it the wrong way. If we all work together, there's a lot we can learn from each other. We can be united just as God intends us to.
Thanks and much love!

No Eating Rules?

Hello one and all!
I've provided a few new videos over the past few weeks, but I've been away from the keyboard for quite some time, and I'm sorry about that. I miss writing whenever I'm away from it.
I have been ridiculously busy, as you can imagine. Why anyone in their right mind would willingly choose to study English education, theatre, and film, I really don't know. I don't even know why people willingly choose to study English at all. The amount of reading and writing we have to do is absolutely ridiculous. And studying English education in specific is essentially like having a double major. So what I'm getting at is I have a double major and a double minor. Pray for me if you will.
But in all seriousness, I have had a really hard semester for so very many reasons. There have been many days I have been practically entirely unable to function. Things have gotten better as I've reached out for help and told people about my situation. Thank you all so  much for supporting me through all of the difficulties of this new semester. With all of that said, I feel so endlessly grateful to be in the position where I am. I can't believe that I get to study the only things I love every day (and I mean that quite literally, because I take religious classes at the religious institute across the street as well), and that there are a bunch of people like me that I am making connections with and working with all the time, and we are making each other's work better. I feel so much joy to be in this position. I can't believe that making content for people to enjoy and teaching young children how to do the same is something that I get to do for the rest of my life.

It has been requested that I write a post about mental health. There have been a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but one thing in specific has been continuously coming up and I feel like I should finally address it. People are frequently curious about what I mean when I say it's important to not have eating rules.
I think most of you know that I suffered from disordered eating for many years of my life. The behaviors reached their disastrous peak when I was eighteen and that's when I finally started getting help. A lot more was required than I expected, and that's because a lot more was wrong than I understood. I ended up meeting frequently with an eating disorders specialist, and that was one of the best and most difficult summers of my life. While healing isn't easy, it is so happy. I think of that time with so much fondness. The lessons learned in eating therapy are far too vast for one post, so I'm going to try my hand at explaining this lesson in as clear and concise a manner as I possibly can.
I think this concept is well-introduced by a story from my therapy days. My therapist, Penny, asked if there was a time in my life I could recall that I felt really healthy. I thought on it for a minute, and I think I mentioned my sophomore winter guard season. I thought I ate pretty well at that time, and as a result I remember my body just typically feeling really good, no major complaints. I remember feeling so strong, like I could do anything. And I did do a lot of good stuff with my color guard team. We worked hard and performed well. I loved the athletic outlet I had with my team; I loved the activity and the way it felt. The follow-up question perplexed me. Penny asked, "Did you have any rules?"
I didn't really know what she meant. I just sat there confused for a moment and finally had to ask for clarification. She said, "Did you have any rules, things you were and weren't allowed to eat?"
I reflected on it in that therapy session, and I've reflected on it even more since, now that I have a better understanding of the things that I learned in therapy. (If you're puzzled and perplexed by the things you learn in therapy, even after therapy is done, don't lose hope--it takes time to absorb all of the cool knowledge we get there!) I didn't. At least not any major or conscious ones. It probably was one of the healthiest times of my life, because I don't remember thinking about food as something I had to manage as much as I did in other times of my life. I just ate. When I needed to, I ate. I remember having a pretty healthy and balanced diet. Very little extremes seemed to be happening at the time. And of course along with the good eating habits I had the activity from color guard, and that combination contributed to my body feeling pretty great all the time. There were no eating rules.
I learned how to eat at therapy the summer of 2018. It sounds dramatic, but it's true; I realized that summer that I really had not known how to eat for my whole life--or at least for the strong majority of it. That summer I learned the two major rules for eating that would lead to a happy and healthy me.
The first rule is that there can be absolutely no rules. I know it sounds so dumb and cliche, while simultaneously sounding out of the norm when talking about physical health, but this will be the most healthy eating rule you ever learn in your life. No eating rules allowed. None.
The second rule, which surely sounds crazy because I just said we can't have rules, is to eat a wide variety of things. Pairing this rule with the first puts the first eating rule a little more in context. When I say no eating rules, I mean you shouldn't put personal boundaries on what you aren't allowed to eat. (Like, keeping avoiding your food allergies, bros. I'm still not gonna eat avocado because I still get ill every time I do. Food restrictions for your own personal health reasons are allowed.) Have you quit eating sugar? Stop that! You need sugar! Don't put unnecessary limits on what you can and can't eat.
I hope this is making some semblance of sense. Let me elaborate a bit.
I don't remember if it was the same therapy session or not, but this was one that shook me to my core. My therapist was describing to me what normal and healthy hunger and eating is like. It is an entirely different world from what I was experiencing back then. She was talking about how frequently a body should feel hungry if it is eating normally (every two to three hours), and how periodically I should be eating full meals and snacks. At this point she described the variety in eating. She described different foods as parts of this eating habit. Different things I could eat as a snack. And then she said, "And for one day you could have a candy bar for a snack."
*cue brain explosion*
I was in absolute shock. This was a turning point for me. I could not believe it. Candy bars are unhealthy food--so you can't eat them, right?
Wrong. What is inherently wrong with a candy bar from time to time? Seriously, what? Nothing. It's okay to eat a wide variety of things.
When I realized that eating those things was okay, my entire life changed. I started looking at things so differently, and I started acting so differently. It is one of the things that helped me realize eating isn't a crime. It helped me start to branch out and put myself in less of a box.
As we continued our sessions, at the end of every meeting Penny would ask me about any other random eating thoughts I had. I would tell her what I was thinking and feeling at that time. And every response reinforced this idea.
"I've been feeling like I want to eat less oils lately," I'd say. " I feel like I've just been eating a lot of that and it makes me feel gross."
"I'm really glad you said you want to eat less and not that you want to stop eating it," she said. "It is perfectly fine to change your eating to make sure you are eating more balanced. But you don't want to restrict yourself from eating certain things."
I started using these rules as ways to figure out what I wanted to eat. When it was time for me to eat, I would think about what I had already eaten today. Okay, I've eaten a protein today and a fruit today. Maybe I can have a grain or a vegetable now. I would just think about what I had already eaten that day, and start thinking about what I could eat that wasn't one of those things. And when my mind fell across something I hadn't eaten yet that sounded good to my body, I would eat that. It was amazing.
So that's what I mean when I say there are no eating rules. The best way to eat is just listen to whatever your body is feeling at the time. Like in the above example: I felt like I was eating too much of one type of food, and my body didn't like it. I was starting to learn to listen, so I picked up on that. And ate less, not stopped eating it altogether. Whatever my body tells me do, I try to do it.
I know what you're thinking, because this is what people tell me so frequently when I bring up not having eating rules. "But Lizzo, if I didn't have eating rules and just ate whatever I felt like eating, I would just eat garbage all the time. I would never eat anything healthy." This is both true and false. I mean, as you learn to listen to your body this might be true initially. But if this is about listening to the way your body feels, this wouldn't be true forever. If you only eat high-sugar foods all day every day, you're going to get sick, and your body is going to demand you stop. It's going to demand you eat something else. As you learn to listen to how your body genuinely feels when you prepare to eat, you will eat what your body is really asking for. And sometimes that might be healthier foods and sometimes it might be unhealthier, but as long as you are listening to whatever your body is asking for in that moment, your body will be happy and healthy.

Here's the other thing I get all the time. If people are going on a no sugar diet or something similar, I'll tell them about how I don't have eating rules. And they'll laugh and tell me, "Well, Lizzo, you've been restricting your eating for years. I'm doing this because I've gone too long without eating rules!"
Woah, I didn't say no eating rules for just people that have had disordered eating issues. This is for everyone! Because it is based just on listening to the needs of your body. Have you been living without eating rules? Or have you internalized a culture that has convinced you eating is a sin? So maybe when you were eating what you want to (which remember is not inherently wrong), you were just feeling guilty about it because you thought you weren't supposed to. When there was actually nothing wrong.
I just want you all to know how loved and valuable you are. Particularly by me. The way I eat isn't special for me. I know it can be hard to wrap your mind around--trust me, I was there not long ago. But eating without rules is just normal eating. It just is. It is allowing yourself to just exist. Loves, you deserve to just exist. You deserve to not beat yourself up for being alive.
Thank you so much for being my strength as I've gone through all of these things in my life. I hope to be yours.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments. Thanks and much love!

New Year, New Me

 Hello one and all!
I understand that it has been a really long time since I have written any content here, but wow, am I so happy to be here. It's very nice to write purely original content now that I am a fully settled civilian. As you surely know I have been very busy. Sometimes with moments that I was fighting anxiety with my life, sometimes just because I have a great job and great education. A new semester has begun, and I am more committed than ever to what I do. This fine semester I am taking script analysis; methods of teaching writing; intro to film; schools, society, and diversity; and foundations in education at the university, as well as foundations of the Restoration and choir at the religious institute. So as you can imagine, I am loving school right now. I am surely very busy as you understand. That along with the stress I was facing the past month has made it hard to get back on the blog. But now, I'm back! And even better, I have the next TWO months of blog content scheduled and planned, so I am so excited for that and all the amazing adventures we have coming our way. I am thriving! And genuinely so happy with the place I am at in life.

Today we start the second month of a new year--the year is young! Over the past month I have been having a lot of miscellaneous thoughts about the new year, or I guess the concept of being new in general. I've wanted to share them all with you, and I've compiled them into a single coherent thought right here.
A few weeks ago I was playing games with some roommates and friends. One of the games involved all of us reacting to different statements and prompts that we were sent to each of our phones, except for one of us who got nothing--that person was called the faker, and had to just pretend to know what was going on. To win the game, we all had to guess who the faker was.
Well, one round of this game I was the faker. Most of you know that I am pretty bad at faking things, but I of course still had to give it my best shot. For this particular round we were reacting facially to a bunch of different statements. As my friends read the statement they were sent, I stared at my phone and determined what face I would make. I decided on a gigantic, beaming smile.
When the time came, I grinned. I looked around at all my friends. They were all grimacing, or making some sort of dreary face.
The statement was then revealed. We were supposed to react with the face we make when it is Monday.
Everyone was really suspicious of me because I was the only one making a happy face. But I defended myself, saying that Monday is one of my favorite days of the week. Which was not a lie--that is actually true. And they could tell that was a genuine statement, so they let it slide that time. I did, however, get caught the very next round.
I know that I am in the strong minority by loving Mondays. But I really do, and I love Mondays for the same reason everyone loves a new year. Mondays are the start of a new week. It doesn't matter what last week looked like. It may have been the best week ever or it may have been absolute garbage. But regardless, Monday is the mark of a new week. This is a new opportunity to stay on top of my homework, to succeed at work, to connect with God on a better level, to love my friends and family, to to learn and create and become the best version of myself--and I would be lying if I said missionary emails weren't a significant contributor to my love for Mondays as well. Sure, there are times that it can be intimidating to face a whole new week of life, but most of the time it's exciting for me. This is an opportunity to do better than I did before.
I think that's why everyone loves a new year. It is a mark of change--it is something entirely new. I must say that a new year is not all the hype that people make it out to be, because it is not like a new year comes and everything automatically resets. In fact, I'm just gonna say it straight: nothing but the year magically resets when a new year comes. However, I think the thing we must remember that is actually special about this event is that something is new. Something is untainted and we have the ability to make it our own.
For me, the start of a new year also means the start of a new semester. That's what really brought these goals on, to be honest, but I think they made me more see the value of new year's resolutions, so consider me converted on that matter. I made some decisions for the semester in ways I want to do better. I of course set some homework goals, but I also set one for myself personally. I made a goal to just let myself be, to let myself exist in my own skin comfortably. One of the things that made my missionary service such an enjoyable experience is that for the first time in quite a long time (not always, of course; I won't say this was never a struggle for me) it was easy for me to be myself and feel comfortable just living as I am. Not only was it the first time in a long time like that, but there have been very few times in my life when that has actually been true. I'm sure you can imagine the dilemma it is being a quiet person with a loud personality. When the quiet person wins, the loud personality feels trapped and heartbroken because nobody truly knows and understands her. When the loud personality wins, the quiet person is highly embarrassed and laments why she has to be the way that she is. It has been a struggle living in this beautiful soul of mine. But when I truly let myself be myself, it is the best feeling. That was one of the things that made the mission so great, and here's what I have learned and have to continuously remind myself: the right people in life will be okay with that and make you feel good about that, and when it's hard for you to accept yourself as you are, they remind you that you should, and that they accept you as you are. And it won't even be a fight. When you have genuinely good people in your life, people that want you in their lives, you are not competing for attention. You are not trying to convince people of anything. (This can be a hard pill for me to swallow, because I have pretty much convinced myself that life is built of trying to manipulate your way to convincing people of things.) You don't trick people into loving you. People that want to be in your life will just be in your life. If they don't, that's fine. They don't deserve to be somewhere they don't want to be, and you don't deserve to beat yourself up every day trying to convince someone (to no avail--it NEVER works, EVER, and that will never change) that doesn't want to be there to stay.
With that said, I have decided that no matter what, it's time to break my comfort zone and just let myself exist in every moment, whether it's a moment I feel comfortable existing in or not. I want to start by making it clear that this has not been easy. There are still so many moments when I hide in the shell I've built for myself, times that I am paralyzed with fear and filled with overwhelming anxiety. But the point of goals isn't to be perfect immediately, but rather to improve over time. And I can genuinely say I've done that. Dear friends, I am happy to report that I have already seen such a success in this and it's only been one month, and it's such a joy to have this goal a few months after my missionary service because I know that experience definitely prepared me for this moment. I feel good being who I am (almost all the time) and letting people into my life. People say hi to me in the halls at school, and it makes me feel like the coolest person ever. I feel so much more comfortable smiling at people and helping others. I feel more comfortable looking dumb, which is HUGE for me, but I've decided I can make looking dumb look graceful. I make comments in class, comments that put myself out there and show how much I really love what I do, and I'm brave in class and try to act as I would, as I feel, as I am. And people respond to what I say so positively, because I am a person worth listening to, whether I've let myself believe that or not in the past. People introduce themselves to me before/after class. I feel so much more known and so much more loved and so much a part of this world that I was literally made to be a part of.  I still struggle, but that doesn't matter--that will always be true. But what is also true is that I have improved so much and really come into my own even more thus far this year.
Whatever your goals are for the new year, I believe in you. I know you can do this. And I implore you to remember the following: if your year started bad, remember that it is not the end--not the end of the year, and not the end of you. It is just the beginning of both. I have talked a lot about all of the joy I have experienced at the beginning of this new year, but I have also experienced unbelievably painful anxiety and grief--like literally, I was even shocked by how much it hurt and how long that pain could last. I actually have a track record in most of my adult civilian life starting with heartbreak. But I'm okay with that. New years are great opportunities to remember new moments, and the reality of the thing is that every moment can be a new moment. Years aren't the only things that start anew--months do, and days do, and hours do, and minutes do, and even seconds do. Think of all the countless opportunities we have to start again! It is truly a miracle. There is never a stopping point. It is never too late to turn back and to make yourself into who you truly want to be--and this is coming from a woman that has definitely had many points in her life when it seemed that my life was unfixable.
Many people choose a theme for the year in a phrase, word, or group of words. For me, I choose a theme of the year in song. I choose a song that is going to represent my mindset in the coming year. Here I'm formally announcing that my song of the year is "I Am Enough" by Cimorelli, and I think it very well encompasses my goal for the year. Inadequacies will always exist inside me, but that isn't going to kill me. It doesn't matter who is or isn't in my life. It doesn't matter what people think. It matters that I exist. EVERYONE is enough--we are children of a powerful God! That is awesome. That is so incredibly enough. That is amazing. And that is something that is independent--no one can change that. No one can take that away from you. That will remain true forever. I will always be enough due to that fact--as will everyone on this earth.
With that said, I've been thinking a lot about something else lately. I started this year feeling very weak. Circumstances that had me feeling very vulnerable and hurt and with a broken heart. But this was also a really awesome opportunity--it gave me the chance to recommit to relying on God. It helped me see how much I need Him, because I can take that for granted from time to time, when really every day I should cherish what a miracle that is. It gave me so much opportunity to learn about the strength behind weakness, because Jesus is the strength in us. So when we are weak, we are actually (if we choose to rely on the Lord) the strongest we will ever be. It only makes sense: Jesus asks us to bring to him "a broken heart and a contrite spirit" in sacrifice to Him--so is there really any other way to come to God than to be weak?
This thought has been bringing a new realization to me. Is being alive really about discovering that we are enough? Or is it really about realizing we are in fact not enough, and learning to be okay with that
The answer is definitely both. As I said, we are children of God, and that makes us enough. But we're definitely not enough on our own. We're not perfect. We make mistakes. But that's okay. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We are made whole through our Savior. We become enough through Him. What a joy! What a mercy! What a miracle!
So yes it's true, there's nothing wrong with saying we are enough, because it's true. But with this new realization and with being increasingly comfortable in my own skin, I'm just going to bask in not being enough and being perfectly fine with that for awhile.
I hope you all have a great rest of the new year.
Thanks and much love!

Adventures in the CLAM: "I'll See You on the Other Side" (August 24, 2020-August 30, 2020)

Hello everyone. Writing this today feels rather somber.
I feel like I'm mourning my death all over again. I feel like I'm at my child's funeral. Celebrating and remembering the death of something I loved and gave my everything for. I've spent time reminiscing and laughing and crying and feeling pretty much all the feelings as I've remembered what a beautiful thing this was in my life. And now that the remembering is over, I feel scared. I feel a new kind of heartbroken. Because it ended long ago. But now that the official remembering period is done, it feels like a new kind of really over. A really over that has come in so many stages, and this is another one.
But, and as funny as it might sound to say this because I'm pretty sure either no young adult women or all young adult women think about this man as much as I do, I am entirely serious (probably) when I say it reminds me of the classic David Archuleta bop:
"I see you in the morning light.
I see you in the midnight sky.
I feel it everywhere around me,
never have to say goodbye.
It doesn't matter where I go.
I feel you in every memory.
I hold them till I see you again
through the cracks of heaven."
I see missionary work in everything now. I see California in everything now. I see Jesus in everything now more than I ever have. Remembering is never really over. This was a significant part of my life. I literally cannot let it go. It is a part of me. Just about every return missionary I know says that is true. None of us ever really forget. It was that sacred. It was that special.
This week at church out of absolutely nowhere I was flooded and overwhelmed out of absolutely nowhere by what a tender mercy my mission call was. I know so many missionaries have it so much harder than I did when applying to be a missionary, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't very difficult to get out on a mission. When I got a mission call, it had been about a year since I had started my application. It was the most amazing feeling and the greatest miracle. I remember sitting there and having to tell myself over and over, "This is real." When I got in that moment that I had dreamed of for years, I couldn't believe that it was finally happening. I still can't believe how perfect that assignment was for me. While I was waiting for my call, people would always ask me where I wanted to go. I always told them that I didn't know, but I could tell that God had one place for me that was the perfect place to me, and I didn't know where that was, but I knew that when I found out I would know it was perfect. It would be the place for me. I had no idea how true that was. LA really was my one place. The only time during my missionary service when I left the California Los Angeles Mission boundaries was for a Dodgers game just down the street from our mission. Most missionaries go to a missionary training center. I did not. The whole time I applied to be a missionary I talked about how much I didn't want to go to a training center. It didn't sound appealing to me at all. Some of it even sounded scary to me. I was never assigned to go to a training center, and I know that's because God knew it wasn't right for me. The more I learn about the training center, the more I realized how much (in particular at the beginning of my mission) the environment would have upset me, the number of missionaries there would have scared me, and the eating situation would have absolutely paralyzed me. I would not have been able to function. I would have fallen apart, and I was not meant to do that. I was meant to stick it out. I was meant to make it to Los Angeles and teach people about Jesus Christ and His gospel. God didn't let me go to the places that would break me. As a two-transfer missionary, even once I was in LA as I was assigned, there was no guarantee I would stay there. There was in fact no guarantee that I would stay on a mission at all. But I couldn't even imagine leaving LA. It fit me like a glove. The entire mission lifestyle did. It was incredible--it was like the first time in my life that I had felt that level of comfortable in my own skin. God knew that when I got another mission call to extend my mission, it needed to be in Los Angeles.
Can we talk about how amazing it was to be in Los Angeles at all? It was love at first sight for me when I first went there at age fifteen. When I made my second visit my freshman year of college, I spent the trip thinking about how alive I felt when I was in LA. I felt like I was where I was truly meant to be, exactly in my element. That was about one year before I reported to my mission. I had no idea exactly how true those thoughts were at the time. But God did. I wish I could even begin to describe how much that angelic city means to me, but to be honest, I think that would take up a post of its own, so I'm not even going to try.
I left for this incredible journey at the exact right time. I had waited so long and I remember that effortful wait being so excruciating at certain moments. I remember wondering what was wrong with me and just being in pain. But I also remember the Spirit of the Lord making it clear to me at multiple times during that process that He was buying me time. I needed to wait so that the right thing could happen for me and for the people I would meet on my mission. Leaving when I wanted to just wasn't right. I am so glad I stuck it out and that I trusted that God knew the right time for me. While it didn't make sense to me at the time, I needed that time to learn and grow to become the woman God needed me to be in order to be a missionary. When I got to Los Angeles, I had the exact right experiences at the exact right time that I needed to have them. There are even experiences I had and people that I met that I desperately needed in my life that if I had left any sooner, I would have missed them entirely.
I faced a lot of health challenges that nearly prevented me from serving a mission. But as I contemplate this, I am reminded of a Bible story. This is John 9:1-3:
"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
Jesus went on to heal this blind man. This miracle was a testament of His divinity. I was born different too, and the reason for that is so God could heal me and show the world a miracle, and also so that I as a missionary (and, by following the Spirit, for the rest of my life) could perform miracles in His name.
I guess that in short it was an overall miracle. The mission was a miracle. The message is a miracle. My ability to heal after adversity and thrive as a missionary was a miracle. Being in Los Angeles was a miracle. Being comfortable in my own skin was a miracle. Making friends that felt like family was a miracle. There's nothing about it that wasn't absolutely astonishing.
It felt perfect, and nothing in mortal life is. But when I was a teenager people used to call me perfect all the time, and it really bothered me. That probably greatly attributes to how hard I was on myself back in the day (and sometimes still, to be truthful). But I was praying last night and I was praying about how needful God is. I was praying about the grace of Jesus Christ and how it is Him that makes us whole. And it really hit me that He not only fills my every gap, but every perfect thing about me is Him shining through. When people see something good in me, I can feel good about that. When we see something good in anything, we are seeing Jesus shining through. Truly all things testify of Him. (Alma 30:44)
Enjoy!

Hello one and all!
I'm going to warn you right now, this will be a long-winded one. I've had a lot on my mind and have been going through about a thousand grief cycles every day. I don't want to lose a single moment of this precious final week, so it is all coming down here. This is my final statement before I conclude this incredible and life-changing journey. Stay with me.
LA LOVE:
This week was a miracle and I don't think enough of that will be featured in this letter if I don't say it straight, so I'm just saying it straight here. The week started very dry with very little teaching people, and it was pretty devastating. But I realized near the end of the week that I was not running on very much faith. So I prayed and begged Heavenly Father for miracles in finding and teaching. The weekend was incredible and full. The Lord always provides if we just let Him, and if we just accept what He has to offer. His plan is always a lot better than mine.
Something I"m going to really miss about LA, besides, like, everything, is the movie billboards everywhere. I know movie posters exist other places, but they're absolutely everywhere here, especially further north (there's not a ton of that going on in South Bay, but it's also significantly further from the industry than the valley and the city so that makes sense). I simply adore this place.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
We had a fantastic time going to the mission office so I could apply to be an MTC teacher! And it was Sister Allred's first time walking around the temple. Plus makeup shopping and a spa day with the sisters? Sounds like a great day to me!
I had the best birthday ever! It was on the day of district council, so I requested to have it in person so I could see my district family one more time before I go home and so I could throw a little birthday party for them. We ended up pretty late because the sisters' car's battery died, and it's a new hybrid, so we had to figure out how to jump it. (Fun fact: it takes six missionaries plus two senior missionaries over the phone to jump a RAV-4. If you need to know where the battery is, it was hidden in the very back of the car. We had to dissect the entire trunk of the car. Wild times.) But we did finally make it to district council and it was great. I didn't even get too emo, not even when we sang "God Be With YOu Till We Meet Again" for the closing song, so I thought I was gonna be able to keep it cool the entire time, but then we said a closing prayer and I just sat there and wept. As soon as the prayer ended I blasted off so fast so the elders couldn't see me cry haha. I got my homemade gluten-free ice cream cake out and we just hung out in the kitchen and had a little party. The sisters couldn't attend in person so we had another party at home with them later. Then Sister Wall and Sister Payne called us that night and played a ukulele hymns concert and it was the most beautiful thing ever. It was the best day ever--I am twenty-one, and I got to spend the day with my district family.
We had an English conversation class with Haruka! I love her so much. Sister Allred even got to share a little bit of our beliefs with her in her native language! It was fantastic.
We had a teach for understanding training about the creation of the world and the fall of Adam and Eve, which I loved because in my opinion those are extremely underrated principles, very important to the Plan of Salvation.
I had my final interview with President Cordon. It was lovely. He told me that I could tell people I had completed an honorable mission. He said I have faced a lot of emotional challenges but that I didn't quit. We talked about how to live an honorable life after the mission. He gave me advice for my MTC application. We are both very happy for me. Even though leaving the mission is sad, as the missionary Aaron said about his brother Ammon, "the Spirit of the Lord has called [me] another way." (Alma 22:1-4)
For the last Makeup with the Sisters, I designed a California Love look to celebrate my favorite place.
I had my last sacrament meeting with my dear missionaries. I remember putting my makeup on that morning hoping it would last through the day. It lasted a maximum of an hour, hahaha! Elder Mangum, who conducts our sacrament meetings, asked me for every song what my favorite opening/sacrament/closing hymn was. It was super heartbreaking. I again wept as we said the closing prayer, then blasted off to cry my makeup off in the bathroom. Then said goodbye to my friends. They have all been super supportive because listen up, we are the CLAM FAM.
We had the pleasure of watching this month's mission fireside! President Galorath, President Cordon's first counselor, shared the story of how he became converted to Jesus Christ and it was awesome.
I had my final congratulations call with my zone. Wow, I love them so much. We have some great missionaries here. I got to share some final words with my team. I told them there was nothing more important that they could be doing with their lives. I told them Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I told them that there is no way I will be able to express how much I love them; that I pray for each and every one of them by name every night and I probably will for a long time; that in premortality Heavenly Father probably, when presenting who I would be serving a mission with, pulled back a curtain and revealed THEM and I was simply overjoyed that I got to serve with the best of the best. I told them they had so much to give and especially because they had the priesthood on their side. The sisters sang a special goodbye song for me. It was emo, but it was all true. What a good bunch I have here.
FRIENDS:
Craig has simply turned into a spiritual giant. His prayers are so faith-filled, he can identify the Spirit, and he knows that the gospel is true. He learned about fasting and he decided to participate in his first fast soon. He also wonderfully understands the doctrine of the Sabbath day as we discussed that this week. We also talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and just how incredibly deep it [is]. He knows he will get baptized someday, it's just a matter of when. Keep our dear friend in your prayers. God is ready for him.
We had a great time reading scripture stories this week with Beverly. One of the things we read was about the Sabbath day and she described the Sabbath as a breeze blowing through your mind and heart to refresh you for the rest of the week. It was so amazing!
We met with Cathryn and she is so wonderful! We taught her about the Sabbath day and she told us about the care she puts into it to make it a special day for the Lord. We love her.
We talked about the concept of eternal families with Andre. He doesn't yet understand resurrection so it's hard for him to understand, but we are looking forward to him learning more about this. He gave me some advice before I go home to so that was so sweet.
We taught our new friend Christina pretty briefly about the Holy Ghost, but she loved it. She has a strong knowledge that we come from God!
Cindy joined us with John and Craig for a Sabbath worship experience. We read from Mormon 7 but ended up talking a lot about resurrection. Cindy loved knowing we can see our family and friends again after we die.
I have a lot I want to say to conclude my final letter home from the California Los Angeles Mission, because my heart is so full. I have shed a lot of tears this week and even this transfer, but it is all okay because that at least means I had something beautiful to cry about. I have wanted to be a missionary for a very long time. It has been more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I don't know what I was expecting from this experience, only that I am lucky that this is the experience my God chose to give me. It has brought me so much joy!
I want to say a few goodbyes to all the things and people that matter.
To my calling. There is nothing more special. Talking to Sister Allred the other day, I noted that it doesn't matter what I do in the rest of my life, I will never be more famous than we are now. NO matter where we go, we catch everyone's eye, and nearly everyone is happy to see us. I had someone tell me once that before we even started talking to her she saw us all the way down the street--we were glowing like angels. I have felt my smile light up wherever I am in a way I definitely didn't know how to do before. I have said words that I wasn't even thinking that were carried out of me by the Spirit of the Lord. I have learned so much about spiritual things and how to teach them, and I know I am teaching the truth. Today we were driving by our local park and saw what at first glance was a group of teenage boys playing sports together, but Sister Allred looked again because she noticed they were different; they had a special light. Upon second glance they were our elders. There is something very special about being a missionary. We are called by and given the power of God to do His work. It is an absolute honor.
To my city. I went to LA for the first time when I was fifteen and it was love at first sight. Three years later, one year before I reported to the mission, I found myself there again. I remember being in Hollywood and noting how alive I felt there, how when I was there I felt like I was where I was meant to be. I had no idea how true that was at the time. LA, you mean the world to me. You are holy ground. You are the soil in which I was planted and absolutely bloomed. I know exactly why you are called the City of Angels.
To the local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank you for loving us and taking care of us. I remember moments on my mission where I was so overwhelmed with love from you and for you that I didn't know what to do. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family. This is a home to me.
To the people I have taught. You have changed me. Your examples of repentance inspire me. I have watched your very countenances change as you have accepted Jesus Christ. I see how much He has blessed you as He has blessed me. Keep being faithful. I know I was your teacher, which was my greatest joy--I love teaching and I love the gospel, so what a wonderful combination--but I hope you understand how much you also taught me. Thank you.
To my fellow missionaries. I really wasn't expecting you to be my favorite part of my mission. You are my brothers and sisters. No one can be there for a missionary like a missionary can. It is such a wildly unique experience that no one else can even really know how. You have taught me so much and become my family.. There will never be a time in my life or in eternity when that will not be true. When I was set apart with this calling, I was blessed to have angels literally on my right and on my left. I know without a doubt that many of those angels were from heaven. But I also know they were you.
When I think of you I think of a favorite lyric from my favorite song from my favorite play, "Letter from the Refuge" from Newsies: "On the rooftop you said that a family looks out for each other, so you tell all the fellas for me to protect one another." I know I was the mom friend, and I will do what I can from 200+ miles away, but please take care of each other. Companions, districts, zones, and missions are some of God's greatest gifts to us. Be there for each other.
I am also reminded of a scripture about one of my favorite missionaries, Alma, and his missionary friends, in Alma 17:1-2:
"And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla.
Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God."
I anxiously await that day.
To my God. This is no goodbye because You're always with me. I love You so much. You're the reason for every good thing in my life. On to the next adventure!
And to everyone everywhere, I must share an invitation in scripture more eloquent and accurate than anything I could ever say, Moroni 10:32:
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."
I know this is true. I know that God and goodness have no stopping point, no limit, no expiration date. I am overjoyed to be His. I have done what He asked me to do, and I am happy. I know Jesus Christ lives and He lives for us all.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: "A Band of Angels Coming After Me" (August 17, 2020-August 23, 2020)

Hello everyone!
In this letter I write about a friend named Nick. Sister Allred and I were teaching him, but we passed him off to the YSA missionaries because we thought it would be better for him. I went home about two weeks after that, so I didn't get to be much a part of Nick's progression in the gospel after that. I did, however, about a month later get to attend his baptismal service over Zoom. Nick is doing great and he loves the gospel of Jesus Christ. I guess I wanted to share that because I think that we don't always see the end of the story, for a lot of things in life. As missionaries, friends, family, teachers, mentors, all sorts of things, we don't see how people progress in their faith journeys sometimes, even people that really mean a lot to us. In many aspects of life, when we try our best to make a difference but don't always get to see the big picture. I wanted to remind you that little miracles are happening all the time, and you're a part of them. My favorite scripture from the Book of Mormon is Alma 376-7. I'd loved the first of the two verses since I first discovered it as a child, but the pair of verses together took on a new meaning when I became a missionary:
"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."
The context of these verses is a father (and prophet) speaking to his son about the plates that the scriptures are written on, how he needs to maintain them and have them retain their brightness. While it might have seemed like a simple thing, it was still extremely important. I know that firsthand, because since those plates were maintained now we have the Book of Mormon. It was simple, but that didn't mean it wasn't great.
As our dear friend Cinderella once said, "Have faith in your dreams, and someday your rainbow will come smiling through."
Enjoy!

 

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
I feel that most of you don't know this about me, but angels are a very important part of my life. In almost every priesthood blessing I get angels are mentioned, promising that they will be with me if I just ask for them. When I was set apart as a missionary, I was blessed to have angels literally on my right and on my left. There have been many times on my mission when they have been with me, but this week was very special. Sister Allred and I walked into our apartment and Sister Nault asked (they practically live with us at this point because our apartment has the wifi), "Does anything weird ever happen here?" We said no. :She said, "Something's definitely here." That made us nervous, but then she said it was something good. She heard voices whispering, saying, "Jesus, we love Him!" She did some investigating and just felt the most beautiful feeling. Sister Allred said, "Oh, it's Sister Day's angels." I've heard them since then and so has Sister Allred. So yeah, we have angels living in our apartment! I feel so blessed by the Lord. He really does fulfill His promises!
Another Congratulations Call tradition is Elder Mangum singing "Hallelujah" as a special musical number and leading the team in song. It is pretty much the best.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
For p-day we had an awesome day of makeup shopping, picking up a new RAV-4 for Sister Nault and Sister Goodrich, and doing a spa day with all of our sisters!
We had the best zone conference ever this week. Pretty emo when I realized it was my last one, but such a bop. I feel like a common theme of zone conference was needfulness, which was awesome because I LOVE the concept of needfulness. As a missionary there are a lot of ways we can study, teach, and find, but we need to make sure we are doing the most IMPORTANT things and doing those things the BEST we can. It is not enough to just study, we need to study things that will help us invite others to come unto Christ! It is not enough to just teach, we need to teach in a way that will really help our friends understand the doctrines of the gospel and prepare to make covenants! It is not enough to just find, we need to find in a way that is effective and strengthens our area! "There's a right way in everything you do." We also talked about the importance of doing service so we are going to be focusing a lot on that as a mission! I am so grateful that I had the great opportunity to learn how to help y area for my remaining time here.
We had a great district council this week about improving the way we extend commitments (again it's not just about doing it but about doing it the best we can) and do Sabbath worship experiences!
We had a great Bible storytime this week where we learned about prayer!
It was Rohan's last mission prep class this week. Pretty emo. He reports the day I go home. He is so prepared and we are so happy for him to get to serve his mission. We love him so much!
The Redondo 1st ward hosted an event about being with our families forever! All the people who participated shared the most beautiful testimonies of the reality of eternal families. And I had the privilege of singing a song for the event too!
We had a great snow queen theme for Makeup with the Sisters this week!
FRIENDS:
This week with Tomm was pretty crazy. We had a lesson with Elder Mangum and Elder Creighton about the Holy Ghost but it didn't end as we expected. He is definitely facing a trial of faith, but we think as we follow the spirit this crisis will be the answer to prayers to grow his faith. We felt like we should start memorizing scriptures with him and that this will be an important part of his spiritual progression!
We love Beverly so much. We got to share Helaman 5:12 with her and she loved it! She knows Jesus is the foundation that we must stand on.
We taught Khiara and Sophia about the laws of tithing and fasting this week. She is so amazing! She really understands the concept of sacrificing for the Lord.
We went with Elder Mangum and Elder Creighton to give Nick a priesthood blessing. He loved it so much! We taught him together about the gift of the Holy Ghost and he has recognized moments of feeling the Spirit in his life. We also taught him about baptism and he says that he would like to work towards baptism! It was so amazing and exciting. We taught him about the sacrament so he could be prepared to go to the YSA ward which he loved. We are no longer Nick's missionaries but we are so happy for him. We know that YSA is what he needs and he is already doing so well there!
We made a new friend Cindy! She is John's friend and so awesome. She said he gave her a Book of Mormon but it was super strange because he treated it like a treasure. So we explained why that was! She is so awesome and we already love her so much. We are looking forward to reading the scriptures more with her!
We had the pleasure of teaching Lupe about the divine mission of Jesus Christ this week! We taught about how the scriptures can help us with that and we are looking forward to doing more scripture studies with her!
We had a great lesson this week with Craig where we talked about the different reasons people fear commitment. He has so much faith. I wept as he prayed for me to have a beautiful life after my mission. We also talked about premortality and how we already promised to follow Jesus back then--now we just need to follow through. Craig said it's time to snap into shape!
Cathryn is doing so good! We talked about repentance in the context of godly sorrow. She didn't know what that was before so she loved learning something new! We talked about how it applied to her life and how now that she knows about it it can give her so much more power.
I just want to close by talking about the concept of agency. This is a beautiful gift. When you break down the word and really think about it, you realize the root of the word is "agent", something capable of producing a certain effect. Agency is the gift to choose from God. Imagine: God could be a controlling God, but He never would. He loves us more than that; He knows how important it is to choose. Agency is the ability to choose, while accepting the consequence. When we follow God and do good, we receive positive consequences. When we go against God and do evil, we receive negative consequences. God never forces us to do anything. He just tells us what to do and what the consequences will be, whether we choose to accept or reject His ways, and He lets us choose our own fate. God doesn't really punish us. He tells us the options, and we choose our own end result. My dear friends, I implore of you to choose God's way. His delight is to see you happy. It is mine as well. And I can testify that God's way is THE way! This is the way, and there is no other way. (2 Nephi 31:21) Come join in on the happiness!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: Makeup QUEENS (August 10, 2020-August 16, 2020)

 

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
Update: Sister Allred has a favorite Phineas and Ferb episode. She has still never seen Phineas and Ferb. The other day we watched Meapless in Seattle--which means I describe the episode in vivid detail to her so it's as if we are watching it.
Elder Jones and Elder Judd tried to prank/bless us by having us call a prayer hotline, but it ended up reminding us taht we needed to schedule an appointment to have our wifi set up (we cancelled our first appointment because we had corona), so it ended up actually being a huge miracle. God works in mysterious ways.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
For our first p-day out and about, we went to the beach with Sister Nault and Sister Goodrich! We had a huge miracle where Sister Nault finally got to live her dream of seeing dolphins! Then Sister Allred bought eye makeup for the first time! She has decided that she only has a few weeks left of living with a makeup queen so she is going to take this opportunity to learn. We have been having a lot of fun being makeup queens together!
We had a great district council this week where we learned more about how to help people make commitments. Commitments truly are the glue that hold missionary work together. This helps people convert to Jesus Christ and prepare to make covenants. What a joy of missionary work.
We got a training about how to teach about premortal life for understanding. To share one fun tidbit for you, we will say that we were given the precious reminder that all of the friends we're teaching already accepted Jesus Christ in the premortal world--every person on earth, in fact!
We told the story of the ten lepers at Bible storytime this week!
We had a great mission prep this week and it was so amazing to hear Rohan, who is leaving for his mission in a week, tell us how prepared he feels for his mission and how much the class has helped him. We are so happy for him.
We had an awesome Makeup with the Sisters where we did a split face Jekyll and Hyde theme!
FRIENDS:
We had an amazing lesson with Craig about the priesthood and he learned a lot. It was very helpful for him. We also taught about the nature of faith, how it is born from belief and humility and how it creates action and power. Plus he had a great moment where he totally unprompted held his own in a scripture study we had with John, sharing the verses that stood out to him! He is so wonderful.
We had the opportunity to teach Nick about Jesus Christ's mission and Atonement. We talked a TON about faith and exactly what that includes and he understands it perfectly. We also talked a lot about priesthood and prophets and he really gets the idea.
We taught Khiara about the Sabbath day this week and it was so beautiful. She has such a perfect understanding of it and she even made a goal to do something spiritual and productive every Sunday! Sadly Khiara had to drop her baptismal date but she is very excited for when the time comes that she can be baptized. We reviewed the baptismal interview with her (plus some teaching of the law of chastity) so she could know what she had learned and what she needed to review and she was so happy to learn that she knew more than she had previously thought. Please pray for our girl to be baptized soon because she is so ready. We simply love her.
We had the most amazing thing happen with Beverly. She requested stories from the Old Testament, so we read from Isaiah about how God teaches line upon line, which she hadn't understood before. She told us about the cool things we can learn from the Bible--like how you can be saved AFTER you die. And we were like Beverly we believe that too! So we had a cool discussion about that. Also had the privilege of telling her the story of Samuel and his example in following the Lord.
It's been so cool to see Tomm progress in his knowledge of God. As we talked about Heavenly Father this week, he said, "He must really care about us a lot." That is awesome! We started teaching Tomm about the Word of Wisdom this week and he didn't take it well, but it was awesome because there was no doubt that it was what he needed to hear so the Spirit was extremely present. We had Elder Mangum and Elder Creighton join us for the next lesson and they totally hit it off! We discussed the importance of being receptive to the Spirit.
To close, I wanted to share a beautiful piece from the Bible Dictionary that Sister Allred and I read the other day about prayer:
"Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them."
I invite you all to strive more to align your will with God's. The promise here is that you will end up happier. It is that simple. That does not mean it will necessarily be a quick and easy happier. But I know as we align our will with God's as we try to make what we want into whatever he wants, we will be blessed beyond imagination.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: I Put Someone in Jail?! (August 3, 2020-August 9, 2020)

Hey everyone!
This letter brought back so many memories. This was such a great area, such a great group of friends and missionaries, and such a wonderful time for amazing miracles. My faith grew so much there.
I mention a talk given at a general conference for my church at the end of this post. I seriously implore you, whoever you are, to give this one a read. This being the Christmas season, this is the perfect time to think of Jesus. Whether you believe He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world or not, I know that learning about Jesus Christ can bring a lot of peace to our hearts. He is such a good man. He's a radical. He stands for selfless love whether people deserve it or not. The reason that is so beautiful because I can't think of a single person that genuinely deserves love. We have all made vile mistakes and all hurt people. But we're all trying our best and we all want mercy. So when you think about it, none of us deserving love is the reason that all of us deserve it. Jesus was all about loving and helping people. I think there's a vile impression given in the world that God loves to punish and isn't very caring. As I've studied the scriptures, the exact opposite is apparent to me. When I read things like the Bible and the Book of Mormon, all I can see is a message of love, compassion, justice, and mercy. It is amazing. It shocks me how much God cares for us.
I keep thinking of the story of the woman caught in adultery. This woman had been caught in the very act of committing a sin. There was no denying that. People brought her to Jesus and told Him what had been done. The law required that the people throw stones at her. They asked Jesus what He thought of that.
Jesus told the people, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her." (John 8:7)
Everyone is guilty of something. Everyone has done something wrong. So when Jesus asked that, all the people condemning this woman left.
When they left, Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were. They were nowhere to be found. So Jesus told her to go on and sin no more. He told her that she was forgiven; in fact said that He, Christ the Lord, did not condemn her. He told her to move on and do better things with her life.
That's what Christ does. He cares for us, He loves us, He defends us, and He shows us how to become the people we genuinely want to be. He lifts us out of our rut.
Read the sermon linked at the end. Or even better, watch the video. It will change your life, no matter what you believe. There's something we can all learn about that level of love.
Enjoy!

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
Okay, so one of our friends called us one day. His best friend and her boyfriend were over and he really does not like this boyfriend. We talked to him for a little bit and let us just say that he is, to describe with a tame word and not go into too many details, fiendish. As we were saying our companionship prayer that night, we included these two children of God in our prayer. I felt very shockingly prompted by the Spirit to ask Heavenly Father to smite this man as He did Alma the Younger, who, before becoming the greatest prophet since Moses, was "the very vilest of sinners." (Mosiah 28:4) If you don't know the story of Alma, this man sought to destroy the church of God. His father (the high priest over the land), along with many others, prayed for a miracle to change his heart. One day Alma and his friends were visited by an angel and smitten, so overcome by the Spirit that they fell to the earth. Alma's friends recovered pretty quickly, but Alma was left in a spiritual coma in which he cannot move or speak for three days, all the while pondering the horrific nature of his sins and the fate of his soul, until he is saved by remembering the Savior Jesus Christ and changes his heart. I didn't expect to say that, but I felt strongly like I should pray for that, and when we follow the Spirit in prayers, great things happen. So I said it. The next day Sister Allred asked if I thought we would ever find out the results of our prayer of faith. I said probably not. Well, we were wrong. We called our friend that night and he told us that his prayer was answered--the man had left! He said his best friend and her boyfriend had gone to her parents' house for a minute, and when they were outside, the police were there! They arrested him and took him to jail. I literally jumped off the ground. I couldn't believe it. A mere few hours after our prayer of faith, it was answered, and we even got to find out what happened. It was a huge testament to me. The power of a prayer of faith is real.
We decided that a group of missionaries is called a "blessing" (similar to unicorns) as our district rolled up in an epic squad moment to a guy who was fixing his flat tire that had previously Bible bashed our sisters to offer help to him and show Christlike love, and if that's not the most missionary sentence you've ever heard, I don't know what is.
I just wanted to let you all know that Sister Allred has a favorite Dr. Doofenschmirtz quote and she has never seen Phineas and Ferb.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
It was our last dependent p-day of the week! Sister Nault and Sister Goodrich bought groceries for us one more week and then we were set free on Wednesday! We are COVID-free queens! Which featured us going outside for many adventures, including our sacrament meeting held in the courtyard of our church (no indoor meetings are currently allowed).
We hosted an English class where we practiced words in preparation for Haruka's baby!
We had a great district council this week where we focused on how we can find part-member families, and what will best help them. Sister Allred and I gave a short review of the conference talk that we read with our Preach My Gospel implementation calendar. More on that in a bit.
We had a great Bible storytime where we taught about Jesus feeding the five thousand!
A wonderful mission prep where we learned about leaving something behind. It was really cool to work with our elders and sisters and see everyone use their talents to teach mission prep this week.
I had my fateful My Plan interview this week. I literally had the whole district pray for me becuase I was super nervous haha. But it was honestly very wholesome and wonderful. It was a great reminder of how good my life is going to be, the great opportunities I have, the things I have to work on.
We had a great Makeup with the Sisters this week! A lot of my missionary friends came so it was a super fun time. Plus Sister Goodrich let me borrow a makeup palette of hers so we had a great time experimenting with new colors!
Sister Allred and I got to go to a virtual tour outside the Nauvoo temple hosted by my dear friend Sister John! It was beautiful. I miss that girl and I miss Nauvoo too.
FRIENDS:
We made a new friend, Nick! He is wonderful! He was a referral from a former friend a few months ago that never responded. We called him awhile ago and he finally answered! So we set an appointment with him and he is great! He has a beautiful faith in God. He's been through a lot and is hoping he will get an answer as to why these things have been happening. He is in need of more spiritual experiences, so we figured the solution was to tell him about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and reading the Book of Mormon with him! He is loving it so far!
Kris is amazing. He said that when he prayed to feel God's love for hi that he felt it immediately, even before he started his prayer. We were blown away by Kris's testimony. We had a lesson about the Restoration and he fully believes it. He says he feels that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was blowing our mind because he was so prepared. He is very good at studying his scriptures every day. He had watched the film Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration the night before our lesson. He used words we had never mentioned to him before. He asked us to join him in a fast the next day. (We had never mentioned that to him either.) We love Kris; he is so awesome.
Tomm now understands the necessity for authority in baptism! He is looking forward to being baptized somebody! The main focus with Tomm this week was on how to hear the voice of the Lord featuring prophets, the Holy Ghost, and praying to know the truth.
As we promised by the Spirit of th Lord, Craig's desire to break the Word of Wisdom has been weakening! It is getting better all the time. He is so awesome. Please continue to pray for him. We talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon this week!
Some great stories that we shared with Beverly this week were of the man who was born blind and Jesus's final words to His apostles before He ascended into heaven!
We had a great lesson with Sophia where we just read our favorite scriptures with each other. Then later in the week we had a lesson with her and Khiara together! We dropped off some of my famous mac and cheese before the call so we had a little lunch together over video. We learned about the importance of the commandments.
We passed Raquel off to her local missionaries this week by teaching the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She is such a gem. She just knows the gospel is true. We are going to miss her, but she will do great with Elder Shaffer and Elder Hjorth--who are actually going to be my missionaries when I go home too!
To close, I just wanted to strongly invite you all to listen to the previously mentioned talk that our mission studied this week. Please check out "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane" by Bruce R. McConkie this week. Elder McConkie was terminally ill when this talk was given. He knew these would be his final words on earth as an apostle of the Lord. He knew the most important thing he could speak about was the atoning power of our Savior. Listen to the final words of a special witness of Jesus Christ who knew the time was not far distant that he would be with the Lord. I know the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the center of the gospel. It is the most important thing that has ever happened, the most important thing to understand. That is why I am here.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day