A Timely Reminder

Isn’t it interesting how past you can remind present you of some important things? This happened for me when I started looking through all my blog posts. My blog stats show that my post, “All Things from the Beginning” (https://mckallerin.blogspot.com/2017/12/all-things-from-beginning.html) had been viewed about 60 times, so I decided to look at it myself. Many the memories flooded back to me as I read about my difficult semester. 

All too well do I remember the difficulties that semester presented. I was taking the most classes I had ever taken in one semester, and for at least two months during it, I had one or two migraines a day. Not something I ever want to return to. However, what I learned from it, is not something I would ever want to miss out on! And now, as I read, I realized that I am again in the same position, and seeing those same blessings again in my life. 

Last summer I was in the middle of finishing my undergrad degree by doing two internships, and not taking classes was an adjustment. The feeling of being in-between, the wondering what was next, and settling into my new life was much more difficult then I had anticipated. I knew that everything would work out the way it needed to, but I couldn’t shake off my melancholy very easily. Then I got the job that I was hoping and praying for, and things were a little better, but when God wants you to do something he doesn’t leave you feeling settled for long. I soon started to feel that I needed to apply for grad school at Utah State University. This revelation was not necessarily a happy one for me, it fact in caused me a lot of anxiety, feeling my abilities far beneath the requirements of a Masters degree. But, after a long, long time of resisting, I finally applied to the program, with the help of my wonderful family and some dear friends. During this same time, I began to feel that it was important for me to start a blog dedicated to stories of the past. As much as I love to write, I felt this could be a stepping point in my career that go either go well or go wrong. But I made an attempt to start (although since then it’s progress has been remarkably slow).

I could write a lot more about all of this, but as I don’t want this to be a terribly long post, I will venture to make a long story short. In February I was accepted to the USU History graduate program, and this last week I was offered to have my blog spotlighted on a very well known family history podcast. So here I sit, with my life and career on a path that six months ago I would never have imagined. My heart and mind are filled with much trepidation and a little excitement. And today, when I read, in my own words no less, that “trusting in Heavenly Father means recognizing and REMEMBERING that Heavenly Father has all power and that if you try your best to follow him (and even sometimes when you have your moments of forgetting to trust him), things will work out the way Heavenly Father knows they need to, because he DOES know all things from the beginning... So overall I guess I just hope my future self will remember to trust Heavenly Father more and remember that he really does prepare 'a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men,' and that 'he hath all power.'" 

Now here I am, learning the same lesson again, and I am grateful for the reminder. So, I am peaceful about the future. I know it will be difficult, that there will probably be tears that are shed, but there will also be happy moments. As long as I end up where God needs me to be that’s what matters. And I know that as long as I try I will end up there, where ever that may be, because all things are in His hands!

It’s Been Awhile and a New Blog

It has been a very long time since I’ve posted in this blog! Looking back through posts, I’ve realized this has been a blog mainly for publishing my different assignments for school, and in some ways has been a journal for some of my intellectual and spiritual musings. So, while this blog will continue to serve that purpose, I’d also like to use this as a blog to post about my picture and video projects. When I will ever have time to do that I don’t know, but I’ll have more motivation now that I’ve written it down right? Right... Plus I’ve started a blog for my story writing! So this will probably take priority over anything I do on here now. I’m excited about it! Check it out at www.makingtheirstoriesknown.blogspot.com
Well, that’s all for now folks! Until next time!

Come Lord Jesus

Two verses that I have always really loved are Revelation 22: 17 & 20.
17 And the Spriti and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely..
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

One of  the reasons that I love these verses because I think they give the best summary of the bible, and so it is fitting that they are at the end. It is about coming to Jesus, and then preparing for Jesus to come, to return to the earth again. I have met people who say something to the effect of, "I'm not in any hurry for Jesus to come back, I 'm not ready." While I can't say that I am as righteous as I would like to be before he comes, I can't wait for him to come back! And that is the attitude that I think he wants us to have. That is something that stood out to me from President Nelson's conference talk as well. The Savior's return is a wonderful and exciting thing. Something that we need to prepare for, yes, but something we need not fear. I gives me motivation to do a little better, to stand a little taller and to commune with Heaven a little more. Like John I want to say "Come quickly... Come Lord Jesus!"

Revelation

This past conference was truly amazing! It was the motivation I needed to recommit to Heavenly Father. While I loved so many of the talks, my favorite one was definitely President Nelson's talk, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives." While I loved the whole talk, these two specific quotes stood out to me:

"One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will. The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to His children...

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that 'if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal'... Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know."

These both mean so much to me, especially since I am graduating in a few weeks and trying to figure out what to do with my life. It is comforting that a prophet of God has told us that no matter what we may be going through in our lives, whether it is graduation, getting married, starting a new job, having a baby, family problems, or anything else life may bring, Heavenly Father will help and guide us. Sometimes I think because we know Heavenly Father wants us to learn that we don't rely on him enough. This was confirmed to me when President Nelson said "...there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know." I know that he does, and that I can work more to me open and receptive to what he wants me to know.

To Know Him

Today was a wonderful day of General Conference! It is one of my favorite times of the year. I always learn so much and today was no different. While I felt that following the Prophet was one of the main themes of the talks given in the sessions today, there was also another theme that stood out to me. This may have been because we talked a lot about it in class this week as well, but I think that it is a very important thing to remember. Something that has really stood out to me was how important it is to truly know our Heavenly Father. In conference there were several talks that touched on the point of if you want to know you're identity and worth, come to know Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. Often the follow up phrase in the talks was that to know you must study his words and then act on them. This was reiterated in a verse I came across in my scripture study this week. It is 1 John 2:3 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments."
It is said so simply, yet it is so profound. How many of us, if we truly took the time to study who Heavenly Father is, and what that means for us, would have a different outlook on life, and about ourselves. I think I would think differently. I love our Savior and I am so grateful for what he did and continuously does for each of us. But as we discussed in class, the Savior's main goal is to point us to the Father, and after conference today, I think that is something I personally should work on. The scriptures and General Conference have such a great way of teaching you things meant just for you!

Afflictions of the Gospel

In my reading this week this verse stuck out to me:

2 Timothy 1:8
"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God."

What stuck out to me most was the line "but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." We all at some point or another have"afflictions" in our lives. That is just a part of life. This is something that has been on my mind the past little while, having experienced some afflictions of my own. It can be very overwhelming and discouraging. It can almost seem like life will constantly have sadness and disappointments. This verse shows me that though life does bring afflictions, according to the power of God, we can make it through them, and that even with all the affliction life brings, when you turn to the Lord, you can find the silver lining even in the hard times. Paul's life is prime proof that having the gospel in your life does not make life perfectly easy and always joyful. Through all he went through however, he always rejoiced in the gospel and trusted that in the end, God would make things right. And he will, and if we live the gospel, we can allow God's help to more fully take a justifying and sanctifying role in our lives. Through the grace of Christ, we can rely on his strength at any an all times.

The Vocation to Which You've Been Called

This week in my scripture study, a particular verse really stood out to me.
Ephesians 4:1 "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocatioin wherewith ye are called." What stood out most to me was the word "vocation." This word has always caught my attention because it is in my patriarchal blessing, and I have spent many times researching what it means and trying to understand what it means for me in the context of my patriarchal blessing. The footnote in this scripture, signifies that vocation in this verse can mean calling. This was significant to me because I feel that besides the jobs, church callings and assignments that we have in life, we have callings and missions that we accepted from Heavenly Father before we came to this life. They can be many different things and happen during the duration of our whole life. Fulfilling them requires being close to the spirit and being obedient to the promptions we receive. Becoming good at this is a process that we have to work at our whole lives. Reading this verse also shows me that Heavenly Father is always willing to teach us more about our personal lives through the scriptures if we allow him too. He teaches us individuallly and specifically!