Individual Worth #3

"Read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 and 121:45. Do all you can to build others and make them feel of worth. Every day for two weeks notice the worthwhile qualities and attributes of others. Acknowledge them verbally or in writing. In your journal write what you have learned about the worth of individuals and how your own confidence grows when you build others."

People really are children of God. That's the number one thing I learned from doing this. When a person begins to notice all the worthwhile qualities and attributes of another it's hard not to recognize the divine worth of each individual. Just like D&C 18:10, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God," I feel like I got a glimpse of what God sees in others. I saw their personalities; I could appreciate their characteristics. I don't really know how to describe the wonder and awe I feel when I glimpse the divine nature of each individual. Every person is a son or daughter of God. That's what I saw and it's hard to describe.

I didn't only glimpse what God saw in others, but by that glimpse I saw a little more of what God sees in me. I didn't really expect that, but it happened. As I saw the divine nature in others and saw a bit of why God loves His children so much, I came to have a greater understanding of myself. I came to understand that I, too, am a child of God. I've known that my whole life. However, I came to a greater understanding of who I am. Knowing who I am and knowing that I am loved by God because I am His child, that gives me confidence. As I notice the positive characteristics in others, I am more aware of my own positive qualities. I think that sometimes we are really hard on ourselves, but as we notice the good in others, we notice the good in ourselves.

A Girl's Lesson: The Worth of Men

"Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose."

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Female and Male. I'm an advocate for both. I believe in equal opportunity and being equal in our differences. We are all God's children and posses our individual right to choose good from bad; as such, we are all equal before God regardless of gender, of physical or mental difficulties, of nationality, of heritage, etc.

Men are taught to respect women, to charish them, to protect them. Many people of the world, sadly, think that such a man who takes his divine responsibilities seriously–presiding in love and righteousness  and providing the necessities of life and protection–are rare. They think that men who are courteous and kind, helpful and serviceable are either trying to be self-serving or deceiving. I want to share with you that I have met men who are genuinely caring, sacrificing, and responsible.

Principles of a Successful Marriage and Family

"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The other day, I was wondering if my little family consisting of my husband and myself have implemented the principles mentioned in the above quote. Do we have habits fostering these principles?

Personal Progress Project

I know I'm no longer in the Young Women's program for the girls 12-18 years old. In fact, I'm even married now! My married student ward doesn't even have young women; so I don't even have an opportunity to serve with them. While I was in Young Women's, I had completed Personal Progress and earned my medallion.

Here's a video that was even put together by my mother and shown at my YW's Recognition:

In the year before I graduated, the new Young Women's value "Virtue" was added and a little insert was given to include in the Personal Progress booklet. Eventually, they published a new Personal Progress booklet including the new value both in the YW theme and as another thing to complete. They even slightly changed some of the experiences to complete, included True to the Faith as a resource. Even the medallion looked new! They added a red gem to the necklace.

Gratitude Journal

This last Sunday in Relief Society we studied President Thomas S. Monson words in "Consider the Blessings" from this October 2012 General Conference. We were asked to consider the following questions:

• What are you grateful for? What are your blessings?
• What are the rewards you receive for recognizing your blessings?
• What are ways as a family we can be grateful?

I'd like to focus on my personal answers and for you to consider your own.

Natural Calamities and Repentance

I've been studying the Doctrine and Covenants the last few months, but yesterday's study really caused me to have a very, very strong Ah-ha Moment. I'm going to try to articulate it here.

I read the words of God in section 45 which seems to focus on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and what we should be doing. Accompanying this reading, I studied words of prophets and apostles in "Section 45 'Looking Forth for the Great Day of the Lord'" from the Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual.

It was the combination of these two readings that created my Ah-ha Moment.

The majority of people know that Christians believe that signs of the Second Coming include wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, troubles in divers places (Matt. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; D&C 45:33; JS-M 1:29). There are a lot of other signs, but these are just a few.

Family Mission Statement

A Family Mission Statement is "a written statement of what you want your life and family to be and the values by which you will live your life" (Families with a Purpose).

I've been learning about this in my online Parenting class. One of my assignments required me to write one for myself, or with my husband if I was married. Obviously I am. So for Family Home Evening we began work on a rough draft.

A family mission statement involves the whole family in its creation which means that the whole family has a clear knowledge of what the family values and what the family's goal is. Ideally this means the whole family works together for the goal.

Married: Now what?

I've given Advice To Fiancées and the Phase 2 of Wedding Letters: The Thank You Cards. But now that I'm finally married to a wonderful man and more settled into my life, I thought I would share a few things I've learned.

Before arriving at your home, make sure the utilities are on and working. It depends on the deal you have with the owners, if you are paying utilities yourself or not, but make sure the water, electricity, gas, and plumbing are on. Make sure you have garbage services as well. This way, when you arrive, you can get a drink of water and anything else as needed.

The first thing to do upon your arrival in your new home is to buy a new mattress. This way, if nothing else, you have a place to sleep at the end of your first day settling in. Hopefully, you and your spouse have already gone to different mattress stores to get an idea of what you wanted and how much it would cost. As newlyweds, you generally receive a nice amount of cash that could help purchase the mattress you desire. I would recommend looking at outlet stores where the mattresses are brand new, but have a random dent or something that cuts down the prices several hundred dollars.

You don't have to unpack everything immediately. Sometimes you don't have a place for things yet. For example, a dresser or hangers for your clothes. It's okay to still use your suitcase of stuff. Don't feel rushed. You'll get there. Just do what you can each day.

Phase 2 of Wedding Letters: The Thank You Cards

I've been working on Thank You cards in response to the wedding gifts my husband and I have received a few months ago. There has been a few things I realized while I've been working on them that I wish to share with those who aren't quite sure what to do for Thank You cards.

1. Don't rush. You want the person receiving the card to know how much you appreciate them and their gift. Time is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone. Take time on each card. Don't try to get them done in a short amount of time.
2. Be sincere and honest. My husband and I loved all of our gifts. Occasionally we had duplicates of things, but we were so grateful to have too many than to not have one at all. When thanking the person for their gift, really mean it. Find something you love about every gift and mention it to the person who gave it to you. For example, "I just wanted to say how grateful we are for the colander you gave us! We've love using it for our pasta nights or quickly rising vegetables for a stew. Thank you so much." Don't make up a fake reason why you are thankful for it; it reads falsely, and you want to show your sincere thanks to someone.
3. Thank them for who they are, not just what they gave you. This takes longer, which is why time is valuable. It can be hard to know all of your guests. But call your parents and your in-laws. Ask them for some basic information on those you don't know. Mention your gratitude for their presence in your life, in your spouse's life, in your parents' lives, in your siblings' lives, and why. Thank them for always being cheerful. Or always having an open home. Or guiding you. Or being a wonderful example. Etc. Make it personal. Express your gratitude for them.
4. Handwrite them. It doesn't have to be much. Write three or four sentences. But write them by hand. It expresses more of the time you were willing to give to really thank them for what they gave you.

My favorite part of writing these cards is the response I receive from them. "I wanted to send her a thank you card for the thank you card." You can brighten someone's day if you take the time and opportunity. And that, well, it brightens your own.

Advice To Fiancées

I'm getting married in 22 days. As I'm sure many of you that are married or engaged have realized, the wedding date is very apt at sneaking upon you like a lightening-fast ninja. I've been blessed enough in my own life to have had a little over three months from the moment I was engaged to the date of our wedding.

In my engagement time period, I've had numerous friends who have also gotten engaged or are on the verge of doing so. Having friends riding in a parallel engagement boat as you is a relief; my own little support group. That's what I think the world needs, support groups for fiancées and fiancés. It's helped so much. Each couple have discovered knowledge and tips about the process of getting married and share it so we all benefit. It works especially well when all the couples are in the same location during the engagement, even if they are getting married in different states.

You know how I mentioned that I have friends at the very beginning stages of being engaged? Well, these friends are starting to freak out (totally reasonable) and know that since I was a totally rational person during my own engagement (not), I've found they've come to me for information and wisdom, as if I knew all there is to know about being engaged.

Let me warn you now that I am no such source. Yes, I have definite experience in this area, but only for myself. I have no idea how helpful it would be to others. While this information will hopefully be helpful to all brides-to-be, it's more towards brides-to-be that are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But I'll share with you what I've discovered in hopes that it helps.