PoS Scriptures Part 1

As part of re-doing my Personal Progress and more specifically my first Value Experience I need to read some scriptures relating to the Plan of Salvation, and discuss them with "my class" (being you, the reader, and my FSIL)
The first scripture I was to read is found in 1st Corinthians 15:22

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

So what do I take away from this? What does it mean?

Let's break it up a bit, the start "For as in Adam all die". Adam is from Adam and Eve, and when they partook of the forbidden fruit they opened mankind up to a physical death. Hence "all die" because it is enevitable that we all will.

"in Christ shall all be made alive"

We hear it alot, Christ died so that we might live. And he did. He experienced everything that we ever will and more, he took upon him all of our sorrow, our pain, sins, mistakes, wrongdoings etc all so we can have the oppurunity to live with our Father in Heaven forever. Through his Atonement, and our earnest repentance we can live with God again. hence "made alive"

But "in Christ shall all be made alive" can also be looked at in a different way. In a literal way, have you ever heard someone say "I feel so alive!"? It's a feeling of freedom, energy, power, control, joy, peace, excitement, invincability... nothing can stop them... nothing can tempt them, nothing take take hold because they are so full of life! Christ can give us that through the Gospel. his teachings bring as all of those things, they show us how to live them all each day to have them continually in our lives, so we are better able to fight off the temptations of Satan and hold fast to the truth. 
Iam also asked to apply the scriptures I am reading to three questions:

1. How does knowing this affect my actions?

2. How does knowing this affect my understanding of my identity?

3. How has knowing this strengthened my faith?

I'll start with 1. Knowing this has helped me choose because I know that repentance is a real process, it has real results nad I either choose to repent or I procrastinate it. And choosing the right things and acting on them brings me to a greater sense of feeling alive, and as I want to feel good all the time, I'm more inclined to choose the right to achieve these feelings.

2.  Identity... Who am I? Well, the Primary answer is "I am a Child of God." But more specifically, If christ has endured everythign I have/will endure than I have been thought of personally. As an Individual. My thoughts, my emotions, my reactions, my pain, my happiness, my passions, my desires, my fears, my worries, my concerns... everything. I am only a speck of sand but a speck that is loved nad has been taken into account over and over again. I'm loved. Beyond anything I will ever be able to comprehend and because I'm loved Christ went through all the pain possible for me, and God allowed it so I can be with Him again... because he loves me. 
3. This has strengthened my faith because it reaffirms everything I "know" already, but with feeling. I am understanding it better as I grow older and because of that I am more firm in my belief of it. My faith is stronger because I want ti to be, I'm letting it, I'm acting on it to be stronger. As they say... Knowledge is Power. 

Plan of Salvation photo

It's not the best photo but this is my representation of the Plan of Salvation so far.
The white circle in the left top corner is the pre-existence, underneath is the veil we pass through to come to Mortality (the blue circle). followed by our physical death. then the white circle with teh line across is is Spirit Paradise/Spirit Prison. Another Swish is the ressurection, then Judgement and the right side is the three degrees of glory... Celestial (The Sun), Terestial (The Moon) and Telestial (The Stars).
It's on a canvas and was painted blue background and then glued on paper. Could have been more creative I guess but It was my first try...
I'm going to see if my FSIL want to meet up tonight to talk about it or not... so stay tuned.

Prayers Are Answered

Some may say coincidence, but I don't believe this is.

I lost my Mother to cancer when I was younger and she battled for ages before moving on to the next life.
And I remember sitting in the hospital praying to Heavenly Father that she would pass away in her sleep, that she wouldn't feel the pain of it and it would be gentle. My prayer wasn't a verbal one, it was said in my head whilst I was in the hospital room with all my family. None of them would have even known I was praying, I would have just looked like I was sitting in the chair in the corner sulking.
I didn't get my answer straight away (THANKFULLY!) it took over a year for my prayer to be answered but I was told one morning that she passed in her sleep, most likely no pain felt from it at all. It horrible to hear she was gone, but comforting to know he heard my plea.
This started my testimony in Prayer.

My next experience is more a personal revelation experience, a few of years later.
I was 14 and on my first Youth Convention. (Convention is a weekend where all the Youth (14 - 17 y.o.) get together and participate in activities, church stuff, dances, etc... it's really cool, and this particular one was on an island!) Anyway, being a teenage girl, I was interested in the opposite sex. And there was this one guy that I thought I liked but I'd have to wait till I was 16 and he probably didn't even like me that way anyway...
And not only that but being surrounded by the Gospel and people who love and live it daily, having the examples all around me, the Spirit so strong in meetings, the constant reminder of Love, Compassion, Hope, Faith, Charity, Excitement, Morality and Virtue, Modesty, Fun, Learning and so on... It just created a different atmosphere than anywhere else! I wanted to be there, I wanted to stay there. You grow so close to eachother and you don't want to lose the good, no, GREAT feeling you have all the time. Most unlike...say... School.
When I got back to school I seriously felt the difference, and I wasn't a fan. I looked at the boys on convention and compared them to the boys at school. I compared my church friends to my school friends. I compared how I felt here to how I felt there.

So one night it was really bugging me. I had already been sent to bed for the night. And as I was laying there in my bed, I prayed. It was more like a conversation, a trying to figure out in my head what all this meant (it looks pretty obvious when you type it but when I was 14 I was mighty confused.) I was discussing the different feelings, options and what the outcomes would be. I was talking to Heavenly Father and I was talking to myself (I know that sounds crazy...). I was crying during my prayer, I wanted to know what I was supposed to do about it all.

When I finished praying I laid there staring at the roof for a bit. I shared a room with my little sister (6 years younger, so age 8) and as our house had been extended up a level we had the old master bedroom complete with an ensuite. Our room opened up to the loungeroom and through the loungeroom was a tiled area (kitchen, dining and rumpus) and then the stairs to "Upstairs" (Mum n Dad's section - NO KIDS ZONE). My Mum (My Dad got remarried in 2000) always wore high heels and you could hear her walk across from the stairs across the tiles and you could tell if she was coming for our room. I had it down to an art!
 So after my prayer I had a strong impression that I needed to read my scriptures. But I couldn't just pull them out and start reading because the light would be able to be seen from under my door and I would get in trouble for still being awake, especially with my little sister asleep in the same room. So I took my scriptures, went into the ensuite, closed the door and put a towel along the crack... Taking No Chances.
I sat there, on the floor, looking at my scriptures. I could hear the high heels walking across the tiles... I froze. I sat there for probably about 10 minutes waiting for the door to open and me get in trouble. It didn't open... I held my scriptures in my hands, with the spine along the floor and let them fall open.
It opened to the Bible... Proverbs 3: 5-6.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

I cried.

It was so clear! It was pretty much screaming at me... "Why are you worrying yourself with this? This is not what is important. Do as I ask and everything will fall into place. I'll look after you, I know what you want, I know what you need. Let me help you. Don't let this worry you at all."
I was overcome with happiness and excitement, I was bursting with what felt like a glow... warmth from my core emmanating out. My whole being felt amazing! I knew at the point in time that the Church was True, God is Real and I am to rely on him to achieve and be what I want to be. I will marry a wonderful man and he will support me in the Gospel and in my decisions. He'll be alongside, not over me. That is what I wanted. That is what I desired. And I felt the promise.
(on a side note: when I later discussed this experience with Mum, I found out that she was in bed early and was not awake and walking around. So I firmly believe that the high heels I heard were Satan trying to stop me from opening those Scriptures.)
I recieved an immediate answer to my concerns but I have also since received an answer as well.
When I was extremely active in the Church - Institute every Tuesday, YSA Representative, Lived with Stake YSA representative, Church every Sunday, hung out at YSA member's houses in my spare time, organized activities all the time, dances with my best friend for the YSA etc - During this time was when I became friends with someone... a boy...
My now husband.
It's taken some time but we are now at the point where he supports me going to Church, reading the Scriptures at night before bed, having the Missionaries over once, twice a week, he supports my business/career decisions, he supports me in anything I want pretty much. And he does not dominate over me, he does not make me uncomfortable, he is incredibly understading and loving and the other night when the Missionaries were over they asked him why he is investigating/re-activating himself again and he replied "well, if it is true, I want to be with Ja forever." (I am Ja and I melted!)
One prayer, answered twice. Once immediately, twice over time.

And lastly, My most recent confirmation that Prayer is a real connection between man and God.
I lost someone very close to me this past 24 hours. She was my teacher in year 4 and we have remained in contact ever since. She is a woman of strength, spirit, fun and knowledge. She was a very positive influence on my life. And a few days ago I found out that she was not in a good position and it looked like it would only get worse. I prayed that both she and her son (He went to school with me as we ar the same age.) would find comfort and peace. I prayed that whatever it was planned for her that it would be quick and peaceful. Peace was my main desire for them as I prayed.
Tonight I sadly discovered that she passed away, but gratefully discovered that she passed, as her son put it, "peacefully in her sleep". It is horrible to think of her as gone, but comforting to know that another prayer was answered and she was at peace when she passed. I know her son and daughter are hurting now, but I also know that they are wise enough to know that it was her time. I know they will receive thier peace. But it will take time.

Bottom line is that Prayers are answered. Maybe not right away, but we are taught to have patience and through time all prayers will be answered. I have a frim belief of the connection that prayer offers us to out Heavenly Father and I am grateful for this. And I say these things in teh name of Jesus Christ, AMen.

I would love to hear your stories and experiences on Prayer and it's affects in your lives.

My First Value Experience

So I have decided on one that is quite timely...
Value: Faith - Experience #6
It Reads:

Increase your understanding of the plan of salvation. Resources for study include 1 Corinthians 15:22; Revelation 12:7–9; 2 Nephi 9:1–28; 11:4–7; Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–113; 93:33–34; Moses 4:1–4; and Abraham 3:24–27. Draw or obtain a picture that depicts the plan of salvation, including the premortal existence, birth, mortal life, death, judgment, and life after judgment. Using this picture, explain the plan of salvation to your class, your family, or a friend. Discuss how knowledge of the plan affects your actions, helps you understand your identity, and has strengthened your faith.

My future sis-in-law (FSIL) is currently receiving discussions from the misisonaries and is interested in learning about the Church. (We feel pretty close as she is investigating, I'm re-activating and our fiancee/husband aren't too interested.) And the other week I was invited to join her class with them during Sunday School. It was on the Plan of Salvation. It was kinda funny in points as I have a good idea on the Plan and FSIL had none and the missionaries forgot thier diagram that explains it. And if any of you know the Plan you would also know that a diagram is ESSENTIAL when teaching it. So I started to draw one up as they were discussing it. 
It looked a bit full on as I was trying to remember different things as I went so I had little scribbles on it explaining things to me. Then as the missionaries used it to help FSIL understand I decided I wanted to make her an awesome poster of the Plan. We discussed it and we were all quite excited about this poster... I can see it in my head... I know exactly how I want to do it and it's gonna be awesome!
And then I thought that FSIL and I could use it and discuss it with each other like the experience asks and I would post up here our discussion. (With her permission of course)

I'll put up pictures too once I've finished it!

Back to Basics

I've decided that if I am really going to see this through and commit myself that I need to start from the beginning. Start with the Basics.
And for me, those basics can be found in Young Womens.

Young Womens is the tender age of 12-18 y.o. girls that are moving from children into womanhood. It is a very influencial time of any girl's life. And Young Womens is a class/group that focusses on the development of these young ladies. The age group is split into 3 classes.
1. Beehives (12-13 y.o.)
2. Mia Maids (14-15 y.o.) and
3. Laurels (16-17 y.o.)
There is also a Presidency of adults that help teach and guide these Young Women in thier classes, Sunday Service and other activities now known as Mutual which happens every Wednesday night.

Now the reason I say that the basics are found here is not only because of the age focus (not too young to be "simple" and not too old to be complicated.) but because they have very clear expectations as set out in thier motto and theme.

Motto:  

Stand for Truth and Righteousness

Theme: 

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love him. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Womens values, which are:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity and

Virtue

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, received the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exhaltation.

In the YW theme there are 8 values mentioned, and I believe that knowing, understanding and practising them will give a solid foundation to better understand and be open to the teachings of the spirit and the principals of the Gospel.

So YW being so active of a class with it's twice a week hit at you, it also has a wonderful program called Personal Progress.
PP is a journey of experiences and projects based around these 8 values and at the completion of this program a YW receives a Recognition of Womanhood award. (There is also jewellery and things that goes along with achieving your goals throughout the program.) And I started my Personal Progress when I was a Beehive but never finished it...

Can you see where I am going with this?

...

I am going to re-do my Personal Progress!

And Blog about it here! YAY!

Feel free to join me!

Getting Started

We all live in a busy, busy world and we all have different needs/wants and pressures/demands and there is no denying that sometimes we just can't find the time!
We often make excuses as to why we didn't have the time to read our scriptures this morning, or to attend the entire Sunday Service or get ready for school before seminary... we all do it. I do it all the time too!
But one thing I have found that helps me make time is this awesome app that my old housemate found. (It can be found here.) And the reason it is making my very first post is because it's the Scriptures!
But not just the Scriptures but the manuals, the resource material, the general conference talks, extra bits n pieces to be used in talks or lessons too. It has highlighters, the capabilities to make your own notes and references on a single verse, chapter book etc. It is amazing.
Then when I updated it today it got better!
You can now LISTEN to the sciptures off this very same app! (I know this sounds like a sales pitch but I'm just really excited!)
My husband and I met with the missionaries about a week ago now and they challenged us to read and pray together each day. (My husband is also a member, but like me, not an active one for some time.) And this is where the time piece comes back into it. He works closer to home but is gone before I even get up, I work on the other side of town, ahve school and excercise classes and well, never shall the two meet kind of thing... sadly. And my husband is also not an avid reader... or a reader of any sort for that matter. And especially not keen on the idea of reading together...
So when I asked him today about listening to them he agreed, he said it was "way less awkward." and because it is on my phone we have no reason to not be able to do it! (unless my phone is dead...)
So this little app has given my family the means to grow together in the Spirit, which is important to me. I really want us (my husband and I) to be right in our ways/lifestyle before we start having kids. And like everything in life... baby steps. You need to take it one step at a time...
First Step: Read and Pray together daily.