Excersize your Talents

     Good Mornoovenight!

     That means good morning, noon, evening, and night because I have no idea when or where you are reading this so I decided to hit all four.

     I have a story for ya'll today! It's based off of the parable of the talents.

     Let's start with the characters: three students. A, B, and C. All of these girls are gifted with different talents. Student A has the gift of being athletic, sympathetic, and understanding. Student B has the gift of music, singing and dancing. Student C has the gift of words, being able to speak and to help others see the other side of the conversation.

     They're graduating, going off to college soon. They meet with their counselor.

     "Student A," says the counselor. "I have noticed that you have been blessed with the gift of being athletic and compassionate. I'm thinking that becoming a physical trainer or physical therapist for those who aren't as blessed would suite you."

     Student A responds enthusiastically, and years later, she is renowned for helping thousands regain their strength.

     The counselor meets with Student B.

     "Student B, I have noticed that you have the incredible talent of music. You have the ability to bring other's together through your words. I think that you could become an amazing singing artist who will bring the world together."

     Student B agrees, and later becomes a famous music artist who is known for expressing emotion through her beautiful music.

     The counselor meets with Student C. 

      "Student C, you might have the greatest gift of all. Words can be extremely powerful, and you could become a great public speaker."

      Student C, acting indifferent, thanks the counselor for her time and leaves.

       It's after graduation now, and S.C has been spending more time on the computer or with their friends then thinking about the future. They receive a scholarship to a high university, but puts off accepting it and instead goes to the movies. 

        A few years later, the Students and the counselor meet again at a high school reunion.

      "Well done, S.A! I can't believe how many lives you have affected. Your talents have grown so much, and I am very proud of you."

     S.B comes up and starts to talk with the counselor. 

     "You were right! Music has truly helped me express my feelings and others through my songs. Thank you so much for helping guide me in the right direction."

      "You're welcome, S.B. I'm very proud of how you have managed to help others."

     It's nearing the end of the reunion, and S.C runs into the counselor. 

     "S.C! It's been a long time. I haven't heard from you in forever! How has the public speaking thing gone?"

    S.C responds in a tired voice: "I haven't used it."

     The counselor, shocked, says: "Why have you not used your talents? You could have helped so many people with your inspiration. I'm sorry, I must go... I wish you well."

     Sound familiar?

     This is just a modernized version of the Parable of The Talents.

     As you can see, S.C didn't not use their talents because they were scared, necessarily, but because they didn't want to. We need to want to excersize our talents and to grow personally. As a Young Woman, learning to cook and to change diapers is a really good talent to learn as you grow closer to becoming a mother. As a Young Man, learning how to used a saw or to jumpstart a car are good talents to learn.

     This leads into my scripture of the week: Matt. 25: 21

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

     Heavenly Father will exalt us if we learn to grow what he has given us. When we grow our talents, we grow our spirits. 

     Please comment any ways this has affected your life or what you want me to post about next!

Stay Talented,

Your Sister

S.C.R.I.P.T.U.R.E

     Hey guys!

     So today I have a list of gospel words for you to read.

• Sacred
• Commandments
• Revered
• Impactive 
• Prophecies
• Truth
• Understanding
• Redemption
• Eternal life

     Notice what I did there? 😉 That's right! If you haven't read the title of the blog (which, I'm assuming you have) then I'll tell you the topic for today: Scripture!

     Okay, if you schedule is anything like mine, then you probably do not have much time for personal scripture reading. My family always reads them early in the morning before school, but let's be honest: it's really hard to feast upon the words of Christ when you haven't properly woken up yet.

     But scripture study is SO IMPORTANT. For my seminary class, we have to read the New Testament. They gave us a little scripture-mark-off-card-thingy to help us track our progress. 

     It sounds SO cheesy. But it works!

     I can't figure out how to add the chart on here, but if you want one for the BOM, here's a link: Book Of Mormon Reading Chart

     Reading the scriptures changes peoples lives. So many people have been brought to the gospel because someone invited them to read the scriptures or quoted a passage to them.

     That leads me on to the next thing: MEMORIZE.

      I remember the first time I went to seminary and the teacher told us we would be memorizing scripture. I immediately freaked out. But it really isn't that hard. Let me show you some tips.

     Here is the scripture of the day: Moses 1:39

     "For behold this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

     Here is what my seminary teacher does. He takes the first letter of each word and writes it down.

F B T I M W A M G T B T P T I A E L O M

     If the passage you want to memorize is longer, he does separate 'paragraphs' of letters for each verse. But then he just reads the scripture out loud while using the letters. This method is SO easy and it helps me memorize them so much faster.

      Guys, I can't stress this enough: scripture reading is important. We spend 7 hours a day on average on our phones. Why don't we use them for scripture reading? There's no excuse-- the app is free and if I am completely honest, humans spend way to much time playing games anyway. Be sure to use that reading chart! You could change someone else's life.

Happy reading!

Your Sister

On the note of Modesty

     Modesty: It has many different meanings.

     Webster's dictionary defines it as follows:

mod·es·ty

/mädəstē/

noun

1. the quality or state of being unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one's abilities.
2. the quality of being relatively moderate, limited, or small in amount, rate, or level.
3. behavior, manner, or appearance intended to avoid impropriety or indecency.

All of these definitions are important, but the one I think most Mormon teen girls (and guys, actually) need to focus on is the last one.

     I'm pretty sure almost all of us have a For the Strength of Youth pamphlet lying around somewhere. If not, you should as your YW/YM leader for one. It's an excellent guide through our standards.

But in the Strength of Youth under Dress and Appearance, it says;

     "Prophets of God have continually counseled His children to dress modestly. When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit and you can be a good influence on others. Your dress and grooming influence the way others act."

     Young women, let's dress so the Young Men won't have to have Holy Water eye drops at hand when they see us. You may not realize it, but the way we dress affects their thoughts and their actions. 

     I decided to make different sections for different clothing articles of modesty. Here they are! 

Leg Modesty

     

     As you can see for short-shortness, there is a very, very fine line between risky and no-no. Shorts that go more than three-four inches above the knee can make not only the people around you uncomfortable, but you as yourself. (And who wants to shave their whole leg anyway 😉?) I know I'd much rather follow the Lord's standards and be comfortable instead of fit in with the 'it' crowd and not.  

Shirt Modesty

     Okay, shirts should kinda be obvious. 

     If your belly's showing, tuck it away. If your shoulder's showing, cover it up. 

     I think the trickiest part of sleeve-length is cap-sleeves. Cap-sleeves cover up your shoulder all right-- it's just the armpit that it shows. 

Wrap Up

     Modesty should be one of the easiest things to follow-- except it's not. It is really hard to find modest and cute clothes these days-- and when you do, they cost about half a million dollars.

     Luckily, I found some places where you can get cute clothes... for cheap.

     Zulily

     Zulily has a whole plethora of clothing options that are usually at half price or less. Best of all, it's all modest! Their clothes aren't too tight, too revealing, too innappropriate. (And they're actually cute!)

     ModLi

     This website has a lot of cute modest dresses mostly. It showcases your beauty in a classy (not trashy) way. 

     Sweet Salt

     This website/store has a lot of cute shows. They have a lot of modern-looking, happy, bright clothing that makes you look amazing.

     Modesty is important, ladies. You affect other people by the way you dress, even if you don't realize it. Let's be modest and cute. Let's be fashionable yet virtuous. 

     Scripture of the day: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

     "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?... the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."

     Please comment experiences with this scripture and how the scripture has helped you! 

Love Ya!

Your Sister

Happy Conference!

Happy Conference Sunday!

     I'm back! There were so many inspirational quotes and talks to choose from today, I almost decided to post every single talk that was spoken today.
     But I finally managed to pick a favorite for the morning session: Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk about staying true.

Elder Nelson's Talk

     I took 14 pages of notes this conference, front and back. That may not seem like a lot, but my notes are going to be coming out in my blog a lot in the future. I took 1 1/2 pages of notes on Russel M. Nelson's talk. My favorite quote was this:

"Saints can be happy in every circumstance."

     I personally have a really, really, really, hard time doing this. I can think of a gazillion different scenarios where I'm not particularly happy:

1. When your teacher tells you there's a pop quiz
2. When you find that your sister has scribbled on your brand-new journal in Sharpie
3. When you have to babysit on the night you and your friends were going to go see a movie
4. etc, etc, etc

     And let's be honest: We can sometimes get really angry about these situations. But we can still be happy.

     Elder Nelson tells us that The Plan of Salvation (AKA The Plan of Happiness) is the one way we can find eternal joy. If we have a small trial in our life and we overcome it, that means we will have more joy in our eternal salvation.

     Scripture of the week!: 2 Nephi 2:25

"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy."

If you have something to say or a personal expirience about this scripture, please comment ANY day of the week! (Please keep it Christ-centered). I'll be pulling some of those comments for future posts.

Enjoy your Sunday :)

Your Sister