Sheeeee'ssssss FANTASTIC!

We studied this talk in institute last night about the lessons we can learn from Laman and Lemuel. A lot of the qualities they possessed are easy to recognize as awful and its pretty easy to say that we recognize them and don't want to be like either of them. However, its not as easy as just professing that we don't want to be like them-we actually have to work at it.

There were two points in the discussion that really struck me. The first being that Laman and Lemuel did not really understand God's love for them. This is not an area I consider myself to be weak in-however, on closer examination I realize that some of my actions show otherwise. I feel that if I truly understood the depths of God's love for me, the perfect love he has, then I wouldn't be so quick to label myself with derogative terminology and I would be kinder to myself; which in turn would help me to love everyone around me more completely and less conditionally.

The second point that struck me hard is that Laman and Lemuel did not take the advice of the Lord to heart and they never ACTIVELY sought out his counsel in their doings. I know that this is an area I need to perfect. Over the last year I have really attempted to include the Lord in my decisions and I have gotten much better at recognizing his role in the big things in my life (such as where to apply for a residency, picking a residency that was right for me, and preparing to move away from the home that I have loved for the last 8 years). However, sometimes I fail to notice how much his counsel is important in those smaller details, such as taking a personal inventory and seeing where I measure up to myself or counseling with him about missionary work or my ability to be a better disciple.

I share these things here because writing about them helps me to think it out-but it also sparks conversations that help me to change and grow. I have been so grateful for the closeness I have felt with one of my best friends over the last two weeks-even more so for the conversation that we just keep continuing. I feel like Heavenly Father truly gave us our eternal friendship so that we could continue to challenge each other to grow. I cannot believe how much 'inventory' I have taken of myself during this conversation and how much I have pulled out from deep within to inspect-I have had the opportunity to clean out a lot of cobwebs and skeletons recently and I feel so much lighter. This is not to say that I am not stressed about my upcoming exams or this huge move-because let me tell you I am-but I feel peace and a closeness to my Heavenly Father I have never known.

I am determined to learn from these traits that Laman and Lemuel possessed and to choose the better part. I am going to strive to follow the counsel of my two 'eternal' best friends and love myself a little more-to really believe that I am 'FANTASTIC'. I am going to seek out the Lord's counsel in all the details of my life and use that counsel to become a better disciple of Christ.

"Recognize that there is a power greater than ours, that no matter how good a man is, he is not good enough, that no matter how wise he is, he is not wise enough, that no matter how strong he is, he is not strong enough for all of the things which he will face in life, and that there is a source of power to which he can go with the assurance that he will be listened to and that there will be a response."

-President Gordon B. Hinckley