what are you doing today?

disclaimer: i wrote this post yesterday but because of internet problems it never posted. i tried to edit, but sorry if there's some time overlap of yesterday's and today's :) 

i invite you to watch church, in your home in your jammies with me. better yet.. listen to a prophet.

i went yesterday and it is a truly magical experience to be in there, every single time. today i'm be watching it at home, though. in utah we have the luxury of watching it on tv, and some others do too, but you can also watch and listen online. i promise you if you turn it on you will not be disappointed. plus you have two shots for a session, a 10 am and a 2 pm. (for my midwest peeps that's 11 and 3 for you.) the 10 am sesh was amazing and there is one last chance to listen or see.

here's some more info:

good things to come.

mormon messages get me EVERY time. we watched this one in class last week and it made me really emotional. first of all it takes place in st. george, or southern utah, where i've spent a lot of my time lately and my mom grew up. second of all it is from a talk given by elder holland, who was a friend of my grandpa's. third of all the message is so sincere and so plain, but yet so necessary to hear sometimes. it's funny how people we don't even know can connect with us so easily and solve our problems better than those we associate with every day. i suppose this is just one of the reasons the Spirit is so awesome. the message actually comes from our Heavenly Father who knows us best. enjoy :)

its funny you say that..

ps its even funnier because this is off robert jeffress' youtube page.. if i got owned by anderson cooper on national television i would probably skip over this one when uploading. 

its funny you say that robert jeffress..
because you've never met me.
i'm enrolled in a new testament class at a LDS church ran and sponsored school right now.
i'm learning more about all He taught, healed, and his superior example.
the more i learn about the Savior's life the more i want to strive to be just like him and live the most Christlike life i can.
i end my prayers with "in the name of Jesus Christ" and begin them with "dear Heavenly Father."
i have a great understanding (not the best, but one that I have worked years on continuous learning) of the Atonement and all that my Savior did for me and all that is possible through the Atonement. this is why i know i can always pray to my brother, Jesus Christ, because through the Atonement he knows exactly what i'm going through.
i am a mormon because i believe all of these things, but i also believe that we have a living prophet that speaks to God. i know that this church is lead by God, and with that- you can't go wrong, even when there are so many factors trying so hard to bring us down, whether it simply be someone telling us (and the nation) what we believe and having it be wrong or by having such opposing moral standards like the world does today. 

i also think it's offensive, mr. jeffress, that you also believe Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam are a cult. just because people aren't just like you, doesn't mean they needed to be labeled in such a way. in this country we believe in freedom of religion. to me, this means i respect others' beliefs and although i don't understand it all, i think it's great that they too have found something to believe in.

it makes me scared that your thoughts are so far reaching. it makes me scared that i have friends that i've known for years who might take your word over mine. hopefully my simple testimony and the way i have lived my life with be enough for others to know what i truly believe, along with the over 14 million members of this accused "cult."

but thanks for your thoughts rob. best of wishes.

stop. press play. smile.

i have so much to do, my priorities were wack but they're starting to find their correct places, and everything seems to be happening at once- a calling, a job, midterms, and a very messy apartment. feeling the same way? watch this now. it will make your day so much more worth it.

lets hear it for the oaks.

april 2011 conference talk on desire by dallin h oaks:
"desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. the desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."

tonight's devotional, sister oaks:
"worry less about getting married, and more about being a disciple of Christ."

hallelujah! the church is true. 

woah.

today i've had a lazy day, kinda. i've just been doing what i want. and it's only 11:24 am.. here i go with being productive and what not again. i went to the farmers markets in st. george, had a cinnamon roll, watched the news, and now i'm going to lay out. its my last saturday in st. george pretty much! crazy huh?
anyways. i somehow got on the church website and was messing around. i clicked on something about the laie hawaii temple rededication and found this video. it brought tears to my eyes.. i'm not quite sure why. its just a sweet video and i love hearing our prophets voice. i know this is an EXTREMELY lame comparison but when i was at the midnight premiere of harry potter we were talking about how the first dumbledore actor was different.. he just was loving and kind and you could see it in him and in his voice with his acting. and now i'm doing the lame part.. that's how the prophet is. when i see him with members and when he speaks i can feel the Savior's love. so i guess that's what got me.
enjoy.

more?

i had to say more goodbyes today. NOT FAIR. 

seokhee's mission farewell is my first of a close friend. all i've been to is a random friend of friend's farewells. 

242 4 LIFE!

even though a lot will change in two years, i still can't wait until we're all reunited.

hope your easter was filled with what's important. 

i had to return keys for to my aunt while she was at church and as i walked out i heard my uncle (who is the bishop) say this:

"on my mission we often had to respond to the comments that we were not christians, because we did not have crosses around our churches and in our homes. but the reason for this is because we don't focus on the cross because we believe he still lives."

it gave me food for thought on my drive today. hope you think about it a little as well. 

happy sunday :)

this is what i did my freshmen year.

these were my first friends at byu. minus mckenna, not to be a hater but this is the only time i've seen her :) haha. 

this was the first football player i met at byu. he's great with names :)

this was a late night adventure, and eric was the first boy i let drive chuck the truck. these two helped name him :)

we danced lots. (cue random boys.)

ward dances ..

even at paint dances

even fancy dances

this was my first road trip. i loveee these girls

random floats pop up sometimes, so we climbed them

freakin' awesome football seats.. this happens when you are friends with michelle wood

this is when we went to a movie two hours early, and had sooo much fun while waiting. aren't these boys cute?

oh yeah, random gorillas pop up sometimes at byu too

chocolate milk pong anyone?

AHH! i saw HP7 before the midnight showing! HIGHLIGHT

ps this is my roommate, we're perfect for each other, right?

i got to be closer to my fam.

ps kate's getting MARRIED!! AH!

oh yeah. byu basketball.. kinda a big deal.

yeah, i caught jimmer mania too..

you wouldn't believe the things i did for a seat at the basketball game..

this is the christmas party i threw. bomb. love these girls.

my first concert here was with this girl. DASHBOARD. SOOO GOOD!

roommate.

gotta decorate the space.

fun dates.

my baby wesley. now lives with rachael kohler. thanks chaych :)

this girl is a best friend. the best friend. i'm going to miss her so much next year. but we'll still be close.

oh yeah, more family :)

i got rich at nickle city on my birthday.

there are fun things to do in provo.. like the tumble gym. so naturally we went there.

crazy girls get married their freshmen year, so we threw a bridal shower :)

froyo..

and more froyo..

and more :)

oh yeah. my friends? they're winners. (and the boys are losers.) ps we LOVE spazz.

this girl and i are just going to get closer this summer. love stg girls :)

oh yeah. and i pulled the most legit april fool's joke you'll ever see/hear/experience

studying stinks, but doing so in forts with a sleepover helps we found :)

oh yeah. we're dirty girls ;)

AND I GOT TO SEE FAMILY :)

and i faithfully attended ward prayer. because i love being around these people.

and here comes the shout out i could not do this blog post without.
to the people of my freshmen year.
where to begin?
i came to byu not knowing anyone. i was psyc'd about my roommate i got to know throughout the summer, but from there i wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.
from there its all an answered prayer.
i met raleigh, who was cutest girl around and went spring/summer so she had the hookups.
oh yeah, and guess what? hailey and elisa, some of my best friends, i met them the moment i checked in. it was great, hailey was your classic bubbly orem, utah girl. it kinda scared me at first, but then i noticed how awesome of a person, and even better a friend, she was.
then i got to know the girls on my hall. turns out they're all pretty rad and we all get along great.
on the side i also got to know some st. george girls. turns out this summer will be bomb :)
and then came my ward. and here are my friends freshmen year, give or take a few.
but really, what i'll miss the most is my ward. this may be because its a big group and thus contains most my friends, but seriously. they are the BEST ward. it is the best ward. our bishop even said so :) our bishopric was released on our last sunday. the last sunday was perfect! with different quirks that come with our ward. and our bishopric even said we're the best ward they've ever had :)
my best friends come from my ward. and now half of them aka the boys are leaving.
i'm going to miss them SO much, but at the same time i've never been so proud of a group of boys. guys. men. whatever. :) haha. seriously though. they're devoting two years of their life to the Lord. and they've been preparing all year for it. they are great examples to me. and its the cutest thing to see them get their mission calls and see how freakin' excited they get. ah. they're so cute. i love every one of them. and the girls? holy cow they're going to be something awesome. each of them is special. yeah i know that sounds tacky but there are so many talented girls. i look up to them too, and i just hope that we will all stay close. so. with that. my freshmen year was perfect. my grades sure weren't, but the year was. they temporarily filled the place of my family while i was away from home. and they did a dang good job. they made church, prayer, fhe, really anything with them SO much fun. anyways. so here are some pictures of the crew. we're hot. admit it.