In Psalms 95:2 it says, "1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods." With it being Thanksgiving this coming week, I have thought a lot about being grateful for everything we have and especially being grateful to Heavenly Father who has given us all of it. This scripture shows us beautifully how we should approach the Lord when we pray or come unto Him. He truly is great and He has given us all that we have. This scripture means so much to me personally because I have really felt a true and pure joy as I have looked for the Lords hand in my life and made a sincere effort to tell him and show Him how grateful I am to Him. I have also realized through reading this scripture that He has given us so much and yet asks so little of us. The greatest gift we can give to Him is to tell him in pray and show Him through our willingness to follow Him that we truly are grateful. These are such small and simple actions, yet showing and feeling such gratitude to our Father in Heaven pleases Him tremendously. I know that we will be filled with love and gratitude as we make a conscious effort to let Him know of our gratitude. May we all come unto Him in thanksgiving especially this holiday week as we take time to celebrate Thanksgiving. I know it will truly feed our souls and fill us with love and light.

In John 10:10 Jesus declares, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life; and that they might have it more abundantly." I love this scripture! Christ compares himself to those who engage in worldly activities. The natural man has tendencies to bring forth fruits which are bad and decrease abundance and light in ones life, but Christ and His exemplary actions bring forth good fruits. I personally know that in my own life as I have set aside my own needs and desires to become a true disciple of Him that I have felt the abundance of life which comes from that. He truly is The Way, The Light, and The Life of the world. I know that it is by Him and through Him that we can be lifted up and have life in more abundance. If we dedicate ourselves to Him, we will find purpose and meaning in our lives. I know that because I have felt it. I extend an invitation, to anyone who will, to come unto Him and be perfected in Him. Make Him the center of all that you are and do. I know that, if you do that, your life will become more fulfilling, and you will find greater peace and joy.

I loved studying Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk from the 2018 October General Conference. In his talk, he referenced the scripture John 8:29 which says, "And he that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."  I loved this because  it emphasizes an important doctrine of the gospel. Christ always* did what the father asked Him. If we are to become like Christ than we must also strive to always* do what the father asks of us. In this life we will probably not execute that perfectly, but we must strive to make the gospel the very focus of our lives. All of our activities and day to day interactions must be centered on our Fathers will. Later in the talk Elder Christofferson says that, "to persevere firm and steadfast in the faith of Christ requires that the gospel of Jesus Christ penetrate one's heart and soul, meaning that the gospel becomes not just one of many influences in a person's life but the defining focus of his or her life and character." In my own life I know that when I strive to focus my entire life on the gospel of Jesus Christ that I have found greater strength and joy. I hope to continue on that path, always remembering what the Lord would have me do every day in all situations trusting in the Fathers commandments and following the Savior in all that I do. If we truly desire to be firm and steadfast in the faith we must center our entire lives on the gospel. We must keep the covenants with exactness and unwavering faith in Christ if we desire to have the gospel define us. I would encourage all of you who are struggling to center your lives on Christ to make a greater effort to do so and know that if you do you will have a "newness of life". You will find greater joy and be tremendously blessed now as well as in the eternities.