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. 

As a part of my study this past week, I studied The Book of Omni. In verse 25 it says, "...for there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord..." I feel like this is pretty self explanatory, but the implications which it has for each of us are tremendous. This verse shows that we must be humble and that we must not allow the good things which come into our life lift us up in pride. I also know that it is so important to remember this principle as good things come our way. I have found in my own life that when I forget to remember where my blessings come from and to thank Heavenly Father for all that he has given me I become selfish and unhappy. We should strive to remember that God has given us all we have and that He blesses us with so many good things every day. I would exhort us all to go to Heavenly Father in gratitude for those blessings and good things always. Take time to reflect upon what He has given you and then return thanks. I know that if you do this it will bless your life with humble, grateful hearts.

I was studying Elder Bednar's talk "Meek and Lowly of Heart" in the April 2018 General Conference. I loved all of the principles which he discussed and the scriptures he used. Elder Bednar gave increased insight into my understanding of meekness. He highlighted so many different aspects of meekness that I had never thought of before.

In one part of his talk he said, "Whereas humility generally denotes dependence upon God and the constant need for His guidance and support, a distinguishing characteristic of meekness is a particular spiritual receptivity to learning both from the Holy Ghost and from people who may seem less capable, experienced, or educated, who may not hold important positions, or who other wise may not appear to have much to contribute." I had never even thought of this definition as being Christlike especially because Christ was perfect, so why would he need to listen to anyone else? Why would he need the guidance of anyone aside from the Spirit? Yet throughout my study I learned that Christ did listen to his Father and in so many other stories of Christ the attribute of meekness really is quite evident in this aspect. I hope that I can become meek enough to listen to others when they speak truth. That I will be meek enough to heed their counsel and direction.

I was also very grateful that he quoted the two scriptures Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest unto your souls" and D&C 19 :23 "Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me." Upon reading these verses I found it interesting that the promises of being meek were rest and peace. If we are meek we will find peace and rest! What an amazing gift and promise!

All of these definitions and principles of meekness really have touched me. They have given me a greater desire to become meek and lowly of heart. I want the much needed blessings of peace and rest in my own life and I know that as we all strive to become meek, these blessing will come. We will find peace. We will find rest. I strongly encourage those who will to study Elder Bednar's talk and to strive to become meek. I know so many unforeseen blessings will stem from these efforts. 

As a part of my study for my class this past week I read Matthew 6, which is a part of the sermon on the mount. Verses 19-21 of this chapter really impacted me.

They say, "19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

I've read and heard these verses so many times that I have grown to really take their message for granted. Yet, as I read it this time, I was reminded of the powerful principle which it teaches, which is that we, as disciples of Christ, should be seeking after the things of heaven, we should be seeking to become like Christ and to do those things which exemplify Him rather than worrying about worldly things. When we become so focused on clothing, entertainment, social status, or anything of this world that we stop worrying about becoming like Christ we show that our heart and soul are laid up in unimportant things. Just as the scripture says “...where your treasure is, there will your heart be also...” For me personally, I realized that I often place value in many worldly things and I have already begun to re-prioritize what I value and have noticed such a difference in my commitment and love for my family, Heavenly Father, Christ, and His gospel. I would also like to add that we all can apply that important principle, to treasure up those things which are most important. I would exhort all of you that find yourselves following that which is fleeting, temporary, or unimportant to reevaluate your priorities and treasures. I plead with you to seek for those things of heaven, seek to become like Christ, seek after all good things that will draw you closer to others and to Christ, seek to place value in service and in strengthening relationships with family and friends. I know that if you do so, your will and our heart will become aligned with Heavenly Fathers and you will find true joy in heavenly treasures. This joy will become lasting and ever-increasing as you seek to treasure up that which our Father would have you do.

In my personal study of Jacob 2, I was quite affected by verse 17 which says, "Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you."

This verse teaches several important lessons. The first is that we should view all of the children of God as we do ourselves. We should see others as our brothers and sisters and not as people who are below us in any way and we must be familiar with ALL. We must minister and strive to befriend all of the children of God not just those who "look like us..think like us.. act like us". In conjunction to all of that, this verse teaches beautifully that we must use our substance freely to lift and help our brothers and sisters.

After reading this verse I felt a strong desire to look at people through Christs eyes and not my own, to become familiar with all of my brothers and sisters who I come in contact with, and to give freely to those in need all that I can of my own substance. I have a long way to go before I will be perfect at living any of these principles of the gospel, but upon reading this scripture I have grown to understand more fully how important it is that I make a conscious and a sincere effort to incorporate these actions into my life.

I know that this verse is not just applicable to the brethren of Jacob, but that it is applicable to all of us. Let us refrain from any sort of prideful interaction with our brothers and sisters, let us make an effort to be familiar with all of the children of God, and let us give our physical substance to help others where we can.  If any of us are not striving to apply these principles, I plead sincerely with all of us that we might make a sincere effort to do so. I know that with the aid of Christ these beautiful teachings can truly draw us closer to Him. I know that the action of these principles are a remedy to the pride which can so easily beset all of us. Let us apply them as Christ would so that we can be more fully united as brothers and sisters and children of God.