Yea I Still Suck at Regular Blogging

So, I'm well aware of my failures at keeping up with this blogging thing! And well, honestly, now just doesn't feel like the time to update the few followers I have on the craziness that my life has been recently. Craziness in good and bad ways. Haha but luckily more good than bad. So for now, life is good, I'm good, and God is good and that's what matters. On a completely unrelated note. Today in church, most of the college aged people were asked to speak. I wrote a talk, but then felt like a nerd because I thought I was the only one who wrote a talk. I was wrong. The person who spoke after me wrote a talk and it was really amazing and it made me feel bad for not sharing my talk. So I told my Dad that I would (begrudgingly) speak in the Spanish Branch, now that he's the branch president and needs speakers quite often. I just feel like I can't let that talk go to waste. So, until I can use it, I figured maybe I'd post it on here and someone would get something out of it. So, without further ado, I present to you, the second talk that I have ever written in my life.

In times of uncertainty and hardship nothing soothes my soul more than prayer. Having a direct connection to my father in Heaven and knowing that he hears and answers my prayers is a huge comfort to me. It's not always easy to hold on and have faith in times of trial, however one of my favorite stories from the scriptures, show me that it is worth it.

In Matthew Chapter 9 a man comes to the Savior and asks him to raise his daughter from the dead, as he rises to follow this man and heal his daughter, a woman comes up behind him. This woman had had an issue with blood, as the scriptures say, for 12 years, and she knew that if she even just touched the Savior's garments, that she would be made whole. The Savior turns around and in verse 22 says, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.”

This story taught me that faith will make me whole. When I am filled with endless worry and doubt, and have a hard time seeing the path before me, I know that if I just have faith, that everything will be okay.

President Ucthdorf says in a talk in the October 2011 conference called You Matter to Him, “what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise. Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourselves the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

It is easy to get lost in the shuffle, to feel discouraged, to feel that maybe no one truly sees you after all, but as the scriptures also say, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God, there is not one soul numbered among this earth or in the heavens that Heavenly Father is not aware of, that he does not know by name. I know that he knows me, I know that He loves me, I know that He has a plan for me. I know that He knows my weaknesses, that he knows my fears, but I know that when I have faith, and when I pray that He will give me the strength and the happiness and the courage to go on in the dark.

President Uchtdorf also says, “God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.”

There is nothing so all-encompassing as God's love and knowledge of us. There are few things more comforting than knowing that my Father in Heaven knows everything about me. He also knows the best ways to help me. I know that sometimes when I ask for help, it is not always given right away, but I do know that when I move forward with faith and hope that at some point I'll figure out what I'm doing, or at some point he'll help me.

Richard G. Scott gave a talk called The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing, and in this talk he says, “A fundamental purpose of earth life is personal growth and attainment. Consequently, there must be times of trial and quandary to provide opportunity for that development. His plan of happiness is conceived so that we will have challenges, even difficulties, where decisions of great importance must be made so that we can grow, develop, and succeed in this mortal probation. 1 Gratefully, in His perfect love, He has provided a way for us to resolve those challenges while growing in strength and capacity. I speak of the sustaining power of faith in times of uncertainty and testing. God has given us the capacity to exercise faith, that we may find peace, joy, and purpose in life. However, to employ its power, faith must be founded on something. There is no more solid foundation than faith in the love Heavenly Father has for you, faith in His plan of happiness, and faith in the capacity and willingness of Jesus Christ to fulfill all of His promises.”

I think faith also centers on trust. Trust that God will do what's best for you, that he knows what is best for you, and that he will never leave you helpless of comfortless. But in return for his help and comfort we must show our faith and trust in him. We must stand up boldly and confess our beliefs. We must live and act in ways that there are no doubts as to who our beliefs are centered in. As disciples of Christ, we are examples of Him. We take upon ourselves his name each Sunday, and we must act in ways that glorify his name. We must stand forth as Captain Moroni does in the Book of Mormon and raise our own personal “Titles of Liberty” telling, and more importantly showing the world our faith, and our beliefs. It is not always easy to do, none of us are perfect, and none of us will do the right thing every time, but that is what repentance is for. I am beyond grateful for my Heavenly Father, for his love and understanding. I am grateful for my family, who have raised me in the Gospel, and have given me a solid foundation to build my testimony on. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful examples that the members of this ward have provided me with. I know that as we hold on and have faith, as we testify of Christ through our words and actions that we will be blessed every day. As we take those steps in the dark, as we move through hard and uncertain times, when we have faith, our paths will always be lighted.