CTR rings are my favorite

I love my CTR rings. I wrote another blog post about them here.

Soo I wanted to learn a little bit about their history :)

Knowledge Project: YW Theme Printables

As promised in the post Personal Progress is Awesome, here are the printables I made for my Knowledge project!! You don't need a dropbox to access them, I promise, even though I used dropbox to share them :)

Click here for free printables

This is one of my favorites :)

Since this was for the knowledge project, I figured I'd make this too :)

Aaaannnnd you know I had to have some French ones :)

Enjoy! :D

<3 Marie-Rose

Virtue

Did you know it wasn't added to the theme until 2008? If you've been a member of the Church for any length of time, you probably did know. But I didn't decide to convert until 2012, and I had just barely started learning about the Church in 2008. Or maybe it was a little after, my mental math skills are fried today :)

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Anywho! The Personal Progress booklet defines virtue as "a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards."

Usually, when discussing virtue,  people tend to focus on the "chastity and purity" aspects. Those are important things that need to be discussed, but I'm not going to discuss them here in much detail. I see virtue, and integrity as well, as a summary of all the other standards and values. If you have integrity and are virtuous, that means you're probably following the standards :)

In a December 2008 article, Sister Elaine S. Dalton compares virtue to training for a marathon, saying:

Virtue isn't something you have instantly. It is strict training. It is the daily, deliberate practice of small things.

Time and time again, virtue is compared to having strength, being strong, powerful. Purity. Pure gold awesomeness :)

Virtue to me, like integrity, means standing up for what you believe in. To me, it means refusing to compromise when it comes to your standards. To me, it means being in the world but not of the world.

So today, I echo the call to "return to virtue." The world is sometimes a scary place, but if we face it with virtue and integrity, knowing our divine nature and individual worth, doing good works and making good choices, and above all having faith, the Spirit will be with us always. And with His guidance, the world no longer looks quite so scary :)

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

<3 Marie-Rose

Integrity

So I've been procrastinating on this post. Why? I'm not sure how to define "integrity," much less talk about it. So I shall begin by taking a look at what the Personal Progress booklet has to say about integrity.

"I will have the moral courage to make my actions consistent with my knowledge of right and wrong"

In the first value experience, it says "Integrity is the willingness and desire to live by our beliefs and standards." Those standards can be found in For the Strength of Youth. 

So as far as I can tell, integrity is sticking to the values and standards you have been taught, even in the face of worldly pressures. Even when personal desire and temptations get in the way.

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 Integrity means choosing not to drink coffee even when your friends and/or family are pressuring you. It means walking out of the movie theatre when the movie isn't as clean as you thought it would be. It means working towards that "A" when your peers think it's cool to not care about school. It means taking time out of your Saturday free time to volunteer. It means getting up at waay-too-early-am to go to seminary. It means reading your scriptures and saying your prayers. It means choosing clean books and music. It means dressing modestly. It means making all those little everyday choices and knowing that you're accountable for every single one. 

Today I will leave you with a challenge. Tis a challenge to myself, as well. Pick a standard that you know you should work on. And work on it :) 

I'm not condemning you for needing to work on something. I'm right there with you; I have plenty of flaws. No one is perfect, and having the strength to make the right choice doesn't just suddenly happen. It takes some effort. 

But isn't it well worth the effort? Think of the promised blessings! 

Remember that scripture, John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." 

<3 Marie-Rose

Ps I hate sounding preachy, but I couldn't think of a better way to present this one... How'd I do? 

Good Works

We usually associate good works with big service projects. But that's not the only thing you can do to be doing good works.

Big service projects are awesome, but they take planning and coordination and I'm better at participating than I am at organizing. That's not to say I refuse to plan a big service project, just that I'd rather not. 

So how can we do good works in between the big service projects our leaders come up with? I say we be nice to people. 

Say hi to people in the halls, not just your friends. Be friendly to everyone. Lift someone's spirits when they're having a rough day. Do little things to make someone's day. 

Last year at school, Beth's locker was right next to mine. I didn't know her very well, but we'd been in the same PE class a few years back and had been partners for a lot of the activities like tennis and pickleball. Anywho, one day she put a sign on her locker that said "Need a smile? Take one" and had smiley faces along the bottom. D'you know how people do that on signs with like phone numbers and stuff, so you can rip it off easily and not have to write the information down to remember it? She did the same thing with the smiley faces. It totally made my day. And based on how long it took for all the smiley faces to be taken (not long at all!), she made a lot of people's days.

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I had not taken a smiley face, but seeing the sign was good enough :) I wrote her a thank-you note. Thanking her for being awesome and making people smile. I wish more people would do little things like what Beth did to make people smile :) 

By all means, please get involved in big projects every chance you get. They can be great fun, and a wonderful way to serve. But big projects aren't the only way to make a world of difference in someone's life. We're all human, we all want to feel loved and cared for. Let someone know that you're cheering for them. Because that emotional support is important. 

<3 Marie-Rose

(You probably already know that I change all names when I mention people I know in real life, but her real name isn't Beth)

Choice and Accountability

I was reading The Work and the Glory today, specifically the 7th book.

 

It covers events in church history from when Joseph Smith was martyred (well, like 2 weeks-ish after) to when the Saints start leaving Nauvoo for the West. The fictional family that the book is centered on, the Steeds, have to make a choice. Do they stay in Nauvoo, or do they follow the Lord's command to go West? For most of the family, the choice is simple. But for a few family members, who are not members of the church, the choice is not so easy. They can stay behind, but they'll probably never see the rest of the family again. But why would they go, if they don't believe it is the Lord's will? 

One family I would like to focus on is Will and Alice. 

Some background, for those of you who haven't read the books (and possible spoilers if you're not to book 7!)

Will is the adopted son of Joshua Steed. Joshua is not a member of the church. Will, after much soul-searching and arguing with his father, is a member. 

Alice is the daughter of Joshua's business partner, Walter Samuelson. Samuelson isn't exactly a fan of the Mormons. So when his daughter decides to be baptized, there's problems. Samuelson is glad Alice and Will are engaged (he and Joshua tried matchmaking a couple years prior), but that doesn't make it okay for her to get baptized. Eventually a compromise is reached, involving when and where Alice shall be baptized and married, and Will is to work for Samuelson for 6 months or so. He thinks he can convince Will to stay in St. Louis instead of going West in the spring.

But then Will is called to go to New York, and Alice with him, and accepting the call means Alice's parents will likely never ever speak to her again. Especially because going to New York means getting on a boat and sailing to California. Because they have to leave right now and there isn't time for Will to work for Samuelson for six months. 

Can you say #convertproblems? Oh my goodness.

Will and Alice have a choice to make. Do they follow the will of Heavenly Father? Or do they follow the will of Alice's parents?

Consider the consequences. If they go to New York, there exists an immediate, painful consequence: Alice loses her family. But if they don't go to New York, there exists some less-immediate and mostly vague consequence, eternally. 

The question is, which is worse? Well, as an outsider viewing the situation, going against God is worse. But what if it were your family? That would be exceedingly difficult. 

For as many posts that I tag "#convertproblems," I have it easy compared to many. As weird as it will be to tell my sisters that I'm getting baptized, as much as my parents think maybe I'll forget about it and it won't happen, as much as I freak out about my extended family finding out... no one is going to disown me because I want to join the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Things might get a little tense, but they'll work out in time. 

I know I'm straying from my topic a little bit, but I think I can find a way to bring it back. Bear with me :) 

Not every convert can make the transition easily. I've read many difficult conversion stories, and one of my best friends is struggling through one right now. I can't imagine what that must be like. 

I admire them. Very muchly. 

To be able to make that choice, between family and faith.... I don't know if I could do that. It's an almost unimaginable sacrifice. But we are all called to make difficult choices. Everyone has their own trials. They may be different trials than yours. But they're still difficult. 

D'you know what? We all still need to make those choices. Making those choices, enduring those trials... That's how we grow. That's how we mature. That's why we're here on Earth. 

Every choice you make, you're accountable for it. You have free will, agency, but there's a catch: consequences. That's why they call it "Choice and Accountability." Because you can choose to do whatever you want, but you're accountable for those choices. And now that I'm repeating myself, I will leave you with a single question. 

If you were in Will and Alice's situation, what would your choice be? 

<3 Marie-Rose

Knowledge

I'm not sure what else I can say about knowledge that you haven't heard already. We are to seek both temporal and spiritual knowledge. So that means you should go to college and read your scriptures. And knowledge is the only thing that stays with you after you die; all your worldly possessions stay behind.

When I think of "temporal knowledge," I cringe at the thought of school. Of studying. Quizzes and tests and projects. Especially because I have a very low opinion of the public school system. But then I have to think of how blessed I am. Many people don't have half the chance that I do. I have the educational resources to guarantee myself a reasonable job and income. I just have to put forth a little effort.

D'you know what makes me sad? The people who treat high school as a joke. They sleep through all their classes, don't do any homework, and generally don't care. They think they're "cool." You know the type. And some of them get it figured out. They realize that there's this thing called a transcript and a GPA, and once you screw those up, you can't fix it. And some never get it figured out. 

I highly recommend the book Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. It's by twin brothers, teenagers, who believe that because people expect very little of young adults, the young adults don't do very much. If your mother didn't expect you to do the dishes, would you do them? Well, the school system doesn't expect much of us teens, either. So the mentality is, why should we do more than expected of us?

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Well, to gain knowledge, because Heavenly Father expects us to. Just because your teachers or your parents don't expect you to do something, doesn't mean your Father in Heaven doesn't expect you to do it. Oh boy, that was a messy sentence. 

So basically, you should gain knowledge. And balance your time spent gaining knowledge between your schoolwork and your scriptures. Both contain important lessons that one day you'll be glad to have learned. 

<3 Marie-Rose

PS you really should read Do Hard Things. The authors are Alex and Brett Harris. It's one of the most inspiring books I've ever read.

Individual Worth

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 For this post, I would first like to direct you to a post titled "Beauty Is" by Jenny Phillips, by Sarah at The Sprinkles on my Ice Cream :) she does a wonderful job discussing New Years resolutions and beauty and how they relate to our infinite worth.

And then, because it's cheating to use someone else's post as my "post for the day," I shall add some stuffs of my own :) 

The topic of Individual Worth is very important to me. I've seen some of my best friends struggle with knowing their worth (and I have struggled, as well). They worry that they're not "good enough" because of their looks, weight, test scores, social skills, family problems, religious views, political opinions, et cetera and so on forever. 

I would like to draw your attention to the most awesometastic scripture I have ever read on this topic. Well, the two most awesometastic scriptures I've read on this topic (if you know of more, feel free to point them out!!! I would love to read them!!!)

D&C 18:10

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God

Matthew 10:29-31

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

So imagine this. Let's pretend there's this thing called the Earthy Awesomeness Scale. We'll call it a scale from 1 to 10. And everyone else seems to rate somewhere between a 8 and a 10, while you usually rate yourself lower than 5 (unless you're exceedingly self-confident, which is AWESOME in moderation). I know I would rate myself waaay less than 5, especially knowing what kind of people rate a 10. 

But guess what. 

Heavenly Father never ever ever ever looks at the Earthly Awesomeness Scale. 

In fact, to Him it doesn't exist. It's a concept made up by humans, and in the eternal scheme of things it doesn't matter. At all. 

See, Heavenly Father has this thing called the Worth of Souls scale. And on a scale of 1 to 10, every single person ever rates a 20. I promise, you really do have great worth. [The 20 was originally a typo and then I realized that 20 was way more realistic than 10, so I left it :) ]

So remember all that stuff I mentioned that people worry about? Their looks, weight, test scores, social skills, family problems, religious views, political opinions, et cetera and so on forever? It doesn't factor into Heavenly Father's Worth of Souls scale. He loves and cares for you regardless. He loves you more than you could ever imagine. 

I promise. 

<3 Marie-Rose

Divine Nature

I'm going to tie this post into another post I've been considering writing. It has to do with the song, What Heaven Sees in You. I'll come back to that.

The Personal Progress booklet (or at least the online version) says in the Divine Nature section:

"Be partakers of the divine nature. … Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (2 Peter 1:4–7).

I have inherited divine qualities, which I will strive to develop."

The YW theme begins with this statement:

"We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him."

Which means Jesus Christ is our Brother :) (see this post)

And to come back to the song:

"Do you understand who you are? / part of the Father lives in you!"

-What Heaven Sees in You

The color for Divine Nature is blue, and according to this article, represents "the big blue sky, and all that is divine." Reminds me of "it is better to look up" :) 

(I just realized that I didn't talk about faith's color, white. Oh well, maybe another post. Or maybe I'll go in and update it.)

Think of that! We are all Heavenly Father's children! And guess what, ladies? That makes us princesses :D

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The following was published in the Aug 2005 issue of Friend, a church magazine:

"I've always wanted to be a princess. Recently, as I was looking at a photo of me standing by the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, I suddenly realized that I have always been a princess. As a daughter of Heavenly Father, I am a daughter in His kingdom. I am grateful for that."

-Kim P, age 9, Idaho

(I took out her last name and some location information cuz even though it was published in a magazine and online, this is the big bad internet and I don't feel comfortable putting other people's information out there)

Kay, so we've established our Divine Nature. Now what? 

2 Peter 1:5-7

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Well, now you're supposed to develop those divine qualities, like faith and virtue and knowledge and temperance and patience and godliness and brotherly kindness and charity. Why?

2 Peter 1:8

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cuz we're promised blessings if we do :) 

<3 Marie-Rose

Faith

I'm gonna try doing a series. A series on the YW values. Which means I shall start with faith.

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My faith is very important to me.

Several years ago, before I even started looking into the Church, I put God on the same level as Santa Claus. Well, almost the same level. I KNEW Santa was fictitious, but I couldn't figure out if God was "just a myth," too. My parents told me He was real, but they said the same thing about Santa. My Faith Formation teachers told me He was real, too. I wondered if they were in league with my parents. I mean, flash forward to the present, I as a cashier help parents establish and maintain the Santa Claus myth when necessary. It's quite entertaining :)

God felt different from Santa, though. There's a whole book, the Bible! So either some mastermind was lying to the entire world, or...

I prayed sometimes. I remember praying a lot for my grandma, who A Strange Christmas references. Yes, the one who had surgery Christmas Day. I prayed that she would be healthy and live for a very long time (I was maybe 10 years old, maybe younger). But I didn't know what else to pray for, or if it did any good.

Then I met these people. These Mormons. And they really KNEW that God was not like Santa. God was real. And I could even talk about Him with them! Especially with Katie. And seeing the effect He had on their lives was amazing.

And you can go read this post for my conversion story :)

Now, I have faith. I have a testimony. I KNOW Heavenly Father is there. I KNOW He loves us. I KNOW that His timing is so much more awesometastic than ours. I KNOW He has an amazingful plan for every one of us, and that plan is absolutely perfect. I KNOW that we must have faith in these things and endure to the end.

I have this ring. It's not a CTR ring. It says "Faith" on the outside. Inside, it says "Live by faith, not by sight." If I didn't have two CTR rings that I wear every day, I would wear my Faith ring all the time. And I did, before I got my CTR rings.

This isn't my ring, but it looks almost exactly the same :)

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Hebrews 11:1
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Alma 32:21
"And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

Alma 32 is that chapter about planting a seed. Remember that one? I remember reading it for the first time. It really struck me. You gotta exercise faith by planting the seed. You gotta nourish it. And it will grow. And the fact that it grows increases your faith. So it grows more. And so on :)

You have to take action and have faith in order to get that "warm fuzzy" feeling (or however you personally feel the Spirit) that confirms to you the truth of the gospel.

I read a blog post about this recently, and I apologize for not being able to point you to the specific post. It was another convert's blog, and she talked about how she "tried" to live the Church standards when the missionaries were teaching her. But she wasn't sincere. So she didn't get that confirmation of the truth. But eventually, she changed her mindset. She was still going through the same motions, but sincerely this time. And then came the confirmation :)

Heavenly Father can't give you that confirmation until you have faith.

Oh yeah, faith, that was my topic. I may have strayed from that a little.

Live by faith, not by sight. Hope always and pray constantly. You are in the world, but should not be of the world. You lived with Heavenly Father before you were born on Earth. What you see here on Earth isn't all there is. What you see people doing here isn't always good. Have faith that Heavenly Father is there, rooting for you, and you CAN endure to the end.

<3 Marie-Rose