Mak Laughing

Copy Cat

It was so funny to watch her mimic me and on top of it she bonked her head but she didn't think twice about it! haha

August 27th 2008

On August 27th we were asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting at church. With all the nerves that come with that huge responsibility I asked my family to come listen for support and love. Unfortunately, life got in the way and they were not able to come. So I decided to post my talk for my family to read, and so I can hear feed back from them as well... So here it is
Oh and I am not a writer, so in advance...Sorry ;)

A Book with a Promise…

The topic I have been asked to speak about is “A Book with a Promise” and I had ¾ of a talk prepared when days later the spirit told me… nope, sorry start all over. So I did. I have only ever written one other talk and I thought I wrote enough last time to take up my 12-15 mins given but I was done so fast that I realized I should have either talked slower or practiced. Anyways, bear with me.

I have decided to break up the topic into two major parts and combine them later. One being book the other being promise.

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ In the introduction it says…

The Book of Mormon is a volume of Holy Scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel.

The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites.

I can tell you all about the Book of Mormon and how Nephi recovered the Plates and how Alma the younger learned of Faith and committed his life to spreading the word, or King Benjamin whose address to his people has motivated me to become a better person but until I talk about the second part of my talk everyone could walk right out of this building and forget the words which I have spoken. While writing this talk I learned a lot about the book in Book of Mormon, but I also learned a lot about the word promise. In the dictionary Promise means

A declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one:

Or indication of future excellence or achievement

The Book of Mormon is such an important part of the gospel, but alone it doesn’t touch my heart half as much as when I learn of the many PROMISES that are given to us with in each story or life lesson many have learned before us. A Book with a Promise.

To me the underlying word of promise is Faith. In order to believe in the promises to you from Heavenly Father, you need to have faith that it will. Also they give me the faith to believe in the truth and love of gospel.

The Book of Mormon has changed my life so much that I can hardly recognize myself spiritually. Not only did the stories relate to my struggles but it also testified of the man I so deeply wanted to know and love Jesus Christ. Weeks ago I was filling out a form for Sister Arnott to spotlight me in the relief society news letter and one of the questions was “what is your favorite scripture?” And immediately I knew it was 1Nephi 3:7

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

This verse was the very first verse that I read and KNEW the gospel was true. It made me want to rise to the occasion I call life, to do the very best I can for me and others around me. It also showed me that the way to get to where I wanted to be was to first believe that my faith could be strong enough to carry me to the end, and that I could with help from Heavenly Father know the promises were true. I love having the scriptures for a place to turn to. Then I was looking for truth and I found it but I also found a promise that I will never be given something I can’t handle which really changed my outlook on struggles and triumphs. When I wrote this talk I realized that in the past I have taken the words of love, glory, faith, and service for granted. They have always been there when I need them for comfort and guidance. Recently my faith has been challenged, and I have turned to the scriptures to help keep my faith alive. While writing this talk I came across a scripture that touched my heart so deep which is Ether 12:12

12 For if there be no ^afaith among the children of men God can do no ^bmiracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

The Brother of Jared had so much faith in Heavenly Father and the promises that came from him that he lead his life to perfection and in turn saw the hand of God and was shown many great and powerful things.

Promises made to us big or small can also be considered miracles. When I read of the promises that Heavenly Father has given us I dream of the miracles others have witnessed like, in Ether 12: 21-22

21 And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the ^promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the ^bveil.

22 And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the promise that these things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles; therefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ.

A Book with a promise. I know that the book of Mormon is true and if you read it with an open heart you too will read of the many promises Heavenly Father wants to show you and give you. I know that the stories inside are powerful and can change anyone’s outlook on life. It gives me the light at the end of the tunnel that I need to grow and learn from life’s many, many, many challenges. I believe that the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ and his great love for us. I love this gospel and will cherish its teaching for many, many, many years to come.

Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor was so much fun! Makenzie loved the fairy. She would look out the window and smile. The look in her eyes was full of such amazement.



Makenzie has given me the chance to look at the world like it was my first time, and I see things like the ocean or a sunset with new appreciation for the world and all of it's beauty. When she points to animals and flowers I get to look again as if I had never seen it before. It's such a weird feeling.
I think she gives me reasons to take pictures of such things. I used to look at scenery and say it's "pretty" and never want to take pictures of it. But now...it's completely different...Do I sounds nuts?? Most likely!