SPRING!!!!

Yesterday we began the exciting jobs that come with Spring. For Christmas we got a bunch of pots and some seeds to grow a little herb garden. Since we live in a basement apartment, we were afraid to try to plant while it was still super dark. Yesterday we decided that that the days are getting long enough and the sun shines a bit more often. We planted our little garden and are so excited to have it grow!

Jill's Wedding

Jill and I were one of those lucky people who happened to live next door to each other in the dorms and carry on a friendship all through college. We were friends as brand new freshmen trying to figure out our way around campus, we lived next door to each other when we ventured to 'off campus housing', she wrote me on my mission and was there when I got married. Last week we got to go to Jill's wedding. It was so fun to see her so happy!




It was so amazing to be there at the temple. It was the first time I'd been there for a wedding since my own and it was really amazing to be able to have time to think and reflect on the amazing blessings that come on such a special day.





This was the most disgusting car job I have ever seen.

Easter

Celebrating Easter in an apartment of adults isn't often exciting. I remember being little- Easter was an adventure. Our parents had an amazing talent. Not only could they think of the very best hiding places of all time, they could hide an entire Easter basket and literally completely forget where they'd put it. I can literally remember searching the house all Easter day, and then the next, and the next and never finding my basket. Months later, after it had been completely forgotten, someone would stumble across it while doing a deep clean of the boxes stacked in in the back of a seldom used closet full of old, discarded winter gear.

I remember after Andrew left home leaving me-the youngest- alone with my parents. Mom and Dad tried to convince me to go on an Easter Egg hunt. There was just something about that wasn't appealing. Perhaps the fact that I, a Junior in high school, would walk all over the house searching for boiled eggs and impossible to find baskets, followed only by the two people who had done the actual hiding.

Needless to say, it's been a while since I've participated in an Easter hunt. This year I decided to change that. I secretly went to the store and bought some candy. I hid it all over our living room the night before Easter. (since our apartment is about 600 square feet, Doug inevitably caught me in the act) The next morning I awoke to find that Doug had boiled and 'decorated' (with a marker) some eggs for me to find. We had a fun little hunt and, while I was tempted to hide a basket where Doug could only find it this July when we move, I do believe we even found everything that was hidden.

Doug's Easter Talk

As Jessica said, we were both asked to speak in Sacrament meeting today (Easter Sunday). I can't say I was really looking forward to it (public speaking isn't my thing). Now that it is over I can say it was a good experience. I think I learned a lot. So, if you would like to read it, here it is:

DREAMS

As a young missionary, Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931), who later served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, had a dream so powerful that it changed his life forever. He later wrote:

“One night I dreamed … that I was in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony. … I stood behind a tree in the foreground. … Jesus, with Peter, James, and John, came through a little wicket gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and pray, He passed over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed … : ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt.’

“As He prayed the tears streamed down His face, which was [turned] toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I wept also, out of pure sympathy with His great sorrow. My whole heart went out to Him. I loved Him with all my soul and longed to be with Him as I longed for nothing else.

“Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least show of anger or scolding, asked them if they could not watch with Him one hour. …

“Returning to His place, He prayed again and then went back and found them again sleeping. Again He awoke them, admonished them, and returned and prayed as before. Three times this happened, until I was perfectly familiar with His appearance—face, form, and movements. He was of noble stature and of majestic mien … the very God that He was and is, yet as meek and lowly as a little child.

“All at once the circumstance seemed to change. … Instead of before, it was after the Crucifixion, and the Savior, with those three Apostles, now stood together in a group at my left. They were about to depart and ascend into heaven. I could endure it no longer. I ran from behind the tree, fell at His feet, clasped Him around the knees, and begged Him to take me with Him.

“I shall never forget the kind and gentle manner in which He stooped and raised me up and embraced me. It was so vivid, so real that I felt the very warmth of His bosom against which I rested. Then He said: ‘No, my son; these have finished their work, and they may go with me; but you must stay and finish yours.’ Still I clung to Him. Gazing up into His face—for He was taller than I—I besought Him most earnestly: ‘Well, promise me that I will come to You at the last.’ He smiled sweetly and tenderly and replied: ‘That will depend entirely upon yourself.’ I awoke with a sob in my throat, and it was morning.”

I can only imagine what emotions Elder Whitney must have felt as he awoke from such a powerful dream. I am sure that the dream was so incredibly real to him. I suspect that he went forth from the time of that dream on with a new resolution to make sure he would be prepared to return to the Savior’s presence like he so desperately wanted.

I have never had a dream like that. I feel I have always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to dreams. I had a good friend growing up who would often tell me about how exciting it was to have a dream where he could fly. My dreams were usually more along the lines of falling . . . falling a long long way. In my dreams I imagine the closest I got to flying was the few minutes I could enjoy BEFORE falling out of the airplane. Some people would dream about making the game winning touchdown in the big football game. Me? I would dream about uncontrollably falling asleep during the huddle. For my friend, dreams were often an outlet for him to forget the problems of his everyday life and enter an exciting fantasy world . . . In my dreams; I would just forget an important article of clothing before entering my less than fantastic high school cafeteria.

Many of you may have had dreams similar to this one I had a few weeks ago: After a semester of hard work to get good grades finals week was upon me. I pull up on the computer the list of finals I have to take . . . my last step before graduation. I scan down the list: “ECEn 425. . . tough test, but I feel pretty ready. Math 212 . . . I understand the first ¾ of the class really well, I can get a B. . .History of Civ, shouldn’t be too hard….Engineering 427, easy. . .English 315. English 315! I forgot all about English 315! I went the first week and then forgot to go back! I quickly pull up the syllabus for the class . . . the list of books to read is a mile long . . . And in the few seconds before I wake up screaming I try to devise some sort of plan as to how I can somehow pass a test that I don’t have a right to pass. I think about trying to read all the books . . . impossible. I think about bargaining with my teacher . . . he wouldn’t budge. Finally I think of the consequences of failing: I will have to tell the boss of the company where I accepted the job offer that I won’t actually be graduating. I will need to scrape together enough money for another semester of school, and rent, and books, and that is where I wake up.

I wake with such strong emotions. Such fear and dread. A feeling that no matter how much I want to, there is nothing I can do. I think if you multiplied that feeling a million times you may start to understand the feeling of spiritual death. The feeling that the end is near, and no matter what I do, I am not going to pass this test. In the time I have left, I am could never help the people that I should have helped, learn all the things I should have learned, pray all the prayers I should have prayed, love all the people I should have loved. Spiritual Death is the feeling of never going home again. Never seeing those you love again. The feeling of completely letting down everyone you care about. It is feeling more alone than you have ever felt before. Feeling cold, dark, and completely alone.

Two-Thousand years ago that is the condition that every human being who had come, was on, or would ever come to earth was in. We were completely helpless. We had forgot to go to a lifetime of class, we were about to fail. We were there until a simple innocent man willingly said, “I will do whatever it takes to save these people”. His love for us was so great and all-encompassing that he would do absolutely anything to save us from the awful aloneness of physical and spiritual death. And the thing he had to do was, in a way incomprehensible to us, to take the feeling of dread, doubt, and despair that we all feel and remove them from us. He took upon himself every sin, every offense, every spiteful word said in anger, every impure thought, and every unkind action. He paid the debt for every sin we ever had, would, or even could commit.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said “[Jesus Christ’s] Atonement is the greatest event in human history. There is nothing to compare with it. It is the most fundamental part of our Father’s plan for the happiness of His children. Without it, mortal life would be a dead-end existence with neither hope nor future. . .” His Godhood made it possible for him to take upon himself infinite suffering in the finite space of time he knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Christ said:

“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer. . . Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might ^bnot drink the bitter cup, and shrink” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16,18)

The demands of perfection have been removed from us, and replaced with something that should be so much easier. To remember. From the Book of Mormon we read

“O remember, remember, my sons, the ^awords which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the ^batoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to ^credeem the ^dworld.” (Helaman 5:9)

The Savior cured us of the spiritual death with which we were all afflicted and gave us the gift of spiritual life. And what must we do? We must live. We just have to do our best and he will make up the difference, no matter how big.

Preparing for this talk, combined with the Easter season has helped me to gain a new desire to start anew and try a little harder. I know that the Jesus Christ loves us all very much. I know that He lived and died for us. And I know that 2000 years ago he rose from the tomb as our Savior. Our happiness and salvation are always at the forefront of his mind. I know that he could never forget us, because our names are engraven upon the palms of His hands.

Happy Easter!

Jessica's Easter Talk

Doug and I were both asked to speak in church. We were given the topic of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was amazing to study all week long and think about what we wanted to share with everyone on Easter Morning. Here is what I shared-

“…The gift of our divine Redeemer brings an entirely new dimension to our lives. Because of our Savior’s sacrifice, instead of dismal oblivion, death becomes only a passage to a more glorious realm. The Resurrection becomes a reality for all. Eternal life becomes available to those who walk in obedience to His commandments”- Gordon B Hinckley

How blessed we are to know of the Savor’s life and to have a day set aside to celebrate his works!

As a little girl I used to read through the hymnal like a book. The words of the hymns have always been so inspiring to me- it seems that because they are set to music that invites the Spirit their simple words have been able to teach me amazing lessons. One in particular has helped me to learn and better understand the steps we can take to better take advantage of the Atonement.

Hymn 169- As Now We Take the Sacrament
As now we take the sacrament our thoughts are turned to Thee
Thou son of God, who lived for us, then died on Calvary
We contemplate thy lasting grace, Thy boundless charity
To us the gift of life was giv’n, through all eternity

The first step is to think of Christ. To remember Him and, most importantly, to have faith in Him.

As a child I memorized the meaning of faith to be a belief in things we cannot see. My whole life I took that very literally- I felt that I had faith because I believed that God was there. I knew that there was someone listening to my prayers and I knew that Joseph Smith really did live and to me that was faith. It wasn't until I was in college that faith took on an entirely new meaning to me. I was faced with a large decision and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. It could almost go without saying that there was an easy route and a hard one. I'd of course chosen the easy decision. I had it all planned out and it all made perfect sense in my head, until I prayed about it. At that moment I knew that my decision was wrong and that I was going to have to go the harder route. The ease of MY decision called to me much more than the difficulty of what I had been directed to do. I felt as if I'd been asked to take a giant leap without knowing where I'd land. All of the sudden faith was so much more- it was real. Instead of just believing that God was there, I had to know that he would guide me.

As the years have gone since that lesson, I have learned more and more about the strength of believing in those things that you can not see. I have learned not only to believe, but to know that the plan God has set out for us is always the better plan and if we can only allow ourselves to follow it, He will bless us with happiness we could never have expected.

A great example of this can be found in the life of Joseph Smith during the time when the plans for the Kirtland, Ohio temple were made.
When the saints first began construction of the Kirtland temple, Joseph Smith convened a council meeting and asked each participant to propose the type of structure for the temple. Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith's mother later recorded:

"Some thought that it would be better to build a frame others said that a frame was too costly kind of house and the majority concluded upon the putting up a log house...Joseph rose and reminded them that they were not making a house for themselves or any other man but a house for God. " And shall we brethren build a house for Our God of logs. No bretheren, I have a better plan than that I have the plan of the house of the Lord given by himself you will see by this the difference between our calculations and his Ideas."

May we all have faith like Joseph Smith so that when a commandment comes we will be able to stand up and say- I'm not going to take the easy way out, I will follow the Lord's commandment exactly as he asked it because I KNOW that is the best way.

The second verse of the hymn says,

As now our minds review the past, we know we must repent.
The way to Thee is righteousness-the way Thy life was spent.
Forgiveness is a gift from Thee We seek with pure intent
With hands now pledged to do thy work, we take the sacrament

The last verse was filled with thinking and remembering words- this one is filled with action words. We review the past, we seek forgiveness, we pledge to do the work of the Father.

I had the amazing opportunity to grow up in the Kirtland, Ohio stake and I am convinced that my life will forever be influenced by what I learned about the early history of our church. I can remember every time someone came to visit us. One or two days were always set aside to go to the church history sites. As a child, this was pure torture. I'd been through the tours so many times that I knew exactly what they were going to say and when they would say it. I knew what every single object in every room was used for- in fact, I could honestly say that I considered myself an expert on historic Kirtland by about the age of 9 or 10.

As I got older I realized how much more there is to learn about the early members of our church. Instead of focusing on facts about what they ate or the kind of shoes they wore, I began to realize that these people had real lives- they had hopes and dreams and trials just as I did.

I soon decided on my very favorite sight in Kirtland. About two miles down the road from the Kirtland Temple is the stone quarry. It is a beautiful forest where, if you follow a small path, you will find a stream lined with sandstone- it is easy to see the marks where the stone was cute in large chunks to be used to build the temple. I love this sight because it shows not only the spiritual side of Kirtland but also the work that was necessary to build the temple. Imagine the physical strength necessary to cut an enormous stone out of the earth and carry it two miles up the road, and then imagine doing this simply because you had the faith that the Lord wanted you to. This is when I truly began to learn from the early saints from Kirtland.

From them I realized that blessings don’t often just come by themselves. You must work for them. Two miles down the road from every temple there must be a stone quarry where each of us has labored.

The third and final verse explains the next step- my personal favorite.
As now we praise Thy name with song, the blessings of this day
Will linger in our thankful hears, and silently we pray
For courage to accept thy will, to listen and obey
We love thee, Lord; our hearts are full. We’ll walk thy chosen way.

In the end, the Saints had their temple- and what a beautiful temple it is! It still stands- a beautiful beacon to all who pass by. People are taught of our faith by only the site of it. It is a blessing to us from God.

We each have open access to the most amazing of all gifts. Just like the temple was created through hard work and faith, we can, (with faith and sometimes a lot of work!) we can receive the blessings of our labor. I know that our Redeemer lives and that through him we can each be saved if we use this gift of the Atonement in our lives.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not really Irish, but I do like a good excuse to celebrate a holiday. Especially when the way to celebrate it is coloring everyday food to make it green! I am, however, realizing that most of our posts are about food, or at least a lot of them! So I've decided to include one last green food picture and then talk about some other things we've been up to.



We had a fantastic weekend that started off with a surprise visit from my brother Andrew and his wife Lauren. They had flown into town from Columbus, Ohio to visit with Lauren's family who also lives here in Utah. I was home doing some homework when I saw them walking up to our apartment! Great surprise! We certainly lucked out because we got to see them in family settings since Andrew is my brother, AND friend settings, since Doug was Andrew's roommate. It made for a fantastic weekend.



A couple of weeks ago we also got to go to the University Accessibility Banquet. This is one of my favorite things to go to at BYU. For one, it's the most amazing food you'll ever get for free at a BYU function (At least as a student). But more importantly it's just really neat to sit there with the people who get to go. It's an awards banquet for the center at BYU that helps all of the students with disabilities. You are only invited to go if you are either a BYU student with a legal, registered disability or a student who has worked as an official volunteer to help such a student. Either way it makes for some pretty amazing people to be sitting next to for an evening. It truly was very inspiring.

These are some pictures from the evening- they're pretty dark because I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere with a flash. Hopefully they help show what it was like!

Wedding Invitations

Life's been pretty busy lately. I've been getting ready to graduate next month. It seems like that makes school all the more stressful- I'm not exactly sure why!

One of the fun things that has been keeping me busy has been designing wedding invitations for a few close friends. It's fun to see how different they each are- I love to see what becomes important to people as they plan something that will be sent to every person they've ever met in their whole life!

Here are a couple that I've been working on the past couple weeks.