An ahhh haaa moment.

I am a firm believer that my most brilliant of thoughts come to me when I'm in the shower. Weird right? Yeah. Maybe I should start showering more often. Well today I was half way through washing my hair when a thought popped right into my mind. But first some background knowledge.....

Over the past couple of months I have been dating a great guy who seems like he has it all. He's really happy, successful, popular, smart, talented, and religious. He is Christian but not LDS. Over the span of our relationship religion has often been brought up. I always found myself getting frustrated when I can't deny that the teachings of his church are legit. Not being able to deny what Tim was arguing made me question my church. He believes in so many things that I believe to be true? So what's up with the Mormons?

In the shower today I was thinking about how so many people are able to so easily bash on the Mormon church. We are different. I got that. Why do other religions seem to be truthful? Wait a second. That's because it is real. I believe in the Mormon church. I believe that it is the one and only COMPLETE church on the earth today. Tim's religion is true. They believe in the bible, in charity, in loving God, in prayer, in the atonement, in the resurrection, in an afterlife. They understand so many truths that I have no problem agreeing with. They just don't have EVERYTHING that God has put on this earth for us. They are only seeing one part of the big picture.

This brought me back to two years ago when I went on a sisters trip to Disneyland. I specifically remember one moment of that trip. We were all standing in line for "Soring over California" when a preacher came up to us and said she was prompted to talk to us. When she found out we were Mormons she started telling us all about God and reading the bible to us. My oldest sister Heather tried explaining to her that we believe everything that she was saying. She didn't listen. I somehow got the courage to stop her mid-sentence and bare my testimony. I remember looking at the shock on my sisters faces. Right there in the middle of California adventures I couldn't stop myself from baring my testimony. It probably meant nothing to that lady but it has stuck with me.

People don't understand Mormons. They don't understand that we have the complete gospel. My testimony was shaken because Tim's religion is sooo real. It has sooo many truths. It just doesn't have all the truths. Dare to be a Mormon! Dare to stand up for what you know to be true. I don't know why I'm sharing this but it sure does feel good to spill.

It is what YOU make it.

This past week was spring break. I can honestly say that I loved every second of this adventure. My roommates had a change of plans and went to St. George a day early. I was a little upset and stressed that once again I would be out of the loop because I wouldn't be able to go with them. The next day I found myself leaving with Megan M. and Nicole. This was a blessing in disguise. The girls of 404 have become some of the greatest friends I have ever had. It's no secret that this past semester I have spent most of my time either in class or hanging out with Megan F. and Kalli. This drive gave me a chance to get to know the other two a little better. Even though I slept for half the ride (no surprise) I loved being silly with these girls.

Wednesday: We arrived at Megan F's house to find Kalli and Megan in absolute hysteria. Seriously, I've never seen them more excited.  We unloaded the car and headed for the thrift shops. We found a few quality items but really were just having fun embracing the sun and each other. We hadn't heard from the other girls so we just kept doing what we had originally planned. Megan showed us a cool soda shop and park. After a little more shopping, modeling sexy black dresses in TJ max, and using hair products that looked like testers, we went to dinner. It was yummy Mongolian food and you got to make your own dish. One of the waitresses was from Vietnam and I couldn't get enough of her. It made me a bit Vietnam sick. The rest of the night was spent buying me a new phone and hot tubing.

Thursday: Time for hiking! We got a little lost and apparently the other girls couldn't wait so we went along without them and figured we would find them eventually. The hike was incredible! I forgot how much I love hiking. Megan M. wasn't a fan but we somehow got her to the top! The hike was about three hours. Oh too fun! Pictures and videos were taken at the top including singing the Scotsman. My hair looked awful from lack of shampoo but I love all the pictures! Megan showed us the legendary Swig that night. Those sugar cookies were too good! To be honest I don't remember what happened after that.

Friday: The other girls never showed up at the temple like we had all planned so we continued doing our own thing. The St. George temple is beautiful! Kneaders French toast is free if you go after the temple. This was a deal we just couldn't pass up. After the temple, Megan M. and Nicole headed to Vegas while Megan F. went shopping with her mom. Kalli and I didn't know what to do with ourselves so we threw on some roller blades and tried to look like we knew what we were doing. We somehow ended up rolling around a parking lot talking about life. Loved it. Megan got back from shopping so it was time for a picnic and croquet. The croquet didn't end up happening. Instead we started a music video and played with chalk at the park. The camera battery died before we had a chance to finish so we'll save that for later. It's probably better unfinished. Kalli and Megan took me to Costco for my very first time. It was pi day yet Costco didn't sell pie. I wasn't impressed...Megan's amazing mom made us another awesome meal then we headed to the D (letter on the mountain) we finally saw my roommates here but they didn't want to go up so we went to Swig instead. After, we thought we were all going to Dixie rock but the other girls had other plans apparently. Me and the girls of 404 went anyway and were not impressed by the sea of high school kids there. Yuck. haha We went back to the D and had some good laughs. More pictures were taken then I was more than ready for bed! Even if it meant being squished between Kalli and Megan F. :)

Saturday: This was our last day so all we had time for was a little laying out in the sun then it was back to reality. The drive home felt like two minutes (probably because I was sleeping again).
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I'm majorly lacking pictures because you will see my whole week of adventures in the video Nicole made. Click on the link and check it out!

 

http://vimeo.com/89687512

Safe Haven

The temple has been running though my mind a lot lately. This temple in particular. Ladies and Gentlemen, you are looking at the Gila Valley, Arizona Temple (It really is Hila Valley if you pronounce it like it's spelled your roommates will laugh at you). This is the one and only temple in my mission! I've been called to serve in the Tucson, Arizona Mission! Reporting for duty on June 25th. I'll be honest. Preparing for a mission has proven to be harder than expected.

Everyone was right. As soon as your turn in your papers you grow a huge dart on your back for everything to get crazy. I don't all of a sudden have cravings for coffee or beer but my mind does play tricks on itself. I am constantly in a panic doubt about it I made the right decision to go and serve the Lord for 18 months. I feel like I haven't stopped being tested and tried since I sent in my papers. That's were the temple comes in.....

  This has been my safe haven. My go to. My break room. It kills me how easily the temple can make everything feel so simple and insignificant. When I'm in the temple I finally feel peace from everything that's happening. Being in the temple is somehow silences all the worldly worries. All of drama of being a freshman in college is simplified until I walk out those doors and back into the real world. Those short breaks from reality is exactly what keeps me going.

Next there is this temple...

This temple is my next step. You are looking at The Jordan River Temple. Every Tuesday morning of my senior year in high school was spent doing baptisms with my little sister here. Now I'm planning on taking out my endowments here as soon as summer begins. I've been so blessed to be surrounded by temples my whole life. I cannot wait to take this next big leap. The thought of taking out my endowments at 18 years of age is crazy to me. I don't feel old enough! How did everything fly by so fast?

 

I have a testimony of this gospel. The more that I learn about Tucson, Arizona the more right it feels. I know this church is true. I know my Heavenly Father lives and loves me. I know the temples should and always will be the ultimate goal. I'm not settling for anything less. My brother is getting married in the Salt Lake City temple this weekend and I couldn't be happier for both he and his fiancé. The temple is the happiest place on earth. It is my safe haven.