A Challenge To Re-find and Refine Your Spiritual Gifts

Tonight, I spoke to you dear sisters about your special spiritual gifts and propensities. Sisters, I urge you, with all the hope of my heart, to pray to understand your spiritual gifts—to cultivate, use, and expand them, even more than you ever have. You will change the world as you do so.

As a starting place, I extended a prophetic plea to you to shape the future by helping to gather scattered Israel with four invitations. This gathering is the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today!

My dear sisters, we need you! We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. We simply cannot gather Israel without you.

President Russel M. Nelson

I wonder if Facebook or Instagram "feels it" when President Nelson, Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints challenges all of the youth and then all of the women of the church to partake in a "Social Media Fast"? :)  I'll bet they do!! :) I sure have!!

President Nelson spoke in the General Women's Conference meeting Sunday night. During his talk he challenged the women to pull away from social media for ten days and spend the new found time focusing on revisiting and exercising our "spiritual gifts."  Within the hour after the closing prayer suddenly all of my Friends were "signing off."  I knew something important had taken place.

I hadn't been watching the Women's Conference because our internet had gotten bad. But you better believe I climbed back on and listened to what he had said.  I was touched by is message for sure!! I feel that I have been prepared for this for months. Just not quite able to make the leap and sacrifice. Honestly, my vice is Netflix and Binging on shows. ;)  So when he said to pull away from any media that wasn't helping us reach towards our potential, you better believe that's when I felt the pang and heard the hypothetical snapping fingers (DARN!!) And Leif's Snicker as he said "Your Netfilx!" I mean come on, Greys Anatomy is So Uplifting and Insightful for my spiritual growth!! NOT!! LOL! LOL! (eye roll!)

Sooo, here I am. Two days in, and I'm blogging and surviving. :) A little lonely for my outside world of friends and ongoing dialogue throughout the day. But I am grateful for the chance to go back in time about 8 years and reflect on how I am and WHO I am after being sucked into the vast and all consuming world of the internet. Its pretty profound. I have to say. I'm Thrilled to have this chance to make time to truly write again. Long, lengthy, pondering's. Where I puke out my whole life story onto the page. Instead of a little blurb here and there with a picture. The problem is, no one will be able to take the time to read all my ramblings anymore. LOL!  We've all lost the ability to just sit and read... and read... and read...to the end. I guess that's not all bad. I'll remember to hold back the real deep personal things I want recorded for posterity to the end of my posts. Knowing that they won't be read about as much. ;) Just Kidding.

My next goals are to seriously take time to read the scriptures every day. My own personal study time. Something I haven't done in Way Too Long!!

So, in the end, there is Absolutely Nothing wrong with the challenge that our prophet has issued. I know that it is from the Lord and if we take the extra time and use it to grow closer to Christ, we will be blessed with a reminder of our Grand Potential as Daughter's of a King!

General Conference

TRADITION!!! (Insert music emoji) (Insert "Papa" from Fiddler On The Roof!" :) :)  We sure Love our family tradition of watching General Conference together. :) This General Conference proved to be another spiritually edifying and momentous one.  President Nelson seems to be ushering in a new season in the restoration of Christ's church here upon the earth. The Church is now world wide. More members living outside of the USA then within. And since The Church is run as a whole. Following the exact same process and procedures throughout the world within every stake, down to every ward and branch; new changes were made to accommodate. These changes feel sudden to some. But truthfully, they have been coming to past step by step, drop by drop, for many years. And changes may become the new normal as The Church continues to grow, and the world continues to change. The only constant on this earth, is CHANGE! 

Change doesn't mean that the past was wrong. It just means there is a New Right. So, now instead of attending church on Sunday for three hours (Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, Relief Society/Priesthood/Youth Classes) We will now follow a two hour meeting schedule. With one hour for partaking The Sacrament and speakers/council and one hour for another class. Rotating throughout the month.  With the changes comes an increased responsibility for us as parents to teach a new Family Centered gospel teaching curriculum within our homes at some point throughout the week. So, nothing surprising; just steppin' up The Game Plan a little bit. 

Momentous Changes to Church Meetings

President Nelson announced today that church will only be two hours long. And we will be following a new curriculum as a family in place of that hour lost. "Home Centered, Church Supported gospel learning.