For Lex...

Four weeks ago today, my baby sister handed herself over to The Lord to serve an eighteen month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As unbelievably hard as it is to not be able to see or talk to my best friend every day, I am so incredibly proud of this decision that she has made. She is significantly more mature than most girls her age and her spiritual maturity rivals that of people much older and more experienced than she is. I have no doubt that this is where she is supposed to be and that she will do great things. Though I believe the same things that she does, I am not too prideful to admit that my little sister is a great deal more selfless and brave than I am - which is part of why she is currently on a mission and I'm not. I am, however, embarrassed to admit that I very rarely take the opportunity to talk about the one thing that means the very most to me in my life: my religion. So, in honor of Lexi going out on a limb and sharing her faith with everyone that she comes in contact with for the next eighteen months, I am going to go out on a limb and share a little bit of my faith with whoever happens to be reading this blog post. 

A little over two months ago, I had the opportunity to go through the temple for the first time and receive my endowments. This is a major step for someone in the LDS church and brings with it increased responsibility, knowledge, and blessings. For someone my age who is neither going on a mission nor getting married any time in the near future, this was a little unorthodox. I received very mixed responses from people that I discussed the idea with but, ultimately, I knew that this was a decision that was between my Heavenly Father and myself. And I knew we were on the same page. I can say now that this was one of the best decisions I have ever made for my life, and I will never regret choosing to go when I did. Going through the temple gave me a renewed sense of faith and purpose, and really changed my perspective on a lot of things. 

As with any religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has many different aspects to it. We believe in many doctrines and principles which ultimately all intertwine. It would take me hours and hours to explain in full everything that I believe in and feel strongly about, so I'm not going to do that. Instead I just want to share my testimony of those simple but beautiful things which I know to be true. The greatest of which is that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I will every comprehend. Everything else that I believe follows because of this one truth. Because He loves us, He gave us families to help us through this life. Because He loves us, He created the Plan of Salvation which allows us to be with our families for all eternity - not just this life. Because He loves us, He has given us commandments to live by so that we can return to live with Him. Because He loves us, He sent His son to suffer and die for us so that we could be given the opportunity to repent when we inevitably make mistakes. Because He loves us, He has given us the ability to talk to Him anytime about anything; knowing that we will have His undivided attention. Because He loves us, He has given us scriptures, church leaders, temples, and living prophets to help guide us on our way back to Him. I truly can't comprehend the kind of love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children, but I am so grateful for it. 

I feel so blessed to be a member of this church and to have the faith that I do. With all of the craziness in this world, and all of the controversies happening both in and around the LDS church, I have been so grateful to see my faith be strengthened while the faith of so much of the world is weakening. Within the last few months, I have had countless moments and experiences that have cemented in my mind even more that this life has a purpose, and that we have not been left alone to make it through and find that purpose. Our Heavenly Father loves us without measure and without condition, and He wants nothing more than to see us succeed. What a blessing!

"Beyond comprehension, brothers and sisters, is the love of God for us. Because of this love, He sent His son, who loved us enough to give His life for us, that we might have eternal life. As we come to understand this incomparable gift, our hearts will be filled with love for our Eternal Father, for our Savior, and for all mankind."

-President Thomas S Monson