Individual Worth #1

            You are a daughter of Heavenly Father, who knows you and loves you. Read Psalm 8:4–6; Jeremiah 1:5; John 13:34; Doctrine and Covenants 18:10; Abraham 3:22–23; and Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20. Write in your journal how these scriptures teach you that Heavenly Father knows you, loves you, and is mindful of you.
             In Psalm 8: 4-6 it says that God is mindful of man, in particular "him". Him is a singular noun which means that God is aware of each of us individually. It explains that we have a great deal of potential to become like Him. He knows exactly who we are and is always there to help and guide us.
             In Jeremiah 1:5 it reads that before we were conceived God knew who we were individually. He created a plan for us. For example, He preordained Jeremiah to be a prophet. 
             In John 13:34 it reads that we are commanded to "Love one another as I have loved you". This explains that God loves each and every one of us individually. He knows who we are and loves us, not as a whole group, but as a person. He loves us unconditionally. Therefore, no matter what we do, God will always love us. We must also love others to receive this love. 
             In Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 it says that "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God". He values each of our souls. We must also value ourselves and others because God loves each and every one of us.
             In Abraham 3:22-23 it states that God made all of our souls and said that they were "good". This means that each of us has a worthy and good soul. The passage goes onto to name Abraham specifically and say that he was one of them and he was chosen before he was born. Similar to Jeremiah 1:5, we know that God knows each of us individually and is aware of who we are capable of becoming.
             In Joseph Smith History 1:1-20 we read most particularly how aware Heavenly Father is of each and every one of us. Joseph Smith was a farm boy that had very little education. However, he had a very powerful question. Heavenly Father knew how much worth his soul was. When Joseph came to Him with a simple prayer about which church to join, the Lord and the Saviour came down directly to speak with him. They knew this young boy personally, and called him by name, and answered his question. 
            Every person in this world, including myself, has a great deal of worth and it is my job to find the worth in everyone. I must love everyone, even myself. 

Faith - #1

Well, I have finally finished a Value Experience. To be honest I finished this value about a month ago, but I have not found the time to document it. The experience is:

The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Learn about faith from the scriptures and living prophets. Read Hebrews 11; Alma 32:17–43; Ether 12:6–22; and Joseph Smith—History 1:11–20. Read two general conference talks on faith. Exercise your own faith by establishing a habit of prayer in your life. Begin by regularly saying your morning and evening prayers. After three weeks of following this pattern, discuss with a parent or leader what you have learned about faith and how daily personal prayer has strengthened your faith. In your journal express your feelings about faith and prayer.

My favourite part of his talk is when he says, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith". These words really resonated with me. I know that these are truly words from God. 

My faith has strengthened greatly since I began this value. I already was saying my prayers morning and night, but they tended to be really quick and not extremely heartfelt. However, I have really noticed a difference now that I take the time to give heartfelt prayers. I know that Heavenly Father is answering my prayers. Now I take the time to look for the little answers that I am looking for and I know that He is listening to me pleas. I know that I must continue with my faith in prayer and knowledge that God is listening to me forward. I must never doubt this knowledge that I have.

New Year, New Goals

Well, it is a new year and so I have made a couple of new goals: one personal, one physical and one spiritual. My personal goal is to begin to learn Korean (geez, this one is going to be incredibly hard for me), my physical goal is to workout at least three times a week and finally, my spiritual goal is to begin Personal Progress over again (I have already completed it and my honour bee once, so I would like to start over again). 

I have been inspired by Dr. J. H. Watson's Blog and have decided to add to my own. I have had this blog for a number of years, but have never really done anything with it. However, I have decided to put this domain to good use. I am going to use it as my Personal Progress Journal, along with (possibly), other personal writings. 

Anyways, it took me a good two hours to find and set up my background and banner, so it is rather late. I am going to hit the hay. G'Night.