Once upon a time there was a girl who loathed politics and swore she would never have anything to do with them. One night she was driving with her friend in the car and they were heading out to dinner. That night happened to be the 2000 Elections.
Jokingly, her friend told her she would run for something someday and be totally involved. The girl rolled her eyes, laughed, and said "No thanks." Well, that night they both sat at Red Robins in Layton until close waiting for the final tally to come in. As we all know, if they would have waited to find out the results, they would have had to of waited until February.
That night something bit the girl like a virus. It started nagging, infecting, and then slowly became part of her. She started to follow politics more, working for the newspaper, and finally getting involved in student government. Needless to say, I was that girl.
In the Spring of 2006, then Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert approached members of student government and asked us to get more involved. It was then I learned about caucus meetings and that politics is more grassroots than the elections that take place in November of each year. It was then that I learned what it really was to be involved and to make a difference.
I remember my first meeting had a total of five people at it. I was elected to be the precinct secretary, county delegate and state delegate. Suddenly, I was being hit with mail, phone calls, and other junk. But it was good. I learned to love the process even more.
I have been a county and / or state delegate since. But this year I did something different. I ran for Precinct Chair. I am not sure what I was thinking, but I did it anyway. And I won! (by three votes) I will not be a delegate however and I have mixed feelings about it...
But I have confidence our delegates will do a wonderful job! We had more than 52 people show up to our meeting that is lucky to get 15 every two years. In talking with the Legislative Chair, numbers were strong across the county (some with 80 - 120...).
It is awesome to be a part of the process and I look forward to learning even more in the future! :D But for now I must go to sleep!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Adue
This week I completed another year on this planet. It has been a rocky one, but a year I am most grateful for for sure. In a recent conversation with a family member I asked him, "When did we get so old? And is this how we thought our lives would be at this stage of our life?" It was the first time I really had an opportunity to talk to him in about eight years because of other circumstances in his life. I had my childhood friend back again and everything seemed right with the world.
In August I started teaching. This is definitely not the career path I would have told you I would be on. But I find more and more passion for it every day. When I teach, I learn so much. Each day, when I ask for the Lord's help, I see my students as God sees them. They are beautiful, talented, god-like, and strong. I don't know how many of them know it yet, but I hope one day they will figure it out.
I feel so inspired about so many things. My master's degree is almost done and I feel the culmination of all the knowledge leading my in paths where before I dared not go. But I feel a measure of confidence from the Lord to "go about doing good continually." I am not sure where this path will lead me, but I know it will be where the Lord needs me to go as long as I am patient and listen.
During the past few months I have endured something I never thought I would have to. But because of choices I made, it was necessary. As crappy as it was, I am grateful for all I have been taught and for the strength it has given me. I am still learning and I still have a path in front of me. But I am grateful it is a Lighted path :)
If you would have asked me five years ago when I came home from my mission where I thought I would be, I would have told you I would be married, had a family, and / or perhaps my master's degree. Well, I will have my master's complete this year and I do have a dear loving family :) My sister is getting married in a few months and I have had several people ask me if I'm OK with her getting married before me. The answer is "Yes." We do not live in the 1800's anymore and I am content to know she has found her match. My medianaranja is still being prepared ... Or maybe it's the other way around ;) At any rate, I am content to wait until I have found that man whom God has prepared for me.
In speaking with a friend the other night, I was giving him grief about he and his brother slacking on the marriage end of things. With a wise countenance he said, "I am not getting married just for the sake of getting married, and then getting divorced two years later." Amen! He then proceeded to tell me about a dating experience where the girl pretty much told him she was looking for Pres. Monson in a 27-year-old form ... I am not sure Pres. Monson was all the man at 27 that his now in his 80's. I thought about this because I ran across a quote this morning that said, "Real love is the commitment to the growth of another person."
The idea is that we grow together, and as we grow together, we become perfected beings. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "The people of the city of Enoch, because of their integrity and faithfulness, were as pilgrims and strangers on the earth. This is due to the fact that htey were living the celestial law in a telestial world, and all were of one mind, perfectly obedient to all commandments of the Lord." We can only become perfected together, as a whole. Perfection doesn't come individually.
If then we are to become perfected as a group, how does that happen? We are all so different, yet not so different. My geek-sense says that communication is the answer. Whenever someone asks me how we can fix things, I always say there needs to be communication. A few years ago I was in Nicaragua and my Bishop taught me something very profound. He didn't say much, he just challenged me to read 2 Nephi 32. I did just that that evening and by the end of the second verse I understood what he wanted to teach me. Nephi writes, "after ye have received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? ... Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."
When we have received the most sacred gift of the Holy Ghost by the proper priesthood authority, we are also promised we can speak with the tongue of angels. And angels speak the words of Christ. How are we doing? If in our daily interactions we are missing out on being Christ-like with those whom we communicate, are we being effective? The world has taught, especially women, that in order to be effective, you need to be brass. I don't know anyone who has truly gotten what they wanted by being unChrist-like.
For my Ethics class I was reading Kouzes and Posner's book Credibility. They talk about how the most effective communicators / leaders are those who are empathetic, yet abiding by the PPM's. There are lines in the sand, but those lines do not need to be enforced with an iron fist. We will be most effective if we first seek to speak with the tongue of angels and treat those around us as our literal brothers and sisters.
I used to think that being a woman in the corporate world, I had to be like a man. It didn't get me very far. In fact, I ended up losing my job over it. But over the past few years I have learned that I do not need to let my divine womanly qualities go in order to fit in. President Joseph F. Smith said, "It is not for you to be led by the women of the world; it is for you to ... lead the women of the world in everything that is praiseworthy, everything that is God-like, everything that is uplifting and ... purifying to the children of men."
Each person was born with inherent, God-like qualities; and it is up to use to find and use those qualities. One of my favorite quotes is, "Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out and shine?" In the Book of Matthew, we learn that we are a candle set on a hill, and that we are not meant to hide under a bushel, but to shine and be a beacon for those who are lost in this world.
Sheri Dew said, "... coming unto Christ means walking away from the world. And walking away from the world means choosing holiness and purity over worldliness and impurity. Our Father wants us back, and He wants us back clean. We won't become perfect in this life, but we can become increasingly holy and pure. Pure in our thoughts, motives, and desires; pure in our actions and words. Pure in what we watch or take into our bodies. Pure in our hearts.
"If we truly want to walk away from the world, our single most important pursuit is to seek to hear the voice of the Spirit. I don't think it will be possible to survive spiritually in the last days without the Holy Ghost as our constant guide. The Spirit is the ultimate protector and judge between good and evil. The Spirit can detect the slightest variance from the truth and alert us to all spiritual danger, because the Holy Ghost speaks "of things as they really are" (Jacob 4:13), rather than as they appear to be, and shows us "all things what [we] should do" (2 Ne. 32:5) ... The way to come out of the world, the way to have maximum righteous influence, is to live under the influence of the Holy Ghost."
I know that as we become unspotted from the world, our power and ability to head the Holy Ghost will increase. The things of the world are but a small moment in the eternities. We are spiritual beings having an imperfect earthly experience. But we will once again return to the presence of our Heavenly Father and continue on our journey of perfection. The road we must walk is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Repentance, and the gate we must pass through is baptism by the proper Priesthood authority for the remission of sins, after which we can receive the precious Gift of the Holy Ghost. "And now my beloved brethren ... I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay ... Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" (2 Ne. 31:19-20).
In August I started teaching. This is definitely not the career path I would have told you I would be on. But I find more and more passion for it every day. When I teach, I learn so much. Each day, when I ask for the Lord's help, I see my students as God sees them. They are beautiful, talented, god-like, and strong. I don't know how many of them know it yet, but I hope one day they will figure it out.
I feel so inspired about so many things. My master's degree is almost done and I feel the culmination of all the knowledge leading my in paths where before I dared not go. But I feel a measure of confidence from the Lord to "go about doing good continually." I am not sure where this path will lead me, but I know it will be where the Lord needs me to go as long as I am patient and listen.
During the past few months I have endured something I never thought I would have to. But because of choices I made, it was necessary. As crappy as it was, I am grateful for all I have been taught and for the strength it has given me. I am still learning and I still have a path in front of me. But I am grateful it is a Lighted path :)
If you would have asked me five years ago when I came home from my mission where I thought I would be, I would have told you I would be married, had a family, and / or perhaps my master's degree. Well, I will have my master's complete this year and I do have a dear loving family :) My sister is getting married in a few months and I have had several people ask me if I'm OK with her getting married before me. The answer is "Yes." We do not live in the 1800's anymore and I am content to know she has found her match. My medianaranja is still being prepared ... Or maybe it's the other way around ;) At any rate, I am content to wait until I have found that man whom God has prepared for me.
In speaking with a friend the other night, I was giving him grief about he and his brother slacking on the marriage end of things. With a wise countenance he said, "I am not getting married just for the sake of getting married, and then getting divorced two years later." Amen! He then proceeded to tell me about a dating experience where the girl pretty much told him she was looking for Pres. Monson in a 27-year-old form ... I am not sure Pres. Monson was all the man at 27 that his now in his 80's. I thought about this because I ran across a quote this morning that said, "Real love is the commitment to the growth of another person."
The idea is that we grow together, and as we grow together, we become perfected beings. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "The people of the city of Enoch, because of their integrity and faithfulness, were as pilgrims and strangers on the earth. This is due to the fact that htey were living the celestial law in a telestial world, and all were of one mind, perfectly obedient to all commandments of the Lord." We can only become perfected together, as a whole. Perfection doesn't come individually.
If then we are to become perfected as a group, how does that happen? We are all so different, yet not so different. My geek-sense says that communication is the answer. Whenever someone asks me how we can fix things, I always say there needs to be communication. A few years ago I was in Nicaragua and my Bishop taught me something very profound. He didn't say much, he just challenged me to read 2 Nephi 32. I did just that that evening and by the end of the second verse I understood what he wanted to teach me. Nephi writes, "after ye have received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? ... Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."
When we have received the most sacred gift of the Holy Ghost by the proper priesthood authority, we are also promised we can speak with the tongue of angels. And angels speak the words of Christ. How are we doing? If in our daily interactions we are missing out on being Christ-like with those whom we communicate, are we being effective? The world has taught, especially women, that in order to be effective, you need to be brass. I don't know anyone who has truly gotten what they wanted by being unChrist-like.
For my Ethics class I was reading Kouzes and Posner's book Credibility. They talk about how the most effective communicators / leaders are those who are empathetic, yet abiding by the PPM's. There are lines in the sand, but those lines do not need to be enforced with an iron fist. We will be most effective if we first seek to speak with the tongue of angels and treat those around us as our literal brothers and sisters.
I used to think that being a woman in the corporate world, I had to be like a man. It didn't get me very far. In fact, I ended up losing my job over it. But over the past few years I have learned that I do not need to let my divine womanly qualities go in order to fit in. President Joseph F. Smith said, "It is not for you to be led by the women of the world; it is for you to ... lead the women of the world in everything that is praiseworthy, everything that is God-like, everything that is uplifting and ... purifying to the children of men."
Each person was born with inherent, God-like qualities; and it is up to use to find and use those qualities. One of my favorite quotes is, "Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out and shine?" In the Book of Matthew, we learn that we are a candle set on a hill, and that we are not meant to hide under a bushel, but to shine and be a beacon for those who are lost in this world.
Sheri Dew said, "... coming unto Christ means walking away from the world. And walking away from the world means choosing holiness and purity over worldliness and impurity. Our Father wants us back, and He wants us back clean. We won't become perfect in this life, but we can become increasingly holy and pure. Pure in our thoughts, motives, and desires; pure in our actions and words. Pure in what we watch or take into our bodies. Pure in our hearts.
"If we truly want to walk away from the world, our single most important pursuit is to seek to hear the voice of the Spirit. I don't think it will be possible to survive spiritually in the last days without the Holy Ghost as our constant guide. The Spirit is the ultimate protector and judge between good and evil. The Spirit can detect the slightest variance from the truth and alert us to all spiritual danger, because the Holy Ghost speaks "of things as they really are" (Jacob 4:13), rather than as they appear to be, and shows us "all things what [we] should do" (2 Ne. 32:5) ... The way to come out of the world, the way to have maximum righteous influence, is to live under the influence of the Holy Ghost."
I know that as we become unspotted from the world, our power and ability to head the Holy Ghost will increase. The things of the world are but a small moment in the eternities. We are spiritual beings having an imperfect earthly experience. But we will once again return to the presence of our Heavenly Father and continue on our journey of perfection. The road we must walk is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Repentance, and the gate we must pass through is baptism by the proper Priesthood authority for the remission of sins, after which we can receive the precious Gift of the Holy Ghost. "And now my beloved brethren ... I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay ... Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" (2 Ne. 31:19-20).
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