Malachi 4:6 "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers..."

                I recently saw a statue of a woman entering into heaven and reaching out towards Christ. This statue was most likely made to illustrate a joyous moment, but to me that's not what it represented. I had one problem with the statue, as excited as the woman looked, and as welcoming as Christ looked, they were stuck. They couldn't touch.

                               Ever since I saw the statue I couldn't help but think about my ancestors up in heaven. I like to think that they now know the fullness of the gospel and love every aspect of it. I like to think that they know and love Christ personally, and most of all I like to think that they want nothing more then to be able to reach out and not be stuck, but to fully embrace our savior.

                Today I had the opportunity to be baptized and confirmed for two of my grandmas (okay my great great great grandma and my great great great great grandma).  This was my first time ever doing one of my own family names and I'm not going to lie I was pretty nervous. Everyone always talks about how strongly they feel the spirit when they do baptisms and I just didn't see anything super special happening, but oh boy was I wrong.

                The only thing I could think of leading up to the baptisms was my own baptism. I was eight years old and more excited then I had ever been in my life (even though I thought I failed my baptismal interview, but that's a different story). That's when it all kind of hit me, today was Adeline and Amelia's day. I wonder how excited they were?  Well I can honestly say that you can now add me to the "I feel the spirit so strongly when I do baptisms" list then multiply how strongly you think I felt it times a billion and your probably half way there. I know that probably doesn't make sense, but that's kind of the point, it was absolutely indescribable. I cried like a little baby, and ask anyone, I DON'T CRY.

                I love family history. I love doing work for my family that they can no longer do for themselves. I love these people that I don't even know. they are part of me. I can't wait to go to heaven and see Amelia and Adeline and be able to talk to them about all the stories that they have that aren't recorded in a census or marriage record. I can't wait to see if they have accepted the ordinances that I've done for them, and I can't wait to thank them for giving me the opportunity to grow closer to them and Christ throughout this whole process.

                I can honestly say that if at any point in your life if you feel alone, or need that instant testimony builder you can look to family history. if you search prayerfully and have a desire to connect to those who came before you a way will be made available to allow you to do so and it will truly change your outlook on the whole concept of an eternal family.

                So many people are willing to devote their lives to help people here on earth, but not many are willing to devote their lives to help those who have already passed. so here it is, my announcement to the world (or whoever actually reads this so probably like 6 people, myself included) that next year I plan on attending college to pursue a double major in communications and family history research.

                 I've spent my whole time as a youth in the church hearing that my generation has all the tools and knowledge needed to increase family history work, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. No I don't plan on taking this major in family history and becoming a millionaire,  I plan on taking the knowledge that I'll gain and using it to help others to love family history just as much as I do.

There are so many people in heaven awaiting their special day, so lets help them out? yeah?

Discovering sunsets one day at a time, todays your day Adeline and Amelia.

A New Perspective

        One of my favorite sights ever is when the sun sets right behind a mountain. The mountain seems to turn black and completely dimensionless causing the sky to seem even more bold and overwhelming. Some of my favorite pictures and paintings replicate this exact moment.

(Photo creds to my awesome dad) The colors  and  life they take on through the clouds are unique to every sunset. I find myself marveling at the beauty that it holds, just staring at those moments that are nearly impossible to recreate. So now that you've heard about my dramatic obsession to sunsets ill try and get to the point. 

         It's immediately after those moments of complete awe that I realize that within that particular sunset there was another beautiful thing taking place that I completely ignored, the mountain. Some of you are probably confused as to why I would think that a solid black silhouette of a mountain could be beautiful, so let me explain. The mountain in the picture up above is a family favorite. I've hiked that mountain numerous times throughout my life and have some amazing memories that will be in my heart forever.

(My family at the top) That mountain has always been beautiful and special to me, but lets be honest when there's a Maine sunset behind it it's pretty easy to forget about that "big thing standing in the way". As I have looked at these pictures since my realization of the mountains beauty, I have realized how vital the mountain really is to the sunset. They need each other. The way they contrast allows the other to stand out and be even more bold. The mountain truly is beautiful.

         I like to compare this whole concept to self image. In my honest opinion the way people view themselves these days is horrible. Teens are practically taught to believe that they're only as good as their looks. It's rare for teenagers to be able to look in a mirror and feel completely comfortable saying "I'm beautiful, inside and out". They see themselves as that plain flat mountain surrounded by beautiful sunsets. Well this is what I have to say about that, we all have insecurities, we all have faults, and we all have trials. None of us are perfect. In fact I bet theres times that those sunsets wish they could be as bold as the awe-inspiring silhouettes. If we were all born perfect and everything was honky dory our whole lives there would be no growth, but you want to know what I honestly believe?     

              I believe that through the gospel and the principles that it holds along side our perspective and outlook on life and the situations within it we have the power to be happy. I honestly have no doubt that our Heavenly Father loves the "mountains" just as much as the "sunsets" so why don't we? It's time we stop focusing on one thing or the other and start focusing on how every aspect of the picture holds its own individual beauty. 

Discovering sunsets (And in this case mountains) one day at a time. Perspective is a necessity to happiness.

(Insert fantastic Jeffrey R Holland quote here) 

Hope on. Journey on.

                One of my favorite quotes is from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk this past general conference. It simply says “Hope on. Journey on.” Although it is short and sweet I have found such powerful meaning within it.

                We often seem to focus on our trials instead of the blessings that are in store for us. We allow our trials to take over our lives and bring us down. The more we focus on them the harder they seem to get adding more and more weight to our shoulders. Not only does that cause those specific trials to be harder, but it also causes our whole perspective of trials to change all together. The worse these feelings get, the harder it is to be happy.

                Elder Holland’s words remind me that no matter hard the situation at hand may be if I simply hope and journey through it I can recognize the great things ahead of me. This reminds me of multiple situations where I would come home late from practices or games and stress over the load of homework sitting before me and the amount of sleep I would get that night before waking up at 5 to go to seminary and start another crazy day. The funny thing about all those situations is that no matter what those assignments always got finished. Sounds like these experiences made me pretty happy right? Wrong. I had spent all night feeling so stressed and angered that I failed to recognize the blessing I had just received. If I would have “hoped on” and “journeyed on” and done my work with a faithful heart I probably would have much happier as I left my house early that next morning and been a lot more receptive to the amazing lessons I was being taught. We are blessed with tender mercies everyday of our lives. It is our choice whether we keep ourselves in the right mindset to fully recognize them or not.

Imagine if you gave someone a really cool birthday present and they just toss it to the side because they’re so mad that their cake was vanilla instead of chocolate? You would feel pretty bad right? Now imagine how the savior feels when he blesses us and we toss it to the side because we’re mad something didn’t go exactly like we wanted it to.

                So when life gets hard and things get tough remember these simple words from one of my favorite people. “Hope on. Journey on.” Who knows maybe they can help make you as happy as they make me?

                Discovering sunsets, one day at a time. Hope on. Journey on.                                                                                                                                                                

               

To Those Whose Noble Names I Bear, Whose Light Within Me Burns.

           I've recently discovered the importance of genealogy, sounds boring right? yeah that's what I thought at first too! Before this summer I never would have even considered the thought of finding joy in reading about people I've never even met, now I'm embarrassed to admit that I ever even thought that way!
            The joy in finding the name of someone to fill a gap on your family tree is nothing short of utterly amazing. That joy was a feeling that completely changed my point of view on technology. How often do we find ourselves mindlessly checking our Facebook, instagram or twitter? Just staring blankly at a screen reading post that within a week will be forgotten, post that typically have no great meaning to our life. So let me ask you this, would you rather spend your typical hour or more on your social media websites, or sacrifice half that time to read about and study the people who came before you? The ones who form your roots?
            I know I have had experiences lately that have cemented the importance of family history into my mind forever. At first I did it for the prizes promised for completing a certain amount of hours or names, once the prizes were earned I was comfortable saying I was done. I was comfortable until I saw my family fan chart. right there in the middle was a gap, a gap of blank spaces where names belonged. it hit me so hard that it hurt. I began to think about when we meet again with our families in Heaven, I thought about those missing names and imagined them as empty seats at the table, seats of people who had amazing stories to tell that nobody else knew. I began to search for the answers I needed to fill those gaps and soon enough just filling in gaps wasn't good enough for me, I needed more. Who wants to go to the ultimate family reunion and not know anything about the people who are there? Not me, that's for sure! The stories of these people have amazed me.
            So in honor of pioneer day I wanted to stress this point to you. By studying the pioneers before us we become pioneers to those behind us. We all have the ability to guide our posterity into the future, to set a path and pace of good and wholesome things for years to come. As technology expands we must expand to, expand our ability to focus on the best things that our electronics have to offer.
           Even though I know my ancestors aren't reading this blog I still feel compelled to write my thanks for them down. So "To those who came before me in seasons long ago, To those who are the loved ones that I have yet to know, To those whose noble names I bear, whose light within me burns, To those in gratitude shall my hear be turned." Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Discovering my sunsets one day at a time. No empty chairs.