Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

Twice a year I and countless others (pretty much everyone in the world) have the opportunity to come together and listen to inspiring and comforting words. Where exactly do we hear these inspiring words? I'm glad you asked. It's called General Conference. Twice a year the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a conference that is broadcasted all over the world. The conference consists of four sessions, two on Saturday and two on Sunday, where Apostles of the Lord and other leaders in the church share inspiring messages and insights. They pray long and hard to know what to speak about for this conference and prepare to share their message with all of the world. It's this wonderful opportunity we've been given to listen to people who have been inspired by God (which is a really amazing thing).
Often times when listening to these talks I think "hey, that was totally for me" or "wow, I really needed to hear that." The beauty of General Conference is that it can apply to anyone. Male or female, young or old, member or non-member. Everyone can be inspired by listening to the words spoken at conference. And really, who doesn't like to listen to inspiring words that create good feelings?
I know that God has restored His gospel again on this Earth today and that He calls prophets in our day and age to help guide us. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet who receives revelation from God and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to hear him and other Apostles and authorities speak this coming weekend.
So yeah, get ready to be inspired and uplifted by General Conference. Come listen to a prophet's voice. Come and see just how powerful and wonderful God's love is for each and every one of us.

"Regardless of your circumstances, your personal history, or the strength of your testimony, there is room for you in this Church." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 

Happiness is Now

I have this problem. I like to daydream and constantly imagine what the future is going to be like. Like when I'm running, I like to think about how awesome I'm going to feel after and how much more awesome that chocolate cake is going to taste (so maybe not the best thing to be thinking of). For me, looking to the future is a great source of inspiration. But as I've been going through the past few weeks I've also noticed that it's become a hindrance as well.
I find myself sometimes thinking "I'll be happy when this happens" or "I'll be happy when that happens." I keep waiting and waiting to be happy, not even realizing that I can have happiness right now. Right in this moment.
We can have happiness now.
Who says that we have to wait for it to come? Who says that we can't be happy in the moment? If we keep waiting for the future to bring us happiness it will never come. I've experienced this. As soon as "this" or "that" happen, we find another reason to wait for happiness because surely, we could be a lot happier than we feel.
I'm working on looking at happiness as a choice. It is a choice. There aren't many things we can control in the world. We can't control when the rain is going to stop or when we're going to get a promotion or when a loved one leaves this earth. Things just happen. Life happens. We can't let it pass us by as we wait for some fantasized happiness that exists in the future. We need to choose to be happy right now, in this very moment.
Put a smile on your face. Sing a happy song. Eat a piece of chocolate. Make the future now and enjoy being happy. I know that as we do this our trials will become more bearable. We will be able to recognize the countless blessings that Heavenly Father has given to us and enjoy the small and simple things in life.

"The path toward fulfilling our divine destiny as sons and daughters of God is an eternal one. My dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, we must begin to walk that eternal path today; we cannot take for granted one single day." Dieter F. Uchtdorf