Mission Prep Class HW: E-mail from Bro Lynes

this is the e-mail brother lynes sent us to prepare for mission prep on tuesday! :




Hello Everyone,
 
I trust you've all had a fabulous week.  I would like each of you to come to class prepared to share answers to the following questions:
 
1.  Why is knowing that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us so important?
2.  What are some ways you can know someone really understands/believes that Heavenly Father has a plan?
3.  When did you gain a testimony that your Heavenly Father has a plan for you?
4.  Why is having a Prophet on earth so important?
        - I would also like you to come with an analogy of why a prophet is so important.
5.  When did you gain a testimony of prophets being on the earth in your day?
 
Have a great Monday!!
 
Bro. Lynes

News & Updates From Sunday The 31st

Hey everyone i hope you had a great Sunday, I know i felt the spirit so strong today, and i hope everyone else was feeling it strong too (:

from what I'm seeing and hearing we have lots of awesome activities and things coming up to get excited about !! alright well on with it then, the events coming up:

• FHE TOMORROW @ 7:30 !! everyone come its always fun, you'll have a good time! PROMISE(:
• Institute on Tuesday at 7:00 in the Relief Society room!
• MISSION PREP CLASS (I favorably capitalized this cause i go to it, don't let it take away from how awesome Institute is with Brother Austin!) ALSO at 7:00 on Tuesday, anyone of mission age or just trying to be a better Everyday missionary should come (:!! and do the HW: chapters 6 and 7 and make a lesson plan for each of the principals in Lesson 1 of preach my Gospel, Brother Lynes will be having anyone randomly teach a principal at the beginning of class !
• SATURDAY, AUGUST 6TH.....sooo THIS Saturday, our wonderful Missionaries (Wayne, Ang, and Hammer) have put together a BBQ that everyone should come to, AND bring your friends, this after all is a missionary opportunity , there will be food, a movie, and a chance to mingle w/ the broskii's (missionaries.) try and bring a friend so you can have fun and share the Gospel !
• there will be a RELIEF SOCIETY ACTIVITY on August 12th at the Sears home! I believe it is a movie night, this is a fun activity that has been really great in the past, Starts at 7, I'm not sure about all the details BUT i will get back to you on this when i know them all!
• on AUGUST 20TH there will be a fun MULTI-WARD BEACH ACTIVITY, who doesn't love a beach day right?! fun in the sun :p I'm not all too sure about the Whereabouts, but like i said before once i have them you better expect another post about it!
• TEMPLE TRIP AUGUST 25TH!!!! comeeeeeee partake of the blessing of the temple, you wont regret it!

anyhow thats all that i have as of now, ill get back to you with details and such at a later (hopefully not too much later) date!

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR!(:

Spiritual Thought: Trials Will Come & Your Faith Will Be Questioned

Recently I have been reminiscing on the past and the trials that have gotten the best of me, and I've also been looking at others who have let themselves become powerless to their trials. Trials are amazing things, in that they bring us closer to our faith in God and the Savior, but sometimes we don't fully see our trials for what they are when we are in the brunt of the brewing storm which is life. You will struggle and you will have pain and you will have trouble recognizing your problems as the potential blessing that they are!

I have been reading The Work and The Glory books as of recently, and let me tell you they are life changing books, and I have only just begun them. Today (Just 30 minutes ago actually) I was reading and it was about how all the Mormons wanted to do was  hold Baptisms for people who wanted to join the church and have their normal Sabbath meetings, but the people from town were so determined to harass them and stop them from doing just those things. the people of town accused Joseph of crimes and he was taken to court twice within two days, and the trials were long and trying on everyone, especially Joseph, but in the end Joseph was let off without any charges against him, and as him, Nathan Steed, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and Newel Knight trekked home after days of sleeplessness and stress Nathan broke down, he couldn't believe all of these things were happening and why the Lord wasn't intervening and helping through all of their troubles, he didn't understand how God could let this happen to them, his final question was "Why Joseph? why doesn't God intervene in your behalf?" and Joseph was taken aback at first by all the words Nathan had said, but his answer to all of the things which Nathan had said really resonated in me, insomuch that I felt that it was something everyone should, and needed to hear, Joseph replied with the following words: "I don't have all the answers, Nathan. And believe me, I've asked myself those questions many times, but whenever i get to feeling real down about these kinds of things, I remembered the Savior's counsel to his Apostles the night before his death. He warned them of the coming trouble. He spoke not only of his own death, but of the future when they would face similar trials, 'If the world hates you,' the Savior told them, 'don't be surprised, for it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you. But you are not of the world. You have been chosen out of the world, and so the world hates you too.' Then he finished saying, 'In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

These things that were written were really amazing to me, because it really tells you exactly how you should view your trials. For Nathan these words really effected him also, he knew that he had stopped thinking of the Savior altogether because he was so caught up in his own troubles and weariness! He realized where his thoughts and priorities should lie in his times of need.

In our hours of need you must try and make a conscience effort to direct your thoughts to the Savior, he will help you get through your hard times. coping with stress, death, sickness, or any manner of pain you may feel will never be particularly easy, physically emotionally or spiritually, but the Savior can help ease that pain. The one thing I always try to remember when I am struggling is the fact that God will never give us anything we cannot handle, I try and tell myself this time and time again and it seems to ease my mind.

The mind set that we get stuck in, of "I can't deal with this, I don't know how this will ever get easy," is the strongest signals of a Malevolent influence in your life (Satan in simple terms.) He wants you to think things will never get better, but you can't give into that feeling because things will ALWAYS get better if you let yourself believe they will, a good mindset coupled with prayer and the Saviors love in your life can get you through anything!

I've been in down this road a million times and it is never easy, but give yourself to fervent prayer and think oft of the Savior & Heavenly Fathers love for you and I promise your trouble will feel lighter and your future will look brighter (had to put the little rhyme in there :p) NOTHING is impossible to over come.

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR (:

DANCE TOMORROW!

The Franklin YSA were nice enough to invite us to their dance, so everybody put on your best dancing clothes (whatever that is for you) and get ready to have a great night, I know I'm about to dance the night away (:

In case you don't have the address (I know i didn't until earlier today) here it is:

FRANKLIN CHAPEL
91 JORDAN RD.
FRANKLIN, MA


better see all your lovely faces! lets make this a fun & spiritual weekend! its from 7:00-11:30 (almost forgot to add that valuable bit of information)

                                  REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR(:

Homework & Upcoming Events !

HEY EVERYONE(:

so Mission Prep last night (technically) was an amazing class, Brother Doubleday gave a great lesson! I know we all felt the spirit very strong& felt like missionaries! We do have HW, I'm sure you all wrote it down, but i figure in case someone loses it or forget or your someone who hasn't come to class yet/today i could reiterate it for you all (:

NEXT CLASSES HW:

• Read the next two lessons in the book (Missionary Preparation Student Manual.) Those chapters are:  Six, We Learn To Teach "by sprirt and by faith," Part 2, and Seven, Heavenly Fathers Plan !
• Second read your scriptures! (this should come as no surprise to anyone!!)
• Lastly, prepare a lesson plan for ALL of the principles in LESSON 1 (The Restoration) in PMG, because next week Derek is going to have Brother Lynes call on more or maybe more of us as the beginning of class to teach us one of the principles of forgiveness, so better prepare for all because it could be any one of them(:

MISSIONARY PREP CLASS IS AMAZING, COME!!!!!

events coming up that I am aware of:

• Dance in Franklin on Saturday July 30th from 7:00-11:30 , should be fun! 
• our ward Missionaries (Hammer, Ang, and Wayne) are putting togethe a BQQ& Movie night on August 6th that they want us all to attend, and we should because it is a great missionary opportunity, BRING A FRIEND!!

alright thats all i have for you right now, anyone has anything to add my E-mail is on one of the the post and my facebook is wide open for suggestions &updates i may have missed!

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR(:

BBQ Presented By Elder Wayne, Hammer, and Ang !

So I told the Elders I would post this up here for them so we can get tons of people to come, BUT I am realizing that the flyer is harder to read at the size its at soooooo what is says for those who cannot read it:

"BBQ & MOVIE NIGHT!

where: Lowell Chapel (421 Princeton Blvd)

When: August 6th, 2011

Time: 5:00-9:00 pm

TELL EVERYONE!!

Friends, family, co-workers, or friends!!

we will be showing Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. this is a great opportunity to invite your friends to have a good spiritual experience in a casual environment.

Beginning at 5:00 we will be having a BBQ at the chapel. Food will be provided, but drinks, chips and desserts will be up to you to bring for us to share.

The movie will begin at 6:00 in the chapel and afterwards there will be an opportunity to chat with the missionaries. The gym will also be open for sports and the relief society room will be available for playing board games. 

This is going to be a great activity and we are excited to see you there!

note: Board games will NOT be provided, so if you want to play them, you need to bring them!

OH YEAH, AND DON'T FORGET TO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS! "

*message from me: EVERYONE BETTER COME! this is going to be a great time, and aren't we always talking about missionary opportunities?! well this is the PERFECT one! bring your friends and  lets have a great time with our awesome missionaries who are putting this together (:

Spiritual Thought: Don't Let Guilt Hold You Back.

Guilt is probably one of the biggest things that can uproot someone's faith. I've seen it a lot and sadly I've allowed it to take me as a victim once or twice. I'll tell you from experience guilt is one of the hardest things to get past. you'll tell yourself a million times "ugh I'm so embarrassed, I can't even face them" or "How could I ever redeem myself from this?" or especially "I could never possibly be forgiven for this!" but every single thought right there is so obviously the wrong thought process to have, because these are the exact thoughts that lead people to fall away from the church time and time again, just ask the veteran of this (me) emotionally draining routine!

No one will ever judge you of what you have done! I PROMISE YOU THAT, but you just have to be willing to set your pride aside and allow someone to help you out of the mess of emotions your feeling. Once you get the guilt off your chest you will feel so much lighter and happier!

Satan wants you to feel guilty, you have to realize that the thoughts of guilt you are having are in no way from God, he does not want you to ever feel that way, he want you to be sorry, but never guilty to the point of embarrassment or hurt, he wants you to know you have done something wrong and feel sorry for that but never to any extreme extent.  Realizing that Satan is the mastermind behind the feelings you are having is the first step to being able to get over that.

There are so many reasons for people to feel guilty that i don't even know where I should begin with giving you an example, but I think I have a story from my own life that might suffice for this topic. Promise you won't judge me I was going through a rough patch:

Graduation night, yup you can probably guess what that means: parties galore and bad situations up the wazoo. one of my friends was having a party (obviously you can guess what that entails, Word of Wisdom to put it nicely.) So I was already uneasy, because I really was striving to be a better church member, and I was retaking the missionary lessons, so I was dead set on not doing anything to hinder that, but peer pressure got the best of me and i gave in, i wasn't in my right mind that night, but I knew that i was absolutely going to church the next day and that it was ABSOLUTELY the LAST time, so to quicken along the story, everybody was loud and rowdy outside which never seems to end well, but next thing I know the police are there and it hit me right then and there, if it wasn't for my intentions to go to church and never break word of wisdom again, The police coming was a sign to me that if i didn't correct my life I was going to ultimately end up the exact person i promised myself I was never going to be, I probably could have acted much more admirably in this situation, but I ran home as fast as I could, Probably should have stayed and taken my punishment, but I was scared and didn't want to miss church,wow I guess i quickened that story along a lot it seemed much lengthier in my mind. So back to the point, If i had let Satan get a hold of me after this incident I would have ended up back where i started before I was retaking the Missionary lessons, Lost, hurting and without Hope, but I allowed myself to swallow my pride and admit to my mistake! I went to the bishop and told him what I had done, and I let loved ones I would have normally have tried to hide it from know what had happened.

You see I've gone through this routine of doing something stupid then falling away many times, but I didn't let it happen this time. Guilt can ruin lives, you really have to stop thinking about your own embarrassment and start thinking about The Savior!

The sort of guilt I'm thinking of right now is the type you have right before you are ready to go on your mission, what I always try to think about now every time I think to do something I might regret I think of other people and all the lives I'll touch when i go on a mission, that helps either stop from doing bad things or help get over the fear of unburdening them unto God or the Bishop.

Feel Sorry not Guilty.... they are absolutely two different things! Guilt hurts and makes us feel not worth it, feeling sorry makes you want to be better. So my advice is to pray for strength in tough situations, pray for forgiveness! (here comes the double negative,) but don't not pray(:

I know that prayer and thinking of others in the face of things that cause guilt can really make the process so much easier. you don't have to beat yourself up over your mistakes, not matter how big because you will always be forgiven & that is the thing you should always remember. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FORGIVEN. take that seed of yours and plant it deep, and when it grows into a tree don't let anything uproot your faith, because Satan will try with all his might, and if you let any vulnerabilities show (aka guilt) he will take advantage of that and its your job to be strong and not allow that to happen!

alright well that's my thought for you guys.....remember..... REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR(:

Activity: Clambake 2011

sorry everyone, i have been meaning to write about the clambake since it happened but my procrastination kicked in. The clambake was quite the event, what more could we have asked for, beautiful weather, breathtaking scenery, good friends, and well-prepared food as the product of time and hardwork, so i asked before what more could we have asked for? and i feel that the answer is pretty obvious, we couldn't have asked for more, it was a perfectly put together activity.

 Not a lot of people were there when we first go there just Chris and I and a few of the Good fellows who were putting the event together (great job by the way boys!) When we arrived everything was in the process of getting ready. Will sent Chris and I on an interesting little mission to pick seaweed, something I wasn't so eager on, I mean frankly the stuff freaks me out but it turned out the be a fun venture, we picked two trashcans full & by the time we had finished many people had begun to arrive! when everyone had arrived there was a good 30 or so people who had come out to enjoy the sun & wonderful food & of course each others company!

When the process of getting the food cooked began, many gathered around to watch as the wood was taken out of the fire and the sea weed was layed down in its place, crates of food was piled down into the cooker then another layer of sea weed piled on top! definitely a method i had never seen, but once the food was covered all we could do was wait an hour and a half in anticipation of the beautiful meal to come!!

Once the wait was over, everyone grabbed a lobster, a cob of corn, and of course some clams, but of course not until we had blessed the food did we dig in. some of us tore into our food, other didn't quite know how to approach it! But it was amazing food with amazing friends, some had one plate others had many (some ate everyone elses food :p) but we were able to enjoy ourselves and each other. It truly was a wonderful day & if you havent attended one of the activities you should because you will have a great time.

anyways thats all i have for you for now! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR (:

Mission Prep Info & Homework for Next Week

HEY ALL!


brother Lyne's email he sent us after this weeks lesson said:
 
"This is just a reminder that next week's lesson will be from lessons 5 & 6 in the manual.  If you haven't received your manual yet you can find them online at 
 
http://lds.org/manual/institute?lang=eng
 
Remember to read and search for guidance from the Holy Ghost.
 
Have a great week!!
 
Bro. Lynes"


SOOO GET ON YOUR HW or ORDER YOUR BOOKS!! & if you have not attended a class yet you are absolutely missing out!! the spirit is so amazing, and you will learn so much from the instructors & your fellow classmates, i know that i have learned so much already! please come every Tuesday @ 7! you wont regret it(:


REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR!!

Activity: Palmyra Trip 2011

So this years Palmyra trip was quite frankly mind blowing, as always it is! About 15 of us made the grueling 6 hour drive, but in the end it was worth it. My group didn't end up going for the Friday night Session of the Hill Cumorah Pageant like everyone else, but I am sure we all had all of the same amazing experiences while there! My group arrived at 2:00am Friday night and sadly didn't get to hang out with the rest of our group that night, but in the morning we all woke up together and enjoyed some much needed breakfast (muffins &orange juice.) everyone was out of there very early in the morning, and didn't get to spend much time together as a ward, but like I said, we all took part in a spiritual feast that is Palmyra, maybe not together, but I know we all had an amazing time none-the-less (:

Where to start? well I guess first on the list to talk about is the Hill Cumorah itself! to many not of our faith it seems just a very steep hill, but to us, it is a landmark of immense significance! This is the place where Moroni burried the plates that Mormon abridged from the writings of the Prophets of old (Lehi, Nephi, Abinidi, Alma,   Samuel the Lamanite, Nephi the Disciple, Moroni, Mormon, and many others, those are the ones off the top of my head.) These plates were hidden from the world until it was the be ready for the Gsopel once again, and that day came when Joseph Smith was commanded of God to translate these plates & bring the Gospel back into this world, and the Hill Cumorah is where he found these plates by the guidance of the Angel Moroni. the Hill Cumorah is an amazing site to see and it makes an amazing stage for the Pageant. if we are talking about the amazing experience at the Hill Cumorah we cannot forget the welcome center right next to it. The Hill Cumorah welcome center is a good way to start your experience on the hill (though we did it after), The Christus Statue is beautiful and the dialogue makes for a wonderful spiritual experience, then moving on to the Restoration film, though many of us have seen this video a million times it couldn't have been more spiritual than it was in that theater on the sacred Hill Cumorah grounds!

The Restoration film is a great way to lead into going to the Sacred Grove & the Smith family farm! Our group, I'm not sure about all of the others, went and viewed the houses and grounds of the farm first before we entered the Sacred Grove, My favorite building is the home the family moved to in Manchester NY where the plates were translated by Joseph Smith, It's very humbling to stand in a place where the Gospel's restoration began its first steps of life! After this we headed in to the Grove, and what a magical (by magical I mean Spiritual) place it is!

The Sacred Grove is the place where God the Father & his Son Jesus Christ visited Joseph Smith while he asked to know which of all the religions contending around him was the true church, and God&Jesus gave him his answer that none of them were. and later was visited in prayer & told he was to restore the true church on this earth! He and Oliver Cowdery were ordained in this Grove also by apostles Peter, James, and John. All of these events make this place have an obviously spirit about it, anyone can tell you that these aren't any ordinary woods, they are special, you can feel God's presence in this Grove so strong. I know that all of us who went to Palmyra, and everyone who has been here feel such a comfort & spirit here like none other. & it was an amazing experience this weekend.
The Book of Mormon Printing Press store is always a very great experience, gives us incite on the hard work it took to bring into the world the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. Today it is much easier to put together copies of our scriptures, but we must pay tribute and thanks to all those who showed such great faith to do such tedious work to make the Restoration of our Gospel so successful.

Finally we made it to the much anticipated Hill Cumorah Pageant! Its so fun to walk around and talk to all the actors & actresses that have worked hard for weeks to make such a huge event so successful & they truly make the Book of Mormon come to life right before our eyes! The characters are so lively and excited about the work they are doing & it makes that pageant even more enjoyable having been able to see the excitement of the actors & actresses before hand. the pageant really is so spiritual & there is nothing quite like it. It is a beautiful thing& you can feel the spirit so strong in every scene! Truly an amazing experience!

The Pageant, Sacred Grove, Smith Family farm, Hill Cumorah, and anything else people went to see were all the ingredients to a delicious spiritual feast, and quite the way to lead to another amazing Sunday ! thank you everyone who came!! This was a great YSA activity & I'm glad we were all able to partake!

Missionary Prep Class Syllabus

Hey, everyone taking mission prep on Tuesdays @ 7, I am sure you all got the email that Brother Lynes (spelled it wrong in the last post, silly me) He sent us all an e-mail outlining everything we are going to learn in class, but in case you lose track of it somewhere along the lines & need to take a peek at what is going on I figured it couldnt hurt to post it up on here for easy access (:

To order you manuals just go to www.ldsces.org

Go to the new site

At the bottom click on the institute website

Click on Courses and Manuals

Click on Mission Preparation

At the bottom of that page you will have three choices:

                Read, Download, or Buy—you should follow the instructions to BUY the manual then Download it on to your computer so that you can study it for class while you wait for your personal copy to arrive.

July 12 - Reading:  Chapter 1 "Called to Serve"  & Chapter 2 " Personal Worthiness"
             Assignment:  Start Study Journal

July 19 - Reading:  Chapter 3 "The Companionship of the Holy Ghost" & Chapter 4 "Teaching by the Spirit"

July 26 - Reading:  Chapter 5 & Chapter 6 We Lean to Teach "by Study and Also by Faith" Part 1 & Part 2

Aug. 2 - Reading:  Chapter 7 "Heavenly Father's Plan & Chapter 8 "Prophets and Apostasy"

Aug. 9 - Reading:   Chapter 9 "The Restoration and the Coming Forth of the New Scripture & Chapter 10 "Faith and Conversion"

Aug. 16 - Reading:  Chapter 11 "Physical and Emotional Preparation" & Chapter 12 "Using Time Wisely to Bring People to Christ"

Aug. 23 - Reading:  Chapter 13 "Preparing Investigators for Baptism and Confirmation" & Chapter 14 " Christlike Attributes"

Aug. 30 - Reading:    Catch up week

BETTER SEEN EVERYONE FROM LAST WEEK & HOPEFULLY MORE TOMORROW!!

Week of July 10th Announcements

hey everyone, this weekend was an amazing trip to Palmyra, once I have a collection of pictures from some of you I'll write up a little something on the experience that we had & the sites we saw!

Church today was awesome, had three amazing speakers (Thompson, Taylor, and Jennifer.) thanks for your talks you three, they were all really great and I'm sure everyone got a lot out of them!

Now, TIME FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

- FHE will be held at the Lowell chapel at 7:30, please everyone try and come because it's fun as it is, but it would be so much more fun if we got to see more of everyone's beautiful faces! and I promise you will get a lot out of it, FHE is always great!

- Institute will be held 7:00 on Tuesday! On the program it says Institute reading: Talks from May 2011 Ensign; President Monson. So read & go to institute, the teacher is fantastic!

- And can't forget, EVERYONE OF MISSION AGE, or just interested, there is also a mission preparation class taught on Tuesday at 7:00, trust me this class is awesome, brother Doubleday& brother lines are very good& if your planning on going on a mission I'm positive you will get something out of this class, COME!

-Endowment trip 9:00 on Saturday!

-CLAMBAKE! alright so we have rescheduled this for this Saturday (July 16th)  there will be a carpool from Lowell & one from Nashua also, they will both be leaving at 12:00pm so if you need a ride be there promptly,  there will be lots of things to do, so please come have fun & enjoy everyone's company! here is the Facebook event link for address information and such: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135593793183871 .

-And lastly there will be a dance in Franklin on July 30th that HP has been invited to attend, should be fun, so everyone get to Franklin & dance the night away, it'll be from 7-11

HAVE A GREAT WEEK(: remember who you are and what you stand for!

Spiritual Thought: You Are Loved For Everything You Are.

Temptations & Influences sneak into our lives so easily without our recognition. Depending upon the confidence we have in ourselves and our beliefs temptations are either very easy or very difficult to resist & recognize! I know that it is so absolutely important for us to develop of love for ourselves as well as a love for God.

Why is it important to develop a love for yourself? well it is extremely important because loving yourself allows you to be more convicted in every decision you make, whereas if you aren't sure of yourself you will constantly be questioning everything you do & every thought that arises. It may not be easy to instill confidence in every aspect of your life all at once, but deep rooting confidence in certain aspects of your life can help you to achieve such a difficult feat in a reasonable amount of time! 

It is hard for you to fully love our God if you aren't able to have some particle of love for yourself! when we find our confidence in God and not in a shallow pool of our own abilities and accomplishments we are able to truly allow that love for ourselves to grow from a still small seed into a monumental tree that is the epitome of the word grandeur. It may not be easy to fully invest yourself in God's love but with his help you can grow into feeling those things for yourself and God!

If we can find the truth of the gospel, we can do anything we set out to do, in righteousness of course! The truth of the gospel, this may sound cheesy, will truly set you free. The gospel of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will allow you to find meaning for your life & bring happiness in the highest degree, of course this is my opinion so you may agree or disagree!

My biggest struggle, and I don't mean to take away from the fact that this is absolutely for YOU, but i struggled the most with staying in the church. I became baptized then fell away, came back, then fell away, and this had become a cycle for a good amount of time. My church beliefs were very wish washy to put it lightly, but I arrived at a place that I like to call rock bottom and God sent me a huge sign in the form of two young men specifically sent for me, I know that they were sent to me because one baptized me almost two years previously, and the other was very clearly someone that was someone that could effect my life in a great way, and I can't rightly explain it, but we discussed things for a good couple of weeks, and came to the conclusion that i did not have a testimony anywhere near strong enough, but they were truly inspired men of the Lord and knew exactly what I needed to hear and do that would strengthen me to where I needed to be, and gratefully so, they did exactly that & they will always be two of the people I thank the most, they will always be MY missionaries, even if they are off their missions & married, etc, wherever life may take them I will never stop thanking God for the things the brought to my life, They have truly changed my life. I realize I may not fully love myself, nor will that come easily, but the confidence I have developed in my God has instilled a growing confidence in myself that I will continually nourish throughout the course of life.

My love for this gospel started only as a seed and grew to more than I could ever possibly imagine, a full fledged Willow tree i guess you could say (see i can make these a little humorous here and there :p) but what I'm trying to make perfectly clear to you is that God created you for a specific reason, and he loves you.God wants nothing more than to see you succeed, because you are a beautiful & amazing son or daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. I know that this is true because I, as of recent events, have seen his hand in my life in extreme ways, If you had asked me maybe a month and a half to two months ago how I felt I would expect it would have been nothing along the lines of what I am trying to convey to you right now. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO A BEAUTIFUL LIFE, God will give you these things if you allow him to.

Updates !

hey everyone! I hope you are all feeling as great as I do!!

So i attended Mission Prep today at the Lowell chapel & I recommend it to everyone even if you aren't planning to go on a mission! Like i previously have said WE ARE ALL MISSIONARIES! (:

There is a a great guide for this class (besides Preach my Gospel of course!) this link will take you to where you can order yourself a copy of the book (only $2.00) :

http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21130_-1__195645
& if you don't want to buy one I'm sure someone may be willing to share!!

In other news:
Danielle Knowles has a lovely ward choir, they practice every Sunday at 12:00pm before church meetings commence! There will be a performance in 2 weeks & she asks that any and all voices come unto her choir &   help her to make it a beautiful & harmonious performance! I think that everyone should come & join, music is such a strong bringer of the spirit, and who doesn't love having the spirit around?!

Well I'm sure I will probably post a couple more things this week, because I am enjoying this whole blogging thing(: BUT if it so happens I do not post again this week, I will see all of your lovely faces either at on the Palmyra trip or on Sunday & have a great week. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR ! (:

READ MORONI 10 (: (just a thought.)

Suggestions & Such.

hey all, I posted something along the same lineS on the official heritage park group on Facebook but I just wanted to put it out there, that yes I did create this blog BUT it is for OUR ward & if anyone has any announcementS, activities or events that they want people to attend or know about that you can shoot me an E-mail:

-willowwonka1492@aol.com

 or send me a message on Facebook & i will include things from anyone, this is for everyone, just because I update it doesn't mean you all cant be involved in the things that get posted! (:

Spiritual Thought: Forgiveness.

The past can hold us back, but so can our reactions to situations & habits we can't seem to quit. I may not be a prophet, but I had a feeling this is a topic that most people could use some help on at this moment in time.

harboring bad feelings, anger & hurt inside yourself can be your worst enemy. The only person those feelings hurt is yourself! Once we realize this, that's the first step to letting go &being happier.

Recently i retook the missionary lessons and the best lesson we had was the one on forgiveness, I remember Elder Haslam saying something along the lines of, the past only holds you back from going forward,once you let that go there is nothing stopping you from progressing, probably some of the best advice that someone can give & i thank God every time I kneel down to pray for that & many other things him and Elder Henson taught me.

Learning to LET GO is the biggest thing, if you cannot let go, forgiveness becomes impossible. I think maybe the best question to ask yourself when you think hateful things & harbor anger is "why exactly am i angry & how is being angry benefiting my life?" And I am positive your answer for that will be that it does not. Once you have done that the next best thing you can do is empathize with whoever it is that has done you wrong, maybe they said the things they did because of circumstance, and looking at it like that will always make it easier to forgive. Next, Look at how much happier you have felt when loved ones have forgiven you of something, looking at your own faults& mistakes can be more painful, but they help you learn how burdens can hurt you. Forgiving can be easier than forgetting, but letting go of grudges & burdens can give you all the necessary tools to move on. The easiest way of accomplishing these things is through PRAYER, yes the cliche  solution, but it is the most effective. Talking to God and asking specifically for him to help you forgive someone gives you the extra push & guidance you need to actually begin to do it.

Once you have let go of all your hate & burdens, the most important thing you need to do is FORGIVE YOURSELF. I know that this is a necessary step because being angry with yourself & hating yourself is something that can hold you back the most in your life & especially in the church.

The reason I am bringing this topic up at all is because recently I have seen this issue of Forgiveness tear people away from the church & wreck all ambition to progress in many people. Our church stresses the need to progress, and i know that we can't do this unless we have gone to God in mighty prayer & asked for his help in such endeavors. I am going to say the most cliche thing right now, but you need to read your scriptures, pray, and go to church regularly and forgiving will come easier to you, with the Guidance of the Holy Ghost and real intent we can do anything we set out to do in righteousness.

Let me do something i don't do very often to end this post, give you my testimony. I know that forgiveness is a necessary thing in all of our lives, whether it's ourselves other people we need to forgive it will hold us back from reaching all the potential we know that we can achieve. Forgiveness will make you happier, I have recently gone to God in mighty prayer and he has lightened my burdens, and made it possible to forgive many people who have hindered the progress in my life. I am happier because of the Burdens I have handed over to  my heavenly father, I know that you can have this too if you are willing to go to God, because he loves us all & will help us with all of our troubles. Forgiveness is an amazing feeling, and i hope you can feel the blessings that come from it. I love you all.

Misson Prep Class

hey everyone, so I got all the information on the Mission Prep class! starts tomorrow (July 5th.) at the Lowell Chapel taught be two amazing teachers, our own Derek Doubleday (whom i know everyone will love to learn from) & another awesome teacher that I regretfully don't know the name of (but everyone loves surprises right?!)

WELL ANYWAYS.... COME TO MISSION PREP, I can't tell you enough how important missionary work is, whether your planning to go on a mission or not we are all missionary's in some way or another, so it can't help to educate ourselves a little bit can it?!

This is a Stake wide class & any neighboring towns, anyone who is interested please come!! you'll love it I promise (and if you don't money back guaruntee) lol jk! but seriously come on down

EVERY TUESDAY AT 7:00, LOWELL MASS. CHAPEL

Announcements

Usually we all get programs in church that tell us the upcoming events/ cancellations/ anything going on but if you did not receive a program at church let me just fill you in on those things:

-Institute 7:00 (Tuesday.)
-Baptism Temple Trip 6:30 (Thursday.)
-Palmyra Trip July  8th-9th  (Friday& Saturday.)
-Endowment Trip 9:00, July 16th (Saturday.)
-Clam Bake, July 16th (Saturday.)
-STAKE PIONEER DAY CANCELLED
-DANCE 7:00-11:00 in Franklin, July 30th
-Temple Conference, September 9th & 10th

other programs held at the church:

*ARP (Addiction Recovery Program.) Wednesday's at 7:00 at the Nashua Stake Center & Thursday's at 7:00 in the Lowell Chapel. Looking for that change in your life?! well this is the place for you to be, Don't be ashamed, NO JUDGEMENT!

*Mission Prep Class will now be held at the Lowell Chapel for anyone within the ages of being able to go on a Mission (or maybe if your just interested.) taught by two awesome instructors, every Tuesday or Thursday at 7:00 I'll check on the correct day of the week and let everyone know BUT ATTEND THIS CLASS!! going to be amazing I promise!

Alrighty well that seems to be all i have for you. yet again, have a wonderful fourth.

Palmyra Here We Come!

yuppp! thats right,

WE ARE HEADED TO PALMYRA NY THIS WEEKEND!!! 

How excited is everyone?! because I know I am excited! what could be better then spending a weekend with our amazing church friends enjoying the presence of the Holy Ghost at every turn?! NOTHING! (:

I am sure everyone knows the plan already for who they are going with& what their camping arrangement are, but if not you should get on that THIS WEEK, give Brother Sears a call or someone on the Elders Quorum or Relief Society presidency's  & I'm sure they can point you in the right Direction! so get excited! the pageant is amazing, the sacred grove is beautifully spiritual, Joesph Smiths farm is always fun, historical sites all over town are enriching & visiting the Palmyra Temple is always a rewarding venture. 

get ready for a great weekend everyone & have a good fourth of July(: byeee