Day One of Student Teaching: Culture Shock!

What a day!! I got up early enough that I could be at the school by 6:30 am; yes, by my own will! I went early enough so I could practice singing because I haven't done it for quite some time! Eric, the band teacher, told me I was sounding really good! It was really sweet of him to say!

I then got to go help with registration at 7:00 and that was kind of fun! It was hard to hear the students say their last name so I had to keep asking them what it was . . . it made me feel really old! I experienced quite a bit of culture shock as well! The dress standards of these students is so different than anything I'm use to! Even in my high school, I feel like the "short-shorts" weren't as short as the ones these young ladies were wearing! Some of the t-shirts that the young men were wearing were completely inappropriate, and it was just a huge culture shock!

It also amazes me how open some of the students are about their personal lives! There were several shocking things that I learned, and it seriously blew my mind! As naive as this sounds, I had no idea that teen pregnancies were real! I've heard statistics, I have read stories, but it never really connected with me! And yet, as uncomfortable as I felt being pushed out of my comfort-zone it made me love and appreciate the students more. They are so different from me in beliefs and knowledge; I'm not just talking about secular knowledge like music, but spiritual knowledge! I have so many things that I can offer them, most importantly knowledge of who they can become!

Now, don't get me wrong. This isn't me preparing on giving them a sermon about who they are and who they can become. As a public school teacher, I'm not allowed to do that! :) But, by how I treat them and talk about them (whether they are there or not) I am showing them their potential! I am showing them how much I care and love them! I am showing them that they are important to me and that I am willing to serve them in any way possible! I don't think I've ever been so scared to be in such a different place before in my life (there's a gym that is part of our complex and I don't even feel safe walking there in the dark by myself! In Rexburg, I would have had no problem. Here, I literally drive my car down one hundred yards so I can go to the gym!)! And yet I know that this is where God needs me. I'm meant to touch these student's lives and they are meant to touch mine.

My philosophy is that I am not the only teacher in my classroom. We are all teachers and we are all students! I look forward to being a student in these classes and learning from my students this year! It's going to be a good one!

Night on the Town!

Yesterday I received a post on my Facebook wall from my friend Lindy! She is one of my dear friends from Rexburg and she is in the area. I got so incredibly excited and we made plans to do something last night. She picked me up and we went out to eat at Red Robin. That place is so good! We split a Guacamole Bacon Burger and had these delicious drinks! I am not sure what it was called, but it was an amazing smoothie with a slice of pineapple on the side of the glass!

Then we ran to the fabric store Jo Ann's. Lindy was looking for some fabric to make her husband a pirate shirt for Halloween. While she did that Clara (Lindy's daughter) and I ran around the store and were playing games. I sincerely hope we didn't bother anybody, but I was having too much fun being chased, pretending we were animals, and just goofing off to really consider it in the moment.

After we finished at Jo Ann's we went to visit Lindy's sister, Jennifer. Her family is so sweet! I got Jennifer's phone number and she's become one of my "adopted mom's" while I'm here. Lindy also mentioned to me that she would be telling her Mom that I need to come up sometime and visit. I don't have a Mom, or even a motherly figure, close by so Lindy said, "I want to share mine with you!" It is so sweet of her to do that! We spoke with Jennifer and her daughters for a little while. One of them is in high school and said that she was going to stop by every now and then to say hi to me! I'm really excited, I already have a student who wants to do that! Jen's other daughter is in Middle School and said that I needed to talk Joie into bringing her second period choir over to the Middle school to perform. I told her I'd see what I could do!

That visit with Jennifer made me feel so much better about going into the high school. I was really scared and nervous about all of the high school students. I met a few the other day (all freshmen) that just seemed like they didn't care, nor were they in any hurry to change their attitude! And I thought, well if the freshmen are this way, what are the seniors going to be like? But, I'm receiving more peace and comfort from my Heavenly Father in small and simple ways; meeting Jennifer and her family was one of them! God knows me so well and I'm so grateful for His love and support and His willingness to help me through these new changes in my life!

What holds you back?

I had the blessed opportunity to participate with my mentor teacher, Mrs. Cariaga, in a Freshmen Boot Camp. Honestly, it was so much fun! I am feeling so blessed for the chance I have to work not only with these students, but also with the wonderful teachers here at this school! They are all so cool and truly treat me like an authority figure!

The Freshmen Boot Camp was like Get Connected on a much smaller scale. Instead of it being three days, it was about three and a half hours. We fed them, gave them a run down on what was happening, and then split them off into groups of fifteen to twenty students. In those groups they would travel to different stations and hear different talks given by some of the faculty. I, of course, was with Mrs. Cariaga. For the basis of her seminar she used the acronym S.O.S. which stands for "Starting Off Strong". She had the students listen to a TED talk by a man named Neil Pasricha. His talk is entitled The 3 A's of Awesome (I highly recommend listening to it). He started a blog called 1,000 Awesome Things. This story he shares in his TED talk is that he had (and does have) a really good life. However, in 2008 things started going south. Some big things in his life happened and he became kind of frustrated. So, instead of looking to the negative he started looking for the little things in life that are awesome! A few of the examples from the blog are: finding money you didn't know you had lost, sleeping in new bed sheets, illegal naps, rain hair, and so many others! These are all things that we take for granted every day! There is so much good in the world, but we don't see it because we decide to focus on the bad! Stop it!

Pasricha gives 3 A's of Awesome and they are: Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity. He speaks a little bit about all of them, but my favorite was when he talked about Authenticity. He shared the story of a 6' 5", 300 pound NFL player "Rosie" Greer. "Rosie" was part of the "Fearsome Foursome" and you did not want to go up against him in a game! However, he had another passion besides playing football; needlepoint! He didn't try to hide the fact either, he was very open about his love for needlepoint! Mrs. Cariaga's point with all of this is that we need to be confident with who we are. Just because we like something that our friends don't doesn't mean we need to hold back! You are wonderful just the way you are!

Mrs. Cariaga shared a quote by Denis Waitley that says: "It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you are not." I've been thinking a lot about that. This week one of my goals has been to get into the habit of going to the gym again. I decided I would start jogging again, but I would never call myself a jogger. Mrs. Cariaga and I were talking and she was talking about how she's training for a half marathon. I commented on how "I could never do that; I'm not a runner." This morning when I went to the gym there were some sisters there doing some form of aerobics (I saw them the other morning when I went to the gym as well). The first they said when they saw me was, "Look, it's the runner! How are you this morning?"

I spoke to them for a moment before I started my jog. As I started my warm-up I thought about the Waitley quote. Because I think I'm not a runner, I haven't really tried to do it. I didn't think I could run at all! So, I made a goal right then and there! I was going to run today; not jog, but run! I started getting excited and I could hardly wait! I did it! I ran and it felt amazing! I wish I had thanked the sisters for saying such a positive thing for me. It gave me the chance to really open my mind to another side of me that I can be, if I believe I can be.

It doesn't matter what aspect in our lives that we feel this, but we cannot let our "I'm not" thoughts hold us back! There's a difference between "I'm not good enough" and "I can do better". The first is hopeless; it is telling you something you are not. It's negative, and negative thoughts don't encourage action to move forward and change. "I can do better" is positive! It shows action and the desire to improve! That's what we want! I know that, in the past, I have said that I'm "not good enough at blank." But that just isn't true! I can improve and work in areas that I can do better in! There's always room for improvement, we just need to obtain the desire to do so.

Roaring Springs YSA Activity

Last night I went to my first Family Home Evening and it was a combined activity with all of the other stakes! It was held at a water park called Roaring Springs. They had water slides, a lazy river, volleyball (but that wasn't set up), and it was a lot of fun!

Map of Roaring Springs

My roommate, Shantell, and I weren't really in a social mood. So, we planned on going only for an hour, maybe an hour and a half (the activity was from 8-11pm) and then leaving. However, we decided to go on one of the most exciting slides I've ever been on! I think it was called The Pipeline. We got up there and we were both kind of nervous. Then we started to go down and that made me even more nervous! It was dark with only a few tiny dots of light every now and then. I had no idea where in the world we would be turning next or which way we would be turning! It was kind of scary; yet so energizing and riveting at the same time!

When we got out we had so much energy it was ridiculous! We then went in the lazy river and spent the rest of the time there. We just started talking about things and it was a lot of fun! We saw a couple of people from our Ward as well. There was one young man in particular, Addison, who made me laugh whenever I saw him. On Sunday I said "sorry" to him at least four times! It wasn't because I was doing anything wrong, it's because that's just what I say. Anyway, he saw me and I decided to be funny. I looked at him and just said, "Sorry!" We laughed and then went our ways. A few minutes later he came up and purposefully pushed through our little group. I knew exactly what he was looking for, so I laughed and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry Addison!" He just laughed and kept going. It was really quite fun!

Shantell and I ended up staying for the entire activity! Which ended up being just fine because I was the one who drove and my other two roommates, Leslie and Hannah, would have had to find another ride. We ended up being able to come back together, which was great! This activity really made me excited for more upcoming Single Adult activities! Like next week our ward if floating down a river, we're having a dance, and they just do so many fun things! I'm very excited!

L to R: Leslie, Shantell, and Hannah. About to enjoy Roaring Springs!

Shantell and I were really sad that there was no volleyball. :(

L to R: Shantell, Leslie, Me, Alisha (a fellow Student Teacher), and Hanah

This guy (Tanner)  sat like this for several seconds before Brady (one of the employees) took this picture. Both were really cool guys!

Officially in Nampa

I'm here! I'm currently in Nampa and I'm loving it! It's been such an incredible experience thus far and I haven't even started teaching yet! I have wonderful roommates who have a lot of the same goals that I do, so we're able to really help each other out!

I drove up here on Saturday and it was one of the longest drives of my life!! My goodness, I felt so bored even when I was singing at the top of my lungs! It was a sweet relief when I finally got here! I have my own room, which is kind of weird. Instead of having to be considerate of a roommate, I can turn the lights on, play whatever music I want, decorate the room how I want it, and so on. It's really quite different for me! I started off with my own room last semester, but then Amber moved in (which was a HUGE blessing for me) and we ended up sharing a room. There are only four of us here (and there's normally six) and three rooms. It's pretty fun!

My sleeping quarters until December!

Sunday was an interesting day! Not in a bad way, but in an . . . interesting way. I got up at about a quarter to eight and started getting ready. I was ready by nine o'clock! We were told that our meetings started at one o'clock! I started to get kind of bored and was kind of sad that I had to wait for a little while before I got to go to church! So, my roommates and I ended up talking about some gospel principles and doctrines before we left. We left at 12:30 and got there at about 12:50. It turns out that our Sacrament meeting started at 12:50 and our meetings in general start at 11:00! We missed Relief Society and Sunday School! We felt so funny! But it was all good. There was a Linger Longer after the meetings and we had the blessed opportunity to go! I tried splitting off from my roommates so that I could meet new people . . . and I met a lot of people! It was one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life! It really scares me to speak to people I don't know, but I did it! I met a large part of the ward and they all seem like crazy cool people!

And now, today. My roommates and I woke up at about seven o'clock this morning to go to the Fitness Center in our complex. It was really nice! We exercised for about forty-five minutes. It felt so nice! Then we came back up to our apartment and got ready for the day. We ended up running errands and then going to a meeting for our student teaching. It was great to see Joie Cariaga (my mentor teacher) again! She's so much fun to work with and I'm even more excited to work with her now! We ended up being the "problem children" in the classroom. Not that we were acting out or anything, but we were the ones who ended up being forgotten and we didn't have some of the papers that everybody else had so the teacher had to keep coming over and giving us stuff. It was really funny! I found out that I get to help out with a Freshmen Boot Camp that they are doing on Thursday! I'm really excited! I get to meet some of the students that I'll be working with along with a lot of other students! It's an all-day event so I'll be pretty tired by the end of it, I'm sure!

Tonight my roommates and I are going to an FHE activity for our ward. It's at a water park and we are getting in for free!!! I'm super excited! I love playing in water and having fun; and it'll be a good release after today!

I'm so excited for my life here in Nampa for the next couple of months! We'll see what exciting adventures are in store for me!

Priesthood and Heavenly Father

As part of my scripture study this morning I was drawn to Mormon Messages. I'm not sure why, but I was. I came across a video called Sanctify Yourselves. I had heard the story before in a religion class I had. Brother Doorman shared that story with us and then shared a follow-up story. One day when he was sharing that story in class (*note, this is not the class that I was in) one of the students raised his hand. Brother Doorman called on him and he said that that was his story; he was AJ Edwards! There were some details that he gave that weren't in Elder Holland's talk (pages 2-5). He mentioned the blessing that Bryce Reynolds gave him and then went on to say that when they were leaving the site they had to phone in the injuries that they could see. They did so an then flew from Inkom, Idaho to Salt Lake City, Utah. When they reached Primary Children's hospital the doctors started to observe him and see what they could do to help him heal. Most of the burns that he had had already begun to heal, some of them were even gone!

So, today I am thankful for the Priesthood on the earth today! I know that bad things happen to all of us, whether it's an illness, losing a family member or friend, or getting struck by lightning. Bad things happen to good people! However, with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we can be healed. One of the things that Elder Holland points out is that we may not be healed immediately; in fact, we might not be healed at all. Sometimes the Lord's will is that we return home to Him, sometimes it's that we endure a little while longer, sometimes His will is that we heal right then and there. But, no matter what it is, we must trust in the Lord. He can do all things!

I've been so blessed by having the Priesthood power in my family. I'm blessed to have my Father, older brother, and younger brother hold the Priesthood. I am blessed to have wonderful friends who remain clean so that they are worthy to use that Priesthood whenever they are called upon. Young men, you are so important and I thank you for being worthy to bless the sacrament each week! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to partake of the sacrament each week and renew my covenants with God! You are more important that you think you are! Thank you for remaining worthy!

Lastly, I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father! He is truly my Father! I love Him and I know that He loves me! He has blessed me with so many things: big and small! He knows me, He knows how to comfort me when I am scared or sad, He knows how to speak to me if I'm faltering. He loves me! Not only does He love me, but He loves you! You are His child! I apologize for being a little blunt here, but it doesn't matter what you believe; even if you don't believe in God, you are still His child! It is truth! The wonderful thing about truth is that, even if you don't believe it, it's still true! It doesn't change because of how many people believe it or not; it has always been and will always be true! God loves you no matter your race, social standing, hair color, religion, sins, etc. Nothing you do will ever change His love for you! I know that that is true! I love Him with all my heart and I'm striving to be better every day! I'm excited to see Him again and embrace Him!

A Spiritual Spa With Mercy River

I had the opportunity to go with my Mom to a Relief Society and Young Women activity for the Stake. The Stake had a wonderful trio come called Mercy River. They gave us a "Spiritual Spa"! It was amazing!!! I want to give you a taste of what they did for us tonight.

We begin our spa day with a massage. Did you know they didn't have massages in Book of Mormon times? She shared a scripture in Jacob 4:14 that says:
"But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble."
In our own lives we can have "stiff necks". We don't see things around us, it's kind of like wearing blinders. When we have stiff necks we are only able to see what's right in front of us; we can't see the good that is still around us always.
Hello Sunshine

Next is a trim. This is something that really jived with me. I love having a busy life, but I learned a lot listening to them. Something I learned about myself is that I have been defining myself by how busy I am. That isn't how God defines me, so why should I? I don't have to do everything. I need to learn to trim out the unnecessary things in my life. I don't have to be perfect, and neither do you! God loves us for who we are, which brings me to the next spa treatment.

After we get a trim we need to get a manicure. The sister who was speaking started off by saying: "When I was a little girl, I was fantastic!" She went on to talk about how when she was in Jr. High she saw that she wasn't dressed like everybody else and immediately felt out of place. She started adjusting herself so that she would fit in with the other girls. After a little while, she realized that she had lost that little girl she once was. I thought about it and I was exactly the same way! When I was a little girl I thought I was the cutest and coolest girl ever! As I started growing up and realizing that I was different from the other girls I began to try and change myself. Well, I began to realize that I couldn't change some thing immediately about myself, primarily my weight. I started feeling like I wasn't fantastic anymore and that I was less than everybody else.
Guess what, it simply isn't true! One of the things my Mom and I were talking about earlier is how I've really come to myself this last year. It took a lot of work to reclaim that lost little girl, but I've found her. I, once again, have confidence in myself. Not only that, but once I learned more about who I am I also learned more about who everybody else is! We are all beautiful and wonderful children of God. It doesn't matter your weight, height, race, hair color, eye color, or religious views you are a child of God! It is a universal truth! They then sang Beautiful For Me. I love the message that we weren't made to be beautiful for the world. God thinks we are beautiful, what else matters? I know it's hard to see that now, but in the end it doesn't matter what the world thinks. God is our creator and Heavenly Father. He thinks you are beautiful or handsome just how you are!

Next it's time for a facial. Apparently when you get a facial: "Sometimes the face gets worse before it gets better. It's so rude!" I've never had a facial, but this comment made me laugh! This one was all about trusting God. Have the faith that God can help you, because He can. But if He doesn't, it isn't because He can't. There is something to learn from our trials and tribulations. If we didn't have trials we wouldn't grow and progress. Life is going to get hard sometimes, and that's okay! With the "But if Not" they shared the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego had faith in God. They knew God would take care of them; but if not they knew things would work out for the better. Trust in the Lord and He will guide you. We go through difficult times, but we never do it alone!
Christ suffered for our sins, but He also suffered for our pains and afflictions. "The atonement is not insurance against pain; it is insurance in events of pain."
It Might Be Hope

Finally we'll get a wax.
Helaman 3:35: "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."
Now, "wax" in this scripture obviously isn't talking about spa waxing. But, to "wax" means to grow and increase gradually. To become the people that God knows we are capable of becoming will take time! They related it to making a candle. You have to dip the string in the wax, let it dry, dip it in, let it dry, etc. It could take several days. Be patient with yourself, it will come. But remember that it takes time. They shared a song and music video with us: With Him We Can

My favorite song they shared with us was called Blessings. These are the lyrics:

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?

And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?

This was one of the most inspiring Firesides I've ever been to. I know the thoughts are jumbled on here, but there was such a powerful blend in their program! Not only did their voices blend together beautifully, but their testimonies did as well. They were so powerful and strong and it was amazing!

Isaiah 43--I Am of Worth

Today in Relief Society my friend, Jennie, taught the lesson. She took us to Isaiah 43; when she was in Ogden she had an Institute teacher that told them to title this chapter "I Am of Worth". She went through several of the verses and pointed out what the Lord says about us:

Isaiah 43: 1--"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."

• "created thee"
• Moses 1:33--"And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten."
• "formed thee"
• Abraham 4:26-28--"And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.                                                                                                                                                               So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.                                                                                                                         And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
• "redeemed thee"
• 2 Nephi 2:26--"And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given."
• "called thee by thy name"
• JSH 1:17--"It no sooner appeared than I found myself  delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"
• "thou art mine"
• Moses 1:35--"But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them."

Isaiah 43:2--"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

• Protect us wherever we go
• protect: to cover or shield from exposure, injury, damage, or destruction; guard.

Isaiah 43: 3--"For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee."

• Hebrew or Greek words for Grace: favor, pleasure, thanks, graciousness, good will, etc.
• Parable of the bicycle

Isaiah 43:4--"Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life."

• "thou wast precious"
• Proverbs 3:15--"She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."
• "thou hast been honourable"
• consistent w/an untarnished reputation; characterized by integrity.
• "I have loved thee"
• "He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked."
• President Dieter F. Uchtdorf; The Love of God, October 2009
• "I give men for thee"
• Prophets, Saints, and Christ

Isaiah 43:5--"Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;"

• "gather thee"
• D&C 10:65--"For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;"

Isaiah 43:10--"Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

• "my witnesses"
• Greek definition=martyr
• "my servant"
• also means "minister"
• Mosiah 2:21-22--"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.                                                   And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do  keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."
• "I have chosen"
• one who is the object of choice or of divine favor: an elect person (D&C 25--Emma Smith)

Isaiah 43:25--"I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."

• We are forgiven
• Mormon Message--Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

As I listened to the lesson and heard these wonderful points I felt an overwhelming sense of love come over me. Satan has been working on me really hard lately, but from a completely different angle than he normally does. This helped me realize that the feelings I was feeling were not of God, He does love me, He is proud of me, and He wants me to be happy. A message that I took out of this lesson is that God will never make you feel worthless! Even whilst you are being chastened He always gives hope and love.

I bare testimony that God loves you! It doesn't matter who's reading this, God loves you! It doesn't matter what mistakes you have made in the past, what circumstances you come from, God loves you . . . perfectly! You are important to Him! One of my favorite quotes is by a man named Nick Vujicic, he said "It's a lie to think that you're not good enough. It's a lie to think that you're not worth anything." It's true! Satan would have you believe that you are not worth anything. The question is why in the world do we listen to him? Why in the world do we let him tell us our worth? I know I'm guilty of it too, and I always come out of it just thinking how silly I am! You are important! You are loved! You are of great and infinite worth! Never ever, ever, forget that!