"What is to be, is up to me"

We have a really great Sacrament Meeting today all about Work.  Though initially it didn't sound like a captivating topic, the speakers did an amazing job with their talks.  I came away very motivated to work harder.

One of the speakers, my friend Monique, described a cross-stitch she made when she was in Young Women's.  It simply said, "What is to be, is up to me." That short saying resonated in me.

I love the gospel because it is empowering.  The Savior has done His job, and know my destiny, my happiness, my joy and my path is completely in my hands.  What ever is to be is truly up to me.

So many people in this life feel they have no options.  They live in under the false pretense that they have no choice in life.  They mistakenly think that circumstances are more important than choices. But the Savior teaches us just the opposite: our choices are more important than our circumstances.

The Savior, through His Atonement, has empowered us with the ability to choose for ourselves who we are, will be, and where we will end up. It truly has little to do with the specifics of your trials and circumstances.  It has to do with how we choose to react within the trial that matters.

Decisions determine destiny.

The gospel has given me a glimpse of my potential.  I know who I want to be.  I know where I want to go.  I know I am far from both.  But, as Bryan, another speaker said today, I will make mistakes, but I will never, never stop trying.

Because we have a vision of perfection as out goal, we, as Latter-day Saints can be prone to feelings of inadequacy and guilt because we aren't perfect now.  These feelings can hamper our progression.

Our Relief Society teacher, Marianne, talked about making good choices in the moment we are in, as we work towards our goal.  We cannot throw in the towel as soon as we make a mistake.  We would be giving up constantly because we make mistakes every day!  They key is to understand that our best efforts will not equal perfection here.  We won't reach perfection, but we will reach progression.

Ask yourself: Am I a better person now that I was last year, last month, last week?  Am I trying everyday to keep an eternal perspective and make good choices? Am I striving to keep the covenants that I made at baptism or in the temple?

Am I trying?

I hope the answer is yes, because if you don't try, you will die (spiritually.)  (I didn't mean to rhyme, but it's catchy!)

Thanks to all the wonderful people in my ward who lifted and inspired me today!!