Updates and Such.

And I'm back, again.

Finals are approaching quickly and I am excited for the end of another semester.

This week is Thanksgiving and I am ready to spend some time with my wonderful hubby. We are still filling out applications for graduate school and patiently waiting to see where we need to go next. One more full semester of school, then a quick spring term (six weeks), then we are DONE with our undergraduate programs. I don't think there's a word to accurately describe my excitement!

So my post today is about an article that I read.

I have read a lot of criticism about it, but I think what the author is getting at is on point.

So let's clear some things up:
1) Defending women and their rights is okay, but be careful not to cross the very fine line between defending rights and offending the Lord -- womanhood is not a downfall, it is a blessing.
2) Not every man is a predator.

At its core, the article is right about modern feminism. The line has been crossed, and many that I know who support the feminist movement are more about female power than they are equality. And even those who do seek for equality wish for absolute sameness, not an equal distribution of rights and privileges.

Another thing that needs to be addressed is the idea that all men are willing to take advantage of anyone using any means possible.  This simply is not the truth. Anyone, male or female, is capable of rape, domestic abuse, and violence. And in those cases, individuals who violate the rights of others should be dealt with appropriately. But not all men are preying on innocent women to take advantage of.

Okay, moving forward. One truth that will shine through in the end is that women and men are fundamentally different. There are physiological and psychological differences between the sexes, and that was intentional. We complement each other perfectly, and we shouldn't try to "do it all."

We are all imperfect beings who are just trying to figure out the details of life along the way, but one thing that is evident is that the Lord has blessed men and women with differences that are beneficial to us all. We need to embrace these differences and seek to build up our individual strengths to contribute to society. Sameness, as preached by modern feminism, is not the solution to these societal problems that arise in the workplace and in the home.

I think we should all promote kindness, respect, empathy, and love. That is the answer.

Life Comes in Seasons.

I've been thinking about my life and just how it has been playing out a lot lately.

It occurred to me that the Lord has been preparing me long before I even realized it. Everything that has happened over the past couple of years has been leading directly to something else. 

Exactly two years ago I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I thought I knew how my life from that point would play out.

Then the boy I was dating left on his mission.

It was hard.

Then I met the boy who was to be my husband.

I abandoned the plans I had made for myself and got married to this incredible man.

I transferred to BYU.

I changed my major.

And my life plans are completely different.

How is it that I saw none of those things coming, but the Lord knew exactly where I was supposed to be and where I was going?

Sometimes I get caught up in the lull of my everyday life, but then a moment of clarity will come and I realize that my life is changing. I go through the seasons of life and don't even take a minute to realize it until after it is over. 

I want to spend my life enjoying every moment as it comes, but also knowing that there is so much more coming.

I am so grateful for my life and for all who have influenced it. I am grateful for the past two years and all I have learned. I am grateful for the testimony I have of Jesus Christ and of His divine mission here on the earth to atone for my sins. I am grateful for missionary work, and member missionary work. I am grateful for the temple. For eternal marriage. I am grateful for my husband who continues to help me grow closer to God. There is no greater feeling than to look back on your life and love where the Lord has brought you. He has been there through my trials and my triumphs and I am so grateful for the peace He has brought me.

Brothers and Sisters.

Friends, I am sorry I have been gone. I have been thinking of what to even say. How can I share my thoughts/views on anything if I have nothing to say? So I've been waiting it out and hoping to come up with something to say.

Today, I have something.

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time in the temple and I had a couple of really huge realizations. Today I will only share one, but it's my favorite one. Let me start by saying that I am so grateful for the temple and for the things that I have been able to learn there. I have never felt the Lord's presence as strongly as I have there.

Because the Lord knows me, he knew exactly what I needed to hear this weekend.

As most of us do, I have had my fair share of bad moments. Lately, though, I have been having a real struggle in trying to get along with others. But the most beautiful impression came to me in the temple.

We are all brothers and sisters.

I realized that I'm not always perfectly nice to my siblings, but in the end I will do anything and everything to be close to them. I try my hardest to maintain a good relationship with my family, no matter what the cost. But with strangers, I'm not quite so nice.

The Lord wants us to love all of His children, because they are all our brothers and sisters.

Because of my experience in the temple, I am making an honest effort to be more like the Savior and to love all of God's children, regardless of my individual relationships with each of them. I am striving to be more charitable. To be more loving. To immerse myself in His gospel. And to help others to come unto Him.

When we choose to love others and to see them as our siblings, we become more like Him.