Amazing Grace

I just finished my first semester of college!!  Yay!!!!  I feel so good right now.  Life is great when you're letting God take part in it.  I made many mistakes in the last few months, yet He is still there.  I love feeling the Spirit, and I know that God loves me SO much!  I love this song:

I also love this group (Celtic Woman).  I just recently discovered them.  They sing so beautifully!  I love music so much.  It can be such a powerful way to bring the Spirit's presence.  I wonder why music has such a strong effect on our emotions?  I'm so thankful for my musical ability.  I love making music. 

My life has been so incredibly blessed.  Life is so good!!  Sometimes I get weighed down by the sorrows and disappointments that come with life.  Mistakes are made, sad things happen, but my dad pointed out to me that this life is the perfect place to fail.  It's so true!  We are here to grow and learn.  How can we do that if we never make mistakes?  With that mindset, no disappointment is really that bad.  The atonement will take care of it.  Whatever happens, it will be alright.  God is in control and He loves each one of us. 

To finish, I'd like to share one of my very favorite songs:

Diligence

So today it hit me that it will be very difficult for me to pass my psychology class at this point, and if I can't then I'll lose my scholarships and my parents can't pay for next semester.  I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to next semester until I was talking on the phone and my dad said that.  I cried.  I feel so stupid.  I'm going to do everything I can this weekend to pass that class, but I'm afraid it won't be enough.  There are so many people I've met here that I may never see again if I leave next semester.  I will miss them so much!!

Diligence has never been a strength of mine.  Quite the opposite.  All through high school I coasted along and got away with procrastinating.  I even got out of a term of Fitness for Life because of procrastination.  I've always felt like I never learned how to work, that I've never really needed to and I've been able to get along on the talent I've been blessed with.  Well, it's about time I learned a lesson in diligence.  It's one of the Christ-like attributes we're supposed to be developing and one that I certainly don't have yet.  I'm praying with all my heart that I will somehow be able to stay next semester.  But whatever happens, I know it will be alright in the end, and I hope I've learned my lesson.

Frustration with attraction

I enjoy this video:

Of course there are exceptions, but when a girl and a guy get close this is bound to be the case.  I always get so frustrated with how easily I fall for girls.  And why in the world are we guys attracted to girls before our missions??  It's so annoying!  I've had a lot of ups and downs dealing with these emotions over the last few years and I can't wait to finally marry a beautiful daughter of God in the temple.  But waiting is so hard!!  And in the mean time there are so many mind games you have to play as you wonder who likes you and you try to figure out what your feelings are for your 'girlfriends.' 

Of course, it's not like I ever feel like I'm attracting anyone.  I'm never good enough.  There's always someone else who's more handsome, more talented, or easier to talk to.  I don't feel like there's anything very special about me.  So why do I even worry about these things?  There's no point. 

Then again, I know that someday I will marry in the temple.  God has made me that promise.  I also know that He sees a whole lot of good in me.  He loves me and he knows what I can be.  I guess I can trust an all-knowing being.  In the mean time I'll try to focus more on my mission and try to put off worrying about the opposite gender.

We are at war!

Recently I've been reading the war chapters in Alma.  I've heard many people say that they find it hard to apply these chapters in their own lives.  I've felt this way too.  But the truth is, we ARE at war.  With that perspective, I've found so much application in these chapters.  For example, in Alma 52:19 it talks about Moroni, Teancum, and many of the other chief captains holding a council of war.  We also have captains and chief captains who hold councils of war.  They are our quorum presidencies, our bishoprics, our stake presidencies, and the prophets and apostles.  They teach us, as Moroni taught his people, about armor, armor such as prayer, scripture study, and obedience to the commandments.  They build fortifications: Church buildings, institutes, and temples.  They teach us how to fortify our own homes.  These leaders are always looking for ways to help us gain the victory.  And they are led by the unconquerable generals, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  They are called and inspired by God, and we can trust that following them will bring us strength.

Today I read Alma 60, the scathing epistle Moroni sends to Pahoran.  Verse 7 and 8 say, "Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren— Yea, even they who have looked up to you for protection, yea, have placed you in a situation that ye might have succored them, yea, ye might have sent armies unto them, to have strengthened them, and have saved thousands of them from falling by the sword."
 

All around us the adversary is spreading the work of death.  He is seeking our souls and the souls of our brothers and sisters.  As one who has a firm testimony of the gospel and therefore a means of succoring those who are spiritual weak, how can I just stand by and do nothing?  I should be serving those around me and sharing my testimony with those who are struggling.  I feel like we will share our testimonies in church and institute, but how often will we do it around our friends and other peers?  If we know it is true, why do we stay silent?  "[Satan's] effort to stop the work will be reasonably well served if he can just bind the tongue of the faithful. Brethren, if that is the case, I am looking tonight for men young and old who care enough about this battle between good and evil to sign on and speak up. We are at war ... We want battalions who will take as their weapons “every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” So I am looking tonight for missionaries who will not voluntarily bind their tongues but will, with the Spirit of the Lord and the power of their priesthood, open their mouths and speak miracles. Such speech, the early brethren taught, would be the means by which faith’s “mightiest works have been, and will be, performed.” (Jeffery R. Holland, "We Are All Enlisted," October 2011 General Conference address). 

We are all missionaries, and if we have a firm testimony of the truth of this gospel we ought to put our trust in God, open our mouths, and let Him speak.  I've often felt that faith is simply a choice.  It can be a difficult choice to make, but whenever I've chosen to take a leap of faith, I've never been disappointed in the miracles my God has worked either through me or for me.  

Well, that was more than I meant to write on that topic. 

So, I decided I wanted to start a blog.  I'm planning on writing in it often, but we'll see what happens.  I saw someone suggest getting a blog because it's like a journal that you actually want to write in.  I thought that would be nice.  I've chosen to call my blog "Getting In Tune" because 1) I'm a music major and 2) I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In music, certain frequencies sound better together than others.  In band we're are constantly listening to each other so that our chords sound the very best they can.  When we play in tune the sound resonates beautifully.  It's a goal we're constantly striving for.
In the church we also refer to "being in tune with the Spirit."  When we're in tune with God, we are better able to hear Him, to feel His promptings and to receive guidance through the Holy Ghost.  We are also constantly striving to be in tune with His spirit.  That's really what my whole life is all about: trying to align my will with God's, to be more sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, and become more like my Heavenly Father.  When we are in tune, there is no dissonance; we are in harmony, and this is what I seek with my God.

So I'll try to post often about my life and my efforts to be in tune.