My Scripture Journal

In the past, I've kept a scripture journal.  Lately, I've started writing in it again, because I've realized that there's some really useful stuff in there already, and I really ought to add to that.  And then, I got this idea that I should retype what I write in there, so that it might be of some use to someone other than myself.  So these are the entries from recently:

11/25/13
"And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold." ~ Mosiah 8:9
    They believed in what was written on the plates, that they carried 24 heavy plates filled with writing when they were traveling.  If they didn't have such a strong testimony, it would have been really easy to just leave all the plates behind.  Having a testimony is harder than not having one.  Having a testimony leads us to do hard things, and those that don't feed and grow their testimonies in the ways we've been counseled, may not stand on the Lord's side when tested.  I know what I need to do to fuel my testimony, but many times, I find myself procrastinating.  But I have the one and true gospel on this earth, the key to my happiness, and the answers to everything.  So, why do I not devote myself to it?  I need to do better.  I need to be willing to lug a truckload of scriptures across the Sahara Desert, if that's what the Lord needs. I need to feed my testimony.

11/26/13
"For none can have the power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills that it shall be done with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord."  ~ Mormon 8:15
    I can't feel the light and happiness I feel now without God.  God can shed light and understanding upon things I never would have noticed, if only I come and ask.  When I study the scriptures, I feel like I am asking God to shed light on new ideas and concepts I never would have realized before.  God also keeps His eyes upon our eternal glory at all times, even when we don't give it a single thought.  He feels some responsibility for the welfare of our souls, because He is our Father.  I need to think more about the welfare of my soul, and find ways for God to be able to shed His light on my life.

"And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done; wherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom."  ~ Ether 7:13
    Because Corihor repented of his sins, he was given power.  Repentance gives us power.  Satan likes to try to make us think otherwise.  Satan tries to get us to believe that repentance will give us shame and weakness.  This scripture tells me the opposite.  God loves us, and He knows we make mistakes.  If we are responsible enough to go to Him when we mess up, He will reward us with blessings and power to overcome Satan.  It's like, if you make a mistake at work, it's really hard to tell your boss that you messed up, but the sooner you tell them, the sooner the problem can be fixed.  Sometimes, we are afraid of being fired or castigated for our error, but usually our mistake is greeted with answers to fix it.  As long as we are willing to work towards fixing the mistake, we are thought of as more responsible in our boss' eyes.  I know that this can be the same with God.

11/27/13
"The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."  ~ 2nd Nephi 18:10
    Even when we are fallen, we can still build ourselves up into something even better than we were before.  Satan and other people will beat us down, but we always have to remember to keep building.  If we stop and let the bad thoughts tear us down more, it will take so much longer to heal them.  It's better if we just don't let the bad feelings consume us in the first place.  We need to turn to God.  It's okay to ask for help.  He's just waiting for us to turn to Him with a willing heart.  Then, He can build us up into something better.  If I let Him into my life when I'm feeling down, rather than Satan, I know that He can guide me to what will help me most.  Then, whatever is helping me, with His influence, can build me up to be something better.

11/28/13
"O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers with me...(right here I got lazy and didn't want to write out a bunch of different names) yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ."  ~ Alma 31:32
    It is very important to pray that others will fell comfort.  Even if they aren't of our religion.  We can't always pray for people to find exactly what they're looking for, but we can pray that they will find some measure of success, as well as comfort.  I think that comfort in Christ is saying that we can find comfort knowing that Christ has felt every trial, fear, failure, etc. that we have, and will yet have.  He completely and fully understands what we are going through, so He can comfort us, even when no one else is there for us.  I know it's hard to trust myself in someone that can't physically be there for me, but I need to.  I know that whenever I ask for comfort, He will always be there.

11/29/13
"And this Zeezrom began to question Amulek, saying: Will ye answer me a few questions which I shall ask you?  Now Zeezrom was a man who was expert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which was good..."  ~Alma 11:21
    I hope that someday I can be an 'expert in the devices of the devil', not so that I can deceive people, but rather to be able to better recognize temptations in my life.  Satan is tricky, and it takes a while sometimes to realize that it's him, rather than our own thoughts.  I know that if I study people's experiences in the scriptures, and in my life, I will be able to recognize Satan better and quicker. 



You may think that some of my choices in scripture verses are a bit odd.  Well, my rule is that I close my eyes, open my scriptures, and put my finger in a random place on the page, and whatever verse it's on is the one I write about. 

~M.B.~

6 months

I just realized that yesterday hit the 6 months marker since Logan died.  In memory of him, I'm reposting his obituary:

January 4, 1997 ~ May 21, 2013

Beloved son, brother, and friend Logan Hulick was born January 4, 1997. He lived his entire life in Pleasant Grove, Utah and passed away on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.

Logan was one of God's brightest spirits who, with his quiet manner and broad smile, made all feel welcomed and valued. Logan’s charisma gathered diverse people together. He was always either laughing or making someone laugh. Logan always had a joke to share. He recently exclaimed, “I have so many inside jokes with different people that I can’t keep them straight!”

Logan was brilliant and loved to confound people’s minds – because he could. For example, Logan’s favorite color was heliotrope … and when he tells people, he then waits for them to say, “What’s that?”

He was a longtime volunteer at the Space Center; he had recently been hired as a flight director and was looking forward to a great summer working there. 

           

Logan just completed his sophomore year at Pleasant Grove High School, where he enjoyed excellent academics, drama tech, orchestra (first chair violin), and seminary. He played tenor saxophone and violin, relishing the fact that he played more instruments than his siblings.   

Logan left his parents, Mark and Debra Hulick, and his older siblings: Mitch (& Lacey), Abby, Austin (& Tammy), and Riley.  We love him very much.  He brought so much joy and laughter to our family.  We miss him and look forward to an eternal reunion where Logan can meet us on the other side of the veil.

~M.B.~

One of my fears

It has always been one of my fears ever since I was a little kid that in the next life we won't be able to find our friends or fantastic people that influenced our lives.  I would always imagine it as a huge crowd of people, and that I would end up running around all of heaven for eternity searching for certain people.  Right now, though, I really feel strongly that God sends people into our lives to help us and be our friends for a reason.  He would never send those people to us now, but not allow us to be with them in the next life.  Out of all the people He could choose from in the world, He chose one to come and help me, right now, at this point in my life.  And, with God's help, I know I'll always be able to find her.  I just really feel strongly about this in particular right now.

~M.B.~

I've Changed

I realize I kind of left you hanging...for a long time.  My Harry Potter Club is working out just fine, and we have weekly meetings. 

It's interesting how much I realize I've changed over the past few months.  I'm not so much of an introvert anymore.  I actually enjoy being around people, and I need it.  I used to love being left alone to my thoughts, but not so much anymore.  I'm also not so 'no-touchy'.  I'm more outgoing, and more confident.  If there's something I don't like, then I'm not afraid to change it, where as before, I just went with it.  I feel...much more different than I was.  But yet, in a way, I'm still the same.  I'm not so sure if that makes sense. 

On another completely different note, I've started volunteering at the Space Center at Central Elementary again.  I couldn't volunteer for a while because of my bad grades, but I'm back now.  Here's hoping I can get a job!


~M.B.~

Wow...I'm stressed already...

So what is it?  Only the second week of school.  And I've already almost hit the point of explosion as far as my stress.  Surprisingly, my grades are not causing the stress.  I think I will make a list of things making me very stressed right now because my brain thinks like Spock.

1. Getting the Harry Potter club together.  I am still trying to find a teacher to be an advisor for the club, but all the teachers I've tried so far either already have a club, or show no interest.

2.  My seminary teacher.  I got assigned to one of the seminary teachers that is new to the school this year.  Everything I outright hate in a person, seems to be in this guy.  So, I absolutely cannot stand his class and, for the first time, am actually highly considering sluffing his class. (And I've been in some pretty bad classes before.) (Also, for future reference, the space bar does not have the same function as the shift button on a keyboard. I just barely had some difficulties with that.)

 3.  The constant battle of depression.  I have to always have some task that is up next in my schedule, or else I end up getting bored with nothing to do and getting really sad.  It's hard to always have something to do day after day.

4.  My internship.  I intern at the Discovery Space Center, but I haven't been in to actually intern instead of attending a meeting in a while, and I'm kind of afraid that they'll kick me.  I've had a lot going on lately, with being sick, and then school starting and now all the following issues above.

5.  Being alone most of the time.  I've figured out that I get depressed in social situations, so I end up spending a lot of time alone to fend it off, which means I don't get to see my friends very often at all.


That felt good to get that all out.  If you're not interested in my issues in life, at that least remember that the space bar and shift keys have very different functions, but can sometimes confuse you when you're trying to put in a parentheses, but you keep getting a 0.


~M.B.~

The things people believe these days...

Well, I'm still writing my script.  But I kinda got sidetracked through some ad on Facebook I saw for these pyramids that are supposed to cleanse you of negative energy.  I really get a good laugh out of reading peoples' testimonials about weird items like that.  I kinda ended up looking into them a bit further, and it made me really think about the false Gods that we run into.  Most people just think of it as other churches, but you do see it quite a bit in companies.  This specific company I was just looking at sold these glass pyramids filled with a bunch of different crystals and flecks of metal.  There were descriptions of what these different things were supposed to do for you.  People were supposed to meditate and worship these pyramids and it would give them less negative energy and cause something affect them based on the pyramid such as be wealthier, meet the love of their life, etc.  You get the point.  I looked a bit further into the guy that was the head of the company.  To summarize, he basically claimed that he was chosen by God to create these pyramids and sell them to the general public, and that God would bless them with positive energy and vibrations if they meditated and worshiped the pyramid.  It's not such an obvious false God as another church, but when you really think about it, it is.  I know that I worded it to make it more obvious, but when you're just exploring their website (http://www.nuntech.com/), it's not something you really think about.  I'm one that tends to keep an eye out for companies that are highly successful, but their products are not scientifically proven to work, in other words, pretty much a scam.  Don't even get me started on doTerra.  I really want to do a scientific study that proves their products don't work.  Now I'm getting off topic.  Back to false Gods, it's really sad to read the testimonials section on their website, with all these people that have tricked their brains into thinking that these pyramids actually work.  It's just another good example of Placebo Effect.  Anyways...I should probably get back to writing my script now.


~M.B.~

Stranded

Right now, I am currently stranded downstairs at the computer writing a 20-page film script that is due tomorrow.  I really shouldn't procrastinate so much.  I just opened the window though, so it feels nicer breathing fresh air.  While listening to the soundtrack to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  I've already gone through Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Prince of Persia, and Nancy Drew.  Well, I should probably get back to writing about a girl who the world can't see or hear, but she doesn't realize it. 

~M.B.~