"Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life." -Ezra Taft Benson.

Really, all I want to do with this post is share some beautiful music. I'm very excited for the Harlem Quartet to come perform at BYU-Idaho. So, enjoy! (This is actually The Harlem Quartet with a cellist from the New York Philharmonic).

  “To not take counsel from our fears means that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ overrules our fears and that we can press forward with a steadfastness in Him. To not take counsel from our fears means that we trust in God’s guidance, assurance, and timing in our lives.” -Elder David A. Bednar

Nights Like This

Today I started college classes for the first time. I am 26 hours and 45 minutes away, 1,714.97 miles away from Kentucky, which I consider "home". Mix in the hours,minutes and miles with the change of weather, and altitude and we can say that I'm a little bit more than homesick. I have great roommates, five of the to be exact, but I still feel lonely sometimes. 

I've been in Rexburg since last Thursday morning. I've met some really nice people but because there are almost 16,000 people on this tiny campus, it's hard to know for sure if I'll see them again.Today I was struggling with that fact which made me miss my three very best friends from Kentucky. Of course I miss a ton of my other friends, but those three have been there for years and have always been my rocks.

 I texted Mariah today letting her know that I wish that she was here with me because she was never the type to leave me by myself. Her confidence rubs off on me and she brings me out of my shell. I expressed to her that I miss her and that I had hoped we would have been able to experience college together, but as fate will have it, we are at separate schools, almost 2,000 miles way from each other. 

She told me to be strong, and the next thing I know: Nadia, her older sister who is married and is going to school here in Rexburg, shows up at my apartment per Mariah's request, and let's me know that she is here for me. She doesn't even know me and yet she was willing to come meet me and bring me cookies and tell me everything was going to be okay. 

I didn't even tell Mariah that I needed someone to comfort me, but she already knew. She knew the exact person to do that too. Nadia and Bryce (Nadia's husband) are so sweet and I am so grateful that they took time out of their night to come talk to me.
Once they left my apartment, I just started crying. Crying because I was happy, because I was sad. But mostly because I felt that God had blessed me with one of the best, most caring, selfless friends I could ever ask for. I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I'm glad she is in my life. I thank God every day for allowing me to have such an amazing friend. <3 p="p">

Talent.

Everyone has a talent: whether it's dancing, or singing, or writing stories, or debating. We all have them.

Tonight, I just wanted to highlight three of my friends and their talent. They are AMAZING. They coreographed this themselves. They performed this multiple times for our Specialized Theater class final. I cannot stop watching it. I just wish you all could see the intensity of it in person...And without the obstruction of the head that continues to float in front of the camera. Either way, they are TALENTED . Megan, Carlen, and Colton- Turning Tables 

AND  My friend Brody introduced me last night to this wonderful pop-country-folk band, Eden's Edge. I've been obsessed all day. This song is pure love. It was my "Sunday Song"

Eden's Edge- Christ Alone

Simple.Love.Talent.ENJOY!

A Sad Subject:You Only Live Once

Death.
The loss of a loved one is never an easy topic. We all have our own ways of coping and finding the path back to normal life after a loved one has passed on. Some people cry, some people scream, some people become 'blank', some people separate themselves in sadness, and others come together.   At Oldham County High School, we have had and continue to have numerous tragedies of loved ones lost. We have almost a repetitive line of tragedies in our school, and we experienced another one today at 3 a.m., losing two loved teenage souls. 

At our school, we have always had a way of coming together in the memory of  lost student.  The whole school wears yellow, pink, or  another favorite color of the student that passed away. We all comfort each other and those closest to the student.  I have never had the tragic experience of losing a close friend to death. I have known three out of the four students that have died in the past years that I was in high school. I knew them, but was not friends with them. I always feel a pang in my heart for their family and friends who have to live with a person missing at the dinner table, a bed empty or an empty chair at the movie theatre during a girls night out. I always do what I can to be supportive of the people that did know the students who have passed away, but I almost feel selfish if I post a thousand "We're going to miss you. RIP" Tweets or statuses.

 I don't know how to say this without it sounding heartless, which if any of you know me at all, is NOT who I am. I am one of the most emotional people you might ever come across. Sometimes it seems that we only pay attention after someone had passed away. Millions of people around the world have become familiar with the term "YOLO", and for those of you who, for some reason, may not know what that it means: it stand for You Only Live Once.  I feel, we have come to abuse this term in a way that says "I'm doing something extremely stupid and I know it, but YOLO." YOLO is about being brave- not an excuse to do something stupid or dangerous. Many people seem to realize how precious life is after they've lost someone and vow to never do something so dangerous again. Unfortunately, most of the time, it seems, a few weeks after the tragedy, we are back to living they way we vowed to never live again. 

We all come together and for a split second the world from where we stand seems at peace and everyone loves everyone when someone leaves this life. After a few weeks, however, we seem o lose this sense of togetherness.  We return to hating our neighbors or talking behind people's back or living on the  wrong side of "YOLO".  This type of behavior has always been peculiar to me. And, at the risk of sounding like a "Make Love, Not War" hippie, why do we always have to dissipate back into our hateful lives? 

I didn't mean to begin a sermon.  I am no more perfect than anyone else in this world. I understand how and why people band together in the face of a tragedy-strength in numbers,right?- but why do we go and break the bond after time has passed?

This morning at 3 a.m. two teenagers lost their lives in a car accident. A family lost their 14 year old daughter, another family lost their 15 year old son. I didn't know the two teenagers, but I'm sure that they touched many lives and have befriended many people. I am deeply sad for the people who lost a daughter/son, niece/nephew, sister/brother, fellow cheerleader/ fellow sports team member, or a best friend. I wish them peace in their hearts and comfort in the rest of their everyday life.  God Bless them. Stay Strong.

My Father is an amazing man. He works hard to provide for his family, he loves all six of his daughters unconditionally, and loves our Mother even more. That is the greatest gift he has ever given his daughters: loving our mother to no end. He has taught us so much and has prepared us to go out into the world and be independent. He has taught us how to make our own decisions, and always forgives us when we've made the wrong one.
He has comforted us in our time of need and has made us laugh when we thought we'd never smile again. He has stayed up late at the kitchen table trying to help me with math homework,while I cry in frustration. My dad works out of the country so that he can provide us with what we need and also, the things that we want. My dad is not greedy. He is always willing to help anyone that needs it. He is forgiving, and kind, and gentle, and he loves God. My Father is an amazing man.
      It's Happy Father's day to all the wonderful Father's out there. And to mine: although you aren't here with us today, as you're in Australia, I hope that you are having a wonderful day and know how much your family loves you. I hope you know that all of your daughters love and miss you. You are the best dad we could have ever asked for.  Thank you for everything hat you have ever done for and given to us. We couldn't have been given a better Father. I love you, Dad.