For time and all eternity

This week I had the privilege of being invited to a friend's temple sealing/wedding . We arrived early to the temple and waited in a room with other guests. There were family members there, and friends  from different walks of life. We waited with anticipation, whispering quietly, or being shushed when we weren't being so quiet. Finally, a temple worker came into the room and invited us into the sealing room where the ceremony would take place. The room was full of light, and all conversation ceased the moment we entered. Everyone sat quietly.

The bride and groom came into the room. And I felt their purity. These two had kept themselves pure and clean from sin so that they could be here in this sacred moment, to be sealed together for time and for eternity. As they faced each other during the ceremony, I saw a pure love in their eyes, and a desire to be together forever.

It was an inspiration to me.

The world is so base in its desires, so disgusting in its display of  so called love. The lust that is out there in the world is undesirable compared to the sweet splendor of that temple marriage. There are those who treat virtue lightly and they use the body as a natural man would, for selfish purposes. They ignore the beauty of virtue, and how cleanliness and purity taste sweet, whereas the fruit of lust and selfishness are bitter....so bitter in fact. I know because I have seen both. I have seen the happiness of those who have kept themselves pure, who have kept the law of chastity. I have seen those that have not, and their bitter unhappiness in not heeding to the commandments of God. I have seen the sweetness....oh the sweetness of pure love! The light that it brings, and the beauty of it transcends this world. It  is a virtue above all the jewels of the world. The world believes that jewels and gold and money are of value. But those who believe it have placed their trust in dust.

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies"-Prov. 31:10

I implore you to live purely. Save that which is pure and holy for your future spouse, and never defile the gift of virtue. Protect it as you would a candle from the wind. The light that a pure life brings is better than anything  that the world can offer. It is life itself. Herein lies happiness, true happiness, not the temporal pleasure brought on by wickedness...true, everlasting happiness.

It brings new meaning to the line

"...and they lived happily ever after".

Forever after.

Isn't it worth waiting for? Isn't it worth having pure thoughts and actions? Isn't it worth more than pleasure, money, jewels, or anything the world can offer us?

We have the promise of forever. Let's protect that promise. It is worth the wait.

Love,

Single Mormon Girl

LDS Dating Sites

I apologize for not posting for a few days. I've had some things to do that just couldn't be ignored.

This week I was feeling pretty lonely. Going home to visit family away from friends and whatever social life I had if actually pretty difficult. I thought I was lonely before, but I am so lonely right now. I try to keep in contact with people back home, but most of the time they don't have time. There have been a few who have been trying to boost me. But for the most part, it's super lonely. It's easier to be lonely when you are busy. So I can't wait to get back home. It shouldn't be too long now...I can't bear much more of this. 

I was so hungry for some kind of conversation that I actually created an account on one of the LDS singles dating websites. Yeah. Then I deleted my profile after 2 days because you can't message anyone without paying.  I'm definitely never paying for a dating website, I don't care how long I'm single. It was fun (and awkward) to be perusing people's pictures and profiles. And then seeing how you "match up" with them. I only looked at the ones that I had a "high" match with. But then, all you are doing is looking at people and not getting to know anyone. That's why I left. But it was fun while it lasted. 

I think that those sites could be helpful for forming new friendships, hence the reason why I joined. It can help members of the church connect to other members and form lasting friendships outside of their area. It even lands some people a good date, or the few lucky ones find marriage through the website. I would suggest some common sense if you do sign up for one of the sites though. Make sure that you don't give out your full name, address, phone number or any personal information that might come back to bite you, if you know what I mean. If you do find a friend and want to meet them, make sure that you meet them in a public place and take a friend along. Just be safe.

I've definitely made up my mind to go home and be more proactive in my dating life. None of this waiting around for the guys to ask...I am going all out. I want to have friends...and I want to have dates. I'm done being timid. I'm done hoping that guys will notice me. That is no longer a part of me. Watch out world, here I come!

Wanting to change me.

There are so many things that I want to change about myself. I feel that sometimes if I really were to change these things, I might actually get a date. Or maybe one guy in the ward might talk to me without me talking to them first. Maybe I would find a man who would fall in love with me and I wouldn't be Single Mormon Girl anymore. I've never thought that I've been physically unattractive, but I suppose I can work harder.

I think I'm more worried about my physical appearance than anything else. I want to lose weight, I want my acne to clear up (seriously...at my age I should not be having break outs). I want to fit a size 10 jeans....I want my hair to be longer, blonder, or whatever. I could go on. I wish that I didn't stumble over my words, that I could say what I feel. I wish that my body worked properly and that I didn't have to take life a little slower because of injuries.

So many things to fix. But would fixing them really bring me more attention from guys? And if it did? Would I want that attention? If it didn't? What would I do next?

I believe that it is important to continually improve ourselves in every aspect of life. I know that I spend more time worrying about my looks than I do reading my scriptures. I spend more time on my makeup than I do on my prayers. Ouch. That hurts to admit that. It's not that I don't want to....I just forget. But I never forget to put makeup on. Ever. If I ever walked out of the house with makeup on it was probably when I didn't wear makeup. Or during finals week. I need to remember not to leave the house without praying. I pray in my heart all day, but I should take that sacred time to talk with Him.

Along with making ourselves spiritually attractive, I know that we need to be willing to accept ourselves....which means accepting the acne, accepting the size 16 jeans in our closet, accepting our weaknesses in everything. God loves each one of us, despite the things we hate about ourselves. As long as we are moving steadily along the strait and narrow way, who cares how long our hair is? These things are trivial compared to the more important things in life....such as having a testimony of the Atonement of the Savior, knowing that Joseph Smith is a prophet called by God, and knowing that God loves us. These are more important.

Don't  judge yourself based on worldly criteria.

See yourself as God sees you.

While I'm waiting for those pounds to drop, I'm going to go study my scriptures and see what the Lord says about my worth. I'd rather hear it from Him than my weight-scale. And I believe that His view is more accurate, anyways.

Best Date

The best date:

...is talking the entire time and totally ignore what you came to see

...is free

...starts with a hug and ends with a hug (I just like hugs)

...is where I feel safe

...ends around 10pm on the weekdays and 12am on the weekends.

...doesn't have to be anything fancy.

...involves communication

...is where we can get to know each other

...is respectful

...is with a friend.

Brides in the Spring.

You shouldn't go to Temple Square on a Saturday in the springtime.

Unless you want to see 6 brides.

Which for Single Mormon Girl was probably not the best idea.

I saw a bride and her husband sitting on a bench by the temple and thought: "Ah! She just got married!"

Then I felt a little sorry for myself.

But it's alright. God will take care of me. He always has. I just have to have patience, and rejoice that the wait for some of my sisters is already over. I feel like I'm being left behind by some of my friends. Some day I will be moving on...but until then....I will trust in the Lord with ALL of my heart.

Better Than I....

Recently I’ve been thinking about all of the things that I want in my life: to be married, raise a righteous family, continue my education, live near my family, etc…All of those dreams are laying out, waiting to be realized. Most of the time, I feel like I am doing everything that I can to pick up those dreams. I live the gospel, I keep the commandments, I love the Lord and listen to His voice when He calls. I may not always act upon that call, but I am trying harder. And I am beginning to learn that just because I am living as righteously as I can does not mean that all of those dreams will be realized immediately. The Lord has a perfect understanding of my need for growth and He will, in His perfect timing, help me to realize those dreams. It may not be until the next life that some of those will happen. Maybe I will not be married in this life, maybe the Lord will reserve the fulfilling of His promise to me for the next life. Either way, I’ll be alright. He has always taken care of me. In the meantime, I’ll continue, as righteously as I can.

Today, I was reading in the book of Daniel about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It came to my attention that the Lord opens doors for all of us. He opens doors for us to be healed, to get a new job, to be in the right place to help someone, or even a door to test our obedience, to prove ourselves.

King Nebuchadnezzar built an idol and commanded that all members of his kingdom worship it. Three courageous young men chose not to worship it, and they were brought before the king. He asked them to worship the idol, or they would be burned. Their answer, is faith building.

O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor  worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

(Daniel 3:16-18)

This angered the king, and he thrust them into the furnace. I do not want to wonder what it must have felt like to walk towards that furnace, and to know that at some point, you would have to walk through it. The pain, the fear, the feeling of the heat...I would be worried. Yet I can see how I have walked towards a furnace in my own life. The Lord asks us to walk towards the unknown, trusting that He will be there for us. 

The king looked into the furnace and saw something miraculous.

Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? ... Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. (Daniel 3:25)

I testify that the Lord will always walk through the door with us, that He will always be with us in the fire. He may not always take the furnace away, but as we turn to Him, we will always find that we are not permanently hurt. He has helped me as I have struggled to understand this door of being single in life, the furnace that could consume me. He is there to make sure that I am not hurt, if only I turn to Him. 

Nebuchadnezzar called the three men out of the furnace, and commanded all to respect the God that had delivered them, For:

there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. (Daniel 3:29)

I know that God will be with us as we are in the fire of our afflictions, no matter what they are. He loves us and He knows our needs, so much better than we do.

I love a song from the movie "Joseph: King of Dreams" titled "You Know Better Than I"

If this has been a test
I cannot see the reason
But maybe knowing I don’t know
Is part of getting through

I try to do what’s best
And faith has made it easy
To see the best thing I can do
Is put my trust in you

For You know better than I
You know the way
I’ve let go the need to know why
For you know better than I
(Copyright by Dreamworks)

He truly does know better than we do. I pray that we will all be able to trust Him.

Love,

Single Mormon Girl 

Compassion (Part Two): The Good Samaritan

I'm double dipping tonight...a friend asked me a long time ago to be a guest blogger on a collaborative blog, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and use the post for both blogs. 

I sat and waited in the temple that morning. I picked up a Bible and began reading. My fingers opened to the parable of the Good Samaritan....

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said,

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, 

which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: 

and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, 

and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: 

and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, 

and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, 

and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; 

and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” 

(Luke 10:25-37)

To me, the parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most compelling parables that the Jesus Christ taught. The imagery of a man, robbed, beaten, and left for dead is a severe one, but draws such feelings of sympathy from my heart. Then, the image of the Good Samaritan, a man who was viewed by the Jewish people as inhuman, performing the most humane act of rescue. This parable is usual taught in Sunday School to encourage us to be the kind of person that the Good Samaritan was. But the levels of the parable can quickly show to us that this story is not merely about being good neighbors. The Savior was teaching a parable about the Atonement, about His own merciful redemption for our souls.

We are the “certain man” who traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho. We are the ones who have fallen among  “thieves”. These thieves could represent temptations, trials, our own incorrect decisions, or even the effects of living in a mortal world. We lie beside the road, “half dead”. The priest does not help us, the Levite does not heal, not because they will not, perhaps because they cannot. The Savior, the Good Samaritan, is the only one who stops to help, and the only one who can truly heal us. He pours in the oil of forgiveness and the wine of mercy. He forgives us of our weaknesses, our mistakes, and our sins. He comforts us when our trials become too much to bear, and when we have reached the end of our mortal strength. He binds up our wounds with His love and compassion. And not only that, but He takes us to a safe haven, an inn, where we can continue to heal and recover, and where He has paid in advance.

His mercy is beyond comprehension. His love is incredible.

No wonder He admonishes us to “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37). There are many who are in need of healing. Figuratively, everyone has experienced being robbed and left for dead, at least once in their lives. How many of them recognize the Good Samaritan?

When have we seen our own friends lie beside the road from Jerusalem to Jericho? When have we walked by, as did the priest and the Levite? There may be those that we can help, but have chosen not see because of the possibly uncomfortable situation it could place us in. It is true that we cannot heal those that are “half dead” , only the Savior can truly heal them . However, we can help begin their process of healing. We can reach out to them and let them know that we are there for them, that we want to help. We can pour in the oil of compassion and the wine of charity. Above all, the most important thing that we can do is to assure them that the Good Samaritan really can heal them, if they will turn to Him for aid. 

What does this have to do with being a single Mormon girl?

Everything.

Some of the wounds that He so lovingly binds up are wounds of loneliness, heartache and fear for what the future may bring, or not bring. He alone can heal me of these, He alone understands what it feels like to be alone.

And so I turn to Him, as I develop compassion for those around me, and as I learn to lean on Him when I am weak from heartache.