December 4, 2016
This week I noticed
a message that was in a folder I rarely check on Facebook from a lady who sent
me a message back in June. She came
across my blog and noticed that I had broken my neck. She reached out to me because she broke her
neck this year and has had a really hard time and wants to communicate with
someone who has been through something similar. We’ve been messaging each other back and
forth. She had a WAY worse accident than
I did. I’ve been thinking about her and
praying for her. While reading a
conference talk on Friday morning I had the thought to share the plan of
salvation with her. This is what I
wrote:
December 2, 2016
Hi Nicole. This
morning I have been thinking about you. I realized something else that helped
me a lot after my accident and during the other hard trials I have gone through
in my life. The thing that has helped me
is the knowledge of the plan of God, our Heavenly Father. I know that we lived with God before we came
to Earth and I know that there is life after death. A leader in my church recently gave a talk in
our church’s twice a year general conference that explains very eloquently
Heavenly Father’s plan. I read that talk
this morning and I want to share part of it with you. I think it will bring you hope!
“I
believe every human being carries in his or her heart some form of fundamental
questions regarding life itself. Where did I come from? Why am I here? What
will happen after I die?
These
kinds of questions have been asked by mortals since the dawn of time.
Philosophers, scholars, and pundits have spent their lives and fortunes seeking
for answers. …
We
are eternal beings, without beginning and without end. We have always existed.
We are the literal spirit children of divine, immortal, and omnipotent
Heavenly Parents!
We
come from the heavenly courts of the Lord our God. …We walked with Him in our
premortal life. We heard Him speak, witnessed His majesty, learned His ways.
You
and I participated in a Grand Council where our beloved Father presented His
plan for us—that we would come to earth, receive mortal bodies, learn to choose
between good and evil, and progress in ways that would not otherwise be
possible.
When
we passed through the veil and entered this mortal life, we knew that we would
no longer remember the life before. There would be opposition and adversity and
temptation. But we also knew that gaining a physical body was of paramount
importance for us. Oh, how we hoped that we would quickly learn to make the
correct choices, withstand the temptations of Satan, and eventually return to
our beloved Parents in Heaven.
We
knew we would sin and make mistakes—perhaps even serious ones. But we also knew
that our Savior, Jesus Christ, had pledged to come to earth, live a sinless
life, and voluntarily lay down His life in an eternal sacrifice. We knew that
if we gave our heart to Him, trusted Him, and strived with all the energy of
our soul to walk in the path of discipleship, we could be washed clean and once
again enter the presence of our beloved Father in Heaven.
So,
with faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, you and I accepted, by our free
will, Heavenly Father’s plan.
That
is why we are here on this beautiful planet earth—because God offered us the
opportunity, and we chose to accept it. Our mortal life, however, is only
temporary and will end with the death of our physical body. But the essence of
who you and I are will not be destroyed. Our spirits will continue living and
await the Resurrection—a free gift to all by our loving Heavenly Father and His
Son, Jesus Christ. At the Resurrection, our spirits and bodies will be
reunited, free from pain and physical imperfections.
After
the Resurrection, there will be a Day of Judgment. While all will eventually be
saved and inherit a kingdom of glory, those who trust in God and seek to follow
His laws and ordinances will inherit lives in the eternities that are
unimaginable in glory and overwhelming in majesty.
That
Day of Judgment will be a day of mercy and love—a day when broken hearts are
healed, when tears of grief are replaced with tears of gratitude, when all will
be made right.
Yes,
there will be deep sorrow because of sin. Yes, there will be regrets and even
anguish because of our mistakes, our foolishness, and our stubbornness that
caused us to miss opportunities for a much greater future.
But I
have confidence that we will not only be satisfied with the judgment of God; we
will also be astonished and overwhelmed by His infinite grace, mercy,
generosity, and love for us, His children. If our desires and works are good,
if we have faith in a living God, then we can look forward to what Moroni
called ‘the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge’” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, O How Great the Plan of Our God!).
I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us and that
he loves us! Even when we go through hard
things he loves us and is willing to help us.
Our life is meant to test us and to try us. It was not meant to be easy or fair. We are able to prove to our Heavenly Father,
and ourselves, that we will follow Him and make good choices even when things
are hard. This knowledge has helped me
through hard things and I know it will help me through the hard experiences I
will face in the future.
I am so glad we are friends. I am thankful you reached out to me after
reading my blog. I love you!
I don’t feel like
our meeting is a coincidence. I’m glad
that our paths have crossed and I hope I can be an instrument in God’s hands in
her behalf.
Here is another
letter I wrote that morning to my Dad for day two if the Church’s light the world
initiative. I’m glad my Mom is still
around and that I got to call her instead of writing a letter!
Dec.
2, 2016
Dear
Dad,
I
love and miss you. I am grateful that I
feel your presence in my life, especially when I am going through a hard time. I am grateful for the things you taught me,
especially that you taught me about the gospel ties that bind us together. I am grateful for the love you showed me. Your praise meant a lot. I am grateful for the love you showed Mom and
the example you both were of what a happy marriage is like. I am grateful for the love you showed your
Mother and your siblings and that we were raised near them and interacted with
them frequently. Your example has taught
me so much.
I am
grateful for the love you had for everyone you met and for the connections you
would make. You knew so much about the
families in Arizona and how they were related to or connected to our family.
I
missed your advice during this political season. I miss your wise influence in the Arizona
legislature.
I am
sad that my little kids have not had the chance to make memories with you yet or
to hear the nicknames I am sure you would give them in your kind, booming voice
or to feel your big hugs. I know they
will have that chance eventually though and that brings me comfort.
I
love you and look forward to the day when we will meet again. I know that families are eternal. Thank you for teaching that to me.
Your
loving daughter,
Mindy
I hope your week
has gone well! I would love to hear from
you.
Love,
Mindy
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