Destination: New York City, NY
Sites Visited: None, we experienced 'the world' today, in NYC.
Quote from HTM (Heritage Tours Manual):
"Conscience warns us not to sink our cleats too deeply into mortal turf - which is dangerously artificial!"
~Elder Neal A. Maxwell
So just like it says, today we went to NYC. It was.... Interesting.
Up to that point, I was on almost a constant spiritual high, other than the few times where the adversary was working against me, like I talked about before. We went to site after site, feeling the spirit so strong, and talking only about the church and how amazing it is... I was SO happy. Genuinely, truly, deeply happy. I was full of so much joy all the time... And then we go to NYC, and the mood of the trip went to the other end of the spectrum. It completely changed... My happiness was covered, it felt as if someone had snatched it away from me, and replaced it with that fake happiness that most of the world seems to be familiar with... Bottom line, I didn't like it. I hated the feeling I had while I was there...
Everyone seems to just love NY so much and talk about it like it's the greatest thing in the world, but I don't like it... I'm not into big cities. I admit it was fun to shop around and see the M&M's store and stuff, but just being there with SO many people and so many things going on felt wrong... I felt so... small. So unimportant. Like if I disappeared, nobody would notice, and nobody would care. I hated the feeling I had when I was there.
When we stepped back on that bus and went to a church site or bore our testimonies, we had the best feeling... I went from low to high in an instant... I felt safe, I felt comforted, I felt protected, but not in a little kid sort of way. It was amazing, the spirit we created on that bus every day... Nothing could stop us from bringing the spirit.
Nothing on this earth is stronger than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
***********************************************************************************
From my journal:
"We just sang 'Oh Happy Day' and it was awesome! I thought to myself, WHY is it a happy day? I instantly thought of Joseph Smith. He is the reason we live in happy days. he restored the true gospel to this earth and brought so much joy to our lives! Oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away! Oh happy day when the gospel is in our lives and brings us pure happiness!"
You know, people all over the world are constantly debating religion and arguing about it and some religions worship Christ's death and all that... You know why I love this church? Because it's simple. It brings happiness. Oh happy day, when Jesus died for me and was resurrected and washed away my sins so I may live with him again. What could be more humbling than that? What reason do we have to not be happy? Everyone deserves to be happy. If everyone would just stop arguing and debating and thinking so hard about it all, they would see the plainness and simplicity of the gospel. Be a good person, serve others, and try to be Christlike, and you will find pure happiness, guaranteed. That's it.
It makes me so happy! I wish we'd sing songs like that in our church, haha, because even though it's loud, it brings the spirit. At least it does to me, haha.
I don't know, i'm just kind of rambling, I do that a lot if you haven't noticed :3 So sorry if this last whole section didn't make any sense to anyone, haha. This blog is kind of my own journal anyway, it's just a bonus if other people read it.
Oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Day 8: Monday, June 13
Destination: Sharon, VT
Sites Visited: Joseph Smith's Birth Place
Today I had a different experience than you're probably expecting... I mean, I don't know what you're expecting to hear me say about Joseph's Birth place. I guess you're hoping it's something about how my testimony of him was strengthened and how much I care about him and such, but something else was on my mind that day as we visited the site and talked about him...
A few things i'll write about for today:
-A quote by a kid in our group
-The kind of man I want to marry
-A letter to Joseph Smith
Alright, the quote, to start off. A kid in my group when bearing his testimony said something like, "Never has a generation fallen so hard. When we fall, we fall hard. But never has a generation come back so well. We pick ourselves up and move higher than the rest. We are strong and pure..." (Sorry if that's wrong, but that's as close as I remember... Forgive me!)
I thought that was very profound... It's so true. Our generation is the strongest... But we can also be the most beaten upon. Satan works hardest on God's strongest soldiers. Our generation has been saved for thousands of years to come to the earth at this time... We were saved for this time because God trusts us to make the world a better place, and add light to the darkness. We were sent to change the dark to the light... It's our duty, our job, our purpose.
We are strong. We are courageous... Sometimes we fall, but we are able to get back up. It's our duty to get back up and stand for what is right and true. We were chosen for this... God is putting this in our hands. He trusts us. Let's be strong. Let's stand up for the righteous things in this world... Let's stand together, as the army of Helaman. Just like the song... Just like the medley... We can do this. "You cannot fail if you choose to follow the Savior." ~Thomas S. Monson. We cannot fail with the Lord on our side. Good ALWAYS defeats evil. Always.
************************************************************************************
As we learned about Joseph Smith more and more, I kept thinking about the kind of man I want to marry... I am so amazed by Joseph and the man he was. I loved the way he treated Emma... He was so sweet to her. I want to marry a man like that. And then I realized, all the guys I went on this tour with are just as amazing! I gained so much respect for them. I want a guy who has decided on his own to be converted and decided on his own that he wants to serve a mission and share the gospel.
I wrote a lot more about the kind of guy I want, but that's more personal so I'll keep it in my journal...
I know if I work very hard to be the best person I can be in God's eyes, i'll hopefully deserve a man like Joseph. Or at least I hope to be that worthy for a man like that. :)
It also reminded me of this quote:
"A Book of Mormon that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't."
I want a guy with scriptures like that... Marked to death, like mine... Mine are falling apart haha...
************************************************************************************
In our manual, we were asked to write a letter to Joseph Smith. This is mine:
Dear Joseph,
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of you is all that you willingly sacrificed for the church... I wish I could thank you an endless number of times. I want to thank you, personally, for the influence you've had on MY life. Without you, I would have NOTHING. Literally. I would be a really bad person... I wouldn't have the strength to follow any sort of standard or law. I would not have any desire for any foundation in my life... I would not have any inspiration or motivation to be a good person. Because of you, I am strong, I am willing to sacrifice things for the gospel like you did, and I want to be a little better every day. Because of you, billions of people have better lives... Because of you... Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your lovely wife Emma has inspired me personally, as a woman. Please let her know that she is my ultimate example. I am probably going to name one of my daughters after her... Send her my love and my thanks for all she endured.
Love always,
Marci
Sites Visited: Joseph Smith's Birth Place
Today I had a different experience than you're probably expecting... I mean, I don't know what you're expecting to hear me say about Joseph's Birth place. I guess you're hoping it's something about how my testimony of him was strengthened and how much I care about him and such, but something else was on my mind that day as we visited the site and talked about him...
A few things i'll write about for today:
-A quote by a kid in our group
-The kind of man I want to marry
-A letter to Joseph Smith
Alright, the quote, to start off. A kid in my group when bearing his testimony said something like, "Never has a generation fallen so hard. When we fall, we fall hard. But never has a generation come back so well. We pick ourselves up and move higher than the rest. We are strong and pure..." (Sorry if that's wrong, but that's as close as I remember... Forgive me!)
I thought that was very profound... It's so true. Our generation is the strongest... But we can also be the most beaten upon. Satan works hardest on God's strongest soldiers. Our generation has been saved for thousands of years to come to the earth at this time... We were saved for this time because God trusts us to make the world a better place, and add light to the darkness. We were sent to change the dark to the light... It's our duty, our job, our purpose.
We are strong. We are courageous... Sometimes we fall, but we are able to get back up. It's our duty to get back up and stand for what is right and true. We were chosen for this... God is putting this in our hands. He trusts us. Let's be strong. Let's stand up for the righteous things in this world... Let's stand together, as the army of Helaman. Just like the song... Just like the medley... We can do this. "You cannot fail if you choose to follow the Savior." ~Thomas S. Monson. We cannot fail with the Lord on our side. Good ALWAYS defeats evil. Always.
************************************************************************************
As we learned about Joseph Smith more and more, I kept thinking about the kind of man I want to marry... I am so amazed by Joseph and the man he was. I loved the way he treated Emma... He was so sweet to her. I want to marry a man like that. And then I realized, all the guys I went on this tour with are just as amazing! I gained so much respect for them. I want a guy who has decided on his own to be converted and decided on his own that he wants to serve a mission and share the gospel.
I wrote a lot more about the kind of guy I want, but that's more personal so I'll keep it in my journal...
I know if I work very hard to be the best person I can be in God's eyes, i'll hopefully deserve a man like Joseph. Or at least I hope to be that worthy for a man like that. :)
It also reminded me of this quote:
"A Book of Mormon that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't."
I want a guy with scriptures like that... Marked to death, like mine... Mine are falling apart haha...
************************************************************************************
In our manual, we were asked to write a letter to Joseph Smith. This is mine:
Dear Joseph,
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of you is all that you willingly sacrificed for the church... I wish I could thank you an endless number of times. I want to thank you, personally, for the influence you've had on MY life. Without you, I would have NOTHING. Literally. I would be a really bad person... I wouldn't have the strength to follow any sort of standard or law. I would not have any desire for any foundation in my life... I would not have any inspiration or motivation to be a good person. Because of you, I am strong, I am willing to sacrifice things for the gospel like you did, and I want to be a little better every day. Because of you, billions of people have better lives... Because of you... Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your lovely wife Emma has inspired me personally, as a woman. Please let her know that she is my ultimate example. I am probably going to name one of my daughters after her... Send her my love and my thanks for all she endured.
Love always,
Marci
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| This a monument built for Joseph Smith where he was born. I don't remember how old Joseph was when he died, but that's how many feet tall it is. And it's always pointing towards God, just like Joseph :) I thought that was cool. |
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| Cool picture I took of it :3 |
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| Close up... |
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| The house wasn't actually there, so this is a mini replica. |
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| I thought it was cute! It was so small ^_^ |
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| The only thing left of the house was this front door step. |
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| Plaque on the doorstep... |
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| This was... somewhere on the property... Don't remember where. |
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| This was a painting in the Visitor Center, I thought it was sweet :) Emma and Joseph |
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| Another sweet painting :) |
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| This made me cry.... If I counted right, they had 5 children die as infants. That's so terrible... |
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| I thought this was sweet :) |
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| This was also in the Visitor's Center, I thought it was cool so I thought i'd throw it in here :) |
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