We Begin to Shine

   Oh my, this week was full of change, excitement and awesome spiritual experiences!! I have a new companion, her name is Sister Murphy. She came from the Trail center, is amazing, and we realized that we both act super weird whenever we get really excited, hahaha. We have only had four days together, and so many wonderful things have happened already!

    This past week, I have been pondering on the definition of joy, and how is it that we can have joy more fully. The first place I turned to was the scriptures, and what I found surprised me. In each scripture, things like tears, sorrow and tribulation always came before the feeling and expression of joy (Psalms 126:5, Isaiah 50:11 &2 Corinthians 7:4), and I realized that joy is something we earn after having accomplished something hard. It is deeper and sweeter than happiness, because we have gone through hard things, and through Christ we were triumphant. This joy that we feel, fills us so completely that we begin to shine, and as Christ has said "Let your light so shine before men." To me, this means that if I stay faithful, and keep pressing forward, through our Savior, my "tears, sorrow and tribulation" can be turned into light. In the scriptures it says "Come unto me...that thy burdens may be light." I always thought that meant less heavy or less hard, but now I realize that this "light" is one that can be seen. It is the light of testimony, and conversion that comes after our trials and is expressed through feelings of joy".  May we have the courage to seek the Savior amidst our trials and always remember the words of Lehi: "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy!"

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847