The Parable of Exercise (Coming Unto Christ)

Our bodies need exercise, they are temples given to us by a loving Heavenly Father and He has asked us to take care of them. Latter day prophets and apostles have strongly encouraged us to exercise in these latter days. Just as we have been asked to care for our bodies, we must also care for our spirits by coming unto Christ. 

For the past two months I have been working out consistently more than I have in a long while. I had gotten out of the habit unintentionally as life starts to take over and pretty soon I realized that I was constantly missing my exercise routines and good habits that I had developed because one day of not going to the gym turned into two days and so on and so forth. Needless to say it's been a really hard journey to get back to where I was before, but nothing that has been impossible. 

It's not that I don't like taking care of my mind, body, and spirit through strength training and cardio. In fact I love it and now that I've renewed my habit, my body craves it and my mind thrives upon it but just as change always is, it's been a hard and painful process. My muscles were out of practice when I first started and every bit of exercise I was putting my body through seemed to be uncomfortable and more painful than those I would observe around me, those who had been working towards their fitness goals longer and more consistently than I had leaving them to have muscle that was in practice and endurance that had been built as a firm foundation.

That's the thing when you go to the gym, you don't get to see where they started or what their struggles were to get to that point. All I can guarantee is that it took them some hard work and uncomfortable journeys to get to where they are today. 

It wasn't until two months of consistently working out and putting my body through great pain and discomfort that I finally started to feel like progress was being made, muscle was being built, and I the pain I had endured was worth it because it wasn't going to be that extremely uncomfortable as it had in the past because I had created a foundation of strength and muscle for my body.

I started to ponder on those two hard months, months where I was excited to see the results and I would push through the very hard and uncomfortable pain my body was not used to yet because I had so much faith it would get easier. I believe that's how our journey is as we strive to come unto Christ. When we aren't in the light and giving our whole hearts to Christ, it becomes a very hard and uncomfortable journey. The whole point of this mortal life is to become as Christ is, to be perfect as we take His name upon us. When we are living in sin, disobedience, selfishness, and pride we start to turn our hearts away from Christ and it becomes an uncomfortable life because Christ has to be our foundation because no matter who you are, you have the light of Christ within you.

When we forget how much our happiness and salvation depends upon the Savior, our journey is one that takes a lot more work and faith before we can experience that peace and happiness that comes from progression. The more we strive to take upon us the name of Christ, the easier and more comfortable it becomes to feel of His love, His Spirit, and His healing powers. Just as starting or restarting a new work out journey can be trying and uncomfortable, so can taking change through repentance and coming unto Christ; but the more we practice it and have faith in the process, the more rewarding it becomes.

If your faith has been tested or if you have lost your way and you are in need of repentance Christ stands with open arms ready to lift you up. You have no reason to fear, come unto Him. Expect it to be a challenge because change isn't easy. Changing your heart, your habits, your desires, and your ways of thinking is going to take a lot of focus and may cause some moments where you will feel extremely uncomfortable and may even want to give up, but the view you will see and the peace in your heart you will feel will be a lasting reward that will make every single moment worth it. Don't give up! Start, and start today! 

If you start to feel your heart hardening towards the light you have been in, maybe you need to make a small change. A weight lifter can't progress if he lifts the same size of weights every single time. Perhaps it's time you give a little bit more of your heart to Christ, up-ing your weight and celebrating your progress in becoming just a little bit more like Him. 

Christ loves you infinitely. If you don't know this life will never be as peaceful and satisfying until you do. Live as he would live, love as he would love, pray as he would pray, and serve as he would serve and then you will have the power to know for yourself is Christ lives and just what gifts and powers he has to offer you.

Christ's Love Passes My Understanding

(Art by: Robert Barrett)

The more I go through in this journey called life, the more compassion I have upon others. Pain is real, it can sometimes leave you shaken to your very core. Even when nothing in the world is wrong in front of you, and life appears to be blissfully perfect from the outside world, Christ knows the wounds and pains you hold within.

After many pleas of prayer asking for anxiety to removed from me, time after time again I feel even more indebted to my Savior. It's in the moments when He doesn't remove the pain, it's in the moments where I have to suffer some of the greatest pain I know that I realize just how much the Savior loves me. If He suffered and bled for me knowing beforehand just how many mistakes I would make and weaknesses would be found on my journey that bring me to my knees over and over again, the love He has for me is incomprehensible.

Those moments of panic and fear that make my heart tremble to it's very core are the greatest rocks I have to rely on my Savior and create that firm foundation that cannot fall. When the pain isn't removed, I realize just how much pain my Savior went through just for me; and yet I still can't fathom it all because I haven't passed through all the pain I will yet go through. What if the anxiety I face isn't about that fear coming true, but what if it is just the opposite, an opportunity to go through pain to better shape me for the happiness and journey that my heart so greatly desires? What if the pain is an answer to prayer? What if Heavenly Father may not be causing the greatest pain I know, but He is allowing me to go through it so I may have a greater compassion on others?

In this mortal life, I will never be able to fully comprehend just how much Christ loves me. The mistakes I have made and the imperfections I have break my heart, but that's not what changes me. What changes me is realizing I couldn't overcome any road block, any flaw, any iniquity, or any sorrow or emotion if it wasn't for the Savior. Satan blinds us constantly from all the work and love Christ is sprinkling along our path every moment, but if it wasn't for Christ, we would never move forward from one moment to the next. 

Because my Savior lives, I want to serve more hearts and love more people. I am completely indebted to Him. He has given me more than my eyes can recognize and more than my heart can feel at this time, but I know without a doubt He never stops giving. He goes before me to bring about good from the messes I have made. He allows me to experience peace, sometimes it isn't until weeks after all the pain, but that hope is forever along my path. It's the most painful paths that seem to be the most blinding to me. When hope doesn't seem to shine through among all the tears, I may for a moment or two forget that hope is even a thing; but I never stop fighting for it. In fact I believe I fight for it the most when it appears to be absent, and I believe that's how hope is developed; through the fighting and pleading. 

Christ never stops giving, to those who love Him, and to those who don't yet recognize just how much love they do have for Him. Christ never stops loving His brothers and sisters, and I never want to stop loving mine. I am so blessed by pain, it allows me to look deeper at a situation, without a desire to love or have compassion on others. I want to speak kinder, love deeper, and serve with my whole heart. Service is a part of me, it always has been. I am happier when I serve and it's the thing that Satan tries so very hard to stop me from doing. Ideas to serve others come to my mind quite a few times a day. I must confess that I am probably only acting on 5 - 10% of those service ideas because it's HARD. It's hard to get out of your own way, it's hard to put your thoughts and pain aside to focus on another instead. It's hard to do something you think may be so silly, but who I am to judge the impact it could have. Satan KNOWS the power that lives within us, oh does he ever. He knows exactly what will cause us to believe that serving others is hard. But the more love we draw down from the powers of Heaven, the more love and hope we will be able to feel in our own lives.

Christ's atonement is about giving and receiving. It's about receiving hope, charity, forgiveness, and change while offering up our hearts and our compassion. Christ offers me so much I have been overlooking, which gives me the deepest desire to GIVE and to become the absolute best version of me.

Embrace the Moment You're In

Proverbs 23:7 // "As He thinketh in His heart, so is He."

Picture from our Snow Canyon Cave Hike

Have you ever heard the statement, "You are what you believe you are?" How true that is! If you believe you aren't loved, no amount of love either through words or actions will ever be enough to make you feel loved, it is your beliefs that will feed your soul. 

If you think about faith and happiness; you bring about faith and happiness. What a beautiful concept, am I right?!

Last week I went down to St. George; fear and anxiety kept creeping up on me in the worst ways. Some moments I wanted to wish away the vacation and the beautiful time to relax so the fear would leave me. What I didn't recognize in that moment was I was thinking about that fear. I was allowing it to build up and fester in my heart and mind which only created more fear and anxiety and eventually many other negative emotions that brought down opposition that threatened my happiness and even the happiness of those around me as well.

Life is to be enjoyed - Have a little fun! 

We are in control of our happiness, it's not about the circumstances that lie in front of us. We can be happy at any time, any where if we allow ourselves to be. It's about not fearing the future, but living in the moment. Every moment is so beautiful. Every moment there is so much joy that awaits us, will we choose it? Will we choose to soak up the moment, a gift so precious given to us by a loving Heavenly Father? 

After coming home from that vacation, thinking all fear would float away, it didn't. All I wanted was to go back on that vacation and have a do-over. I wanted to relive the moments that I had missed out on living in fear. What moments are you missing out on in your life? What opposition are you bringing upon yourself because of what your thoughts are creating you to be?


I love life! Life is hard, really hard! But it's beautiful and so worth it and I never want to waste a precious moment of it. I don't ever want to be found wishing a moment away again. Life is to be enjoyed. God created us to have joy! Let's make the most of it. I want to make sure I make life full of good and clean fun and stop worrying my life away. Today I choose to give up fear and sadness and look to God to live!

Here are three life motto's I want to leave you with today:

1. Make people feel loved!

You will NEVER regret making others feel loved, EVER! You know what you will regret? Criticism and tearing others down. Even if you don't mean to criticize, even if you think the words you are going to say will solve your problems; if it's not going to make others feel loved, refrain. You have so much power inside of you to make a difference and influence others for good. Make people feel loved, that's the way to true friendship and getting others to like you. 

You never forget those that make you feel loved. You never forget the people that make you feel loved, so be that person. To be a people builder is to accomplish the greatest thing. Don't underestimate the power your words and actions have. If it isn't nice and encouraging, then simply don't say it. Help others to feel valued and appreciated because you chose your words carefully. Criticism doesn't change people, love and acceptance does. The quickest way to inspire others is to love them unconditionally. 

2. Live in the Moment You're In!

Embrace this moment. It will never come again. Make happiness an option even if you find yourself drowning in anxiety. You can waste the moment living in fear, or you can let the fear go, look to God and LIVE! He gave you this moment for a reason. This moment is yours; it's yours to have joy in, it's yours to embrace it; it's yours to use to serve others! Don't let the moment pass you by because it will all too quickly. Just soak it up, live in it. 

Moments pass all too quickly, beauty and lessons are found in every single moment; focus on the moment until you find it. This present day was given to you for a reason. Life is short, don't let it pass you by.

3. Be Grateful

Be grateful to those around you, be thankful to Heavenly Father, and find gratitude in the good moments and the hard ones. So many people do so many incredible things for you, are you aware of all of them? Let people know that you notice the good others do for you. Thank people when you see them build you up, check on you, or show you charity and love. Everyone deserves a little gratitude for the good they do. Thank Heavenly Father for the blessings that feel your very life and soul. Thank Him for the blessings you just keep overlooking. Life is good! Did you hear me? LIFE IS GOOD! It's hard, I can't even explain how hard I think life, but man there is so much to be thankful for and ever good and bad moment you get through; that is something to be grateful about. Look for the beauty in every moment no matter what it offers you. You deserve to be happy and that comes from gratitude. 



Disclaimer: This little blog of mine, it's my space where I try to make something beautiful out of the little mess in my mind. I'm not perfect at what I say, in fact I think I learn more from my blog than any other person out there. I don't blog to try and tell others how I think they should be living their life, I blog because it's what I enjoy. It's what brings me peace in the hectic moments of life. These three motto's are three things that I am imperfect at, but things I believe with all my heart are important. I'm preaching to myself, but if you want to join along we can make it a party. 

Thoughts Create Our Emotions + Random Thoughts by Ashley

Hope you had a beautiful weekend and you got outside to enjoy the sun! It was beautiful this weekend. The sun is one the greatest creations ever. Seriously, craving summer right about now.  

I had such an amazing weekend spending time with some incredible young women, fourteen very choice and amazing of them to be exact. We filmed a video introducing The Power of One Girl. Every girl was interviewed by me. These girls have powerful testimonies and being around them was such a strengthening experience for me. 

Then what a spiritual and sacred Sunday as the Provo Temple Dedication took place. My heart was filled with the love Heavenly Father has for His children. How glorious it is that Heavenly Father has purpose in all things and He can make beauty out of ashes. I also enjoyed some time playing with kiddos, they sure give you a different outlook on life and make you appreciate it that much more. 

Some days I feel empowered and it's as if I can see God's hand in my life as things come together. And then there are the days where I just feel stuck and in a funk. The days where I use more faith than eyesight to know that the Lord is aware and opposition comes at us for a reason. This life is supposed to be hard, it's supposed to test us. If every single day was perfect, if everything worked out like we thought it should we probably wouldn't ever learn and we definitely wouldn't grow. 

When the little things come up that pull at my emotions, I'm grateful for the reminder to check in with the Lord. Negative emotions are necessary because they are powerful in pointing us back to the Lord. We have power over our emotions and the more we turn to the Lord, the more we can fight our negative emotions. However, it's not something that can fully avoided in this life because this life is a time to learn and grow. A time to turn our hearts to the Lord and know how to do just that. It is our thoughts that create emotions. Sometimes it's one simple thought and other times it's a cycle of thoughts that turn them into emotions; but nonetheless it is up to us to anchor our hearts in Christ so we can take over our thoughts and have power over our emotions.

The times where I feel off balance and in a funk, the times where I start to feel bitter or angry over a simple experience; it's in these moments that remind me I'm not planting my heart in Christ or my burdens at His feet and it's time for me to let go. Every time I turn to the Lord, every single time I tell Him about a trial or what's weighing down my heart, He either fixes the situation or lifts me up so I can keep going. God doesn't leave us in the ashes. God takes us and makes us whole. God has great plans for us; sometimes I understand how powerful those words are and other days I have to walk blindly and submit my will to His. No matter what, no day is wasted. No trial is unavailing. No broken heart is permanent. 

You are not forgotten and you are never alone! 

YSA #LDSFace2Face // Elder Holland - My Takeaways

I am a huge fan of Elder Holland...but I mean, really who isn't? He is so full of love, honesty, compassion, and humor. 

Watching the YSA Face2Face event tonight was so inspiring and full of the Spirit. So grateful for his words of wisdom and for the way he lives his life to bless us with such incredible words of the sprit. 

If you missed it - check it out HERE! 

I just wanted to share some of my favorite takeaways from the event...

1. Find a man that would do ANYTHING for you, knowing all that they would ask of you would be righteous. This is what true love is.

2. Focus on what is right rather than who is right.

3. Happiness comes from taking the blinders off and looking outside of yourself.

4. We are not going to form a 2nd class citizenship for girls who do not serve missions.

5. You don't know the backstory on everyone, often even your closest friends. We should never judge or assume.

6. Don't ever give up on ANYONE, the power of the atonement is so real.

7. Study the life of Christ long enough to truly know Him and love Him.

8. Blessings are available to those that are chaste.

9. If it's a good thing, go with it.

10. Whatever the question, the gospel of Jesus Christ is THE ANSWER!

11. Christ is the beginning and the end for me, He is where I begin and where I end.

12. Christ is Alpha Omega!!!

13. He is the bright morning Sun and Son that ALWAYS comes up!

14. In the dark of the night, Jesus will find you.

15. We are indebted to the women of the church, as I am to the women in my life.

16. Memorize D+C 4 = the formula for a happy marriage.

17. The work that needs to be done for the church can't be done by missionaries alone.

18. Christlike attributes are the foundation for all relationships.

19. God can speak to you through your thoughts, heart, intelligence, and every good thing. So if it is a good thing, trust it is from Him. Don't get so caught up in worrying if it's the spirit that you stop moving.

20. Love is what you go through together...don't wait when you have a good thing! Don't wait on money, school, a career. 


Elder Holland asked us to respond to this question:

What do I do to find peace + happiness in times of trial? 

My answer: I keep in perspective that it was I that fought to come to earth and be tried. Of course it is going to be hard but one day I will look back and it will be beyond worth it. I also get up and serve others. I find ways to build others so I can forget about my own problems. I read conference talks and listen to them as I go on long walks. I go to the temple to feel of God's peace and love. I pray aloud in my car, my room, outside in the park or in front of the temple. I take my Book of Mormon with me everywhere I go. 

Gossip Robs the Love of God

Ever since I was called to serve as the Relief Society President of my YSA ward just over a month ago, I have felt so inadequate to my own ability and I have had to rely on the Savior and Heavenly Father in various unique ways as I am clearly aware that I am nothing without them. Oh how fragile my heart can be as I am left to my own strength; but as I rely on Christ and focus on Christ confidence more than self-confidence I feel strengthened and am reminded of what a great team I got the choice to be on. 

Someone that I have a deep trust in made me aware of some gossip that was being said about me at my work place. My heart sunk deep and I couldn't seem to shake her words off for over an hour. I kept thinking about the words that had been said, letting them play in my mind over and over again; wondering why she even had a desire to be talking about me and judging my story she knows next to nothing about. I was letting it eat at me and I noticed my heart was becoming hard. 

As I started to evaluate the situation from a new light; a renewed spirit entered my heart and suddenly I was reminded of the relationship I have with my Savior. All the times He carried me on a path I couldn't walk alone. I was reminded of the moments that only the Savior and I have endured and how those moments are my priceless story that no one in this world will fully understand and appreciate like I do until we become one heart and one mind and return to Zion. I was reminded that I don't need anyone else's love and approval because God is on my side and that is the only thing in this world that really matters!

I became so focused on Self-Confidence that I forgot to rely on Christ-Confidence. Christ confidence is the only way I can become whole and content in who I am and where my journey has taken me. If I focus on the world trying to understand it; well then I am giving away part of the greatest love, memories, and experiences I came to this earth to obtain.

Source

My heart was hurt by gossip, especially when I am fully aware I am an imperfect human. I don't understand gossip, I don't understand why as a humanity we are always out to attack and tear one another down. It makes no sense to me; why would we want to diminish the love of God in our lives by doing such actions? 

I love this quote by Elenor Roosevelt; "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people." What a profound statement! 

Let's Say No to Gossiping:

 People trust you more when you don't gossip.

When I hear someone gossip to me about someone else, I don't like to hang around them for two reasons.

1) Gossip drains me. It takes so much energy and happiness out of me because of how much negativity it holds. 

2) It scares me to be their friend because if they have all this negative stuff to say about others, it makes me wonder just what they might be saying behind my back when I am not around.

There is more than enough hate in this world. There is too much judging, especially when we each have our own sins. Let's be kinder, more loving, more forgiving, and less critical.

The faults we are looking for and finding in others, are always in us too. Sometimes we are so certain we are not at all like those we criticize; but just ask God and He will prove that we are all a lot more alike than our human eyes can see. Ask Heavenly Father to help you see the faults within yourself as you are caught seeing them in others, He will show you and He will gently help you correct them.

As I prayed and sought Christ to help me let go from being the target of gossip, my heart became broken for the gossiper. Perhaps she is missing feeling the love of God in her life; because when we feel His love; we want to give it, not rob others of it. 

"When our hearts are filled with the love of God, we become “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving.”" - President Uchtdorf

To Be Crowned By Christ

Art created by Robert Barrett - Thank you so much for collaborating Robert. 

Psalms 21:3 - 

"For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness:

 thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head."

As a little girl, it was all I could dream about to become a Princess. I imagined what it would be like to have a closet full of clothes only royalty would wear, living in a huge castle where there was a guard at every corner, and of course a gorgeous gold plated crown that showed a declaration of nobility would be placed on the crown of my head.

Since my princess dream didn't come true at my young age, despite wishing upon a star. So I decided to take matters into my own hands; I made the choice I would compete in a pageant to earn a title and a crown myself. I knew it would be hard work, but I had no idea nine pageants later with such great sacrifice and dedication I still wouldn't have the crown my heart had been yearning for. 

But one day it hit me, what if I had been seeking the wrong crown all along? What if I had been working so hard for a corruptible crown and Heavenly Father was saying "I want to give you an incorruptible one". (1 Corinthians 9:25)

I gave blood, sweat, and tears to that dream; literally. I gave it my all! I pleaded my heart out in prayer to Heavenly Father, and all along He had a different plan for my life.

"When life is cut too deep and left you hurting. The future you had hoped for is now burning. The dreams you held so tight left their meaning and you don't know if you will ever find the healing. You're going to make it! If your heart is breaking, there is a promise for the ones who just hold on. The sun is rising." - Britt Nicole

It's so easy to become distracted in this world by jewels and titles. We think what makes someone popular, beautiful, or of importance comes from what the world deems as success, but the world has it so wrong. This painting means everything in the world to me, when I first saw it, my eyes filled with tears. It's a picture of Christ putting a crown on my head. I didn't need a worldly crown to be deemed worthy or accepted; Christ already paid that price for me. 

I want you to picture yourself in this painting, picture Christ putting a crown on your head. The beautiful thing about crowns is most of the time when someone is crowned, it is a declaration of acceptance and self-worth. What do people do with their heads when they are insecure? They look down to the ground, their body language displays they are not happy, they are not confident, they don't feel secure. What would happen if an insecure person looks down with the crown on their head? It would fall off! We have to know who we are and that our individual worth and divine nature is found in Christ for the crown to stay on that Christ places on each one of our heads. And how do we know this? By coming unto Him an by following in His ways. 

When we aren't living with an open heart, we can't feel the love of our Savior. That love, that acceptance that Christ has for every single one of His children can only be felt as we are accepting and using the atonement in our lives. It is for EVERYONE. Inviting the atonement of Jesus Christ into my life is the greatest crown I could have ever imagined being placed on my head. Without Christ, I am nothing. Christ has all the answers and He is the only way to light and good things to come. 

The love my Savior has for me is everything to me. I love in the Book of Mormon where it says "After ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches." (Jacob 2:18) A hope in Christ literally feels as if you are rich. That hope in Christ is something I have to work on every single day of my life. 

That crown Christ puts on your head is a symbol of his

 love for you. Every day he crowns your head saying,   

 "You are worth it!"