Examples of Forgiveness in the BOM (talk in sacrament meeting April 2014)

Good morning! So, the last time I gave a talk I believe I was a Beehive in Young Women-I miraculously got out of every assignment given to me since then, until now! Great job Brother Truett for not letting me get off so easy! Today my talk is on the many Examples of Forgiveness in the Book of Mormon. To help illustrate this, I’ll share a couple personal stories as well several quotes from church leaders that I felt were appropriate for this topic. Throughout my life, there have been struggles within my family (immediate and extended) dealing with forgiveness. As with most broken home families, there are a lot of instances where the hurt from the divorce affects the entire family. It has taken the majority of my life to forgive those who have hurt not only myself, but those that I love most. With as large of a family as I have, gossip is VERY easy to come by. Words have been said that have broken hearts, actions and lack of actions hurt feelings, and unity within the family wavered. This past summer my sister Camille and I had the opportunity to go out to Utah for a family reunion. Little did we know that this would be a life-changing event. Being around siblings neither of us have had an opportunity to really get to know due to age differences and distance between us, we learned first-hand that heart-break through divorce is universal. At this family gathering, we were all able to sit together in our cabin with our father and discuss the internal trauma that has been affecting us our entire lives. Although it was difficult, being able to confess feelings and express our emotions with everyone together made it easier. This one day didn’t cause everyone to forgive right then and there, but it was a motion put into progress that helped the healing process to bloom. In the long run, this one instance has not only helped Camille and I appreciate our wonderful family, but it has mended a bridge between the remainder of the family as well. Forgiving those who have hurt us can be difficult, but as President Thomas S. Monson once said in one of my favorite talks titled Hidden Wedges, “The spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest, so that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families, there are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesn’t really matter what the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals.” In the talk, To Be Free of Heavy Burdens by Richard G. Scott states: “You may be carrying a heavy burden of feeling injured by another who has seriously offended you. Your response to that offense may have distorted your understanding so that you feel justified in waiting for that individual to ask forgiveness so that the pain can leave. The Savior dispelled any such thought when He commanded: …‘I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men’ [D&C 64:10].” Ronald E. Poelman said, “The best source through which a correct understanding of how forgiveness may be obtained is the Book of Mormon. Let us consider some examples of its teachings. Enos recorded for us his experience, alone in the forest, remembering the words of his father concerning eternal life: “And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; … “And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee. … “… Wherefore, my guilt was swept away. “And I said: Lord, how is it done? “And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ” (Enos 1:4–8). How is it done? The question each of us may ponder. Again we turn to the Book of Mormon for additional understanding. Father Lehi teaches us that the divine purpose of our mortal probation requires us to experience opposition in all things and, knowing good from evil, to exercise our moral agency, make choices, and be accountable for the consequences (see 2 Ne. 2). We learn from the prophet Alma that we are subject to divine law, which all have transgressed in some respect, making us subject to the demands of justice (see Alma 42:14, 18). God’s justice is based upon divine laws, under which we receive what we deserve according to our disobedience or obedience to the law. Justice affords no forgiveness for transgressors but imposes penalties (see D&C 82:4). None is exempt (see D&C 107:84). After all we can do to repent, we are still subject to the demands of justice and its penalties, which we cannot satisfy. However, we learn from Alma of our Father’s plan of mercy, whereby the Son of God would atone for the sins of the world and “appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also” (Alma 42:15). Like most teenagers, I was difficult! I yelled at my siblings, threw MANY temper tantrums, rebelled against my parents’ wishes, and even rebelled a bit in terms of the church a little later on in life. Lucky for me, I was blessed with a caring and loving family and a VERY patient and compassionate Heavenly Father! There were instances in my life in which I thought I would never be forgiven. A dark and desolate path far from the straight and narrow, I was on a lonely road leading to nowhere good. However, I was never really alone. No one is. In the times where we think we have gone to the brink of no return, that’s where we are the most surrounded. In my situation, I was blessed with angels whom Heavenly Father placed in my life to help guide me, now known as my closest friends. While in the process of turning my life around, one of these friends quoted this talk given by Richard G. Scott in the October 2000 conference. “If you have repented from serious transgression and mistakenly believe that you will always be a second-class citizen in the kingdom of God, learn that is not true. The Savior said: ‘Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. ‘By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins–behold, he will confess them and forsake them.’ Find encouragement in the lives of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah. They were tragically wicked. Yet their full repentance and service qualified them to be considered as noble as righteous Captain Moroni. To you who have sincerely repented yet continue to feel the burden of guilt, realize that to continue to suffer for sins when there has been proper repentance and forgiveness of the Lord is prompted by the master of deceit. Lucifer will encourage you to continue to relive the details of past mistakes, knowing that such thoughts can hamper your progress. Thus he attempts to tie strings to the mind and body so that he can manipulate you like a puppet to discourage personal achievement.” Jefferey R. Holland said this in a conference talk back in April of 2012 in regards to the parable of the Laborers of the Vineyard found in Matthew 20 : “This parable—like all parables—is not really about laborers or wages any more than the others are about sheep and goats. This is a story about God’s goodness, His patience and forgiveness, and the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a story about generosity and compassion. It is a story about grace. It underscores the thought I heard many years ago that surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it. I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable, but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines. Whether you are not yet of our faith or were with us once and have not remained, there is nothing in either case that you have done that cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized. Even if you feel you are the lost and last laborer of the eleventh hour, the Lord of the vineyard still stands beckoning. “Come boldly [to] the throne of grace,”3 and fall at the feet of the Holy One of Israel. Come and feast “without money and without price”4 at the table of the Lord." I have a testimony of this church. I KNOW that it is true. I am SO grateful for our Father’s mercy and the great sacrifice our brother and savior Jesus Christ made in order for all of us to return home to our heavenly family. I am forever thankful for those who stood by my side in those times of anguish that inspired me to be the woman I am today. We are so blessed to have a living prophet today that counsels us and provides the guidance we need in these latter days. I am thrilled to know that each of us has an opportunity to right the wrongs in our lives and repent of our mistakes. I know this all to be true, and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ our savior and redeemer, Amen.

Some things just need to be said..

Well well well...it's been quite a while since I wrote on my blog! I was thinking about starting a whole new blog site and just use that one as my "vent" one about how stupid people can be haha! But seeing as no one really looks at this site of mine anyways, I suppose I could just write whatever I want and not really worry about hurting anyone's feelings, right? ;)

So to start off...what would YOU do reader if this was you?

 My neighbor has these two really annoying dogs and lately it's become a war between us (Not really sure if they even know that they are a part of it though). On a daily basis my neighbor lets her dogs hangout on her front porch until their "daddy" gets home from work (innocent enough, right?...WRONG!). Well, the ENTIRE time they are just chilling out on the patio unattended, they bark and bark and bark and...well, you know, BARK! And she'll come out and yell "Shut up!!" as if they understand her (or care about how she feels about their yaps). This wouldn't be such a big deal if it was just occasionally or even just during the afternoon, but no, it most certainly has to be during the most inconvenient time of day. One morning she put her dogs outside at 7AM!! Seven. A. M! Seriously?! Because that's EXACTLY what I want to wake up to in the morning on the weekend. 

So here's the icing on the cake: She and I have discussed the "invisible fence" and whether or not it's a good idea for our dogs. Her response is "Aw, I could NEVER hurt my babies like that! Just a little shock makes me want to tear up thinking about it." Well lady, let me tell you..if you don't contain your dogs a little shock will be the least of your worries! (okay, not really...I would never abuse her dogs, but...it hasn't NOT crossed my mind.)I believe in respect of property, and if that means I have to take my dog out on a leash every dang day to let him do his business, then so be it. She on the other hand WILL take her dogs out on a leash, but guess where she takes them to do their disgusting business! ON MY TURF! MY YARD! MY PROPERTY!!  

Now, there are no fences in my neighborhood so boundaries are sometimes hard to comprehend, BUT she literally walks all the way in to my backyard and allows her dogs to poop out their WHATEVER it is they are pooping out! (Who knows what she feeds them...poison?!)It's not just your normal every day looking dog poop either, it's runny and discolored and when it's not runny, it's so grotesque I want to gag(so, either way it's a disturbing site!)I've tried confronting her about it and guess what her response is..."Oh, that's not from my dogs. I've seen the other neighbor's dog in your yard! You should go confront them." HOWEVER, the other dog is on an invisible fence! She LIED to MY FACE! *face fuming*

Now here's the question I impose on you lovely reader...Would you take that mess and throw it back in their yard or be a neighborly neighbor and just clean it up and move on? I've been patient enough and I'm ready to get this war won already! 

I think I want to get those two dogs some lovely new collars for Christmas...And I'll be in charge of the remotes. A little ZAP! ZAP! here and a little ZAP! ZAP! there, Here a ZAP! There a ZAP! Everywhere a ZAP! ZAP! That'd shut them up and keep them out of my yard real quick, right? *le sigh...If only. 

Well, this concludes my rant for the day. :)

Sincerely yours,

An Agitated Neighbor 

Love for all eternity!!

Okay okay, so this is WAY past due!!

On May 6th, 2011 I became the happiest and most complete woman...EVER!! :) I have finally met my perfect match and we absolutely love one another! Every day, every minute, every second, we just love each other more!!! Okay okay, maybe not every second. :P But you get the point.

At 5 pm on Thursday May 6th, Robert and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Atlanta, GA temple. It was such a perfect day!! I couldn't believe how perfectly perfect it went! ;) The sky was blue (definitely not storming and pouring like my nightmares showed), the birds were singing, everything went smoothly, AND I was able to breathe in my dress!! (barely, but still, I didn't pass out!! haha) The temple staff was EXTREMELY nice too- I couldn't have imagined going ANYWHERE else to get married other than the temple! (Definitely the ONLY way to go!!)

 I was SO excited to see family and dear friends who I haven't seen in a while as well! What a turnout!!
My most enthusiastic and definitely funniest aunt drove down from D.C. with one of my sweetest cousins, Lacey. That was the cherry on top of it all! I swear, when we were at dinner, I thought I'd laugh up all my food-she just wouldn't stop (she's just that awesome :P). I was thrilled to have my dad and mom #2 with me there as well...I couldn't have asked for a more special time!

The pic above is of us at The Cheesecake Factory (that's my dad's amazing pic. taking skills!)

Cheesecake factory was SO yummy!! However, I couldn't eat a yummy fattening pasta cuz I was afraid I wouldn't be able to squeeze into my dress for the reception. haha (so instead I ate the cheesecake Robert and I ordered for breakfast the next morning :P)
We had about 25 people come with us to dinner, and it was a blast. I'm really happy that my family was able to meet Robert's family so they could see the super amazing group of people I am now a part of. I love them all! :)

Alright, so the moment everyone keeps asking about...."So, Angela..how was your first night together??" Well, it was AWESOME! But...no details other than this...We stayed at the W in Perimeter, downtown Atlanta, and at first we were only supposed to have a regular room with 2 double beds. Luckily, they decided to change us to a king room...then when they found out we were newly weds, they upgraded us to the "Suite"ha ha. I guess the hotel went through some new "renovations" in order to make it look more "contemporary". haha --but this is what it turned out to be.

Haha, I have to give it to the W though, the staff was pretty nice! :) I just wonder what the other rooms look like if this was the suite.... :S

Our reception was beautifully decorated!!! (courtesy Tamra and my mom :D--marv-a-lous!) The cake turned out A-MMMMM-AZING! (wish I could have eaten more of it when I had the chance!) and I was so excited to see old friends that I hadn't seen in FOR EV ERR!! (Special thanks to all of you!! Love you!) Overall, the reception was pretty entertaining, (there were a couple things I'd change if I could go back in time, for example, I'd probably go up and stand with my sister and sing with her as she forgot the words so we could laugh together- thanks Camille, that was hilarious! I heart you!). I got to also have, not just one, but two daddy-daughter dances (both were very special), I have the most incredible dads!

Overall, the entire weekend was perfect. The only thing that would have made this whole experience more enjoyable would have been a honeymoon! Instead, we came back to daily life and did homework, studied, and worked as usual....however, August is right around the corner! We still haven't figured out FOR SURE where we want to go, but so far Vegas has both our votes! :P Maybe we can win a couple thousand bucks playing the slots :P (jk jk!)

Well  there you have it, I am now an O'Brien and loving every minute of it!

And just f.y.i....just because we're married does not mean we're ready to have kids now haha (so stop asking :P) The only thing I want now is for my little beta to live a while so I can prove to Robert I can be responsible enough to take care of a puppy ;) I was looking at toy poodles today and they're pretty dang cute!! However, I'm guessing Robert won't be down for that.. :( haha (doesn't mean I can't try to convince him though;) LOL!)

I love you all SO much!!! Thank you for all your support!

Love always,

Your newly wed of a friend

Angela O'Brien

Introducing...Angela O'Brien (Coming Soon!)

Robert and I had been dating for 6 months, and for the past month and a half or so, I've been dropping hints to Robert that I would LOVE to get a ring sometime soon! One day he was joking around and said "Angela, what if I propose to you on your birthday? What would you say?" My reply was "Duhh....OF COURSE!" . Well, needless to say, Christmas passed, my birthday passed, and New Years passed. No ring. This past weekend a couple of really good friends came from Mississippi to spend time with us in Atlanta. On Saturday we spent the whole day walking around downtown, shared a VERY large piece of cake from Metro Diner, went to Centennial park, and experienced the Underground Mall. All of which, Robert and I have done before on past dates when we first started dating.

That night, we drove down to Macon to stay in a hotel that our friends had booked for us, and the plans were to go clubbing to celebrate my friend's birthday. We had a couple hours to waste before the club opened, so we decided to sit back and relax and order a pizza. As I'm finishing up an order online, Robert starts kissing me, and I just melt in his arms; it felt almost like our first kiss all over again. As we're lying there on the bed, we have this conversation:

Me: I love kissing you. After 7 months of kissing you, I still absolutely love it!

Rob: Blah! *rolls eyes and smiles*

Rob: So, do you feel like you've been patient enough?

Me: Well, I mean, I think so! But if you want me to continue trying to be patient, I can keep on trying.

Rob: You haven't been THAT patient. You've been dropping me hints like crazy.

Me: Umm....well, you know, I'd LOVE for it all to happen now, I'd LOVE to have a ring, buuut I've waited this long for you, what's a little longer?

Rob: Yeah, that's what I was thinking, but you know that package that was sent the other day? What if I told you it WAS really a ring? AND I'm thinking of proposing to you on Valentine's Day?

Me: Robert, stop it. Last time you said I'd be getting a ring, you said you'd propose on my birthday, and I got my hopes up, and it didn't HAPPEN! I'm not falling for THAT again.

Rob: Angela, I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet...

Me: Noticed what......*looks to the side where his hand is sitting there holding an open ring box* Oh my gosh....no way....! Oh my gosh.

Rob: You may be patient, but I really can't be patient anymore...*slides off of bed onto his knee* Will you marry me?

Me: EEEE! Yes!!! Oh my gosh!! YES!

So there you have it!!

After 4 years of having a crush on him, and waiting and waiting for him, and then dating for 6 months (unofficially 7), we're FINALLY ENGAGED!!

May can't come soon enough!! But I can be patient, because I KNOW when we get married, we'll be together for eternity!

Wow November ALREADY?!

Where in the world has all the time gone?! lol Actually, I'm not complaining, at ALL..I love Thanksgiving time! It gives you a reason to eat, and that's my favorite thing to do! :P

Well, a lot has happened in the past few weeks! I finally quit my job at the chiropractic clinic, which I had been wanting to do for a while. Don't get me wrong, the hours and the pay ROCKED, but I just wasn't feeling it, especially with the fact that I wanted to move closer to Robert.

On October 23rd, I moved to Augusta. I know it's only 2.5 hours away, but it seems like it was the biggest move I've ever made. When I moved to Atlanta for the first time, I thought that was a huge move, but I already had a few friends there and school. However, I think I'm going to really like Augusta, everyone I've met so far, I've really liked! Robert's friends are really fun and I'm excited to meet and make my own friends here soon.

The work situation isn't as great as I had hoped it would be. I think Outback is over employed so they're having a hard time with squeezing me into their schedule except for days NO one wants to work (i.e. Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays) So, I've been here for about a week and a half and I still haven't really worked.  So in my free time, I scoured bathrooms and showers, dusted, vacuumed, organized, and learned how to cook a few different meals (which were pretty successful, minus this Thai dish Rob wanted me to do..ha, he's in charge of ALL Asian dishes from now on :P )

I spent a whole day walking around the mall into every store I thought would be fun to work at, but they're all hiring just for seasonal :( However, I did apply over at Chick Fil A that same day and they asked me to come back for an interview the next day! :) If I could work at Chick Fil A, I'd be very happy. I've heard nothing but good stuff about that company, and the pay isn't bad at all! Starts off at $8.50/hr with opportunities of higher pay over time. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

For Halloween Rob and I dressed up as Padme and Luke from Star Wars II. I must say, we looked awesome!! We went to a party at one of his classmate's house, and I have never seen such creative costumes! We were cracking up the whole night and what people were wearing.

On Saturday we went to Douglas to welcome his cousin Richard home from his 2 year mission in Paraguay. We spent the whole day with his family and watched the GA vs FL game, we all got so into it, too bad about that last field goal. Disappointment. lol After lots of delicious food and trick-or-treating with his cousins, we went to our buddy's house and played Capture the Flag in the cotton field.
Note to self: When playing in the dark and you can't see who you're talking to, don't take "It's me" as one of your fellow team mates when you ask "Who are you? Are you on the other team??"...ALWAYS tag first THEN ask who it is..LOL! Oops, I guess I don't make too good of a base protector. :P

Sunday was the traditional lunch/dinner get together after church with his family. The food was awesome...my mouth is watering just thinking about it LOL There's nothing better than home made southern cookin'! Yum... I really like his family, they're so fun. I adore his Nana and Papa, they're just too sweet! I'm thinking that one day I'm going to have to get some recipes from Nana, cuz some of her food I've tried is just SO good!

As for me and Robert, we're doing awesome as ever. I come to love more and more about him the more I'm with him. I love how close we are now! I'm only about 2 miles away, so that way I can come and go whenever, without having to worry about a 2.5 drive back home. :D

It's great to be in love <3

Well speaking of Robert and cooking...I need to figure out what I'm going to make for dinner! I'm sensing....chicken :P (Eventually I'm going to run out of chicken ideas :S lol). He's got a LONG night of studying ahead of him, he's got a big practical tomorrow. So, gotta get him fed so he has more time to study lol.

I miss and love you all SO much!!!! Hope you all have a great week!! and...HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!

Changes!

Alrighty! :)

Update time!

I love having down time at work because then I have a little extra time to just get on here and type away :P Well anyways, lately I have been getting things ready for the big move and so far it has been a success! I've prayed hard about it, and the feelings I get in regards to leaving Atlanta are definitely positive.

So, I have new roomies! I'm going to miss John because he's been the absolute best roommate I've ever had (well other than my Tam-bam-a-lam, my sister from another mister haha).  Well my new roomies seem like they're going to be awesome-one is a mom, she prefers to be called "Mama Leigh"  and her 19 year old son, Forrest, who's going to the academy to be a policeman. I have a feeling I'm going to fit in pretty well in their household.

Plans: I'm going to start taking stuff down there in mid October and be completely moved in by the 23rd (unless for some reason I am able to move down there earlier- i.e. if when I put my two weeks notice in, they just tell me to not come back).  Hopefully that won't be the case because I would love the extra pay check, but if it does happen, it won't break me.

I'm transferring to the Outback there, which is the biggest in the region, and the manager there seems pretty cool. He didn't have a problem when I said that I probably won't be able to work most weekends, he just said to work at least one Sunday a month in order to be fair to the other employees (which is reasonable).  I've put in applications to a few other places and some job placement places, seems pretty promising so I'm not too worried about that. :) I know I have been extremely blessed throughout all this, and I know that if I do what I'm supposed to do, everything will work out just fine.

Now onto some other news!! In two weeks I get to meet my new niece for the first time! Can you tell I'm just a little excited?! She is sooo cute! So, I can't wait to finally hold her in my arms and introduce myself to her.:)

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on..haha But anyways, you can catch me on skype or on my gmail (iChat) with this username: punkdouthippy

Love y'all!!!

What Would YOU Do?

I'm trying to get everything situated. I'm one of those people who LOVE to plan and then GO THROUGH with my plans ASAP!  So here's my dilemma:

I have 8 classes til I'm done with school. Three of those classes I have to take on campus, the other five I can take online from wherever, doesn't matter if I stay in Gwinnett County..

So, I went to register for my classes, and only ONE of the three classes had an opening this quarter-every single class has been filled (online as well!). So the only reason I'm really staying in Gwinnett county was to take two of the three on campus classes (the third one I can't take until the quarter after, due to "order" in the fine arts department).

So now that I'll only be taking one on-campus class, why should I really stay in Gwinnett county if I'm planning on moving 4 months from now anyway?

Okay, here's what I'm thinking...you ready? Of course you are! :)

Take this one class, finish out these next two months of special events I have set up for my work (Suwanee day, resident appreciation days, and what not that I've already set up), work more at Outback so I have more cash flow and a better chance of transferring to another location, and sell all my stuff that I know I won't need in Augusta (as hard as that will be, since I'm supposedly a hoarder..).  My mom said she'd come up and help me go through everything and take stuff to sell at her next yardsale :D (LOVE that woman!!)...so this will be around mid September that she'll come up  and help me out (probably the 17th).

Then around the end of October I'll borrow my parents' truck and trailer and move down to Augusta, so that way I'll have time to get settled in and work as much as possible before Christmas and all the major holidays.

I WAS going to wait until December 18th to move down there (that's when Fall Quarter ends), but this distance is just SO hard! And I know that it's hard on the both of us...just makes more sense! And besides, if I move down in October, the weather will be perfect for moving and it'd be less hectic then moving right before Christmas.

The one thing that's going to REALLY suck about moving to Augusta is the fact that I'm becoming so close to my friends at church, but here's the plus side!! I'll be up at least once a week for school for the first month or so, and then after that, knowing me, I'll have to take a road trip at least once a month to come see all my favorite people. I PROMISE I won't be forgetting anyone!

Right now it's just difficult...I know I don't want to live here anymore because the number one person I want to be with isn't here..makes it hard to concentrate on anything other than "What WILL be", especially at work.

Don't get me wrong, work has been good to me, but trying to sell chiropractic to people who aren't interested really gets old...I guess that's why I love serving so much, because what you're trying to sell people is what they actually came to your restaurant for (DELICIOUS FOOD!!). Can't go wrong with serving...high energy, lots of enthusiasm, and generally really fun, hungry people.

It's that time again for me to move on with my life and start a new adventure...

So, if you were given the choice, wouldn't you do the same thing?  Move and start over and be with the one you love??

Sometimes giving up everything to gain one thing is TOTALLY worth the sacrifice.