What do YOU stand for?

"Stand ye in holy places and be not moved."1 

How many times a day do you stand up? Any idea? Yes? No? 

Well, standing is pretty important. And not just because you need to stretch. Standing up for righteous causes is also pretty important.

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (we're sometimes referred to as Mormons) and being a young woman, I say the above theme almost every week.
This is one of the things I stand for. This is something that I really believe in and I want to live by.

So, what do you stand for?

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1 D&C 87:8

The Armor of God

In the Bible in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, we can learn about the Armor of God. The Armor of God is important, especially in this day and age; there are so many temptations out there. How are we to withstand the fiery darts of the adversary? With the Armor of God securely on and with our Sword of the Spirit drawn and ready to fight.

The Sword of the Spirit is the word of God. So when we read the scriptures and study them and ponder about what we read, we are sharpening our sword.

Lions girt with Truth.

Anciently, girding the loins had to do with mobility and readiness—tying up loose pieces of clothing so that it was easier to run. Having feet shod means they’re protected and you’re ready to move.
Sometimes you need to run into a battle—to defend and show kindness to those being bullied, to stand up for truth and virtue in the face of mocking and scorn. And sometimes your best option is the “Joseph in Egypt” defense—run away (see Genesis 39:12). In either case, be ready.1

Someone said something along the lines of, "Well, it's a belt...you don't want you pants falling down as you're running into battle." And it's true!

Shoes are a good thing to have on when you're running and playing a sport. Just the same way, having our Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel is a good idea when going into battle.

We practice using our Shield of Faith as we diligently and consistently exercise our faith. We do this by praying, studying and pondering the scriptures, standing up for truth, the list goes on.

Breastplate of Righteousness. This very handy piece of armor protects your lungs, heart, stomachache, etc. You can probably see why this article of equipment is pretty important.

When biking, a helmet is always a safe companion. In the same way, as we go into battle our Helmet of Salvation can diffidently come in handy.

In a world where a battle continually rages, I hope that we all alert and have our armor on securely and firmly.

You never know when and how the adversary attack.

Are YOU ready?

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For further reading and studying, I would really suggest these two articles which you can find on lds.org and lds.org/youth. Also some of the information I got was from Get Ready for Battle.

Warrior in You
(This one is about how you can be a warrior and stand for what is right)

Get Ready for Battle
(This is about the Armor of God and what each piece represents)

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1 "Get Ready for Battle." David A. Edwards. lds.org/youth

Easter

Easter is just around the corner. But what is Easter? Is Easter about the Easter Bunny, the egg hunts, the candy?
No. It's all about Him. It's about Christ. About what He did for us. His Atonement.


Christ atoned for our sins. He suffered for all our sins. But the Atonement isn't just for our sins; it's also there to help us with anything we need help with. It's there to help us progress.
In Gethsemane, on the cross and in between, Christ felt all the pain, loneliness, hurt, sorrow, everything that we can feel here on earth. He knows what it's like to feel alone, He even knows what it's like crush your fingers in a door.
Even when it feels like no one knows what you're going through, He does.

He has felt every pain we can feel here on earth. He suffered for us. He died that we might live again.
And because He did what He did, sacrificed Himself, lived, taught, everything, because of Him we have so much to be grateful for.

And what's cool is this: He lives! He really does. And because He lives, He is with us always. Wherever we are, whoever we are. He is there.

My thoughts on Disney's Cinderella (2015 live-action movie)

SPOILER ALERT

...You have been warned...
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So, I saw Disney's live-action Cinderella and I was, to tell the truth, a little surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I'm not much of a princess girl but I really enjoyed Cinderella. I liked the feeling and spirit that accompanied the film.

1) "Have courage and be kind"
This was kind of the motto of the whole movie; it was repeated many times. It's first told to Ella (Cinderella) by her mother. Ella ends up telling this to Kit who tells it to his dad. That's something I like, Ella is inspired by her mom, Ella inspires Kit and Kit inspires his dad. It's also interesting to look for whether Ella keeps this advice throughout the movie.

2) "I forgive you"
Personally, if I'd been treated like a piece of dirt but still expected to do everything by stuck-up, snobby people, I don't think I'd be very fast in forgiving them. But Ella, in the end forgives her step-mother. That's pretty amazing.

3) "Just because it's what's done, doesn't mean it's what should be done"
I love this!! This is another thing that Ella says that inspires Kit. I really like this because in the world, there are so many things that can keep us from doing what's right. Peer pressure is, I think, the big thing. That and "what will so-and-so" think of me if I do this?"

And that's what I thought was cool about Cinderella.

Ben Carson

I recently watched Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story and I really liked it. You have to be able to be okay seeing blood because there are some operation scenes but it's really very good.

Ben Carson is an African American man who grew up not very well off. But one day his mom set down some rules. She said that instead of watching TV all the time he and his brother could watch two shows a week and in their spare time they'd read two books from the library and write a report. His mom had been working for a man who was well off and she asked him once if he'd read all the books in his personal library and the man said yes. And Ben's mom realized that successful people read books. And I would add, good, meaningful books (that doesn't mean that's all they read). And lo and behold, Ben's grades went from the bottom of the ditch to the top in the class.
Later he was accepted into the John Hopkins Hospital and began an amazing career there. He preformed numerous surgeries and was able to save lives.

I think Ben Carson is a highly inspirational and very driven person who defied the odds in a time when African Americans were not really considered "real" Americans, so to speak.
Ben Carson stood up and stood out. He did things other people wouldn't. 

Interviewer: You have confidence. That is good for a neurosurgeon. But tell me something, why did you decide to become a brain doctor?

Ben Carson: The brain…its a miracle. Do you believe in miracles. Not a lot of doctors do. There isn’t a lot of faith among physicians. We study reports, it’s all very tangible. But the fact is there are so many things we just can’t explain. I believed we are all capable of performing miracles, up here (points to head). We are blessed with astonishing gifts and skills. Look at Handel. I mean, how can he come up with The Messiah in only 3 weeks. (pointing to head again) This is the key. The source of inspiration for unbelievable accomplishments.

~ Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

Okay for Now

Warning - because this is basically a book review, there will be spoilers. Just saying.

Okay for Now is a book by Gary D. Schmidt. And it's really good.  I just recently finished listening to it on audiobook form and it really impressed me.
The book covers, I think, a lot of topics. It takes place in a small town in New York, during the Vietnam War.
Okay for Now takes place after Gary Schmidt's other book The Wednesday Wars, although I do not believe it's a sequel but don't quote me.


Doug Swiateck is a boy who is trying to find out who is is and what the meaning to life is (and how to survive it).

He moves with his family to Marysville, New York and there he finds himself. He meets great people and learns a lot about others.

I like how in this story, you meet people that you initially think, "I hope they get their comeuppance" or something like that, but then you learn something about them that totally changes your perspective. You just don't have enough facts yet and you can't judge someone without all the facts.

Doug lives in a broken family, you might say, and it's hard for him to settle in (which is not unusual). He has a brother in Vietnam and a brother still at home. His dad is, as it says in the book description, lost and his mom is sad but has the most beautiful smile on earth.

Another thing I really like about Okay for Now is that Doug meets a lot of people who end up being mentors to him. In most books the main character only has one mentor, which is fine, but in this book Doug meets a couple of them.
And he learns to draw. And drawing birds becomes his niche, his passion.
And by the end of the book he comes to really like Marysville which he had, up to this pointed, very much disliked.
And though his family isn't all the way fixed yet by the end of the book, it's on its way.

Like I said I was really impressed with Okay for Now and I think it was because Doug is going through so much and I'm not. Let me explain what I mean, Doug is going through so much that it makes it seem like stuff I'm going through is small.


Some other stats on the book (even though stats don't mean anything):
- Very little language
- Twists and turns around every corner
- Lots of feeling and excitement

I think another part of why the book is so good is, Doug is a real person. I mean, it's something that you can believe and see an actual person doing. It's natural and human.

It's fun watching Doug go through his life in Marysville and learn all about his different, and hilarious, experiences but also learn a thing or two yourself.

The Power of Music

We are practically surrounded by music. Ringtones, movies, YouTube, iPods, etc. Music influences us; sometimes for the better, sometimes for the not so good.

Music is something that moves us, enlightens us and sometimes angers us. Music can make us feel these and other emotions and makes us think.
I love music. I especially love songs and I love singing. And I really like stuff from musicals and older movies. And, as I'm sure you know, it's pretty easy to get a song stuck in your head whether you want it there or not.

Where I'm going with all this is a question: What do you listen to? I mean, yeah, you listen to music and songs and stuff but...do you know the lyrics to your favorite songs? Do you know what the lyrics mean? I'm not trying to hack down your music library, I'm just suggesting that you look at what what to listen to.

Music has a powerful influence on us. For example, music can help you study. But it can also hinder your study. It all depends on the music. Music that has a repeating beat to it does not help you study. Basically, info goes in one ear and out the other.
Music that doesn't have a repeating beat to it, classical music for instance, helps you study.
(Songs can also help you memorize stuff.)

Music can also do other amazing things. Things as amazing as bringing people out of comas. (Believe it or not it has happened! ...Just not to me or anyone I know.)

Music is, in a way, magical. It can be peaceful, soothing and...inspiring. Music can do so much.
A friend of mine has a sign on her wall that says,

Bach gave us God's Word. Mozart gave us God's laughter. Beethoven gave us God's fire. God gave us Music that we might pray without words.

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My information on how music helps us study and can bring people out of comas, is from a talk Michael Ballam gave once.

I was able to find the "Bach gave us...Mozart gave us..." quote on the New York Christian College online. It says the quote was from outside an opera house.