A Message from Beffy

So my friend, Kierstin, was very influential and supportive of my being a counselor for RFG. She is now currently serving a mission in Alabama. In my letter to her as I was preparing for retreat, I asked her for advice to give the girls. I wanted them to hear from a missionary who has to live it everyday. Unfortunately, due to her leaving the MTC and going to the mission field, she lost my address, so I didn't get her letter until after Retreat was over. She still gave wonderful advice and I want her words to still be heard.

"First thought was 'faith without works is dead' (James 2:17-18). Down here in the south, almost everyone confesses Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but not everyone follows His teachings. We must do more than simply know and believe, we must ACT on that belief and DO His will. AS we consistently do His will, the Gospel will become part of who we are. This leads to my second thought: consistency. One of my favorite quotes is by Richard G. Scott: 'We become what we want to BE by CONSISTENTLY being what we want to become each day.' I recently read a talk by Kevin W. Pearson called "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" in which he says almost the same thing: 'faith [is] a principle of power [that] comes from a CONSISTENT pattern of obedient behavior and attitudes…We get what we focus on consistently.'"

She also wrote down the scripture 2 Nephi 25:23 which states: "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

I echo and add my testimony with Kierstin's. Katie showed us the scriptures that tell us that wherever our hearts are, there is our treasure also. When we focus our hearts and thoughts on Christ and living with Heavenly Father again, that is when we receive true treasure. The treasure of the blessings, miracles and tender mercies that we need to become the best we can be. It isn't the large and flashy decisions that show your commitment to live it, but the small, daily decisions that will display our knowledge and willingness to live it. It takes consistent decisions to truly be disciples of Christ.

I asked another missionary friend who is also serving in Alabama for advice. She said, "My companion just shared with me a scripture, 1 Nephi 22:22-26 which basically says that the righteous have no need to fear. I was just thinking that it's so important to do all the little things. Praying, reading our scriptures, going to church really do strengthen our testimonies and increase our faith. We should be living our lives the same in both public and private. And realty I think the biggest thing is to just be an example. Have the light of Christ shine in your eyes. Become more like the Savior by turning outward or working on one of the Christlike attributes found in chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel. I think we forget how much of influence we can have on others. Members of the church or not, we can all come unto Christ through the help and example of others. There is always more to learn ways to be better and as we live righteously I know we will have more opportunities to share the gospel with those around us."

While the Sunday School answers seem small and little, they helps us to truly form the foundation we need to gain the knowledge and testimonies that we seek for. As we develop our testimonies, that is when we can truly Live it. Learn it. Live what you learn.

--Beffy

Light

I was reading an article from the September 2004 Ensign entitled Light and Growth and I found it quite applicable to our theme of Living It.  In this article, Elder Mickelsen share a few examples of how important light is when growing crops- he says, "I was impressed with the parallel between the role of light in a plant's life and in our own lives.  Plants always grow towards the light.  A sunflower follows the sun across the sky every day until it becomes "stiff-necked"; then it withers and dies.  When a potato seed sprouts and begins to grow, a clean white stem grows upward through the earth toward the light.  A fungal disease called rhizoctonia may attack the tender stem.  If allowed to progress, the fungus destroys the stem so that the light cannot reach the root system.  Yet if the stem can reach the surface of the earth and form leaves, the light can reach the root system, and the potato plant becomes strong enough to overcome the fungal enemy."
I found it very interesting the examples that Elder Mickelsen used, describe two different ways that we can be cut off from the light of the gospel.  As we come unto Christ, we grow towards His light and receive the strength to stand tall like the sunflower.  However, if we become proud and stiff-necked we are unable to turn towards the light of the Savior and grow strong.  Likewise, if we are diligent in growing towards the light, like the potato plant, we can push past our challenges and rise above the soil of trials.  But if we allow the fungus of temptation or addictions take hold of our roots and overcome us, our growth will be stunted.
Elder Mikelsen tells us of 6 things we can do to receive the light of the Savior and grow strong.  The first is we must have FAITH in the Lord.  Each of you should read Alma 32:26-43.  This imagery of comparing faith to a seed ties in directly to Elder Mikelsen's examples of the sunflower and the potato plant.
The second thing we must do is pray.  In 3 Ne 19:25 we read, "And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them..."  How many of us would like the countenance of the Savior to shine upon us?  I know I would!!! Prayer is crucial to the livelihood of our spirits.
Third, we need to repent of our sins- sin limits light.  The process of repentance is the strength we need to push through the dirt of the world and break free into the warming and encircling light that the Savior offers us.
Next, it is important to always remember the covenants we can and do make when we enter the waters of baptism.  To those who have not yet been baptized, I extend the same invitation that was offered by Alma at the waters of Mormon:
"...now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;
Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life-
Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?" [Mosiah 18:8-10].
The covenants we make at baptism are to strengthen those around us, to help one another, to act as the Savior would, and to take His name upon us- meaning we represent Him in all that we do.  I told the Birds of Prey in one of our devotionals that taking the name of the Savior upon us is like taking the name of a company upon us.  If you worked for Taco Bell but wore a McDonald's uniform and only promoted McDonald's food, would you be a very good Taco Bell employee?  Probably not.  The same can be said for taking upon yourself the name of Christ- do you represent Him or do you represent things of the world?  Do you promote living the standards found in For The Strength of Youth or do you promote wearing short shorts, using foul language, and engaging in worldly activities?  We live our baptismal covenants by representing the Savior in all that we do.
Another way we can receive the light of the Savior in our lives is to look to our patriarchal blessings.  In 1 Peter 2:9 we read, " But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; they ye shew forth praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:"  As we obtain and read our patriarchal blessings often, we can be sure of the divine heritage we each possess and understand more fully how we can LIVE IT every day.
Lastly, Elder Mikelsen counsels us to follow the prophet.  As we follow President Monson we can be sure that we will never go astray.  The Lord has called him to lead us, to guide us, and to experience life with us.  President Monson and the other prophets, seers, and revelators are always receiving the counsel necessary to help each and every one of us through our trials.  We must sustain (support) the prophet through our obedience and our prayers; we must share the gospel with others so they, too, can heed (listen to) the counsel of the prophet of the world and make the choices that will help them come unto Christ.
I love the gospel!  And I'm so grateful for the challenge we have each taken to Live It!  I hope that you will think about the things that Elder Mikelsen discussed and find one thing you can live a little better today to receive more of the Savior's light in your life.  I love you all!! :) Keep it up and remember that you know the truth... so live it!

I saw this quote today and thought about each of us.

Do we each believe in ourselves enough to forget about the branches of the world and trust in our ability to spread out wings and fly?

Just a little thought!

How did you choose to live the gospel today? 

Live It

The theme for 2013's Retreat for Girls was Live It.  As I prepared for RFG, I spent many hours studying, pondering, and recording my thoughts on what it means to live the truth as President Monson has said to do.  Throughout the next year, I want is to continue to study and understand how we can each Live It in today's world.  I hope that you girls who attended RFG this year will keep up on the blog posts and share your experiences about living the truth in your daily lives.  Email me your testimonies and how your resolve to live it has impacted your life- I will try and highlight a new testimony or experience each week, so email me your stories.  Counselors, you each spent just as much, if not more time studying the theme as I did... please share your thoughts and studies.  We can post devotionals and information we shared during Retreat here so that all who read can be inspired and come unto Christ.  Please also share your thoughts from speakers and classes we had!!

I don't confess to being perfect, and the thoughts I share on this blog are my own.  I will draw from conference talks, the scriptures, and books written by church leaders as I seek to understand and learn to live the truth. Please don't judge any experiences or testimonies shared- this is a safe place to be inspired and to receive the strength we each need to stand up for what we believe. If you have questions or concerns, let me know.  I want this blog to be for all of us!!! Email me your stories, studies, and experiences at retreatfromtheworldblog@gmail.com.

For those of you who have never heard of Retreat before- welcome!!  There is a tab that has information about Retreat and the official website is here at Retreat for Girls.  Katie and Jeremy Smith founded the program in 2005 and it is based on the program Academy for Girls that was run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over 30 years.  This program takes young women, ages 11-15, and provides them the opportunity to retreat from the world for a week each summer.  Retreat for Girl's mission is as follows :

"Our mission is to give each Young Woman the opportunity to strengthen and develop a testimony of Jesus Christ and to teach them that they are divine daughters of our Heavenly Father through uplifting classes, meaningful devotionals, and wholesome activities."

If you have any questions, please let me know.  You can also email the director, Katie Smith, at director@retreatforgirls.com.

Thank you each for your support and I hope we can grow and learn together!!! Keep reading and share the blog with other girls you know who attended RFG, those who need a little encouragement, and those who have daughters you think could benefit from this amazing and inspiring program!!!

-M&M