So Far Life Has Taught me This Much:

Things I know to be true:

1) God doesn't give up on us- He accepts us for where we are at the moment and reaches us to help us become the person he knows we can become. Sometimes we care more about what we think and doing what seems best to us and tuning him out, but he's always there and he will always help us when we are ready.

2) People don't give up on us as much as we give up on ourselves. When we look into a mirror, we are able to see our flaws greater than anyone else can because we look at ourselves everyday and we know what our weaknesses are. Oftentimes, especially for the first time, people see our strengths and we need to learn to be a little more patient with ourselves (easier said than done, huh?)

3) Communication works. Even though some people find it very difficult to do, when you actually communicate with someone and leave yourself vulnerable, you don't live your life with regrets and you become so much closer to other people.

4) The Temple is the House of the Lord. There is no other place on earth that brings as much peace and joy as the temple does. When you participate in the ordinances in the temple, you develop a closer relationship to your Father in Heaven and have a deeper appreciation for Jesus Christ and his Atonement. The temple separates you from your trials and burdens, and allows you to see the way our Father in Heaven sees.

5) Prayer works. Real prayer, anyways. Sometimes we get caught in our own lives, we say prayers without really knowing what we are saying, or we just skip a prayer all together. But when we finally turn our hearts to the Lord and show him what is important in our lives, what is difficult in our lives, and the type of person we would like to become, he opens doors and gates for us that we no other wise would have had. You can call me crazy, but I call this a truth because I have experienced this in my own life.

6) Just because you're doing the right thing doesn't mean that life should be easy. Oftentimes, it means life will be more difficult in some areas, but we will feel the spirit burn so much deeper within ourselves, and we will have intense moments with our Father in Heaven in recognizing the person we have the potential to become. We recognize that we have a loving, yet, omnipotent Father in Heaven who looks out for us and knows who we have the potential to become more than we do.