''My face is set, my gait is fast..."

''My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mssion is clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up of the cause of Christ.'' Author unknown (As quoted by Henry B. Eyring)

Why would I put a quote such as this here?

As I sat in the Institute class tonight I realized that everything that I have been learning, hearing, and experimenting recently ties together. It sums up to Obedience. In Institute we discussed the various reasons we have rules, laws, and guidelines. Although rules and laws appear to prohibit growth and freedom, they are really in place to protect us. The instructor gave the example of barriers alongside the road. As she traveled to pick up her son in Sundance, the rain that night acted as only an annoyance. However, too soon the rain turned into snow and blocked the view throughout the canyon. The barriers and reflectors along the road provided a means of protection from the dangerous falls and kept her from driving into oncoming traffic. Standards really let us have control over our life.

Later I read in the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah 2:36-37, 41, which says,

''And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom's paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved-

I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness...

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.''

We are taught what we should do or not do, but then it is our duty to choose to follow those counsels. If we fail to follow the guidelines given to us, if we reject the counsels of leaders and parents, if we place our own wills above their wisdom, we will fall. We have been promised that if we keep the commandments of God and obey, we will be as those that are ''blessed in all things.''

Now why did I place that quote at the beginning? If we press forward without fear, and we remain on the narrow and straight path, meaning that we will have to keep the correct standards to do so, we will have a clear mission. We will know what we do and why we are here.

Rules are there not to keep us in but to keep all that is bad out. I truly know that the rules are in place to protect us because I have had mine own personal experiences. One experience I will most likely always remember is from my mission. In the mission field we were told to be in our house at 9 PM, unless we were in a very important appointment. One night in particular, we decided to be in our house earlier than 9 PM, although we would be with someone that we were teaching. To us all seemed normal and we reached our house in time and without problem, but to our surprise we discovered the next day that in that very area where we had been the night before, a gang fight broke out at 9:00 PM. If we are obedient to the rules given to us, God will protect us.

Valentine's Day Dedication

As we approach this upcoming holiday celebrating what we would call ''love'', I am reminded most about true love. My older brother likes a movie called 'Princess Bride', from which there is a famous line, ''Mawage is what bwings us together today. And wuv, twu wuv, will fowow you fowever.'' Then in another part of the movie one of the main characters says, ''Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.''

Furthermore, President Spencer W. Kimball in a devotional to young adults related, ''For many years I saw a strong man carry his tiny, emaciated, arthritic wife to meetings and wherever she could go. There could be no sexual expresion... I think that is pure love. I saw a kindly woman wait on her husband for many years as he deteriorated with muscular dystrophy. She waited on him hand and foot, night and day, when all he could do was blink his eyes in thanks. I believe that was love. I knew a woman who carried her little unfortunate child until the body was too heavy to carry, and then she pushed her in a wheelchair for the following years until her death. The deprived child could never express appreciation. It seems to me that might be love. Another mother visited regularly her son who was in the penitentiary. She could receive nothing from him. She gave much, all she had... If this beautiful body... suddenly became deformed or paralyzed, would my reactions be the same? If this lovely face were scarred by flames... would I be such an ardent lover? If senility or any of its approaches suddenly fell upon my sweetheart, what would my attitude be? The answer to these questions might test one to see if he is really in love or if it is only physical attraction."

Of course, Valentine's day is a day for romance and for celebrating the love we have for our loved ones, but I believe we should remember also that it is a time to remember sacrifice because that is what love is about. And hopefully we never forget the greatest act of sacrifice and love done for us: ''For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).''

He who receiveth, receiveth more

There are a few verses from the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 28, that remind me of several mission experiences. Those we found to teach from other religions would receive us and then tell us that we were wrong for introducing something such as the Book of Mormon to them. Why? Because the Book of Mormon is a second set of scripture. The verses I like most are as follows:

"And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.

Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!'' (2 Nephi 28:5-6, 29)

What I like to compare these verses to are my experiences of which the people would let us in and would tell us that there is no need to have a prophet on the earth today or the Book of Mormon as another testament of Christ because God has told us everything we need to know in the Bible. Then they usually told us about how their priest or preacher had healed them by the power of God. If God does not work through men any longer by guiding us, He cannot work through men to heal us either.
However, I testify that God does work through men and the power of his holy priesthood, that there is a prophet to guide us even today, and that the Book of Mormon has been and is given to us to guide us and to prove as a second witness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. God will continue to give us more ''line upon line, precept upon precept.''

''The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.'' D&C 18:10

Each and every individual has trials in their life and many times we lose the hope that can help us us through theose trials. Sunday, after having some minor trials of my own during the week, I pondered the question, ''How do we have faith and maintain hope when faced with adversity?"

One of the ways we can have and maintain hope is to remember that when we are going through something that we think no one else would understand, Christ does understand. We will unfortunately make mistakes because we are imperfect and will remain imperfect until the next life, but even with our errors we should make each day the ''best today.''

President Hinckley said in his book 'Way to Be' that, ''You have to stay on your feet and keep moving if you are going to have light in your life. Nothing of real substance comes without work.''
This includes helping others to maintain hope in their life as well. When people lose hope they often begin to withdraw from the gospel and from our Heavenly Father. They become as the small sheep that had wandered from the comforting path. Each individual is uniquely important and deserves our love and care.
Elder Uchtorf said, ''Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself... Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith.''

Something more that I think can help is, ''Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope.''
It is satisfying to study and hear about subjects relevant to faith and hope because I realize that the darkest moments always come right before we reach either our goal or the end. For example, Lucifer attempted to kill Joseph Smith before he saw God and Jesus Christ; Christ was tempted right before he performed the atonement; Moses and the children of Israel were stuck between the Egyptian armies and the sea before the water opened before them; a runner feels faintest before finishing the race. I also experienced darkness and opposition, even from family members and friends, before I left to serve a mission. Each time we are about to do good, Lucifer tries to stop us, but if we have hope we can pull through.

No longer the mission life, but on to a greater mission

It is a little strange to write into a blog, especially when it still says ''sister destinee park'' in its title, considering I am no longer a full-time sister missionary. However, writing helps a person, in this case me, to clear out the mind and put it down for everyone else to read. I have found the changes from the mission life to the regular life unusual because I still feel that I have been placed in a different time zone. Many missionaries out in the field, as they are at the point of returning home, say that they are returning ''to real life''. The truth is that once someone has served a mission they realize that we do not live in the ''real life'' because the real life is out there, serving God and not focusing on yourself.
Since returning home I have had the opportunity to re-learn a few things, make new friends, and ponder about what I will continue doing in my life. Have you ever had the feeling that you want to do something fantastic but do not know what? I often feel like that. I can sense that I have the potential to do great things but I am still unsure about which path to choose.
The scriptures say that '' by small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6) and I know that with my Heavenly Father's help I will be able to reach my potential. Once I explained this to someone using the example of Indiana Jones. Most of the time we cannot see what is before us but we often have to take that leap of faith. In one of the Indiana Jones movies Jones had a deep, dark chasm before him but he needed to cross to the other side. Although he saw nothing he jumped and as he landed a block lit up. He took another step and another, lighting up a path as he went.
When we cannot see what is before us we just simply have to walk forward and God will light the way. I know that He does light the way for us and prepares our way for us. I know that He will guide my future, though sometimes it is difficult to believe, but He does not forsake His children.