From: Jessica Fisher [mailto:jessica.fisher@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013

Subject: Transfer 10, Week 5: Elder Holland, the best "family" member present ever, miracles for our investigators, and chocolate and the Word of Wisdom

Dear Family and Friends,

WHAT A WEEK!

On Sunday at church, President Gillette announced that we would have a guest speaker come and speak to us on Tuesday morning, and that it was an Apostle.

It was Elder Holland. Wow. Wow. Wow. So he was amazing. And I forgot to bring my notes with me here to email today, so more will come next week about what he said to us. But I do remember two questions that were asked and the responses he gave, during the closing Question and Answer Session with him. "How do I know I've done all that I can?"- Wow, what a great question for all of us. Elder Holland said that we'll know. We just must do the best that we can with what we know how to do, and sometimes we mess up and we don't do our best.-  That's what repentance is for.  And he said that as long as your sometimes jagged and wiggly arrow is pointed over all upwards towards progression, that's what really counts.

 

 "How do I forgive myself ?", was asked by a sincere sister missionary.

Elder Holland said that it is such a great question. "That's the hardest one to forgive. But you have to forgive that person: yourself. Because if you don't, you are denying the Atonement for yourself. You are saying to the Savior, "Even though you have borne all the weight and done the massive amount that is your part to bear, I just can't do my little part of letting you." You are standing in the way of your own personal progression, and that is not a place anyone should be in.

Wow. But it's true. He's right. How could we look our Savior in His eyes and tell Him those words. He did it all for us, and we say to Him," I couldn't just let myself be healed".

As missionaries, we know that the best lessons are the ones where members are present. Having a member testify about the Gospel is even better than a missionary because they are living proof of the effects of the gospel in a normal life! So we took an investigator lesson with Elders and their investigators from the SLC West Mission. It's a cute family who are interested in the Gospel and learning more. The lesson was on Eternal Families and the blessings of the gospel/Plan of Salvation. But the members don't show up who are supposed to come. How difficult it is to teach this now! Us missionaries - we've never been married. We don't have families of our own. We don't even live in a family right now. But we continue to teach them anyway. The lesson goes alright, even without members there, and we walk towards the Assembly Hall. When we get out of the Assembly Hall, to start talking about the Seagull Monument and the Handcart Monument and talk about Eternal Families, directly to my right standing right in front of the bench is Jared and Danielle (my brother and his wife). WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I give them the one minute sign and continue with the group like nothing happened. Then it dawned on me! MEMBERS! We need members to testify about how the Gospel has blessed their family and marriage  - What better than your own family members to do that - and RM's at that! So I motioned for them to come and stand with us there, gave Jared a side hug (to the Elder's horror- haah their faces were really funny actually since they didn't know he was my brother) and introduced them and asked them to share their testimonies about how the Gospel has blessed their family and marriage. And they did so beautifully! What a delight! They were at Temple Square for a wedding and had just come walking around and found a Chinese motorcoach to listen to, and ca-BLAM! We walk into each other at the right time at the right point for them to be the members present in the lesson!! So neat. The Lord's hand for sure!

You are also looking at this email's title and it says, " Miracles for our investigators"---

Wow. It's so neat. We're teaching L from Arizona, and G from England. They are both terrific. L knows the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Joseph Smith was God's Prophet, but just struggles with small other things. He had some appointments in California and when we called him on Sunday to teach him, he was walking along the beach of the Pacific Ocean. We committed him to pray right there, to kneel down on the beach and to ask God, with us there on the phone with him, if this is Christ's church and what he needed to do when he knows that. He had an awesome experience. He will pray the rest of the week to know when he should be baptized! (How did we find him? He called in asking for a Book of Mormon at the beginning of the transfer. He had an awesome LDS friend who he admired so much and finally asked her what made her different, and came to church with her and felt the spirit very strong there.... and voila!)

G is also amazing and very prepared. She called in with some amazing questions as well. She went to an LDS wedding a few months ago and the pure, sweet joy she felt there has never left her since (the Spirit). She wants that so badly. We've committed her to reading the Book of Mormon and praying before she reads, and after she reads to know if it is the word of God. We discussed how she feels when she talks with us, when she prays, when she reads the Book of Mormon, and when she thinks of that wedding, and she just says "overjoyed". She wants that feeling with her always. We read Acts chapter 2:37 "Now when they heard this, they were ^apricked in their ^bheart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, ^cwhat shall we do?'" And we discussed that she felt pricked in her heart, that she will never be the same again because she has felt God's Spirit and His love in her life. And asked her what she should do, just like those people asked. And she said, "To follow it. To do it." And we shared with her about the Word of Wisdom and committed her to give up drinking her coffee for the next 3 days, and we agreed to give up chocolate for those three days too! Hahah! Whatever will help. This way we're in this together! I've heard of missionaries giving something up to help their investigator and now I finally get to do it too! It's kind of fun actually. Your love for them increases and I think the Lord recognizes your sacrifice for them too.

Please pray for both of them!

Our other investigator, T, the martial arts professional, has his career changing fight that he had to lose 15 kilos for (it's like 30lbs!!). After the fight, we can continue to teach him because he's still interested! (He's the one we met at the beginning of the transfer in the Conference Center who only speaks Portuguese who is living in his LDS friend's basement and goes to church with her family).

Pray for T too!

Love you all so much.

This work is amazing. It's the best.

Love,
Sister Fisher

From: Jessica Fisher [mailto:jessica.fisher@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013
Transfer 10, Week 3: Miracles, Missionaries, Mormons and Motor coaches keep coming...

 Family and Friends!

Wow. This week was like a marathon! So much happened, so many tours, so many wonderful people, and so many new investigators. This truly is the latter-days preparing the way for our Savior to come to earth again!

We just got a statistic that 10,000 guests visited the Beehive House on Temple Square in the month of July. Yes. 10,000!!! So just multiply that by 10 and that's how many came to the rest of Temple Square as well in July. Yikes! But Yay too!

 Sister S and I just keep on having these amazing experiences in the limited Teaching Center (calling/chatting/emailing) time that we have (because we're always on the square helping and teaching guests). Tuesday, I took a phone call of a man from California who is already meeting with the missionaries but had some other questions that he wanted answered. We had a lesson right then and there. Meanwhile, Sister S answered a Portuguese chat of a man who "I just want to make sure I'm not crazy."  He told her how he had a dream Monday night and in the dream he walked into a room and on the wall he saw written that he should be baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." The interesting thing is that he said he'd never even heard of that before, if it was a real church or what. So he typed it in on google and found lds.org and was shocked to find out that it was a real church! He started reading the Book of Mormon online and called his local Bishop to ask if he was allowed to go to church there. HA! A Bishop's dream phone call. But seriously! And then he came on chat and asked us if we believed that God communicates through dreams, or if he was just crazy. Pretty neat.  

Then last night, once again right as we were about to leave and go home, there's another Portuguese chat waiting, and an English phone call that we take. The phone call was a wonderful lady from England whose kids woke her up and she called at like 3am in the morning her time because she just couldn't get to sleep, and just had these questions that she wondered if we could answer for her. Why yes we can! :) It's neat. We'll continue teaching her as well as the lady Sister S chatted with from Brazil. And the work goes forward in mysterious ways!

As for Motor coaches! I LOVE MOTOR COACHES! Rats... I guess I'm just a performer or something like that, but I love the microphone and the large group who we get to testify in front of and share miraculous stories with and inspire and encourage and invite them all in large groups. We probably took 6 or 7 motor coaches this week alone. One group were some lovely Chinese people and there was only about 18 who spoke English, so we took them on their own tour. Turns out many of them were currently living in the states. At the end of the tour 7 of the people REFERRED to learn more and have missionaries visit them. WOW. THAT NEVER HAPPENS. One was a lady named W W and she is GOLDEN. She knows many Mormons and loves them and said that our tour touched her so much and had tears in her eyes and wanted to know why she felt so good. However we just have to teach her before she goes back to China in 4 weeks..... :) :) :) Another tour we took a lady gave us a hug at the end and told us that "Christ's spirit shines so bright in us". And on a funny note, in yet another tour, one man sincerely asked me "please don't take offense at all... but.... are you related to Sarah Palin?" I have never had anyone tell me that before. HAHA. But it was pretty hysterical. I've gotten a lot of people tell me I look like a few other people but never Sarah Palin. Pretty funny. 

Anyway, we've just had so many miracles this week. I feel so full. There was one story that I feel like accurately describes the lessons I am learning in my mission about enduring to the end and keeping going.

"Recently a stake president shared with me a tender story demonstrating the power of the council system in building up the Church. He said that both the Relief Society and the priesthood had been working with a family in their stake but had failed to make progress with the parents. Primary leaders found the answer. Permission was given by the parents for their young daughter to attend Primary. Their one condition was that she had to want to go badly enough to get there on her own. Rides to church could not be provided. 

 Because she had to go through a rough part of town, the ward council saw to it that someone would drive along beside her as she rode an old bicycle to church. Through summer heat, through rain and even snow, she persisted in going to church. One young man, who with his family was assigned to escort her on a snowy morning, was so touched as he watched the commitment of this little girl pedaling through the snow and cold that he decided to serve a full-time mission, citing this experience as the turning point in his life. 

 At Christmastime, a family in the ward gave this faithful little girl a new 10-speed bicycle. This so touched the parents that they too began attending church. In May 1999 this young girl was baptized. What made the baptism even more special was that it was performed by the newest priest in the ward, her recently activated father."

 It's worth it. It is worth it to endure to the end to push through the fatigue, the mental or physical or emotional or sometimes spiritual "uphill" parts of life. It's worth it to keep working with and for the one, to put your trust in your Savior and your hand in His and keep walking on. It's worth it to pray in faith and expect miracles and keep working. It's worth it to keep going on when you don't see any evidence or miracles currently or ahead in the future. It's worth it to never let anything distinguish your light of hope. 

 
There's a recent Pioneer story that I've heard about the Sego lily. Many times the pioneers were put past their breaking points starving, and would collapse on their knees and pray for sustenance. Unlike the children of Israel receiving manna from Heaven, the pioneers' faith was tested even more. They had to have the faith that the Lord would provide a way for them to accomplish the thing that He had commanded them. 

So they would keep walking forward, keep pressing on, having the faith that food would be ahead, or they would die in peace and find relief. In those moments, after they exercised their faith and pressed forward, there they would find the gentle blooms of the Sego lily just by their trail. The bulbs on these lilies are edible and would sustain them so they could continue "pressing on". 

 

I know that is the same in our lives. We have to continue walking forward, not knowing how or when the Lord will answer our pleas but with the faith and hope and confident expectation that He will, and that all will be well. I know that those lilies or God's tender mercies are just around the corner, just beyond the next hill, beyond our vision, but they are there. He cares. He knows us. He knows how much we can handle even when we think we are done, exhausted and can't go another step. 

 I've seen that on my mission. There are many months where there just seems like there is no one to teach and we just continue walking forward anyway and pushing and working anyway and having faith and hope anyway. And then weeks like this one happens where there are so many lilies all around us to bare us up and give us strength. 

 

It's worth it.

 

Love,
Sister Fisher

From: Jessica Fisher [mailto:jessica.fisher@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013
Transfer 10, Week 2: A Bahjillion Brazilians, Our first motor coach, Mission Activity: Girl's camp 2013,

 Family and Friends!

 

Boa Targe! (Good Afternoon)

What a week! I there's unfortunately not too too much to share this week, because my immune system was used to a town of 300 people, not a bustling international tourist spot, so I was sick for a few days but back on my feet now excited to do the work again!

We had miracles this past weekend. Sister S is a new missionary to Temple Square, so on Saturday we had our planned "explore day" where we went to see everything that we share with people (before we have to share about it). At 3pm we planned that morning to go to the Conference Center. Right as we walk inside, there's a senior missionary and a couple who all look extremely startled to see us. 

Apparently, they were having a difficult time speaking with one another because the man is from Brazil (of course!) and pretty much only speaks Portuguese and his friend pretty much only speaks English. And BAM! There walks in Sister S and I with her Brazilian flag glittering- the answer to their problems. We end up taking them on a tour of the building and find a golden, prepared child of God with many questions. His friend is a member of the church and I had a great time sharing with her about the building. At the end of the tour, he wants to learn more and wants a Book of Mormon, but unfortunately we weren't prepared to teach a Brazilian at that time. So we take down his name and email address and turns out- he's famous in Brazil!  He's a famous mixed martial arts athlete who is up here in the USA for a while training, who is also very religious and a family man. Wow! So Sister Souza of course told the other Brazilian sisters and they were all so surprised too! How fun. He's gone to church with his LDS friend and her family twice now. And even though it's an English ward, there is a few men who speak Portuguese, and one of them is now his chiropractor too. It's interesting how the Lord works! (In mysterious ways of course)

 

We had our first motor coach this week too. I love motor coaches. So fun. We get to have a microphone and the other companion has a flag and we lead a large group of people around Temple Square and share highlights, stories and plant short bits of truth that will get them thinking and asking questions that they'll have to come ask us at the end. It's great.... One of my favorite things! 

(One thing might be-- "Something we do in the Temple is combine our families together for forever. And over here is the very middle of Salt Lake City." etc. Fun to see their faces at that moment :)

 President Gillette, our mission president, loves surprises. And maybe you'll remember a year ago what happened at this time in the month. We went to a girls camp in the mountains and had a mission activity doing trust games and team building exercises. Half the mission will go tomorrow morning and the other half will go in the afternoon. So fun! We're looking forward to it! 

 As for a mission and a challenge to you all. There's a fantastic article in the July Ensign (something I read while sick in bed) that is well, amazing. It's called A Time for Faith, Not Fear.

(Ayiyiiiiiiii! I can't remember my MLA citations whether I underline or italicize a magazine... anyway). But there's a few quotes in there that I spoke on in District Meeting this week.

 “This is the Lord’s work—let Him do some of it.”

And, "when the Church was facing a difficult time obtaining visas for North American missionaries in Russia, then Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said encouragingly, “Brethren, let the Lord do some of the heavy lifting.”⁶

 I know that this is true. Sometimes we get overly excited and ambitious, and raise our expectations extremely high and in the amount of time that our vision has for things, and we expect that we will be able to handle things on our own when we need to just calm down. Breathe. Let go. Do whatever we can, and trust God even more. 

This is His plan. This is His work. It's not even really our lives. It's okay. Let Go and Let God. 

 I used to do this on my mission so much at the beginning. I would get so stressed out before tours and with our investigators thinking about and pondering on and trying to figure out with my own reason and skills and understanding what people were thinking and what the exact right scripture would be to clarify everything and help them and change their minds. Relax. It's not Sister Fisher's work. It's nothing that I say, or the scripture that I fasted to find for two weeks, or how much sleep I lose over someone, that converts anyone. It's the spirit. 

What does God say? "Open your mouth. Show up. Do what I say. Be obedient. And trust me that My spirit will be there to touch their hearts if they let me. "

I used to be such a control freak. Of my life, of my plans, even of my investigators thinking that if I don't plan this all out, nothing's going to happen and they won't come to know the truth. Let go Sister Fisher. Calm down. It's not about you and what you do anyway. Trust that what you can do is enough and let it go. Give it to God's hands. He knows them best. It's His work. Let Him hold onto the responsibility of it. As the quotes above say---- Our lives are "the Lord's work--- let Him do some of it." 

 All we are expected to do is to act according to what knowledge we have now, and expect blessings from our obedience, and have hope and faith that more light and joy will come. 

 "Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot ^abear all things now; ye must ^bgrow in ^cgrace and in the knowledge of the truth...^aFear not, little ^bchildren, for you are mine, and I have^covercome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath^dgiven me; And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be ^alost." D&C 50:40-42

What is the Lord saying? "Calm down. Don't worry. It's not just up to you. You can't and aren't expected to control or handle everything that's around you. You aren't supposed to. You are supposed to lean on me for strength. Give your burdens to me. Things will work out. You are not forgotten. You are not alone. You are my little children, I have overcome everything that you will face. Heavenly Father gave you and your burdens to me so that you wouldn't have to do it by yourself. I know you. You aren't lost. It's okay. Let me do some of the heavy lifting for you. "

 Sure! Things happen. Sometimes there's darkness around us. Usually we have to choose to step into the darkness and make a decision and be proactive. But after we've made a choice, it is our faith that requires us to give it to the Lord and let Him lift too. We can't all move a piano by ourselves. There are burdens and challenges and situations that we must give to Him to carry. But no worries. We're His. That's why He's there. He's already been through it all, it's just our choice whether we have to suffer through it too by ourselves. Let Him help. He is your Savior. 

I know that these things are true. Read that article, and let the Lord lift those heavy weights from off of your back.

Love,

Sister Fisher

From: Jessica Fisher [mailto:jessica.fisher@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2013
Transfer 10, Week 1: I'm old! Back in SLC, Miracles, baptisms, and smiling faces--- and VIVA BRASIL!!!
 
Family and Friends!
 

I left Wyoming with peace in my heart and hope in my eyes. The Lord really blessed me with the peace of His spirit and just brought me great joy there, and also great joy back here in Temple Square. At first I didn't want to leave, but a week before my departure I was given the desire to only do what the Lord wanted and be at peace with everything. I really feel that and am grateful for it. It's been WONDERFUL being here with the sisters at Temple Square. They really do feel like my "mission family". It was very fun in the airport to see some of these wonderful sisters and just leap for joy and hug them and look at their even wiser and more joyful faces. 

Speaking of the plane ride! It's been my secret goal to give someone a Book of Mormon in the airport or on one of my flights as a missionary, and I felt pressure because I'd so far not been able to, and this plane ride was my last flight of my mission. So I placed a Book of Mormon in my bag in faith that the Lord sends His prepared people to His prepared servants. And He did! I sat by the wonderful Montana-ite Sue, and we talked the whole hour journey. She has had the lessons before because the elders a long time ago- lived in her basement! Turns out she already has a Book of Mormon, but she did say that she wouldn't mind me calling her at Temple Square, and sharing with her more later. Very cool!

Next miracle- guess who picked me up from the airport? MY BABY! (The sister I trained for 3 months before I left for Montana) Sister Opeda. She came with her new sister who she is training a sister from Taichung Taiwan. It's a small, small world. We had three generations in that car, and I became a grandma. (In the missionary genealogy world) But Sister Opeda told me the miracle that she'd been dying to share with me for the last few days. The family that I gave her to call, who we met in the Beehive house last April, has continued to learn about the gospel. Mom is less active, and recently got her temple recommend back again, and the two teen-aged sons were baptized this weekend, all because their flight was delayed and we gave them a tour, Mom felt the spirit and testified of what she knew to be true, we gave them copies of the Book of Mormon, and the sons promised to read them, and we testified of how the scriptures had helped us in our lives. AND...... They're moving to SALT LAKE CITY from Florida and we'll get to see them again!

Next miracle- on the square last night, my zone leaders ran into none other than.... Daniel!!!! The guy I met with his LDS girlfriend a year ago almost exactly, back in my second week in the field who was baptized. Well since then, he's gotten the priesthood, got married, moved to Orem, told his Mom about the church, she came to Temple Square, another sister called and taught her over the phone, she got baptized, and now Daniel wants us to call his Dad and share the gospel with him. My zone leaders gave the referral to me, and now my companion and I get to call him and catch up and then also call and teach his Dad! And the best part- is that he and his new wife will be sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple in two months. SUPER MIRACLE! Wow. 

 As per my new companion you may ask? It's Sister Souza from Brazil! She's fresh from the MTC so I'm a mom (aka I'm training) again for the third time. But I'm super excited. I love training. She's such a good missionary already. Patience, loving, enthusiastic, kind, compassionate, sweet and has only the desire to be obedient and do her best, and during language study, she wants to sing the hymns because singing in English solidifies her pronunciation of English, which I don't mind at all of course! Her twin brother is already on his mission in Sao Palo Brazil. She's 19, but very mature. Great missionary. I'm very excited for the many miracles that we will see, and already are seeing! 

Wow. What's my message for this week? Don't give up. The miracles are around the corner. The blessings will come for obedience and hard work and diligence. Patience is required for faith and hope. The Lord knows exactly when and where we need to be. He knows us so well. Go forward and leap in faith to new paths!

 

I love this work. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know that no matter what we have done, we can be forgiven. Heavenly Father's plan is perfect. He has made it so that there are no loop holes or places we will fail or fall, unless we choose to disobey the plan. We have a guarantee from His Son, Jesus Christ that as long as we follow Him we don't need to doubt, fear or sink into despair. All things will come together for our good.  Trials will not last forever. The sunshine always comes out after the rain. After the trial of our faith we will have a period of rest, and we will become stronger. We don't have to hold onto everything. We can let go and give it to our Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus Christ can lift us up when we fall and heal our bruises- bruised bodies, bruised feelings, bruised spirits. All things will be made right! The victory has already been won. 

 

I love this work. I love Temple Square. I love Wyoming. I know that the gospel is the key.

Love,

Sister Fisher

 

From: Jessica Fisher [mailto:jessica.fisher@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013
Transfer 9, week 6: A parade, trumpets, yo hablo espanol un poquito, gave a talk etc.

 Hola Familia!

 Wow this week has just wooooooshed past. 

It was my last week in Burlington before I head back to Temple Square!

 

We taught a lot of people and prepared a float for the community pioneer day parade on Saturday-pictures to come...

(we were  missionaries with trumpets [well they were actually made of a funnel and some toilet paper roles all taped together with yellow paper on top] proclaiming the gospel) because the parade was missionary themed.

We had some awesome member-present lessons (which always make me happy) with some members from the ward in the lessons speaking spanish with us. I said my first prayer in Spanish at a lesson and we sang I am a Child of God and Families can be Together Forever in Espanol as well.

Pretty neat! It's been a great experience here. Hard to say some goodbyes to people, kids and their animals (some of their dogs I'm good friends with haha) but the work goes forward! Part of my heart will remain in Burlington, MT though!

I'm excited for Sister A because her new companion is a visa waiter, waiting to go to Peru. And she speaks spanish! (well at least more than I do... haha) And Sister A is assigned to only speak spanish to her so that she'll learn faster. She'll be a great asset to Burlington/Otto area.

The Bishop of the Otto ward called it a "miracle" that we got one of the less actives to church two weeks in a row. The secret? We just love them. We help them. We lift their spirits. And they want to change. So we can help them. 

 It was neat. A week ago we took a picture with one of the cute old ladies we go visit, even though it wasn't my last week, I just felt like I should grab a picture with her just in case we didn't see her the next week. I'm so glad I did. She had a stroke this week and actually passed away. We probably had the last picture with her alive. She was almost 94 years old, and has lots of loved ones waiting to greet her on the other side.

 We've been so busy I can hardly think specifically what we've been busy with. The last two or three weeks seem to just combine in my mind.

Dad wrote me a letter this week, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. One of the quotes that is now a book mark I look at each day, and what he wrote was this: "The deepest and greatest memories of your mission are still ahead of you." I know that to be true and commit myself, even when it's hard to, to move forward in faith expecting those miracles.

 I gave a talk in Church which is the compilation of all of my thoughts the last 3 months on Sunday. I wrote a talk on Thursday and then as I was praying that day I just felt that I should change it, and I rewrote it Sunday morning before I gave it at the meeting.  Here it is:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Our purpose here on earth is to have joy, to understand it and to be happy. "Men are that they might have joy." 2 Ne 2:25

So why are there so many children of God that aren't happy?

There's three major categories that God has promised us if we focus on, we will find joy in this life and joy in the next as well: Attitude, Priorities and Obedience. 

1. Attitude

Nephi describes it as this in 2 Nephi chapter 2 "For it must needs be, that there is an ^aopposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad...Therefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no ^bjoy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no ^csin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who^aknoweth all things."

So to teach us what happiness feels like and what true joy is, sadness and hardship and adversity was a necessary part of our education, because we needed the opposition to understand what joy is.

We also know that "the Lord God gave unto man that he should ^aact for himself. Wherefore, man could not ^bact for himself save it should be that he was ^centiced by the one or the other."

Happiness is therefore a choice as well. Once we recognize this, we understand that when disappointments, challenges, opposition, frustrations and hardships come, they are just in disguise the opportunity to choose to either be happy or sad. 

It was essential in God's plan of happiness, for us to come to earth and to learn and to grow and to make decisions. 

 God has given us the ability to choose.

"...there is a God, and he hath ^bcreated all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be ^cacted upon."

 We either allow the things that happen to us affect how we feel, or we are agents who act and are not acted upon. What do you mean,  you may say? To be acted upon is to allow someone else's choice to affect how you choose to feel- "they made me mad" is a common expression we use when we choose to be affected by someone else's choice. To act means to decide to be happy despite opposition or to remain calm amid adversity or contention. 

 As we analyze our attitudes, we will choose more often to be happy, to remain calm and in control of ourselves and we will find greater happiness. 

 This is one of the greatest tests of this life. Mormon 9:14 says "And then cometh the ^ajudgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that ... he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still."

If we don't learn how to choose happiness despite trials here on earth, we've missed out on a huge opportunity to learn it. You're only as happy as you decide you are. Attitude equals your altitude. 

 As President Uchtdorf says, "So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial.

The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don’t really matter or determine our happiness. We do matter. We determine our happiness. You and I are ultimately in charge of our own happiness." (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng)

"Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.

The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy." (http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-relief-society-meeting/2011/09/forget-me-not?lang=eng) 

2. Priorities

2 Nephi again teaches us:

"Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy..." (2 Ne 9:51)

 We must be careful to not fill our lives with the things that cannot satisfy, while we feel so busy and frustrated and scattered that we struggle to fit in the things that do matter. Take an inventory of your life and all of your activities and number them all 1-5: 1 meaning the things that at the end of your life you'll remember and be grateful for, and 5 are the things that just fill your time. 

Let us not become so busy that we miss out on the opportunity to be happy. We are all busy. But we are not all happy. So what is the difference?

President Uchtdorf has said, "Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life."

 But he reminds us in another talk, Forget Me Not,

"An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.

Giving up a little sleep to help a child who is having a nightmare is a good sacrifice. We all know this. Staying up all night, jeopardizing our own health, to make the perfect accessory for a daughter’s Sunday outfit may not be such a good sacrifice. Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice. Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be. Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another. How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, “Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?” There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective. Sometimes, that may even mean nurturing small but beautiful forget-me-not flowers instead of a large garden of exotic blooms."

Are our priorities in line? If they are not, we could find ourselves laboring for that which cannot satisfy, and we will constantly be unsatisfied. Not happy, no matter how much we achieve, accomplish or produce. 

Just as eating one oreo cannot satisfy, we must make sure that we fill our lives with the things that matter most first, and then add the other things around that. The world tells us that the reason why we're not happy is because we need more oreos to feel satisfied- more money, more clothes, more hours at work, more extracurricular, more cars, more facebook friends, more vacations, more movies music and video games, more more and more. And once you eat the entire box of oreos you finally do feel sort of satisfied. But it then takes more and more to feel satisfied again. 

Unless we are eating of the bread of life that fulfills us and brings us the joy that we were seeking for in the oreos. Let us make sure those eternally significant things are always at the top of our list: Personal prayer, personal scripture study, church attendance, time to spend on our callings, temple attendance, time with our spouse and family, family scripture study, family prayer, family home evening, family history and temple service, home teaching and visit teaching, missionary work, fellow shipping those who struggle or are lonely in the ward. Those are the things that bring us the joy we lack and then try and look for in other places.

One of the happiest scriptures I've found describes those things that we must do to have "great joy"--

"Nevertheless, the people of the church did have great joy because of the conversion of the Lamanites, yea, because of the church of God, which had been established among them. And they did^afellowship one with another, and did rejoice one with another, and did have great joy." Helaman 6:3

I promise that we will have greater joy as we do an inventory of our lives and place the most eternally significant priorities first. We will then realize that we don't have much time or concern for much of the things that clutter and clog our time.

 3. Obedience

 President Hinckley said “The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of … God.”

 Why do we have commandments? Because a loving Father in Heaven wanted to paint a path that we could walk on that would guarantee us in this world of choice and learning, to find peace and happiness and that would lead us straight back to Him. It is the shortest path, the straightest path, the easiest path in the long run. All 'alluring' short cuts always lead away from the destination we are all seeking. 

 "There is no need for you or for me, in this enlightened age when the fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or to travel unmarked roads in search of truth. A loving Heavenly Father has plotted our course and provided an unfailing guide—even obedience. A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God." -President Monson,  (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/obedience-brings-blessings?lang=eng) 

 King Benjamin promised us all, "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, 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." (Mosiah 2:41)

 That's a huge promise. I know that it is true. We just have to obey and we will find the joy we are all searching for in other paths.

 I know that there is an area that we can all improve in. We may be doing good in two of the three, but I know that we will only find that great joy as we do our best in all of those categories. God has promised us joy as we do our best in improving our attitudes, priorities and obedience. Pray and ask Heavenly Father what you can do to improve in those areas and I promise you that He will answer you, and as you apply it in your life you will find greater happiness and enjoy the journey even more.

I love you all,

Sister Fisher