Talks & Videos that have changed my life

This is a smorgasbord of different talks and videos that have become major turning points in my attitude, my outlook on life, my decisions, etc. 

"Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence"

"Moments that Matter Most"

"Daughters of God"

“As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten” by Elder Christofferson

"The Will of God"

Here's the video that goes along with it.


More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us by Paul V. Johnson. I still remember vividly listening to this talk one night my freshman year. I was discouraged and in despair towards heading back to campus which seemed like a hopeless cause in attacking my stress and assignments. Here's the part of the talk that got me through that trial of my faith: In the midst of problems, it is nearly impossible to see that the coming blessings far outweigh the pain, humiliation, or heartbreak we may be experiencing at the time. “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” The Apostle Paul taught, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

"The Coat: A Story of Charity"

"Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them"

"An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ"

"Chastity: What Are the Limits?"

Daughters in My Kingdom.

"Be Strong and of a Good Courage - Mutual Theme 2010"

Scars

(Written about 2 weeks ago; edited and published today)
As I write this post, I listen to a song that inspired my thoughts today. Scars by Papa Roach. I was washing the dishes the other day and my roommate's iPhone shuffled to this song.

"I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel."

And then, it hit me how applicable this song is to me right now. I apologize to any of my roommates reading this right now. I've been singing my own rendition of this song around the apartment. 

But, I'm very accident prone I've realized. With Aaron, every time we would go on an adventure, I would always get injured in one way or another.

I'd like to draw from one specific example. Canyonlands. Imagine it, May 2012. I'm in Southern Utah, with a friend's family, the Nelsons. Camping in the middle of nowhere. They decide to go repel off of an arch. To be honest, I went because I didn't want to miss out. Or miss spending time with a certain person. Anyways, whatever the reasons may be, I went. I didn't feel so good about it; but, I went.

Long story short, I scraped my hand while I fell repelling an arch. It sounds really cool, but it was totally stupid on my part. Here's a picture a couple days later of my hand.

The cuts healed, but they left scars. Here's what they look like today. Tonight actually, I just snapped these pictures.

 Side note: Look how bony my hands look. This is evidence that I have deathly, skeleton hands. 

It's funny how I've come to love and hate these scars. They reminded me of the beginning of a summer, of a new page in my life. But, they also remind me that I'm not invincible.

I'm trying to sensitively say that I'm sad because they now remind me of the finiteness of summer and that part in my life.

This relates to any kind of scars, even those left on the heart. Or those scars in your mind. I empathize with anyone experiencing those scars. You feel like you can never fully let go because the past has left an imprint.

"I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel."

However, scars are really amazing. They remind me that I still have room to improve. That I'm not perfect...yet.

When we're resurrected after death, our bodies will be perfect. Without blemish (or scars, as far as I know). Our imperfect bodies will be made perfect.

And yet, Christ--the only one that lived a perfect life, will say, "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."

By his scars, we will know He is our Savior. Let me emphasize that the only perfect person will be the one who's scars will identify Him. Our wounds will heal. Our pain will dull. But, let us not forget why. Because of His sacrifice of the Atonement, our scars will fade.

I will end by sharing a quote from Elder Holland:

I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable, but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.

 I also bear my testimony of Christ and His Atonement, and it is because of this, that my outlook is hopeful.

When Expectations Fall Short, Do Not Doubt

Wow, do you ever feel like people are expecting you to do so much? To be something that you might not have the capabilities to be?

I think this applies so much to who we are. We are defined by so many our relationships: daughter, sister, girlfriend, roommate, Relief Society Meeting Committee Member on Health & Wellness, Student Leadership, Lab Assistant, Student. Without other people, I could not consider myself to be those things.

What else am I that doesn't require the existence of close relationships? A blogger, a runner, a cellist, a scriptorian, a cook, a cleaner. I could successfully not know anyone personally and still be capable of these things. If I was not personally attached to anyone, I would still be capable of being something.

But, what would that something amount to? Eventually the blog would grow dull. The streets and trails seem mundane. Playing the cello would feel as hollow as its inside. Scriptures would lose meaning without being able to share them. Cooking for only myself too much would either make me obese or depressed. Probably both. Cleaning would get pointless if I only had myself to do it for.

Would life really serve its purpose if our daily interactions with people were totally impersonal? What if everyone I knew was just a merely an acquaintance? No intimate conversations about truth, love, friendship, heartache, joys, sorrows, trials, etc. Not only would life seem much less vivacious, but I would be stuck with all of these feelings on my own.

Furthermore, my growth would be stunted. As I noted the eventual degradation of each self-sustaining activity, I realized that I would reach a point that I could no longer progress. I could not learn patience without other people. I couldn't learn intellectually unless I was able to replicate every experiment, historical event, and novel ever created. Any talents I would have with people would go unrealized. Most importantly, I couldn't learn love--and what's deeper, charity.

You might be asking yourself, Why is Suzette trying to convince me that life would be nothing without our close friends and family? It's not you that needs convincing. I have forgotten the importance of having close allies in the midst of facing demons.

I'm not sure if a clear connection was drawn between the frustration of expectations and the "needing people in my life" thing. Here it is: I feel like people are expecting so much from me. Sometimes I feel like their sucking the life out of me. However, I am dependent on them as well in order to progress. While I get frustrated that they need me to do everything, what I didn't realize is that I need them to become all that I can be.

This makes me think of the Beatitudes that Christ gave on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).

The first 4 Beatitudes consist of things we can do on our own. They don't require the presence of anyone. They rely heavily on your own personal relationship with Christ. No people are involved just yet. These are attributes you can develop on your own:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

The next five pertain to our relationships with others:

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

How can we learn to be merciful without having anyone to show mercy? How can we practice being pure in heart without interacting with other people? Same with being a peacemaker, being persecuted, and reviled. All of these require other people.

And here's what Christ says after all of these things:

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

After rereading this, I can't help but feel that Christ really does have it figured out for us. That's why we have people in our lives. To help us reach our potential.