The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Today I taught a lesson in my Mia Maid class about the Atonement of Jesus Christ titled, "What is the Atonement of Jesus Christ?" I thoroughly enjoyed preparing for my lesson by reading and listening to scriptures about the Savior's last days in mortality. (See Matthew 26-27.) I also loved reading various Church talks and articles, and watching many Bible Videos—I have come to deeply appreciate them!

(If you've never seen my church's Bible Videos, I highly recommend checking them out, for they are very well done—their dialogue follows the Bible's verses almost exactly! The videos are available for free online and via iOS and Android apps. I love free, don't you?! :) They're also available on YouTube, but I prefer the Church's backgrounds, for they are much less distracting than the endless video suggestions on YouTube.)

We all know the Atonement of Jesus Christ has been talked about for centuries. I've had so many lessons on the topic, I literally can't remember the number! Yet, I don't think we can ever talk about the Atonement enough. In True to the Faith, the first paragraph about the Atonement of Jesus Christ states,

"The word atone means to reconcile, or to restore to harmony. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father (see Romans 5:10-11; 2 Nephi 25:23; Jacob 4:11). We can ultimately dwell in His presence forever, having been 'made perfect through Jesus' (see D&C 76:62, 69)."

Will there ever be a time in the history of our world when the Atonement isn't applicable? No, there is not. The Living Christ points out, "None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth." Later, The Living Christ continues, "I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father." (D&C 110:3-4) Furthermore, former Church President, Gordon B. Hinkley stated,

"[Jesus Christ] is the chief cornerstone of the church that bears His name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There is no other name given among men whereby we can be saved (see Acts 4:12). He is the author of our salvation, the Giver of eternal life (see Hebrews 5:9). There is none equal Him. There never has been. There never will be. Thanks be to God for the gift of His Beloved Son, who gave His life that we might live and who is the chief, immovable cornerstone of our faith and His Church. 

"We know not all that lies ahead of us. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. for others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing we do know. Like the Polar Star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith. 

"In Sunshine and in shadow, we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us." – Gordon B. Hinckley, We Testify of Jesus Christ, jesuschrist.lds.org

Isn't that quote so beautiful? President Hinckley was such a great wordsmith. I can't adequately explain the fondness and appreciation that fills my soul when I read or hear his words. I attribute President Hinckley's wonderful ability with words to the fact that (I think) he spoke directly from his soul to everyone else's soul! What a marvelous gift his words are to generations of people! :)

Three of the many principles/points I tried to convey to my Mia Maid class were taken from Sister Linda K. Burton's Relief Society talk, "Is Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts?", General Conference, October, 2012:

1. "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." [This point was taken from Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2004), 52.]
2. There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ. [This point was taken from David A. Bednar's talk, "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality," Ensign, April, 2012, 40-47.]
3. The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father's love for His children. [See Dallin H. Oaks, Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 26.]

It's just so true: there is truly nothing in, on, or around this earth that shows God's love for us better than the Atonement. Because of our Savior, we can be forgiven of our sins and gain access back into our Heavenly Father's presence!

Speaking of our Savior, I was thrilled to find out that the entire musical production of Savior of the World is available for free to the stakes/wards/members of the Church to participate in and present as a church activity! Wow. I remember seeing the original production in the Conference Center many years ago—it was marvelous and I felt the Spirit so strongly. I remember crying a little bit as I watched certain parts of the musical. It was so very well done. I wish my stake—with its supremely talented members—would do a production of Savior of the World! I would totally participate in it! :)

During my lesson, I showed the stunning painting Peter's Denial, by Carl Heinrich Bloch. I wanted my Mia Maids to see Peter hiding out on the porch, and Jesus looking at him. Can you even imagine what was going through our Savior's mind?! I think there were probably no words. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He still had human feelings. I imagine His sadness at Peter's denial must have been profound. They both must have been so disappointed by Peter's actions! :(

I then read Matthew 26:33-34 to them:

"33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
 35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples."

I continued in Matthew 26:69-74:

"69 ¶Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. [i.e., reveals you]
 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew."

I tried to convey to my Mia Maids the great importance of never denying our Savior or Heavenly Father. I then quoted a portion from the Young Women Theme, "WE WILL 'STAND as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.'" Each Sunday, every Young Women group within the Church stands together and says the YW theme, but I wanted to give my Mia Maids another example of what standing as a witness really means. I hope they have the desire to not be like Peter—at least in this situation. But I also pointed out that even after all that Peter did, he was forgiven because of the supreme gift of the Atonement. :)

Because I ran out of lesson time today, one point I didn't get to make is found in D&C 20:22, "He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them." I'm certain there were endless temptations our Savior could have accepted in His life, yet He chose time and again to ignore every single one of them. And when He could have removed himself from the crucifixion, He chose to bless all of our lives instead. What a fabulous example He is to us! Yes, I have much to work on in my life. :)

Thankfully, I remembered to ask the question, "What can we learn from the Savior's final words he spoke while on the cross, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' (Luke 23:34)?" I'm so happy my Mia Maids really understand the importance of following the Savior in forgiving everyone—even down to the smallest, most mundane instances in our lives. Granted, I clarified that none of us are perfect. We don't react 100% in the correct way each and every time something bad, sad, annoying, frustrating or catastrophic happens in our lives. That said, my Mia Maids are such strong souls! I have no doubt that if they choose to, they could perfectly follow our Savior's example of forgiveness!

I created this typographic design of John 17:3-4 as my handout for today's lesson. I chose the colors based on what the Savior was wearing in several of the Bible Videos: For God So Loved the World; The Parable of the Talents; Render unto Caesar and unto God.

"3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

Don't you love Jesus' words?! He clearly and honestly stated that he did everything our Heavenly Father wanted and needed Him to do. What an exceptional example He is for us to follow. If we pray daily to know and do what Heavenly Father desires of us in every circumstance, we will be unstoppable!

I couldn't help but include these wonderful scriptures, for they are exactly what I'm trying to do in my life. 2 Nephi 25:23,26 (emphasis added):

"23 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.
26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

Do I do all of that ^ perfectly? Nope, I don't. Yet I try my best every day. I repent when I mess up—which happens a lot, but I just keep swimming in the right direction! Don't you just love that movie?! Finding Nemo, that is. ;)

Anywho, I'm grateful I've been able to study the Atonement of Jesus Christ throughout my life. Knowing what I know makes me happy! I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the Atonement—even though I know my human mind can't possibly comprehend all of it. But hey, that's why we're all here on earth: to keep learning, growing and becoming the people our Heavenly Father knows we can be. I have peace knowing this great plan of happiness (i.e., the plan of salvation) is made possible by our sweet, unselfish, perfect Savior. :)

Choosing Power

I keep hearing in the media about how marriage rates are continually declining. (*To clarify: throughout this post, I'm referring to traditional marriage.) This news does not make me happy, not one little bit! Maybe you've already heard about this sad marriage news? If not, here are some links explaining the research (newest to oldest):

• Today Show report: Fewer people are getting married
• Pew Research: Record Share of Americans Have Never Married (This is the article the Today show segment is based on.)
• LifeSite: Young men giving up on marriage: ‘Women aren’t women anymore’
• The Huffington Post: Mormon Singles, LDS Singles Wards Rise As Members Delay Marriage (I know this article focuses on singles delaying marriage, but it brings up so many interesting points that I had to include it!)
• The University of Virginia Magazine: The Marriage Crisis: How marriage has changed in the last 50 years and why it continues to decline (This article was written in 2012. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are now married.)
• TIME: Who Needs Marriage? A Changing Institution (TIME and Pew Research joined forces for this article and the next article's information.)
• Pew Research: The Decline of Marriage And Rise of New Families

Now that you're up-to-date in the marriage news department, let me tell you about what I've been up to: I recently celebrated my 17th anniversary with my loving and amazing husband!! Because of our gift-giving and happy celebrations, I've been on a super pro-marriage kick. :) Thus, I would love it if I could convince the marriage fence-sitters to see the joy in marriage and possibly want to take the plunge!

*Warning: This post is long as I'm sharing much of Greg's and my love story, and I'll not apologize for it! :)

Our First Encounter

I was 17 when I met 18-year-old Greg at a Highland High School rugby game at the University of Utah—we were both spectators. Have you seen the marvelous movie, Forever Strong? Well, it's all about the Highland Rugby team. (If you want the tiniest snapshot of my teenage years, watch the movie's sideline/audience scenes at the rugby games!) I give a lot of credit to Larry Gelwix for the fact that Greg and I even met in the first place! Granted, we probably would have met under other circumstances because we attended the same high school—and I think we were truly destined to be together—but you never know! :)

I was chatting with my friends at the Highland Rugby game when suddenly this tall, good-looking young man was standing next to me and began talking. Greg made me smile and laugh a lot! What surprised me is the fact that Greg kept talking to me! You see, I was still somewhat timid around boys at that stage of my life and didn't have the best self esteem—but I was working on improving it! Don't misunderstand, I had spent a lot of time around young men, but I was just simply awkward around them.

Although I don't remember every detail of the day, our meeting made an impact on both of us. I remember walking back to the car thinking, "Hmm...why does this day feel different??" Greg went home and wrote in his day-planner, "Met Adrie ______ today." I love that he thought our first meeting was significant enough to write about in his day-planner!

Greg and I saw each other occasionally in our high school's hallways for the rest of the school year, which was approximately three-and-a-half weeks. Whenever he saw me, he would teasingly yell, "Aaaadrie!" I wanted to shrink with embarrassment, but I loved it! Greg always made my day!

Dating, the Missionary, and the Nanny

Even though I was awkward around boys, throughout the year before I met Greg, I'd been on many group/individual dates, and had a casual dating relationship with another young man. I was not ignorant of how relationships between young men and young women worked.

Greg and I began casually and sporadically dating early that summer (after he graduated high school), but we didn't start seriously dating until about one month before he left to serve a mission in Fukuoka, Japan, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The weeks Greg and I spent together before he left on his mission are so precious and special to me, for it's when we first discovered true love! Greg and I were truly thrilled to note the vast amount of similarities we shared.  As Greg so aptly described it, "It's like I'm home." I couldn't have agreed more! We decided that we could even see ourselves married to each other in the future! Saying those words out loud shocked my 17-year-old ears, but they felt so so right to my heart and mind!

Thus, it felt painfully strange when Greg told me that I should date other young men while he served his mission. Even though we both agreed that we were the perfect marriage-match for eternity, Greg didn't want me to "wait" for him. That was a very hard and gaggy pill for me to swallow, but I reluctantly agreed.

When Greg left on his mission, I felt like my soul had been ripped out through my heart. No exaggeration. (Think of the Evil Queen ripping hearts out on Once Upon A Time, and that's how I felt!) I was a mighty sad girl. Thus, I was so happy that we wrote to each other every week throughout his entire mission. When we were either too tired or busy to write, we'd record cassette tapes and send them to each other. (I still have a shoebox full of our tapes!) When I traveled to France, Switzerland and Italy with my dad for my senior graduation trip, I mailed Greg post cards and a few packages. Late into Greg's mission, he was made the AP (Assistant to the Mission President), so we began faxing each other! Yes, this really dates me! Receiving faxes from the love of my life was awesome!!

But back to the dating while Greg was on his mission: Yes, I dated other men. It's strange for me to write those words because it feels like I've never been without my Gregor! The other men I dated were all very good men (I wouldn't have settled for anything less), and we truly cared about each other. My time with each of them absolutely helped me grow into the woman I am today. Through our (sometimes short) relationships, those men unknowingly prepared me for my incredibly wonderful marriage to Greg! I hope I helped prepare them as well.

As the years have passed, most (if not all) of those men have married well and now have beautiful families. I had no doubt they would live great lives! That said, in my mind, there was no one who came close to Greg. When I say that, I'm not dissing the other men I dated. They were simply not meant for me, nor was I meant for them. Greg and I were meant for each other!

Below is the photo Greg kept with him throughout his two-year mission in Japan. He combined his senior-football picture and my junior-year picture. While I was in France, I sent him a lovely picture frame that he put them in. I still have those photos in the very same picture frame on my computer desk! We were so young! Looking at us still makes me twitterpated! FYI, this photo was taken before my thyroid problems began.

While I waited for Greg to come home from his mission, I graduated from high school, and worked that summer at a local dry-cleaners. That October, I became a nanny for a wonderful little boy in Michigan for one year. I loved being a nanny so much! It was hard work, but super rewarding. I refer to my nannying experience as my mini-mission. :)

Growing
During the 25 months Greg and I were apart (Oh, yes, I totally counted!), we each had experiences beyond compare. Our souls grew so much in such a short period of time! It really is amazing to me when I stop and ponder our growth.

Contrary to what some may think, Greg and I also grew together as a couple. Through our letters, cassette tapes, poems and gifts, we came to understand each other as we never had before. I honestly believe we couldn't have grown together as well as we did, were it not for our time spent apart! Relying on our faith in each other and our Heavenly Father was at times hard, but it strengthened our souls and showed us time and again just how right we were for each other! I literally can't count how many times I received a letter from Greg with the perfect advice or loving words in the precise moments I needed them. It's like he knew exactly what to write to me one week in advance!

Oh, wow. Just going back to that time in my mind brings tears to my eyes: Greg was everything to me...and he still is! Our souls were so connected to each other, despite being approximately 6,757 miles apart! I can't reiterate enough that we were meant for each other! (Those statements still apply even though I was dating other young men off-and-on throughout his mission. Again, I would have chosen Greg every time if he weren't in a different country!)

Homecoming, PMS and Las Vegas
After I completed my year of nannying in Michigan, I moved home mid-October. Happily for me, Greg came home from Japan by the end of October. In retrospect, I still say those two years were the l.o.n.g.e.s.t. two years of my life! I was so ready to marry my one and only true love! Greg, on the other hand, was now the awkward one. I think I would classify his malady as Post Mission Syndrome...a different kind of PMS! Ha ha.

Two weeks after Greg came home from Japan, he began working as a Japanese-speaking tour guide in Las Vegas. Despite our grand love for one another, I nearly wasn't able to wait for him. You see, I had no idea that his plan was to go work crazy-long hours in Las Vegas in order to save up enough money to buy me an engagement ring. So sweet! Yeah, that would have been really good information for his planner girlfriend to know ahead of time!

When he said goodbye, I thought, "What are you doing?! I waited two years for you, and you run off to go work 16-hour-days in LAS VEGAS?!" A few weeks into his life in Vegas, I thought, "And now you're too tired to talk to me on the phone when you finish working every day?! What kind of a relationship is this?! Aaahhh!" Thankfully, I chose to wait four more months. Remember, patience didn't use to be my virtue. :)

However, there was one night near the end of four months when I almost broke up with him because I couldn't take being apart from him anymore. In that tender moment, Greg gently pleaded and lovingly convinced me to stick-it-out with him just a little longer.

Who knew his plan was already in place? I surely didn't! Thus, I was super surprised when he came home three days later! I still remember the moment I looked out my parents' front door and saw a very skinny Greg (he worked way too hard in Las Vegas) standing on my front porch. I thundered down the stairs faster than lightning, threw open the door and jumped into Greg's arms! We endlessly hugged and I bawled my eyes out. My Gregor was HOME!

I'm truly beyond grateful that neither one of us gave up on each other! Wow. Again, I shudder to think about what might not have been...

The Proposal
Two months later, my dreams came true: Greg proposed to me! Thankfully, he proposed at the very right time during our dinner at Market Street Broiler by the University of Utah. (It just closed in April, 2014. So sad face!) I say thankfully because I was just about to ask him what he thought about me serving a mission for our church, since I thought we weren't getting married anytime soon! (There's more to that story, but I'm going to bypass it for now.) Every time I think about the timing of our proposal dinner, I wonder, "What if I had asked him my mission question first, before he proposed? What if he would have said, 'Yes, you should serve a mission!', and kept the ring hidden from me? Seriously, where would we be in our lives??!"

But back to his proposal... I immediately, enthusiastically and emphatically said, "YES!!!" And all of the other restaurant patrons began clapping, cheering, whistling and wishing us, "Congratulations!" It was like an awesome movie! Instead of crying like people do in the movies and on reality TV shows, I was like, "It's about time!!!" :) We headed home and proceeded to tell our entire world our fantastic news! Up to that point in my life, I had never been so happy!

This photo was taken mere minutes after we told my family we were engaged! It's all crinkled because we folded it so it would fit in a picture frame. :)

This is the photo we used for our wedding invitation! While it's kind of an awkward pose, we both really liked it. :) Our feet weren't showing in the final product. I don't know why I didn't go out and buy a pair of shoes that matched my dress! It's probably because I was trying to save money. Although, those were my favorite strappy shoes for years! I was sad when they finally fell apart. :(

This photo was taken during our engagement photo shoot. It's one of my absolute favorite photos of Greg and I!

Our Wedding!
Greg and I were married on a beautiful and perfect summer day in 1997. We chose to be married in the incomparable Salt Lake Temple and sealed for time and all eternity! There are so many beautiful moments of that day, I could spend an hour reliving each one! What I'll say is this: My heart overflowed with peaceful joy on our wedding day. I knew that Greg and I were meant to be together for eternity! My ever-restless soul was finally calm and fulfilled. While I can't speak exactly of Greg's emotions, I know he was so happy with the decision he made. :)

Speaking of eternal marriage, I highly recommend reading/watching/listening to this excellent talk, The Marriage That Endures, by Gordon B. Hinckley, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Below are two of my favorite paragraphs from his talk (in consecutive order)—I created these typographic designs to look the same because they must go together! Plus, the paragraphs wouldn't fit all on the same page. :)

Here are some of our precious photos of that amazingly perfect day. These were all taken by my father, except for the portrait of us in front of the pillars. (I apologize for their quality, for they were scanned into my printer that has only a 600x600dpi scanner. And I have no idea if I wrote that statistic correctly!)

My heart was swelling at this very moment! By the way, I loved my wedding dress so much! It was exactly the wedding dress I'd always dreamed of and hoped for! It's hanging in my basement and I can still fit into it...boo yeah! ;)

Tough Guy Lovin' the Princess! Greg said his hand symbol was showing his heart full of love for me. He completely melts my heart! :)

Oh, how I loved that moment! I still absolutely remember it!

Mr. & Mrs. Peterson. This was for real the happiest day of my life!

Now that you're acquainted with how Greg and I met, fell in love, and married for eternity (yay!), let me bring you back to my original thoughts that began this post. You see, I strongly believe that when a couple chooses marriage, they are essentially choosing power.

By choosing marriage, a woman and a man are effectively showing just how Christlike they desire to become.

By choosing each other day after day, year after year, decade after decade, (and hopefully life into eternity), married couples show their willingness to put another person's well-being ahead of their own.

By continuing to love and serve each other in every aspect of their marriage, a husband and wife put away their natural-man/woman tendencies. They show their spouse and our Heavenly Father (God) that their spirits are stronger than their flesh. They prove that their souls can triumph over their human shortcomings and weaknesses.

By daily implementing compromise, selflessness, patience, service, kindness, sacrifice, etc., a married couple can not only walk the path of our Savior, Jesus Christ, but become more like Him every day!

Yes, a man and a woman are never more powerful than when they are devoted solely to each other! Yet they become even more powerful when they are sealed together forever! Sorry, I couldn't resist sharing that eternally happy thought. :)

Now I'd like to clarify a few things about my marriage. Over the years, there have been several people who've assumed that because Greg and I are so happy together, our marriage must be 100% easy-peasy all the time. Well, it's not. Also, when referring to my happy marriage, people have said to me, "Oh, you're so lucky!" I appreciate their kind thoughts (truly!), but sometimes I want to emphatically reply, "Luck has nothing to do with it! We work our hineys off!" ;)

Even though Greg and I have this immense love for each other and a really awesome love story, we still occasionally have miscommunications/misunderstandings, and tiny moments of crankiness, snappiness, PMS (the female kind this time), selfishness, sadness, frustration, etc. That said, those stressful moments don't come between Greg and I very often simply because we work every day to prevent them from entering into our relationship. If we are ever at odds with each other, we'll talk it out until we come to a resolution, or agree to disagree.

A little while ago, I chatted with my dad about this topic. I told him I was going to write a blog post about my marriage and how luck has nothing to do with its success. He said, "That reminds me of a quote by Samuel Goldwyn. He said, 'The harder I work, the luckier I get.'" I squealed when my dad said those words, for they are exactly how I feel!!

Yes, friendly readers, luck most definitely has nothing to do with my wonderful marriage. Ever since Greg and I met, we put everything else aside and chose each other. We chose each other when we were teenagers, young adults, newlyweds and thirty-somethings! And we continually choose each other every single day of our lives!

So, if you're not sick of this topic yet, I highly recommend reading these two articles about marriage:

The Case for Getting Married Young, by Karen Swallow Prior

10 Ways you are Being Unfaithful to your Spouse, and Don’t Even Know It, by Gary and Joy Lundberg

Speaking of marriage tips, when Greg and I were just three-months-married, we took a celestial marriage class at the University of Utah's LDS Institute of Religion from Dr. John Lund. He did a fabulous—and very entertaining—job of helping class members determine what was working in our marriages, and what we needed to spend additional time on. He gave us the communication skills and perspectives needed to create a beautiful marriage. Greg and I are still going strong because we heeded and implemented Dr. Lund's incredibly wise words!

Years later, Dr. Lund turned his celestial marriage class into a book and CD, For All Eternity. I bought the CD many years ago and Greg and I listen to it every once in a while as a marriage refresher course. :) We find it super helpful and wish every engaged couple would listen to it as a way to prepare for their marriage!

Truly, I've never felt more powerful than the moment Greg and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. I knew in that sacred moment that Greg and I were impacting not only our souls, but many future generations to come! The amazing thing is, I continue to feel that holy power every time I choose to love, honor, support, and cherish my husband! And I believe we've strengthened our power as a married couple since creating our children and bringing them into this world. I guess you could call us a power couple! Ha ha. The best news is, this powerful blessing—marriage—is available to anyone who makes a genuine effort to obtain and maintain it!

We Are SO Loved

Last night, I had a dream. It was a very realistic and significant dream. Its message wasn't meant for me, but for an extended family member.

When I first awoke and remembered what occurred in my dream, I thought, "Does this dream really mean anything? Or, is it a nonsense dream?" You see, I have dreams that mean something, but I also have nonsense dreams that are meaningless. I decided it was time for me to find out whether to share the information with my extended family member, or not.

Because my dream was so vivid and seemingly meaningful, I decided to pray about it. In the dim early-morning light, I prayed to know what I should do. I felt I should email my extended family member of my experience. I thought, "Oh, I'll just message _______ on facebook." Right when I thought those words, I felt the strong words come right back at me, "No. Don't check facebook, just send the email." So, I listened!

It was hard for me to open up my soul and send my dream via email, but I felt strongly inspired to do it and I knew I couldn't ignore the prompting. Yes, I've learned the hard way what happens when I don't listen to the personal inspiration/revelation I receive through the Holy Ghost! I wasn't going to make that mistake again!

After I clicked  send , I instantly felt at peace.

I was floored by the response I received from my extended family member. What I had written (it was a short email) was accurate and made sense to my extended family member. The things written back to me absolutely confirmed that my dream was correct! I was not off-base or crazy. My extended family member's recently deceased loved one had actually reached out to me through a dream. This fact makes me feel extremely small in our heavenly universe.

What's so wonderful and amazing is the fact that this isn't the first time a dream like this has been given to me. I guess I'm just shocked that, although rare, it continues to happen to me. I'm also so grateful to have gained additional insight and knowledge about spiritual things.

First of all, this experience solidified that our Heavenly Father and our Savior love us with an intensity that can never be completely understood by our earthly souls. When spiritually in-tune, we can catch glimpses of that glorious heavenly love, but we will never fully comprehend it until we go home to Heaven ourselves.

Secondly, this experience confirmed to me again that our loved ones we have lost through death are not lost at all—they are well-cared-for in a heavenly paradise. Our dear loved ones care so deeply for those of us still on Earth. They are anxiously watching over us and want us to be utterly happy! And sometimes, they are allowed to reach out to us—so we know that not only are they okay, but that we are okay too.

Finally, while this earth life can be hard, we must all remember that there we are here for darn good reasons! We must continually pray to know what our life missions are. We cannot ever allow ourselves to remain discouraged, or give up! This life is very important. We all matter!

When we return to our heavenly home, I have no doubt we will be welcomed with the open arms of our dearly-missed loved ones. Until that necessary life-transition happens, we must faithfully continue on our life-mission's path. We must not be swayed or dismayed! Our precious souls must remain strong. We need to live our lives to our maximum capacity, thus honoring our heavenly loved ones in the process. :)