Opportunities to Share.....

There are a lot of things about Utah that I miss....that is a given...but there is one thing that I know I love about California and that is the opportunities that I have to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and my beliefs with others.

Living in Utah, everyone is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint or they know enough about it that they aren't interested and they don't want to talk about it. Now me placing "everyone" into these two categories is probably not completely fair, but let's be honest the VAST majority fit into one of these categories. This left me with very little opportunity to share my beliefs without someone being offended.

Here in Visalia, CA it seems to be the total opposite. There are many different churches around here, and I would say that most of the population is religious in some way and they actually try to live their beliefs, no matter what they may be. Most people don't know hardly anything about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which leads me to my main point that it makes for a lot of opportunities to share what I hold so dear to my heart.

Today I had yet another opportunity. I tried to take advantage of the questions I was being asked, but make sure not to be overwhelming. When I really think about all the things I have learned about the gospel in the past 25 years of life, it is a lot to try to share in one sitting and a bit overwhelming to say the least. So I try to share bits and pieces about it when opportunities arise.

This is how we got on the subject.

I was telling one of my friends at work about how we are planning a retirement party for Trav's dad. We are going to do a family dinner at the Roof in Salt Lake City. I was telling her about how we want to make all the money arrangements to pay for the meal before everyone gets there because we know Trav's mom and dad will try to pay if they bring the check to the table, and we want to make sure we are treating them to a nice evening. She asked, well how is that going to work? I said, well it is a buffet so you can just go get whatever you want and have dessert and all of that. She said, well what about if you order drinks? I said well we aren't going to be having any special drinks. She was like not even a glass of wine to celebrate? I said no. This led to me telling her I have never had coffee, wine, beer, alcohol, etc. She didn't understand why? This led to that it was part of our religion not to drink that. She was a little confused and I shared several thoughts with her, but I told her that we believe that our bodies are a sacred gift from God and she was like oh okay, that makes sense why you don't drink then. I didn't even have to explain the connection to her, she just understood. We talked about several gospel topics in our conversation. The other thing I touched on that really made her think was about how we pay tithing. She said, "Oh yeah, like to pay the pastor." Then I was able to explain to her that the prophet and bishops, etc. don't get paid to do their callings. She didn't really have anything to say, it just made her think a lot about that. She was like, "that's interesting". I bet she is still thinking about that because she was rather shocked. It was just so nice for someone to be interested in hearing about what I believe and not taking offense or feel in any sense that I was pushing "doctrine" on them or trying to convert her.

There is another friend at work that has asked me different questions over the past few months about the church. Last week she said, "Michelle, I want to ask you a question" She told me that her friend had told her that Mormons don't believe in cutting their hair. She asked me if we, as Mormons, weren't supposed to cut our hair? I told her that my hair might be long, but there was nothing in our religion that said we could cut our hair. She laughed and said, "That is why I asked you. I wanted to get the answer from the source." I just loved the fact that she was willing to ask someone who is a Mormon if that is really the case versus just believing what other people tell her.

There have been numerous other opportunities I have had to share small pieces of what I believe with others. I love how they want to know more and they continue to ask questions. They don't judge me and I don't judge them.

The gospel is so special to me and that is why it makes me so happy that my friends and co-workers want to learn more about the gospel and take interest in my beliefs. I love to share the true gospel of Jesus Christ with others. To have the knowledge I have is the greatest blessing I have been given. I was so happy about the conversation I had with my friend today and it made me think of this scripture.

D&C 18:15
5 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

I just feel pure joy! I hope that I will continue to have these amazing experiences and opportunities to share the gospel here in California. My faith and testimony increases as I share it with others.

Some Fresh Air

7/7/2012-Kings Canyon National Park

It has been pretty hot here in Visalia and so we decided to take a short day trip to Kings Canyon. We looked to the travel app on Trav's phone to find the best driving route to get there. We took the shortest route and needless to say I was pretty motion sick by the time we made it. It was an hour and 1/2 of back and forth and back and forth. We talked to people since and they say that is the windiest road, but the most scenic. It was really pretty, but I don't know how much I was able to enjoy the scenery because the road just made me so sick. When we got there it was the perfect temperature and the air was so clean. I love breathing in fresh forest air. On our drive we saw the sign that said Centerville 33 miles. I really wish that was the case :)

This tree had tipped over long ago. It had been hollowed up by what they believe to be a fire before it fell. The sequoia tree is so huge that you could walk through it.

This is Trav with General Grant. The second largest sequoia tree. These pictures don't do these trees justice.

This was the other side of the fallen tree. Back in the 1800's, this tree was used as a shelter and camp where settlers would come and stay. They would also use it for a stall and tie up their horses. 

We were glad we took 5 mins to pull over and see this lookout. God's creations are just breathtaking!! 

 On our way home, we decided to stop by The Old Spaghetti Factory in Fresno. It was delicious!! I love the weekends when Trav is not working. It's so fun to hang out. We had a great time enjoying the nature and beauty that is so close to us. I also love our car rides. We always have fun jamming to the music and we had some good laughs while listening to Car Talk.  We don't mind taking long drives, as long as we're together. :)

Celebrating Together

July 4, 2012

Trav was scheduled to work for the fourth of July and so I decided that I may as work too. So we both worked during the day while many of the festivities were happening, but we did manage to make it to the firework show in Exeter (a little town, population ~10,000, same city I work in). I wasn't going in with high expectations, but they had music playing and the firework show as actually really good. We also ate at a cute little restaurant called East Meets West.

We laid out our blanket and sat in the field very close to where the fireworks were being lit. We could see them take off from the ground, so the fireworks were so close that they seemed a lot bigger. They were HUGE!

This was the best picture I got. None of them turned out that great.

Most of our friends here have family that live near and they were doing all the family get together, so we came home and did a little firework show of our own. Because the 4th of July landed on a Wednesday, we only got through about 1/2 of our fireworks before I decided I didn't want all the neighbors hating us. :) So we stopped.

Next, we went inside and watched the firework show in NYC that we had DVR'd. I love listening to patriot music with the fireworks synced to it. I feel so lucky to live in America. It was especially cool to watch the fireworks  over the Hudson River on TV this year because Trav's little brother, Mark, is serving his mission in New Jersey and right now he is in the area of Hoboken. Yes, that is where Carlos Bakery (Cake Boss) is. He got to watch the live show of 40,000 fireworks go off in a high rise right next to the Hudson. Can you tell I'm jealous?! Our night was filled with fireworks and I was okay with that because I love them! Even though it was just of the two of us, we still had a lot of fun together. I am glad to know that even though we don't have our families to celebrate with, I have my hubby and we always have a fun, laugh-filled time.