By Small and Simple Things...

We were blessed to have an apostle of the Lord, Elder Ballard, speak to our ward this Sunday in our very own chapel! The ward's and our excitement to see a live apostle reminded me of a over decade ago during my days at BYU. We would anticipate apostles and prophets invited to speak for the campus wide Thursday Morning Devotionals; we'd crowd into the Marriot Center until it was overflowing with more people than any basketball game . I still remember Pres. Monson's (who was Elder Monson at the time) talk on how to study both for things spiritual and secular. That talk has always motivated me to truly learn how to study both subjects. Those words were a great lesson for me.
True, I didn't have a rather energetic 2 year old at that time (I married after my graduation from BYU) but Elder Ballard's message this Sunday gave plain and simple truths that warmed my soul and made my heart smile all while I was catching thrown sippy cups sailing midair over the pew or rushing out as our toddler loudly proclaimed, "I need t'go potty!".

If life was a nature hike, I feel as if this Sunday, Elder Ballard's talk gave us, as a couple,
a point in our journey where we were able to pause
to look at how far we had come and not be discouraged, but encouraged.
It was an opportunity to look ahead on our journey here on earth and not be daunted, but energized.
Both vistas gave perspective and we were able to see the beauty of our journey both behind us and ahead of us.
Was/is our route perfect? No (wouldn't it be great if it was!), but we're getting better and heading in a great direction with minute changes of God's spiritual compass.
TheMan and I felt encouraged and excited to continue pressing on to become better.
The small and simple things that Elder Ballard spoke of: watch conference, be humble, manage your finances, have couple prayer and scripture study as well as personal, have family night, create lasting family memories, have fun, pray and read the scriptures together as a family, etc. These little things will always lead us closer to Christ. It is by these small and simple things adding up that make great things come to pass.
Elder Ballard stated that these same things are reiterated by the prophet and apostles in General Conference because we, as Saints, need to continue pressing on and doing better at following them before more great mysteries are revealed - like where is Kolob :). That would be pretty interesting, but I've got enough on my checklist right now without getting out the star charts :)! How lucky we are for all that has been revealed in this day and age. I'm thankful for living prophets and apostles.