Young Women Personal Progress!

I never received my Young Women Personal Progress necklace when I was in Young Women's. Young Women's is an organization in the LDS Church for girls 12-18. They learn the different values and how to prepare for life. I did work on my Personal Progress but I never completed it. So now at the age of 31 I'm going to! I want to try and finish it before my 32nd birthday in August. This is my goal. Let's hope I can do it. The Young Women have a theme and it goes like this:

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father,
who loves us and we love Him.
We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times
and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9)
as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:
             FAITH * DIVINE NATURE
      INDIVIDUAL WORTH * KNOWLEDGE
       CHOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
         GOOD WORKS * INTEGRIETY
                          and VIRTUE
We believe as we come to accept and act
upon these values, we will be prepared
to strengthen home and familiy,
make and keep sacred covenants, receive
the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy
the blessings of exaltation.

The Young Women recite this every week in class. There is a newest value which is Virtue. That was wasn't there was I was in YW. Neither was "to strengthen home and family" that was added just before I left YW. So the first one I'm working on is FAITH! There are 3 required value experiences to do and then additional value experiences and you can complete the 3 out of 4 values. Then you work on a value project and there's a list of what to do. There are 4 ideas to do and you can just choose one project to do. You can go your own pace with doing Personal Progress.

So onto my first part in FAITH.

The first part talked about is having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It suggests to read scriptures from reading Hebrews 11; Alma 32:17-43; Ether 12:6-22 and Joseph Smith History 1:11-20. Read 2 Conference talks about faith. Then learning to exercise your own faith with morning and evening prayers. Then talk with your parent or leader about it. I'll be talking to my mom about it. And also write in your journal about your thoughts and feelings.
I read the scriptures and also read 2 talks. One was by Elder Richard C. Edgley who's the First Councelor in the Presiding Bishopric. His talk was called "Faith-The Choice is Yours" It was in the October 2010 General Conference. You can look it up at lds.org. The other talk was by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley called "The Miracle of Faith" and that was in Conference April 2001.

Faith is something we need in life as we study the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith is gaining a testimony and having a small seed planted in you and as you build and nourish the seed of faith by praying, studying the scriptures and attending church it will grow. If you do not nourish and strengthen it, it will wither and die. Just like the plants we plant in the ground. If we do not give it water and the nutrients it needs it will die. Pres. Hinckley said "it is faith that is the converter." Having faith in the Holy Ghost and also our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ will help our seed grow.

Another part is about the 2000 Stripling Warriors in The Book of Mormon. In Alma 56 we find that there is war going on and the 2000 Stripling Warriors follow Helman into battle. They know they may die but because of the faith of their mothers and what they taught the young men when they were little, they knew that whatever would happen to them, the Lord would be with them. They had that faith planted in them when they were young and continued to let it grow as they grew older and did as they were taught to pray and study the words of the Lord. A mother's role is a very important one! While the fathers are out providing for their families, it is the mother who is to teach their children the difference of right and wrong. It is very important for today! Kids are not being taught by their mothers because the mother is in the workforce and then are too tired to teach their children the ways of the Lord and the children are going the ways of the world and are not taught to respect others. By drawing close to the Lord and teaching our children, we can turn them to the Lord and create goodness instead of evil. Though I'm not a mother, I can still help teach my niece and nephews right and wrong alongside their parents. But the teaching moments in a young child's life is important for them to know how to be in society. This is what we need!

In the Bible Dictionary under Faith, it says that "faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true, and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation." Faith is of action and power and can heal the sick. I have called upon my father to give me a Priesthood blessing when I am sick or am in need of help. I have to have the faith in order for the Lord to bless me. If I don't have the faith, it won't work. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17. So what does this mean? We must have faith in things or it is dead. Many prophets from Adam to Pres. Thomas S. Monson have had to work on faith and work at it. They took action to keep the faith! They didn't just say "I have faith" and do nothing, they worked at it. It can wither away just as quick as it is to build it. So, faith without works is dead!

I have faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have a testimony of it and I have had the faith and works to keep it growing. The Book of Mormon is true and goes hand in hand with the Bible. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's mouthpiece for us today. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.