Just the Essay Version of Elder Bednar's Talk

Elder Bednar Devotional

“My message is just for you,” Elder Bednar started out saying. This is a special devotional that was not recorded. It touched on the connection between Personal Testimony and On-going Conversion. A testimony is “personal knowledge by the Holy Ghost to our souls that things are true”. The Holy  Ghost is a teacher and guide to all truth. Conversion was defined as a mighty change of heart, a new creature in Christ; a fundamental and permanent change in our nature via the atonement. He later defines it as “a deepening devotion to the knowledge we’ve received”. It includes a conscious effort to become a disciple of Christ.

Come unto Christ and offer your WHOLE soul unto him. Knowing that Christ is the Redeemer is good, but coming unto him requires more effort on your part. We need to have a disposition to never do evil, but to do good continually. We need to improve and become better. We need to have a mighty change in heart, no disposition to do evil, walk circumspect before God, Keep the Commandments, and be Diligent. Gradually we can align our thoughts, words, and deeds to God’s will, but in order to do that, persistence and patience is necessary.

Belief leads to faith, which leads to repentance, which leads to a change of heart, which leads to being firm and steadfast in the faith. This is the pathway to an ongoing conversion to the Lord and if we are in possession of something that keeps us from fully converting to the Lord, we need to LAY IT DOWN NOW!

Because of this devotional, I want to always be in the process of changing my heart and becoming more fully converted to the Lord. To do this, I must stay on the pathway of ongoing conversion. Right now I’m working at aligning all of my thoughts, words, and deeds to the Lord’s will.

Elder Bednar Devotional – Jan 20, 2011

I ask everyone who reads it to read it with a spirit of prayer, that the Holy Ghost may touch you as you read these rough notes, that you can take something from it that will better your lives. :) It is, after all, spoken through one of the 12 apostles. I like to think of this as a Patriarchal Blessing for the BYU Hawaii community who assisted the devotional, but hopefully someone can be edified by reading this, if not at least informed.
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‘My message is just for you’. No one recorded this broadcast so only our notes of this event are proof that this took place!

There is a connection between Personal Testimony and On-going Conversion

Testimony: personal knowledge by the Holy Ghost to our souls that things are true.

·         The Holy Ghost is a Teacher and Guide to all truth.

Sincere Heart, Real Intent, and Faith in Jesus Christ, Responsibility, Duty, Accountability

Conversion: mighty change of heart, new creature in Christ; a fundamental and permanent change in our nature via the atonement.

·         Includes a conscious effort to be a disciple of Christ

Come unto Christ and offer your WHOLE soul unto him. Knowing that Christ is the Redeemer is good, but coming unto Him requires more effort on your part.          

·         No more dispositions to do evil, but to do good continually – improve and become better.

Mighty change in heart, no more disposition to do evil, walk circumspect before God, Keep the Commandments, Diligence

Gradually align your thoughts, words, and deeds to align to God’s will

·         Persistence and Patience is necessary

Belief -> Faith->Repentance-> Change of Heart-> Firm and Steadfast in the faith = Pathway to ongoing conversion to the Lord.

Having a testimony is the initial step to deepening conversion. “As many of the Lamanites did converted never fell away.”

If we are still in possession of what keeps us from fully converting unto the lord, we NEED TO LAY IT DOWN NOW!  

Conversion = A deepening devotion to the Knowledge we’ve received. Being consistent to the gospel is also conversion. Be true to the gospel.

Lamps of the virgins à Lamps of Testimony / Oil of Conversion

·         It cannot be borrowed by someone else. It comes from the steps and experiences we personally have. Each of us must “buy our oil and lamps, adding ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ the oil’ (It’s our responsibility to increase our light of testimony and ample supply of conversion oil to the Lord)

Come to the Knowledge of Truth and be converted – we will be ready at the coming of the bridegroom.

“I bear apostolic witness that ‘They’ live and love and know each and every one of us. They speak. I leave you with a blessing that you may have eyes to see and ears to hear, to be more fully converted unto the Lord and assist others.”

Notes from my Entrepreneur Class

Taking Control

(IGNORE)(As you begin to observe life, what are you going to leave your posterity? Learn to write your biography – record your thoughts as you learn life lessons. You need to be watching life and recording it.)

(IGNORE)(Best in the world – 97% retention in training and most people (internationally) bought the product. A year from now they could predict accurately how much of the trainees would still be buying/using the product. Franklin Time Management was the best in training because the ‘memorizing’ lasted longer. Most ‘training memory’ is very temporary and won’t last)

60 minutes per day x 17 hours = 1020 minutes every single day (if you get 7 hours of sleep) Those are 1020 (or 960 if you get 8 hours) moments you can take advantage of. (He had us stare at him for one minute without looking away. It was a fairly long amount of time)
Time = series of events that happen one after the other. Those who take those 1020 events seriously and use them wisely truly rule the world.

Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams:

• These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony? The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities, which would otherwise lie dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman.

We’re the generation who will either solve this international crisis, or be consumed by it. You do not become great in calm waters.

Franklin Tri-quation
Self Esteem = Productivity = Event Control*
All three are equal. What you do to one, you do to the others.
We all feel a low point of one of all or one of those in our lifetime. It’s 100% personal. To go back up, or increase all three at once. To get those back up to a high point, control more events in your day*. Take the 1020 moments in your day and control them! It will increaswe productivity which will increase self-esteem. (So how I can apply this, is, instead of playing video games or doing things online, I could do something more productive – look for a job.. read up on current events.. read a book that I still need to finish.. etc)

PLAN
PRIORITIZE
COMFORT ZONE

Plan & Prioritize- Everything starts with a plan. It only takes 10 minutes to plan! (or less) Prioritize it. Write all the things you have to do or want to do that day on a list. Go down the list and put the activities into one of 3 categories: A, B, or C. A’s = HAVE to. B’s = OUGHT to do. C’s = WANT to do. Then take all of the events in category A and number them.. 1,2,3,4,5… in order of priorities. Then do the same to categories B and C. You can now take control of your day! It magnifies your priority. (What comes to mind when you think of a magnifying glass? BURN ANTS! You focus all of that energy onto one point on the ground and it burns ants.) So now you can focus on the most important things with all of your energy. Make a checklist. Use the endorphins you get from checking it off the list as motivation! Don’t you just feel SO GOOD checking things off a list?

• Put an arrow next to an event you were unable to accomplish that day, but need to do another day.
• Put an X next to an event that is no longer important.

Comfort Zone- Imagine people standing in a circle holding a piece of cloth with a ball in the center. It’s going to be drooping down a little, right? That’s the Comfort Zone. Resting at its lowest point. We all have them in life. Bed, videogames, friends, the beach.. you waste time when you don’t have a plan. The ONLY way out of your comfort zone is having a GOAL. You have to have a goal to get out of it!

GOVERNING VALUES

The Franklin Pyramid             Now –> Productivity Points (Using those 1020 moments)
(It’s supposed to be inside a 3 tier pyramid)

                                                                Today I will…          Using Today’s Goals to get to the “I will” goals

                          I will…  short/long term goals to get to the “I am” goals
                                                                   What will you do in order to become___? By
                                                                   doing these goals you become what you want to
                                                                   become in the “I am” goals
                                      I am… (Positive Affirmation) Governing
                                                                            values/principles you want to become.
                                                                            Example: “I am like God” “I am a
                                                                            wonderful husband” “I make time for my
                                                                            family above everything else”

 

*YOU WILL NEVER EXCEED YOUR GOALS*

Best Day Ever

So yesterday started out great by me getting a 97 on a math test = my first math test in probably 7 years. Well actually probably 4… I forgot I took a math class in College. I don’t count it. XD

That started my day off just fine. Then I did some laundry and was looking forward to going to Kaneohe to the mall with all of my friends! While calling everyone to make sure we knew what was going on, San said that he’d be later getting out of work. So I talked to Trezlyn about it and they took the bus while I waited for San. So San and I drove in his car to Kaneohe, leaving an hour later than everyone else, and when we got there, the people riding the bus  had only been there for 15 minutes. Wow. That’s a LONG bus ride. We decided later to squish everyone into the car (5 people in a 4-seat car) since the bus ride wasn’t very appealing to the others who had ridden it to get to the mall.

We shopped in a little clothing store but didn’t buy anything. Took some fun pictures, we know it’s there now, so we might go back there sometime. Though much of their attire isn’t very fitting for someone with garments…

Then we went to the chinese market on the second floor of the mall! THAT WAS SO COOL! I bought some Pineapple flavored Ramune and everyone thought it was such a cool looking bottle that they all bought one of every other flavor. Mine won as most tasty. :D It was so funny – San bought a container of just.. dried seaweed sheets to eat as a snack. When he opened the lid, there was a seal so you couldn’t get to the seaweed. So we all tried stabbing it with our fingers and it wouldn’t tear! So San poses to like.. do a judo move or something. ‘gathering energy’ to poke the hole. And it doesn’t go through! XD He hurt his finger along with the rest of us. So I got out my keys and STABBED it, Karate style. MWAHAHA.

Then we hung out a little, going to a few more shops and ate sushi at the end. Reinya and her friend… I can’t remember his name now… James…? No… Scott? Might have been Scott.. iunno. I got a video of us all eating and having fun. Then Reinya and her date went home on the bus because they had an all-day ticket and the other girls rode home with us. After San and I dropped them off, he asked me what I wanted to do. I said, “Well, honestly, I don’t feel like going home. So whatever you want to do.” So he makes the suggestion of going to the beach. He had wanted to buy a towel while at the mall and couldn’t find one, so I said that we should go to Foodland and get him a towel for the beach. :) While we were there we bought some cheap flipflops so we could walk on the sand with something other than our nice shoes. We headed over there, parked the car, then walked a ways on the beach, (I brought a flashlight) checking out the crabs along the way. They’d run SO fast towards the water that it looked like they were surfing the sand!

We found a good spot and placed the towel on the ground and lay down, looking up at the stars. We talked for probably an hour and a half, each of us knowing what was coming next. XD Finally he broke the ice and asked if I would “Hang out” with him. (CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD! He mixed that phrase up with ‘go out’) Then he held out his hand and I held it. We just sat there looking up at the stars holding hands, talking a little bit… I asked at one point if he was jealous when Masa hugged me while at the ‘Linger Longer’ on Sunday, and he said yes. Then he asked if we could hug again. And we did. Which led into kissing.

best kisser in the world

It started to get cold so we headed back to the car to find that the gate leading out of the parking lot was closed and locked. XD So we walked home, leaving his car there. It was a nice walk. We walked down the road where the temple is and I was surprised to see SO MANY COUPLES just sitting on temple road. XD At.. 1am. But then again, there was a dance going on last night until midnight, so I guess it’s not that surprising. We walked until we got to my home, kissed goodnight, then the moment I walked in the door, my room mates were all “Tell us!” So I did. It was great fun. The only thing is.. I went to bed around 2, didn’t really ever fall asleep because my heart was pounding the entire night, then woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a sunrise breakfast with Trezlyn’s ward. BEAUTIFUL sunrise. I was feeling a little sick because I didn’t get a lot of rest, I was hungry, and a little cold.. But I realized I was starting to feel sick because I’m dehydrated. So I’ll be drinking PLENTY of water today.

So that’s that! Best. Day. Ever.

Hawaii Beth

And no this is not going to affect my studies.

o_o;

Sooooooo…… Sam gave me 12 boxes of ramen today LOL. Chicken flavored 8D I think he’s actually starting to like me cuz he HUGGED me today! *GASP*

Today in Relief Society our lesson was on Sacrifice. I learned something the other day about the story of how the Young Nobleman asked the Savior what more should he do since he’s been keeping the commandments from his youth, and the Savior said that he should sell everything and follow him. Well, after the kid sulked away cuz he didn’t wanna do that, Jesus said that it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven. Well, I learned the other day what the “eye of the needle” really is. XD When camels go into a city, they pass through a small door-way entrance.. thing.. It’s just tall enough for an unloaded camel to move through. So if a camel had all of its packings still on it, it’d be nearly impossible for it to go through the entryway, thus they had to be unloaded before coming in. So it’s easier for a camel, UNLOADED (symbolism = without riches) to enter through the eye of the needle than for a rich man (STILL LOADED WITH RICHES) to go to Heaven.

Get it?

I thought that was awesome.

Now to read the scriptures and do my Religion Class homework. :D I’m happy to do Book of Mormon homework on Sunday cuz it keeps me focused on good things!

Hawaii Beth

A date?!

So tonight – ew… my roommates are farting… loudly… That’s so gross… It’s one thing if they’re friends- eeeeeeeeeeeew TMI REALLY D<

…so…

Tonight I went out to eat at the cafeteria. Bumped into Sam (chinese) from my ward and as he was saying hi to me, he did the classic… *saying-hi-to-girl-while-walking-and-doesn’t-see-the-guy-behind-him-walking-towards-him-CONTACT! plate and food drops* So I felt bad for him and sat with him (especially since those were the only seats available). We talked about random things while eating then when I was about to go, he asked if he could get me some water. Sooooo I went ahead and said yes since I hadn’t had some (I don’t think he knew where the water was ((it took me a while to find the water my first time, too)) so I watched him try to find it XD) I introduced myself to some of his chinese friends while he was gone and I finished and… he left with me. o_o So he walked me quite a ways until the library where we split. While walking I learned that he LIKES X JAPAN! WOOT! He asked for my number and is gonna call me in like.. 15 minutes so we can meet up before the fireside. Now.. this would be great and all….

except that I can’t understand half of what he says.

Wish me luck tonight D:
Hawaii Beth

EDIT: It turns out that I CAN understand him. It's just that the cafeteria was so loud that I couldn't hear half of what he said.

Busy Day

Today was SUCH a full and busy day that I’m just exhausted. Lots of adding, dropping, and waiting for people to call at the right times. Plus returning my spanish book. THAT WAS SUCH A PAIN! But I’m proud of mom for doing such a big-girl job! Yaaaaaaay. She scanned and sent me a copy of the receipt used to purchase the spanish book. And Katie couldn’t even get the scanner to work before! I was able to figure it out while over the phone not even looking at what’s wrong. B) But I’m SO glad that’s over and done with. That was my biggest headache that lasted all day long until 5ish when I could finally return it.

So my goal tomorrow is to do a steak-type of day. Drink water all morning and have dinner at night. I need to eat more salad. Trezlyn’s such a good example setter for me cuz she’ll just eat healthy food for all her meals. Good for her. I just eat tons of starch. LOL. I’m trying to get back into proteins and fruits/vegis. So that’s my other new years resolution- to get back on track with eating right. But tomorrow I’m going to sleep in as much as possible til maybe 7:30ish. So tiiiiiired. I need to do laundry and read the book of mormon tomorrow. Then I’ll see whatever else I need to do before monday. G’night all!

Hawaii Beth