April Favorites

1. Better Days 2020

I don't remember how I stumbled across this campaign, but I'm glad I did. Better Days 2020 is a non-profit organization seeking to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave American (white) women the right to vote, and the 150th anniversary of the first woman voting in Utah. They have a clearly organized agenda that includes museum displays, education projects, and plans for the future expansion of women's opportunities in Utah. I am excited to see what they come up with and to help wherever possible. It's got me thinking about getting a graduate certificate in Women's Studies...

2. Utah Valley Magazine

A few months ago, I heard Jeannette Bennett, the founder and editor of the Utah Valley Magazine, talk at BYU about her journey into starting and running a business as a woman. I've since started to read her publication, and I have loved it right from the premise: a magazine focusing on local people and local needs. The magazine is top-quality from design to writing to topics. It has helped me love where I live and connect to my community.

3. #PRINCEofPEACE

The Church has done a phenomenal job with their Easter and Christmas campaigns in recent years. I still think of the Easter theme "Because He Lives" from a few years back. This year's campaign emphasizes Christ's divinity, and I needed a reminder that He is indeed Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace.

4. "Let Peace Then Still the Strife"

Just listen and still the strife.

5. Faculty Women's Association Spring Retreat

This month, I attended an amazing retreat with other female faculty members. We learned about trusting Plan B (and even turning Plan B into Plan A), responding to sexual assault on our campus (start by believing), and designing meaningful life experiences. I had a blast, and I'm still thinking about how to design my life--whilst still trusting in Plan B. Hopefully, I'll have more to say about experience design later.

6. Target's Mother's Day Gift Bag Collections

So cute! And fairly cheap. Now, if I could only find a way to mail them safely to my mum and sisters...

7. Random Acts

This show on BYUTV is thoughtful, inspiring, and hilarious. I enjoy watching familiar faces serve random people. It makes me want to be a better person!

April 2017 General Conference Wrap-up

I'm always amazed by the power of General Conference. Divine instruction on dozens of subjects arrives on my little computer screen, directly to me it seems. I find answers to the questions that I ask and answers to the questions I didn't think to ask. Answers I didn't realize that I needed until I received them. General Conference is a modern-day miracle.

This time around, I found some meaningful patterns in the messages. Keeping in mind that everyone notices different things depending on the Spirit's guidance, here are some of my takeaways.

Lead with Love

• President Uchtdorf asked us to motivate people (including ourselves) using the pure love of Christ instead of using fear. We are to follow the Savior's own example of encouraging people to keep his commandments. "If ye love me, keep my commandments," and not "if ye fear me."
• Elder Christofferson followed up by asking us not to create a shame culture or a guilt culture when we call people to repentance. He said that to warn people, which would seem to use fear, is actually to care about people. When we warn of consequences, we should do it out of love for our neighbor. The admonition in D&C 121:41 about the gentleness of our power came up several times during conference.
• Elder Palmer used the scriptural example of the rich young man asking Christ what more he could do. "Then Jesus beholding him loved him," and asked him to change and improve. His call to repentance was born out of love--and out of beholding him, which was explained by...
• President Eyring in both the women's session and the priesthood session as he emphasized the divine identities of the people around us. In the women's session, he shared a parenting experience when the Spirit told him his son was a great person, and that experience led President Eyring to be more gentle. He treated his son with even more love.

Leading with love is one way to become like God. As He mentors us, we can mentor others. We are all placed in our own human orbit, where God has given us specific individuals to mentor and to serve. In my own circumstances, I am keenly aware of the people He wants me to love, and I am also keenly aware that I should be doing that loving work better. Therefore, I am adding a special prayer every day to be filled with the pure love of Christ.

Look unto Christ in Every Thought

• President Nelson encouraged us to take on the mentally rigorous practice of looking unto Christ in every thought (D&C 6:36). He explained how he is trying to do that by studying Christ in the Bible's Topical Guide (the President Nelson challenge that I have been writing about). He clarified that we should not speak of the Atonement or the Resurrection, which were just events, without tying them to Jesus Christ, who is our actual Savior. President Nelson also invited us to study "The Living Christ."
• Elder Ballard also encouraged us to study "The Living Christ."
• Elder Bragg said that we all have an inherent inclination toward light. He also said that the light of Christ is in all things. From these statements, I infer that we can look unto Christ by seeking out His light around us. I can search for evidence of Christ's love and power in the beauty of the world and in the beauty of his disciples.
• Elder Choi warned that, when we seek the light of Christ, we should not look around but look up. He emphasized again that we should look up to Christ in every thought. Looking around suggests having a narrow perspective and caring about the opinions of the Babylon. Looking up, in contrast, suggests that we have Christ and his goals in mind while we dwell here in Babylon. Looking up, I imagine, will lead us to serve and "heed them not."
• Elder Oaks said that the effort to know God continues well beyond the veil of death. While we can begin to know Christ, and the Father whom he represents, we will learn more as we live with him.
• Elder Costa taught us that nothing draws us closer to Christ than the desire to change. That desire is our part of the repentance process. As a person who loves to improve, I hope that love is drawing me closer to my Savior.

Clearly, I need to study "The Living Christ" as I continue President Nelson's challenge. I will also seek more of Christ's light and love in everything that I do. All that I am and all that I do should serve Christ in some way, and I need to focus on that important relationship as I go about my day every day.

Align Your Goals with God's Goals

• From Elder Ballard, I learned that God is a being of goals. He has goals for His kingdom, and He has goals for me. The most important goals He has set are for us to (1) return to Him and to (2) receive His exaltation, or all that He is and has. Elder Ballard encouraged us, as he has before, to have a personal progress interview with ourselves to evaluate how we are working to reach those goals. In particular, we should strive to realign our goals with God's goals, as can be found when we study His plan of happiness, when we study about Christ, and when we study about families.
• Elder Hales reminded us that discipleship is really apprenticeship. We are learning to become like God. Therefore, we should set similar goals to the ones God has set. He gave examples of goals, like crossing the road for anyone in need, living in moderation, and learning from all our experiences. When we have goals like God's, we begin to become like God.
• Elder Sabin encouraged us to "be all in," and to go beyond the minimum requirements of the gospel. He made me want to do good things like a boss (and I always imagine Leslie Knope and her enthusiastic drive when I think of being a boss).
• Elder Rasband told us what to do when God alerts us of His plan through a prompting. He said that we are to be First Responders, to arrive with lights flashing the instant God asks us to do something specific.
• Elder L. Whitney Clayton shared two similar responses from Mary in the scriptures, "Behold the handmaiden of the  Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." And, "Whatsoever he asks of thee, do it."
• Elder Bragg, as mentioned before, taught that the light of Christ is in all things. It gives life and purpose to all we do. As I plan my activities, I should seek the light of Christ in all that I do. I can find a way to build up the kingdom of God in every task.

I love setting goals. I am a Planner. When Elder Ballard started his talk, I felt giddy with excitement because I got to plan something. I've begun a study of my patriarchal blessing where I'm compiling a list of God's plan for me to reach our goals. I'm setting smaller goals to evaluate my progress along that plan, and I'm examining my temporal goals to see if they contribute to the kingdom of God. If everything I do leads me to be a better person and to improve the lives of people around me, I will truly "be all in." I'm also adding Mary's words to my prayers: "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

Capture the Morning

...arise early, that your bodies and minds may be invigorated.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:124

I am living a paradox.

In one reality, I am a morning person. I love dawn. I love watching the sky grow lighter, even on a cloudy day. There is something satisfying about the quiet of the ante meridian. It encourages, empowers, and energizes me. I do my best work in the mornings.

In another reality, however, I spend most of my mornings asleep or groggily getting ready in the bathroom. I check Facebook 200 times and rewatch beloved Youtube videos. Rarely do I harness the power of the early day. And then, to kick a woman when she's down, I usually take a nap in the afternoon.

The problem is that these realities overlap. Both exist right now, right here. Without the strict structure of student life, I wander about wondering what to do with my time. Teaching is such a small portion of my week, but it is sufficient to meet my immediate needs. I am rich in time, and without a clear direction for spending that time, I shut down. I sleep.

NO MORE. That's what I say to such bad habits. Instead of dreaming away the best hours of the day, I will capture the morning! I will use those moments to their fullest potential. I am going to invest my time in building a better Toni. Every day will be a little better than the day before. I will look ahead and not be afraid because there will always be the morning.

The morning will be mine.

Capturing such a wild beast won't be easy. I must pay the price--wisely.

...retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary...

Doctrine and Covenants 88:124

An earlier morning means an earlier evening if I'm going to do this right. A consistent bedtime routine will prepare me for a good night's rest. My face and teeth will be clean, my jammies will be warm, and my journal will help me reflect on the cares of the day and file them into their appropriate compartments. A prayer of gratitude and pleading always ends my day with the perfect touch. Doesn't that sound pleasant?

When I was attending early morning seminary in high school, I would wake up at 4:30am to shower and do my hair before arriving at seminary at least 10 minutes early. For the entire year before I started seminary, I got up at 4:30am just to practice. My main motivation? This stanza from a Longfellow poem:

The heights by great mean reached and kept

Were not attained by sudden flight,

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.

Excerpted from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Ladder of St. Augustine"

So what will I do with my morning hours? Whatever I want! I've already got a list of ideas. Since starting this initiative, I have exercised, studied scriptures, read essays on art, and prepared lesson plans in order to capture the morning. I plan to carve more time for writing, as well, so this blog will reflect that.

"Oh goodness me, look at the time."

I've gone too long. If you want to read more about the benefits of "early to bed, early to rise," check out this great Liahona article from last year.

Oh, and if you are the morning, watch out. I'm coming for you.