And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Diligence: Careful and persistent work or effort. 

This word, persistent, stood out to me. I often times get so overwhelmed with all the things i have to do or what I haven't done. It gets overwhelming. If i am anything, though, i am persistent. It brought so much peace to my soul that Jesus just asks us to start with being persistent. Persistence doesn't mean you get it right the first time. Persistence means firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. He doesn't expect me to get it right, but He does expect me to continue in action. That, that i can do. Even in spite of the trials and opposition in life,  i can try.

                                             

 At the core of me is this yearning to know more of my Saviour. To learn of his teachings, yes, but to, more importantly, learn Him. (Yes, i do realize you do that through his teachings. It makes sense in my mind, roll with it.) 

As i continued to read the verses in 2nd Peter I LOVED the promise he gives! If we strive to build our lives upon faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness we are promised that we will be fruitful in our knowledge of our Saviour! HOW COOL IS THAT PROMISE. 

So, the last month and some change I have been challenging that promise. I have been so blessed to have learned and continue to learn my Saviour. There is one thing that has shown up every day of my life in almost a neon sign way. 

Love. 

I have been, and still am, working on loving as the Saviour loved. I promise you, that if you go to the Lord every day and ask for an opportunity to love His children He will allow you to. There are two talks that I want to share that have really stood out to me through my studies. 

On the Mission- yes, I've become one of those people. shush.- there were a couple of talks that i cycled through in the morning as I got ready. I haven't listened to them in over a year and by a happy accident, I fell across one during my studies.

 I heard Elder Hollands voice start in my headphones and I felt the Spirit wash over me. This talk has changed my life, my view of the Saviour, and my excitement for my future. I'll be honest, I'm not always open with this, but I will be frank with you. More than anything in the world i am excited to be a mother. It is one of the most humbling realizations that one day I will be entrusted to carry one of His children. I mean, heavens, I just saw The Quiet Place and everyone was focused on the aliens and how beautifully the movie was made. I was focused on the mother. I was focused on her relationship with her husband, her unyielding love for her children and her determination. (See, no spoilers!) This talk inspires me on what it means to truly love His children, even if I don't hold my own in my hands yet. 

"How is it that a human being can love a child so deeply that you willingly give up a major portion of your freedom for it? How can mortal love be so strong that you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability, anxiety, and heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same? What kind of mortal love can make you feel, once you have a child, that your life is never, ever your own again? Maternal love has to be divine. There is no other explanation for it. What mothers do is an essential element of Christ’s work. Knowing that should be enough to tell us the impact of such love will range between unbearable and transcendent, over and over again, until with the safety and salvation of the very last child on earth, we can [then] say with Jesus, ‘[Father!] I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do"

I don't have my own children yet, but i can love His children that I am surrounded by. This talk inspires me to love deeply and unapologetically. 

I found this video as I was studying more about President Oaks. I love how bold and yet loving he is. He is a huge example to me of how the Saviour loves. The part that really spoke to my Spirit was this, 

He was concerned always with the individual.

Woof. I was called to repentance with that one. I LOVE repentance. I love gaining a fresh view of God, myself, and the world around me. Sometimes I just get so caught up in my own world that I forget to take a breath, lift my head up, and see all His other children struggling too! We are all here together and the love is what binds us. I LOVE how Elder Oaks talks about how we are surrounded by different people who may not share our beliefs. That does not mean we love them any less. Christ did not add stipulations when He taught us to love one another.

If we make Him our role model we should always be trying to reach out and include everyone

I am grateful for my Savour. I am grateful for the never-ending opportunities to learn of Him. I know that as we come until Him in all that we do we will be guided to love. We will be guided to love His children as He does. I am so humbled by His hand in every second of my life. May we always love as He does.