Post Lesson 12 Work

Discussion Board Replies
I think keeping journals is EXTREMELY important and I have been doing so on and off since I was in high school, which is why I have several tubs full of journals at present. Besides keeping personal journals, I've also kept seminary and Institute journals over the years and I haven't really had a chance to read through them lately because I am in the middle of a move and have had to ship several personal effects to my mom, I know they are there and I love that they are there. My teenage years were very difficult because of my dad's alcoholism and due to the fact that I wasn't treated well in school and it was because I was able to record my thoughts and experiences that I was able to forgive them. I wrote a journal and a blog about my mission and because of that, I am able to relive those memories over and over again and I have also been able to write a really nice personal essay about the subject. When my dad ended up diagnosed with the cancer that ended up taking his life, I wrote a blog about it and the writing made it easier to cope with the whole experience. I have read some past journal entries before and it is amazing to me how different life was back then and how different I was years ago. I hope my posterity will someday benefit from reading my personal records.

We are taught to look deeper by the Lord because He Himself looks upon the hearts of all who have existed, currently exist, and will exist. Our lips and our minds can speak deception or guile, but our hearts are completely honest and that is why the Lord chooses to look there in order to assess individual character. We are encouraged to see others as the Lord sees all of us, but our limited intelligence causes us to often jump to incomplete conclusions based upon indifference, misunderstandings, or hearsay. The first great commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all that we have and the second is to love thy neighbor as we love ourselves and we find it very easy to love God, as He is perfect in all ways. It is, however, much harder to love others because we can clearly see their imperfections and weaknesses and it is extremely difficult for us to love ourselves because we often wish that we didn't have any imperfections or weaknesses and yet, we exhibit them on a daily basis. It is a good thing that God's love and Christ's love for us is infinite and unconditional, as we need someone to always remind us that we are all lovable and valuable.