Love Where You Live

Since moving to New York last year I have had a few occasions to fly back home and visit for a little bit. Each time has really just been a breath of fresh air. It’s just a treat to come home to what I know and feel so grateful for what I have here. However, I did not always feel that way.

Growing up in Utah every once in a while I would catch the occasional travel bug. I would have the thoughts that I think many Utahns experience at one point or another. The thoughts of, “oh I just want to get out of Utah.” I wasn’t always of the mindset “out of Utah or bust”, but I did occasionally have those desires to leave, to move away, to see the world. Well, I did it. I moved to New York. After five years or so milling around Provo, I decided to give New York a shot.

New York is a great city. It’s huge, it’s fun, it’s diverse, it’s fast, it’s happening. It’s just about everything, but home. It has just been an experience so far. I have had some ups and downs, just like anywhere. I have loved it at times, and I have not so much enjoyed it at other times. But as I have sat and pondered a bit here on my most recent trip back to Utah, I have realized again that Utah is my home.

Today I have been sitting at the grounds of the Mount Timpanogos Temple and pondering a few things and I have realized how much I miss being able to find a nice quite place to just think. To just let my mind go. I do love the rush of the city, but there is just something about the peaceful calm of the temple grounds that just beats it every time for me.

As I have pondered, my mind made a little connection to the eternal perspective of things. I have thought about how we lived in a heavenly home and we are currently separated from that home. We are doing our best to follow the path and find our way back. As we are milling about, we receive small reminders of our heavenly home. Whether that be at the temple, through our prayers, or just walking down the street. The Lord gives us these reminders to help us remember our roots. To remind us that we are celestial beings currently living in a terrestrial world. But He gives us those reminders to help us remember where we are from and where we are going.

Now I’m not trying to make this analogy to say that Utah is better than New York, for someone else it may be just the opposite. But for me, Utah is my home. I enjoy being able to go out and have experiences, to be able to learn and to grow, but I am happy that I can have those reminders of where I am from and know that I can feel the comfort of home when I am able to visit. I’m happy that I always have somewhere to call home.

Hope

I have been thinking a lot recently about my experience over the last seven months or so. I have made some pretty big life changes that have made me ponder a bit. It is still a bit crazy for me when I remind myself that I live in New York City. I am a college graduate. I am a teacher in East New York. I am working on my Masters. Is all of this real? Have I really been doing all of this for the last seven months? These are things that just blow my mind. 

As I’ve pondered, I think about the experiences that I have had thus far. There are definitely some ups and some downs. There always are in life. But for some reason I feel that this experience has somewhat amplified some of those ups and downs. I am not here to talk about how difficult life is, everyone experiences their own trials, but I want to share a little bit of insight that I have gained through my experiences recently.

The last few days have been interesting days for me. I don’t know what it is, but I have really felt the love of my Heavenly Father in my life a lot more recently. Not that it wasn’t present before, I have just felt it a bit stronger. Being out here on my own has really given me a true test of character and I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy. But as I sit in my apartment on a calm Sunday morning, I am reminded of the love that the Lord has for me. No matter what happens in my life, He is always there for me. He manifests that in so many ways, but sitting in my small Brooklyn apartment on a Sunday morning, I feel that just as much as I have felt it anywhere else. 

This morning I listened to Elder Packer’s talk from the last general conference entitled “The Reason For Our Hope”. As I listened I felt his strong testimony of the Savior, I was reminded of the hope that I have in the Savoir and His Atonement. Of this hope Elder Packer said, “A testimony of the hope of redemption is something which cannot be measured or counted. Jesus Christ is the source of that hope.” Our Savior is the source of our hope. He has made it possible for us to find peace in this life. Peace through the Atonement, no matter what is happening in our lives. I am reminded of John 14:27 which states “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The Atonement of our Savior gives us peace. Not peace as the world may view peace, but a peace that calms the troubled heart and gives us courage to face whatever may be happening in our lives.

I know that this peace is real and that we can have true hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have felt that so much in my life and I would encourage any who may be struggling or wondering in any way to turn to the Savior and let that hope fill your life. I know that as you do you feel that peace more fully in your life and will feel the Atonement working for you individually.