There is an important decision that must be made on November 7. The nation will gather to chose a presidential candidate. I have had a lot of time to think about the future of our nation and I surprisingly found solace in the Book of Mormon.
Mosiah 24:15 reads, "And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."
Here, we learn that Alma and his people had their burdens lifted from them because they trusted in Jesus and they were blessed. Unlike them, I find a lot of people in our society not trusting in God. They believe that religion causes War, so they decide to push it away, instead of embracing it. People want freedom in this world but a society that wants more freedom with less righteousness will never work. I can only hope and pray that people realize that we need to look to God and Jesus Christ to be blessed. I personally find myself praying to know who I must vote for and I know that God will guide me, as well as anyone else, who submits themselves to ask.

This week, we studied in Mosiah. I am always amazed at the fact that no matter how many times I think about the sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ, I always find new ways to appreciate him.
 In Mosiah 10: 12, 17 reads, "They were a wild and ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers, which is this-Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea...And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi."
In these scriptures, we learn the the Lamanites are teaching their children that Laman and Lemuel were wronged, and therefore they need to hate the Nephites, I think in the context of today's world, it is easy to find hatred towards other people. If someone is like the Lamanites, they will have wroth and hatred towards individuals. But, if someone is forgiving and loving, then they are opposite of those people. It isn't right to hold grudges, especially in the eyes of Jesus Christ. He faced the ultimate offense. He was crucified and left by God to suffer for our sins. And at the end of the day, Christ preached, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." He is merciful and once we realize that we need to forgive others, the love will easily flow from our hearts because we will be becoming more like Christ.

I have always had a testimony of Tithing. Since I was baptized, I would take any opportunity to earn some money, just so I would be able to pay tithing. As I grew older and was able to get my own job, I was still consistent with my tithe paying. In this weeks lesson, I had a defining moment where my testimony of tithing actually grew stronger.
In Jacob 2: 17, it reads," Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and a be familiar with all and free your substance, that they may be rich like unto you."
This scripture can easily be related to tithing and fast offerings. We know that the purpose of this life is to become more like our Savior, and by participating in paying our tithing and fast offerings, we can. Jesus Christ was the richest of all. And what did he do? He became poor in order to lift us up. Now it is our turn to lift up our fellow brothers and sisters in order to become more like the Savior. I know that keeping the commandments and paying tithing will do just that!

What does Grace mean to you? I think a lot of people get confused on the idea of Grace or think that we are saved purely through the Grace of Christ. While that is partially true, we must not forget that we also have to come unto Christ and work and keep the commandments, The commandments are an extension of Christs grace to come unto him. Keeping them brings us closer to him, which is why we should ALWAYS chose the right!
 2 Nephi 10: 24 reads, "Wherefore my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will o God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."
If you read further into the Book of Mormon, Nephi continues to explain this concept. In 2 Nephi 25: 23 it reads, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that is it by grace that we are save, after all we can do."
That last line is so important in understanding the Grace of God. We must look to Christ in order to make it back to heaven, He payed the ultimate sacrifice for us because his job is to get us in to heaven. Our job is to come unto him.