"i wanna run in the sun"

now you're supposed to read the title to this post to the tune of sheryl crow's "soak up the sun."

you could say i'm a bit of an odd man out on this upcoming statement, but its true...i love daylight savings time. sure sunday night i went to bed at 9:30, the exact opposite of what one would expect on daylight savings day, but i always welcome extra sleep.  the biggest part of my excitement over daylight savings though, comes from leaving work in the light. i love night and i love love when its light at night!  working ten hour days...i never see the daylight 4 days a week in the winter.  spring, summer, fall, they are my seasons!

and so, when i get home all i want to do is run in the sun. i am by no means a runner, but tonight, i ran to my hearts content.  (allbeit, i did not run in the sun, i ran in the dark with my headlight...silly work and its late nights of paper writing and dirty diet coke drinking (thank you new soda shop too convenient to where i work! eek!)) but running, listening to general conference did my heart a world of good.

first i listened to elder scott's talk from october 2010 on the transforming power of faith and character. one of the things he mentions in his talk is how character isn't formed in times of trial, that's when character is made manifest. i love how in the gospel of jesus christ, we come to understand how the experiences we have in life, the way we face them, the things we learn, the choices can all come together to make something good, something, better and something whole. this made possible through the atonement. i often feel i don't understand enough about the atonement, and i know that i don't. but as i have been thinking specifically about how the atonement applies to my life right now...i have come to recognize many ways that it lifts me up to higher ground, and enables the events in life, the challenges in life to be stepping stones for further growth and attainment. that's not just something i know, its something i have experienced and am experiencing.

the next talk i listened to was from elder kearon, also from october 2010. in this talk he shares the experience of being raised on the arabian peninsula and being bit by a scorpion. although this talk was given to the priesthood, ever since the first time i heard it, it has always rung in my ears. i love when he talks about the anti-nephi-lehi's in the book of mormon. Before their conversion, they were living in "open rebellion against god." but their conversion was so complete and so profound that they not only laid down the weapons of their rebellion, never to fight against god again, but they never did fall away. elder kearon states: "when they laid down their weapons of rebellion, they qualified themselves for the lord's healing and peace, and so can we. the saviour assures, "if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and i will heal them." we are in a constant state of being able to choose to accept our saviour's invitation to return and repent, to come to him with full purpose of heart and he will heal us. he will heal me. and so, when we feel broken, a little broken, or a lot broken...he will heal us. he heals the brokenhearted. this i know.

last but not least, i listened to president thomas s. monson's talk from the relief society general broadcast of 2010. i love this talk so much! its entitled, charity never faileth. as i listen to president monson relate so well with the women of the church over his own experiences and the experiences of his wife, i am always deeply touched. i particularly love the story he shares of an old man who asks to stay as a guest at a home across from a hospital where he was receiving medical treatment. this man's face had been affected by his illness, others had turned him away, but one woman let him stay. and not just stay once, but stay again and again as he returned for futher treatments. this is a story that has made me cry on more than one occasion. i am not easily brought to tears, but when i think of how easy it is to make snap judgements based on appearance or what we think we are seeing, i am forever grateful for those who choose to respond with charity and love. while i wish i could go on and explain all my reasonings, i can't for reasons not all my own. but know this is the take away message...things are never as simple as they seem. respond with charity no matter what. because charity never faileth, not ever.

i delight in being able to choose how i heal my soul at the end of the day. i'm glad i chose to listen to conference. so many things stood out that were exactly what i needed. i often feel like the times i feel the very least "in the mood" to listen to spiritual things are exactly the times when i need to the most. maybe you can relate? maybe not. but if you ever feel like 'now is not the time for that,' give it a second thought and try it. for me, tonight, it made all the difference.

_______
the transforming power of faith and character, elder scott, october 2010
come unto me with full purpose of heart and i shall heal you, elder kearon, october 2010
charity never faileth, president monson, october 2010