Does He know you love Him?

I got the impression tonight that I needed to write down some of my feelings in this here blog. I ignored the thought the first time and then I had a thought that I just had to write about. A lot of times we think, "Does the Lord really love me?" As I was about to climb in my bed I had an interesting thought that I never really had before. I thought to myself, "I am so glad that my Father knows that I love Him." I have never really thought about the Lord being loved by us and how do we know that the Lord feels our love? So the next time you are wondering if the Lord loves you, think about if He knows you love Him. You will know the Lord loves you if He knows you love Him.

The Temple

Over the course of my life I have not had too much of an opportunity to attend the temple in my life. I held myself back from the temple for quite some time. I was worried that I would enter unworthily and feel like a sinner and feel like the Lord was going to strike me down. Although it is important to enter the temple when you are worthy and ready to partake in those sacred ordinances, you do not need to be perfect. In my mind I needed to arrive. I needed to have every little thing under control. I thought that if I had one bad thought then I was lusting after a woman in my heart and that I was an adulterer. I have come to realize that the temple is there for those who are striving for perfection, not for the perfect. There are certain requirements that need to be met, but perfection is not one of them. I am excited to use my limited use recommend to do baptisms. I love that I am able to take part in the ordinances of the temple. I also set a date today with my bishop for the receiving of my endowment. Come March 12, 2010 I will be an endowed member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Oh what a blessing it is. I am grateful to all of those that have helped in any way throughout the process. I am especially grateful to my family and my lovely girlfriend Kellyn. If you are struggling with not feeling worthy to enter the temple then ask. Ask the Lord how he feels about it. If there are no things amiss in your life and you just have a hard time making it to the temple... well shame on you! ha ha. Get to the temple! Make time for it in your schedule. Go as often as you can. The temple is there for us to use. It is the house of the Lord. He is there and wants to commune with you. Go to Him and let Him heal you. I love you all!

Kellyn

I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to a very sweet girl. Kellyn is the new lady in my life and she has just taught me so much over the past month. It is amazing how meeting one person can change your life so much. She is such a great example to me and she helps me to want to be a better person. I am so grateful for how special she makes me feel. I love that I can be myself and she loves every bit of it. There is nothing like it. So this is for you, Kellyn. I am grateful for you. You are most definitely worth it. :)

The Luckiest

I just want you all to know that I am The Luckiest. I am the luckiest guy on the face of this earth. I have the most amazing people who surround me. I want all of you who are reading this to know that I love you dearly. You are the reason why my life is so wonderful. Your support has brought me through some of the toughest times of my life. Thank you. Now the real credit goes to the one who made it all possible. The Savior. Jesus Christ literally saved my life. Were it not for the Atonement of the Son of God I would be nothing. My friends, with Heavenly Father I am everything. I stand firm in what I know today. I know that I am worth it. I know that the Lord has forgiven me and I know that I am clean. I am clean! No one can take that away. Those in my past that have judged me, I thank you. You have helped me to be able to stand on my own two feet. You have helped me to become the man that I am now. I did not work as hard as I have for anyone. I did it for me and I did it with the help of the Savior. If you have a similar story to me I congratulate you. I also remind you as I am constantly reminded.. "unto whom much is given, much is required" (D&C 82:3). We owe it all to the Lord. I am pleased to be a servant of my Savior. Though I will never repay my debt, I am having the time of my life trying to pay as much back as possible. To those of you who stand in need of comfort, I am here. I want you to rejoice with me. Let me help you to stand on higher ground. There are blessings that are yours to claim. I want you to have them. My friends, this is a journey that we are all taking together. There isn't a single one of us that is better than the other. You are never too good to reach down to help one in need. The Savior spent his earthly ministry tending to those who made the poorest of choices. Others had difficult situations thrust upon them. Nothing was beyond his reach and that is still the case today. Those who had faith in Christ were healed. Bring your infirmity to the Lord. Whether you chose it or not, He will heal you. You NEED to be healed. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. He never has and never will lead you astray. Please be a friend and if you need a friend, allow someone to be your friend. I am your friend. All glory be to the one who made it all possible. I am The Luckiest.

Sisters

I feel so much love in my heart. I love the times when I am able to just sit and think about all the awesome things in my life. The Lord has given me so much. I have the most amazing family. I miss them a ton. I especially miss my sisters. Seriously, they are my light. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life than the beauty that lies in them. Without my sisters I would not be me. I have grown to appreciate their examples in my life. They all have been an example to me in different ways. They have overcome adversity, they have taught me how to laugh, they have shown me what it means to have unconditional love, and best of all they have shown me the divine nature of womanhood. I cannot thank them enough for their love and support. I bear my testimony to the world of "Jaren's Thoughts" fans... It does not matter how old you are. It does not matter how insignificant you think you may be. I testify that you do make a difference. You make a difference in the lives of ALL those around you. I learned this lesson from my sisters. They are true disciples of Jesus Christ... and I want to be just like them.

Living for RIGHT NOW

So I was going to title this "...just for the sake of writing..." but I decided that is not appropriate for what I want to write about. I feel impressed to write about how important it is to be happy with where you are. Life is a journey; a really fun journey. I am really bad at this actually so don't feel bad if you are not terribly good at being happy with where you are. That being said, I realize how important it is and I see the need for it in my life. I love my friends. I have met some of the most amazing people over the past few months that have really changed my life. They are awesome people that truly love me for me. They don't judge and they are able to put up with all the stupid things I do and say. That is true love. My family is fantastic. I was thinking about my sister Kaylese tonight and I felt a huge smile come across my face followed by tears welling up in my eyes. The thing that shocked me was how familiar that feeling was. I love my family so much. When I think about them I feel so much love. I felt the need to express these things because I am happy to be with my friends in Utah, but I struggle being away from my family and friends in Arizona. Truth be told though... I am happy. I am happy where I am. I have all that I need. What more could a guy ask for? A wife? maybe.... Smile my friends because it's contagious and certainly worth catching.

Follow your heart

I am amazed again at how well the Lord knows me. He knows what I need and when I need it. I could feel myself starting to slow down in my progression toward eternal happiness and the Lord brought me back. I have realized that it is better to be honest with someone about how you truly feel about them instead of trying to protect them. We as human beings are strong and able to withstand adversity. To try to protect someone from hearing what you truly feel is quite the disservice. I have realized that I do not have to apologize for my true feelings. Proverbs 3:5-6 says this:
5 ¶ ^aTrust in the Lord with all thine ^bheart; and lean not unto thine ^cown ^dunderstanding.

6 In all thy ways ^aacknowledge him, and he shall ^bdirect thy ^cpaths.
I believe that the pursuit of marriage is a divine one and should be guided and sanctioned by the Lord himself. The Lord needs to be your confidant and the guide to who you choose. The Lord has given me impressions as I have met certain people. I can tell that some of them will be life long friends. I had a conversation with a great friend of mine and I was scared to tell her that I was not interested in dating, but I wanted to be friends. I was surprised to hear that she felt the same as me. She said that she realized that our relationship was not supposed to be a romantic one. We have such a strong friend connection that I know we will be friends for life. I now have a renewed sense of my friendships and I am eternally grateful for them. Again I turn to the Lord and place my trust in him.