Julie B. Beck

She spoke a fireside I went to last night and I am so glad I went. It was a question and answer session, which I usually am not a fan of, but this time everything was so relevant and so good for me to hear. I loved how she answered every question with a scripture. It's not her thoughts, experiences, or doctrine. It's God's doctrine that she's using to help us. I think that's so important. Here are some things that I learned/would love to share:

--Motherhood is an essential leadership position for women. We are half responsible for the plan of salvation. We all should be mothers and we all should prepare to be mothers even if we are scared that we are inadequate or scared that it won't happen to us. We need to prepare for it no matter what, even if it will hurt if we don't become mothers in this life. She talked about her counselor (I forget her name) who is not a mother but has prepared her whole life to be one and is a spectacular woman because of it. And I'm sure she's mothered just not directly, to so many people.
--Moroni 7:40: Hope. Losing faith and hope affects your decisions and actions in everything, in your relationships with people. So don't lose it! We should be hopeful about marriage and having children. We have every reason to be! And I was thinking, even if we can't get ourselves to have faith and hope in people, because let's be honest, we all let each other down sometimes, we can at the very least have faith in our God. We can know that He will always take care of us, even if a relationship doesn't work out or we lose a loved one or things don't go the way we planned or wanted. In the end, He will still always be there and we can always count on Him. It's so reassuring to me. I always feel so much better after I remember how much I can depend on Him.
--D&C 125: how to treat the men in your life. :) She said that it's tough to be a man in this world! Expectations are convoluted how they think and feel they should act. We need to be there for them as much as they are for us. And this prepares you for marriage. (Yes I realize it sounds like she only talked about marriage and having children which may sound silly or trite but I am realizing more and more how big of deals they both are and how important it is to prepare for them. No it doesn't mean we're all marriage hungry or baby hungry but it means we understand the importance and sacredness of both things and are taking them seriously.)
--Someone asked how she knew she wanted to marry her husband. This was cute. :) She had him stand up next to her and they talked about how oh, it must have been their similar tastes in music that brought them together. He said he liked country. She said she liked classical. Ok, it must've been their taste in movies! He likes thrillers, she likes Pride and Prejudice. How about books? Nope. Other interests? Nope--basketball versus what she likes, which I can't remember. But then they said that while you won't love all the same things and that you'll disagree on some things, you need to agree on the important things and then you'll be okay. She talked about how she knew they were on the same page regarding their testimonies of God and this Gospel. He was a worthy Priesthood holder who fulfilled his callings and loved his family and was trying to do all the right things. And that is what mattered the most. And then they said that now she has been to countless basketball games and he has learned to like classical music. :)
--How do you know when you're doing well? If you're feeling the spirit, doing good, teaching the gospel. It isn't about outward measures or comparisons.
--Missions are working the hardest you've ever worked in your whole life. To the women: go! But if you're going because you can't get a job, you're bored, you don't know what else to do in your life, then stay home. Sister missionaries have a reputation for being either the very best in the field, or the very worst. Don't go unless you are going to be the very best of the best. If you're going to be babysat by your companion and waste everyone else's time, don't go. (I thought this part was awesome :))
--Someone asked how she came to have such a great knowledge of the scriptures. She said that it was very simple. One day she just decided that every day for the rest of her life, she would spend some time in the scriptures. No time constraints or chapter constraints, just some time. And ever since then she has learned from the scriptures. I want to do this as well. And to really study them. I want so badly to have that kind of knowledge as well, to be able to remember immediately where I can read about certain topics. Hopefully this will help!

That was a lot. But it was all so good! Something I gathered from everything too was that whenever I'm being cranky or in a bad mood or depressed or overwhelmed or whatnot, it's because I've lost perspective for the time being of what I'm doing on this earth and what is important. It's when I've gotten so caught up in the trials of my life that I forget what they are ultimately for, what I am ultimately for. When I go to a fireside like this, or hear an inspirational talk, or somehow get a jolt of reality, I realize that I haven't been doing all the right things. I haven't been looking for ways to help others or reading my scriptures faithfully or praying sincerely or thinking about my family and friends and what I can do for them. The part where she talked about how you know you're doing well--it helped so much. I realize I need to do that more, mentally ask myself every day if I'm doing good, teaching the gospel (if only by example), feeling the spirit. If not I'm going to have to figure out how to get it back. That's the only real and true way to happiness.

I mostly wrote this to get my thoughts out, and put them somewhere I could come back and remind myself everything I've felt. But hopefully you've gained something from this as well. :)