Diving right in ...

Today's assigned reading -- Mosiah 11:16-11:29

• So the Lamanites are up to their old tricks, killing the Nephites while they're just watching their flocks. 
• King Noah (it's hard to NOT write "evil King Noah" EVERY TIME, since that's how I think of him in my head. Yes, I AM still three/four years old when I read this story. Shush.) sends guards to protect the Nephites, but he doesn't send enough ... so the shepherds (or goatherds or cumleonherds or whatever) AND the guards are all killed and the sheep (or whatever) are stolen.
• Now they've just made Noah MAD ... so he sends armies out. And the Nephite armies win and brought back some loot. And they're all boasting about what all THEY did themselves (and being total ingrates to God) ... and they're all bloodthirsty and so happy to be killing those Lamanites.
• Then there's a Nephite named Abinadi. And he starts to preach repentance ... since that's what the Lord commanded him to do. Because if the people DON'T repent, they're going to be punished. A LOT. So it'd be a heckuva lot better if they humbled themselves and chose to repent before the Lord humbles them.
• And, of course, when people are told that they're doing stuff wrong, they get upset. (Hey, I KNOW that I'm a screw-up on SO MANY LEVELS. I KNOW this.... yet I still can get a bit miffed when I'm told that I'm doing stuff wrong. So I GET why the Nephites are all peeved about it ... but they take it to the next level ... well, like the next five levels.) So, yeah, they want to kill him.
  
• And they send Abinadi to King Noah. He, of course, doesn't take constructive criticism well AT ALL and determines to kill Abinadi.

Yeah ... I know this story. Because, when Mom started reading me the Book of Mormon Stories, I latched onto this story. I ADORED Abinadi. And I was full of RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION that some jerk king who doesn't appreciate what he has goes after a prophet of GOD.
Because he should know better. He did not listen to his daddy. And he SHOULD have. Because you do NOT try to hurt the prophet. That's just REALLY BAD.

And, you know, it's nice that I'm smart, even at a young age, about some things. Makes me feel like less of a screw-up, you know?

Okay, so here's the Conference talk for the day:
"The Savior Wants to Forgive" - Elder Craig A. Cardon

• Elder Cardon talks about a story from Jesus's mortal ministry  -- Luke 5: 17-20, about a man with palsy whose friends lower him, on a bed, to where Christ is teaching and healing. Jesus, when he sees what great faith they have, to go to such efforts, tells the man with palsy, "Man, thy sins are forgiven."
  And Elder Cardon ponders if, since the scriptures don't tell us of the man's response, if maybe he wondered if Jesus understood why he and his friends brought him there.
• Elder Cardon goes on in talking of many of the miracles that Christ performed... and returns to the story above, teaching that Jesus Christ chose, in this instance, to show the world His unique role as the Savior of the world. It caused the scribes and Pharisees there to accuse Him of blasphemy, because only God can forgive sin.
  Christ  asked them why they would say that ... and questioned them if it would be easier to heal a body or to heal a soul. Then he stated that He had power upon earth to forgive sins ... and then healed the paralized man.
• Now, believers in Christ accept that He can heal us, both spirit and body.
  However, sometimes people don't always accept that this forgiveness isn't limited to the final judgement. We are not excused in our sins. We're not to return to past sins. We are to repent ... and He will forgive us.
• With this, there's power to enable and redeem. To stengthen and sacntify us. As many times as we sincerely repent, He will forgive us. Regardless of the seriousness of the sin. He wants us to be able to overcome the world. He understands us ... and, through His compassion for us, we will be able to do it.
• We must repent. And some sins, by their serious nature, are harder to repent of than others. There can be no forgiveness from blaspheming the Holy Ghost. Murder and sexual sins are graver sins than most others. ... But, He does not ask us to be perfect immediately. He allows us to improve, bit by bit, over time ... and, as many times as we repent, He WILL forgive us.
• We must sincerely repent, instead of rationalizing sin. We can, through Him, fight off addictions. Yet, every time we falter, He is there for us. If we strive, with an honest heart, to him, He will turn our weaknesses into strengths.
• Just as He forgives us ... we need to forgive others. We need to see, as President Thomas S. Monson has taught, "men NOT as they are at present, but as they may become." We need to be aware of the potential of every person ... and treat them with respect for what they will become.
• This is why Christ was sent to Earth, to us. To make it possible for us to be able to repent when we are imprfect. And He wants to forgive us. Exercise faith in the power of the Atonement of Christ. Repent. He loves you and wants to forgive you.

I liked this talk quite a lot.
Because, face it (I have), I need to repent. I make A LOT of mistakes.
Earlier this morning, I had to REALLY practice patience. ... I was about to take Bubbles out and run some errands, but I got a phone call. In orderr to take the call, I had to put Bubbles down to nap. And that was about two hours ago. So, no, I STILL haven't gotten the errands I wanted to run done. Which is frustrating.

Also, I had to walk Bruise and Bucket BACK out to the bus stop after they FREAKED out because the older girls there were saying that they wanted to walk to school. So, OF COURSE, my kids FREAK OUT because THE BUS MIGHT NOT BE COMING BECAUSE IT'S NOT THERE YET AND THE GIRLS WILL WALK TO SCHOOL ... But, no. The bus came, RIGHT ON TIME, like it ALWAYS does. And the girls weren't walking to school because the bus WAS there. ... And I stand, holding Bubbles, wrapped up in a blanket (because I hadn't gotten her dressed yet) .... and it's sprinkling .... and I'm doing my best to bite my tongue and not tell off my lovely babies for making Chicken Little look totally calm and well-adjusted.
But I love them more than I don't love them ... so I bit my tongue, smiled, and Bubbles and I waved at the bus as it drove off. 

And besides, I should get out of the habit of saying "crap" all the time. So ... I need to repent. But I need to be sincere about it ... so I need to work on NOT saying that. And I don't know that saying "expletive" is a great alternative ... since when I write that I say it in my blog, it makes it look like I really did say AN EXPLETIVE but that I am just censoring it for YOU, which isn't the case at all. I literally am just saying "expletive" instead of an actual swear.

Okay. I know that Bubbles is going to wake up soon. And, because of everything, I'm totally out of motivation. ... So it's a good thing that I'm already showered and dressed ... or else THAT wouldn't even be done by the time that Michael gets home.
*headdesk*

Well, I'm sure that the REST of the day will be much better. Right?