LDS Youth - Be Thou An Example Of The Believers

Here on KooLDSgirlZ, we LOVE the youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! This is the latest video released on the LDSPublicAffairs YouTube channel...

"The youth of the Church welcomed 2009 with an energetic display of unity and commitment to gospel principles during a special celebration at the Conference Center called A Brand New Year.

Thousands of youth gathered in Salt Lake City in early November for this performance that featured music and dance and messages of encouragement and hopeAll while broadcasting the greetings of even more Latter-day Saint youth from around the world.

Recorded before a live audience, A Brand New Year was sent out as a DVD to stakes throughout North America to be used as part of New Years activities for more than 500-thousand youth.

Original songs written for the evenings events were performed by an orchestra of 80 youth and a choir of 400. 18 young men and women headlined the night on stage and helped showcase the talent of the youth of the Church. The dominant message: set your standards high wherever you are, and remember you're not alone.".

tDMg
LdsNana

Virtue: My Three White Dresses

In the 1993 October General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Elder L. Tom Perry gave an address called “Choose the Right.” In his talk he discussed the importance of choosing the right.

He testified, “I hope and pray that you great young people of the Church will have the courage to consistently choose the right! Moreover, I suggest that each of you find or create reminders to help you and your loved ones choose the right when a choice is placed before you. There is power in a tie tack, a CTR ring, or a white dress hanging in the closet if we associate them with our desires for purity and righteousness. Even more important than physical reminders is to have the conviction deep down in our hearts to live the kind of life that will cause us to make the right choices, not only for peace and happiness in the world right now, but also for peace and happiness eternally.

I promise you that you will receive everlasting happiness if you consistently choose to do what is right.”

In this talk he introduced a poem that was written for his granddaughter by her mother and recited at her baptism called,

My Three White Dresses

My mom bought me a white dress,

Not red or pink or blue.

She said it was a special dress

Like very other few.

There has been just one before,

A dress now put away,

That I wore some time ago

Upon my blessing day.

As a little baby clothed

In my first white dress,

My dad held me in his arms,

There to name and bless.So pure and clean was I just then,

With time to grow and learn

About the Father’s plan for me.

My glory I must earn.

Now I’ve reached the age to judge

The wrong road from the right,

And I am here to be baptized

In this dress of white.

So once again I’m free from sin.

The path is clear to me.

I’ll grasp the rod and hold on tight,

I vow with certainty.

Just as mud would stain my dress,

Sin would stain my soul.

The key is to repent or bleach,

For whiteness is my goal.

And if I try my very best,

Then richly blessed I’ll be,

Wearing inside God’s holy house

White dress number three.

So today I make this pledge:

I’ll strive to choose the right,

Through this sacred baptism ordinance

In my second dress of white.

(Linda Gay Perry Nelson, 1993)

Today cool LDS girls are reminded of that poem by this new great Mormon Message. I hope you enjoy it!

Miss California Speaks OUT For Traditional Marriage!

This is so KOOL... Last night during the interview portion of the Miss USA Pageant, Miss California - Carrie Prejean, was asked about her feelings on the topic of gay marriage, by none other than Perez Hilton himself - a very gay man.

As many of you are aware, the very controversial subject of legalizing same-sex marriage in California, is an incredibly hot button - politically. It is obvious that Mr. Hilton "assumed" that he would get the answer that he wanted to promote all across America by asking Miss California for her personal opinion. Check this out!



There is a lot of speculation now, as to whether Miss California may have lost the title of Miss America, because of her response. What do you think?

tDMg
LdsNana

Note: This should be a very interesting story to follow... and we will!

Update: FYI - Carrie Prejean is not Mormon. The assumption that she is, because she simply lives in California - is IMHO very unfortunate. There are many people who support traditional marriage in California - that are NOT Mormon. I posted this, because I was proud to see a young woman stand up for her values - in opposition to a very liberal media. I could blog about my feeling in this regard, but an awesome blogger over on PearlDiver.com beat me to the punch and has said everything that I would have said about the subject. Way to go Pearl!

Zion's Trek

Have you ever participated in a Zion’s Trek activity?

Do you know what a Zion’s Trek even is?

A Zion’s Trek is an activity that commemorates a part of the history of the LDS Church and the westward movement. In other words, it is an activity where you get to experience what it was like to be a hand cart pioneer.

To participate in this activity you usually dress the part.

You spend your days pulling a hand cart holding all your belongings and supplies in it.

Perhaps you get a little taste of what it felt like to be a pioneer yourself.

This weekend was the Murrieta Stake of California’s Zion’s Trek.

This link is for a great newspaper article written in the local newspaper about the event. Make sure you check it out!

Here is some of the response from the kids who participated:

"It's an adventure, and you get a taste of what the pioneers went through, and a greater appreciation of the sacrifices they made," said 17-year-old Alton Skaggs.

"It was freezing last night, and I was thinking, ‘They didn't have sleeping bags,'" Katelynn said about her ancestors.

"The small stuff, like water, you become pretty grateful for," said Kyle Frizzell, 17.

If you have been on a Zion’s Trek tell us what your favorite part about it was.... What did you learn?

Uplifting Music

HeY TherE aLL mY LDS gIrL FRiEndS...Do you love music as much as I do?

The problem for me is... there is a bunch of music out there that is simply not COoL! Sure, it might have a catchy beat... but the words are not great at all! Come on... you know what I am talking about, don’t YoU? Don’t make me give examples now!!!

Does it really matter what kind of music you listen to?

Elder Boyd K. Packer taught that inspiring music brings worthy thoughts.... so think of what the opposite of that statement might be.... Uninspiring music brings__________. I will let you finish that one!

Elder Packer shared some specific ideas about music.....

• You cannot afford to fill your mind with the unworthy music of our day. … Such music as that is not worthy of you.

• You are a son or a daughter of Almighty God. He has inspired a world full of wonderful things to learn and to do, uplifting music of many kinds that you may enjoy.

• Pay careful attention to the music you program for your activities.

• There is so much wonderful, uplifting music available that we can experience to our advantage. Our people ought to be surrounded by good music of all kinds.

• If you are blessed with musical talent, develop a wide range of good music.

Why not go through your [music] collection? Get rid of the worst of it. Keep just the best of it. Be selective in what you consume and what you produce. It becomes a part of you.

So GiRlFriEndS...why not take the music challenge... get rid of the junk and start collecting some CoOl good music instead!

Why not start with this....

A New Book Called "Daughters of God"

Hey Cool LDS Girls... just in time for Mother’s Day... A new book that features three of Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talks about women of the Church has just been released.

The book is called “Daughters of God”. In the book Elder Ballard covers topics of various aspects of womanhood, including motherhood, divine daughterhood, and individual value outside of marriage and family.

Some suggestions Elder Ballard makes:

* Live more in the moment rather than rushing to get the next activity or item on your checklist.

* Don't overschedule you or your family's lives because "families need unstructured time in which relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place."

* Find time to cultivate your own talents and interests because "if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others."

* Pray for your children, asking specifically how God would have you raise them.

So for you cool LDS Girls who are future wives and mothers of the church, what better counsel can you get than from an apostle of the Lord. AND if you are still trying to figure out what to get your cool LDS mom for Mother’s Day... this might be just what you are looking for!

Spiritual Crocodiles

Elder Boyd K Packer gave a talk in General Conference in 1976 that is still a classic one for today, called Spiritual Crocodiles. In it he told of an experience he had while he was in Africa on Church business in relation to some scary crocodiles. A young ranger had volunteered to take Elder Packer around and show him some of the sights. This is an experience he related he had with the ranger:

“The antelope, particularly, were very nervous. They would approach the mud hole, only to turn and run away in great fright. I could see there were no lions about and asked the guide why they didn’t drink. His answer, and this is the lesson, was “Crocodiles.”

I knew he must be joking and asked him seriously, “What is the problem?” The answer again: “Crocodiles.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “There are no crocodiles out there. Anyone can see that.”

I thought he was having some fun at the expense of his foreign game expert, and finally I asked him to tell us the truth. Now I remind you that I was not uninformed. I had read many books. Besides, anyone would know that you can’t hide a crocodile in an elephant track.

He could tell I did not believe him and determined, I suppose, to teach me a lesson. We drove to another location where the car was on an embankment above the muddy hole where we could look down. “There,” he said. “See for yourself.”

I couldn’t see anything except the mud, a little water, and the nervous animals in the distance. Then all at once I saw it!—a large crocodile, settled in the mud, waiting for some unsuspecting animal to get thirsty enough to come for a drink.

Suddenly I became a believer! When he could see I was willing to listen, he continued with the lesson. “There are crocodiles all over the park,” he said, “not just in the rivers. We don’t have any water without a crocodile somewhere near it, and you’d better count on it.”

The guide was kinder to me than I deserved. My “know-it-all” challenge to his first statement, “crocodiles,” might have brought an invitation, “Well, go out and see for yourself!”

I could see for myself that there were no crocodiles. I was so sure of myself I think I might have walked out just to see what was there. Such an arrogant approach could have been fatal! But he was patient enough to teach me.

My young friends, I hope you’ll be wiser in talking to your guides than I was on that occasion. That smart-aleck idea that I knew everything really wasn’t worthy of me, nor is it worthy of you. I’m not very proud of it, and I think I’d be ashamed to tell you about it except that telling you may help you.”

I loved this talk especially because they made it into a really cool video for Seminary... Do you remember watching this one?

"You live in an interesting generation where trials will be constant in your life. Learn to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. It is to be a shield, a protection and a teacher for you. Never be ashamed or embarrassed about the doctrines of the gospel or about the standards we teach in the church." Elder Boyd K. Packer

Watch OUT for those SPIRITUAL CROCODILES that are all round you today! They can be deadly!