Loving Unconditonally

 As you probably well know, the YPMs here in Nauvoo have the opportunity to meet a lot of people. The people that come to Nauvoo all have their different reasons why they came and are all very unique. I have enjoyed being able to see and talk to random visitors learning why they came to Nauvoo, what they are looking for, or just getting to know them. 

     It seem like every person that I see here in Nauvoo I love. It makes me think about what the Savior must have been like, even though I still have a lot to work on. He loved everyone more than we can possibly imagine. Jesus loved even the people that hated Him and hurt Him he enough to still teach, heal, and even die for them even if they did not understand what He was doing or why He was doing it.

     Nauvoo is probably one of the best places to just feel love from everyone around you. It is sad that the rest of the world is slowly becoming more selfish, and unloving. We should strive, especially as members of the church, to turn this trend around. Conflicts between people are like a paper cut, if you take care of the wound and clean in than it will still be there for a little bit until time heals it, but if you don't fix it then more dirt and grime will get into the cut making it worse increasing the pain and time that it will take to heal once you decide to clean it. If there is a problem between you and someone fix it now, don't let it fester and grow worse.

Know that I love you, whoever you are that reads this.

Everyone Can Be A Member

It is amazing how non members can hide the fact that they are not members from people. On the other hand they are not hiding but usually just look like they would be perfect members and it rarely crosses my mind that they are not members until I hear their responses to questions. I feel that just boosts my spirits to know that non members do come to our shows, and that I can see everyone as being a member. That just increases my desire to help the individuals that are not members come to see the beauty of the restored gospel. I really enjoy moments when I know that there is a non member in the audience because I feel so excited and hopeful for them that they will find what they are looking for, or at least have a seed of the spirit planted in their hearts.

Things Of The Spirit

A short little story. There was someone in a wheel chair that obviously had some disabilities. Throughout our show, high hopes and river boats, I would catch glimpses of him turning his head toward the show and listening to our performance. Elder Camp later told us about this young man. He was apparently wheeled up against the far wall to start with and Elder Camp asked if they wanted him in a different spot so he could enjoy the show. They told him that it did not matter because he was deaf and blind. Elder Camp said that he would at least be able to feel the spirit, and so he was moved to a better spot. This young man would turn his head towards the stage every song, and than after the song he would put his head back where it was before. I would have never guessed that this child of God was deaf or blind. I know that our spirits on stage were singing and dancing for his. I know that there is a special feeling in what we do here and in the gospel that everyone can feel. Sometimes we are just blinded by what we see that it gets in the way of what is at the core of every person that has ever or will ever walk the earth. The spirit of Christ.

How Amazing to Be a "Tuning Fork" Here in Nauvoo!

 We had an amazing discussion with Brother Lusvardi last Friday that I think had a profound impact on all of the YPMs. He focused on a lot of things that I think will really enhance the work we are doing here. He talked about being in tune with the spirit so that we can resonate with our audiences, because that is how we teach here. He gave the example of tuning forks and how if you have two that are the same frequency, or note, and you strike one to make it resonate, and than move it close to the other the second one will start to resonate without having to strike it. That is what we are doing here in Nauvoo. We have been called to serve here, or struck like a tuning fork, and now it is our duty to help people that come to Nauvoo feel the spirit that we have.

I've Waited Years For This!

To start at the beginning, eight years ago when I was ten, my brother auditioned and became a YPM and he made it in. It was the first time that I had heard of the YPMs and later we went and visited him in Nauvoo. The wonderful experience I had going to Nauvoo, visiting the places from the Doctrine & Covenants, and being around the great sisters and elders influenced my life very much. From then on I wanted to try out when I was older, I also grew to love music and dancing.

I am positive that God has helped for a long time to accomplish my Nauvoo YPM goal. About 6 years ago my grandma decided to give her guitar to one of her grandchildren if they wrote an essay saying how they would use it, why they wanted it, etc. Well time went by and weeks later, thinking I was too late, I wrote the essay and ended up getting the guitar. That started me out on the guitar which has led me to the banjo, which I never thought I would play.

My banjo is another miracle that helped me with Nauvoo. I really wanted to get a banjo so I could play it for my YPM audition. However, banjos can be very expensive even if they are used or broken and being in slight financial hardships I could not find one anywhere that would work. Then after some days of looking for a good affordable banjo, a sale came up where Amazon was selling a brand new banjo including the picks for the perfect price. I was able to get it in time to learn some stuff for the auditions.

Even now that I have made it in to the YPMs I can still see Gods hand helping me with my struggles. For example, I have been able to sing in a barbershop group and one of the members ended up being LDS as well and he came up to me and offered to help me with expenses that I might have with the YPM and my full time mission. This came as a blessing to me because I was talking with my parents a few nights before about how we might be able to afford all of the expenses and still be able to have them come and visit Nauvoo.

After auditioning for the YPMs I felt that I did the best that I could do. I also felt satisfied with the experience of the auditions that I was already okay if I did not make it in. After the audition I felt very calm and did not end up worrying about it the whole drive home to Washington from Utah. I know that God was helping me because I have usually worried about things like that from choir and other singing festivals.

After I received the call that I made it in, I was so happy! I also found that I started thinking about all the things that I should do to prepare for Nauvoo, or my lacking in different areas that I need to improve. I cannot, however, sum up all of the emotions that I felt, because I was just flooded with so many I was just…full! I am still excited for Nauvoo and I am so ready for this school quarter to end so that I can put all of my time and effort into getting ready to share the wonders of Nauvoo with the people that come.