I am Sister Bethany Cottle. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ

What does your banner say about you? What do people see...? A mother...a smoker...a workaholic...a father...a lawyer....a drinker....a daughter...a son... Do they see you as relaible? Honest? Faithful? Willing to sacrifice? Confident?

I am Sister Bethany Cottle. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

"I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. The dye has been cast.

I Have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of

Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is

redeemed, by present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished

and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,

tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarf goals. I no longer need
pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to
be rgiht, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by
faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and
labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable,

my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away,

divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at
the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up,

shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause

of Christ. I must go till He comes, five till I drop, preach till all know, and

work till He stops me. And when he returns for His own, He will have no

problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear."

Whatever your banner use to say or does say, you can change it. The past can't be undone, but it can be forgotten, and the present can be changed. You can change your banner, so that when Christ comes, "He will have no problem recognizing you..."  I'm dedicating my life to Christ, forever. I will not go back to who I once was, or who the world might think I should be, or the things I should do.. It's about sacrifice, it's about time, its about showing our love and our gratitude for the one who gave us all, the one who gave  His life, so that we could gain ours. And when He does come, He will have no problem recocnizing who I am. My banner IS set clear.

Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration

http://mormonchannel.org/joseph?lang=eng

This is probably one of my favorite church movies! I love the Joseph Smith movie. It makes me so much more grateful every time I watch it for what Joseph Smith did, and went through, so that we could have all the things we have. Like the Book of Mormon, the Priesthood, Temples, and much much more! I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that through him Jesus Christ was able to restore is Gospel on the earth again. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, it is another testament of Jesus Christ, and as we read it we will become closer to him, and we will come to know more of our purpose here on this earth. I know that through the Priesthood authority, the same authority that Christ had when he was on the earth, that we can be sealed for time and all eternity with our families. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, I know He lives!

"Hope, the Anchor to MY soul!"

"The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active."

What is hope? What do we have left to hope for?

Divorce rates are sky rocketing. Families are being torn apart. Satan is doing all he can to make us doubt, to cause discouragment, and decievingly causing us to see there is no hope. Which is a lie. A BIG FAT lie. There is so much to hope for, there is so much to look forward to.

In the Book of Mormon, in Ether 12:4 it says, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

"Hope is the anchor to our souls." So what is the anchor? In Heleman 5:12, it says "...remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty strom shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation wheron if men build they cannot fall."

That anchor, is Christ. He is the one who will calm the seas, He is who gives us hope for the future, hope for "a better world." I remember a couple of years ago my family and I were in the Carribbean on a cruise. We went parasailing. And the day we went it was windy and cloudy. We went out on this little speed boat, and I thought I was going to die. I get really bad motion sickness so it really wasn't the funnest thing in the world for me. But this experience reminded me of an instance in the Bilbe when Christ calmed the sea:

Matthew 8:23-26 "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith: Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

Your probably thinking well what does your experience have to do with Christ calming the sea. Because I can't say that Christ came and calmed the storm. Just like in our lives, Christ doesn't always come and calm the storm. "Sometimes, God calms the storm, but sometimes God calms the child and lets the storm rage on." I didn't die parasailing, I made it through. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. No matter what we are going through, good or bad, challenging or simple, there is HOPE, He is always there.

Christ is our anchor, He is our hope. Through Christ we can find peace, we can find happiness, we can find eternal joy. He loves us. He died for you, and for me.

"...these things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

There will always be tribulations in our lives, but Christ has overcome every single one of them. The atonement of Jesus Christ has changed my life, it's given me HOPE for my life, and the lives of those I love. I know that Jesus Christ lives, He does love us, and he died for us. This Gospel is a Gospel of HOPE!

Reaching Your Potential Is Life Eternal

Right now I'm on exchanges with Sister Cottle and she asked me to blog about something I have learned or put into effect in my life. As I was thinking this week of what I wanted to share, I couldn't help but to reflect upon our lives here on earth and our eternal goal that lies ahead. Something that I have always struggled with is why people say they only hope to make it to the Celestial Kingdom if they are deemed worthy of such great a blessing. Growing up I looked to my father's example of having faith enough in yourself and in the Lord that he would go to the Celestial Kingdom to live with our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ and be together as a family forever. What a great man of faith to not only know that it is achievable, but to live in such a way that eternal life is the only thing you want. He was not a man of preaching but a man of example, who emulated the Savior in all he did. The Celestial Kingdom is not a fleeting dream or just something to hope, but a reality. Heavenly Father has prepared a place for each of us, but only if we are willing to pay the price and turn to the Savior.
    This morning I was reading the talk "The Atonement: All for All" by Elder Bruce C. Hafen. He says, "We can have eternal life if we want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more". This is so true. If we want to become fully converted to this gospel we have to give all of ourselves, "all that [we] have", to the Lord. Alma 22:15, ". . . I will give up all I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy".. We must give our hearts, our pains, our weaknesses, and all the things that distance us and so easily beset us from God (2 Nephi 4:18).

     I've learned a great deal from the scriptures on this matter. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:22 it reads, "For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory". I testify to you that that is true. We start abiding by that law here and now. I always have to remember the writings of Nephi when he said in 1 Nephi 3:7, ". . .for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. The Lord will provide the way as long as we turn to Him and give everything to Him.

     How great my joy is that I have the Savior Jesus Christ, who gave his life, for me. You and I will reach the Celestial Kingdom after all that I can do. I see myself standing in front of the Lord, being judged for the things I have done in this life and how I have used the Savior's atonement. I have called upon the Him many times to forgive me and to make up for what I lack. He has the power to cleanse and heal us, He is the advocate with the Father, and when we truly humble ourselves and submit we are blessed by His sacrifice. D&C 60:7 ". . .For I am able to make you holy, and your sins are forgiven you." I love the Lord, I can never repay Him for all he has done for me, but I can become who He wants me to be and that is the greatest gift we can ever give. We all have a divine potential here in this life. We all struggle, we all need a Savior. Let Him touch your life as He has mine and give everything to Him. I am so grateful for my mission. Nothing brings me more joy then to see people come to a knowledge of their Redeemer. I love you all, emulate Him in all you do and say and you will truly see the power and authority of your call.

All my love,

Sister Simnitt

Letting Go, and Moving Forward

Life. When you think of your life, what comes to mind? The past? The present? The future? If your anything like me, well I guess I should say like I use to be, you think of the past often. Maybe you even long for what use to be, or what could have been. When I first came out on my mission that was me. I was stuck in the past, stuck in what I use to be, not really wanting to put it behind me. Which in a lot of ways held me back from moving forward. Which I think is one of the worst feelings we can have, feeling like we aren't progressing, like we aren't moving anywhere. And it took me a little while to figure it out. To decide that I wanted to move somewhere, really anywhere, I knew I was done with the past, but I didn't want to face the future. Until... I realized what I was missing, the experiences, the endless amount of opportunities, and most importantly the chance I had to change, to become better. I wasn't who I use to be, but I wasn't where I could be either.

My wonderful mission president, President Bunker, shared something with me that really helped me to change, to realize what I needed to do. Right now, picture yourself driving a car. Your passing a lot things, trees, buildings, people, and you even stop every once in a while, you see something that catches you. But eventually you have to keep going you have to move on, and that experience now just becomes another image in your rear view mirror. And just like driving down the road, every once in a while you glance back to see whats behind you. But if you gaze to long on what use to be, what you passed by, you will not see whats coming up, and not only will you miss the opportunities that lay AHEAD of you, but you'll crash, and you'll find that you don't have what you use to have, neither do you have the opportunities that you could have had.

Just like driving a car, it's important to look in the rear view mirror. It's important to know whats behind us, but only to measure how far we've come. If we spend all of our time longing, or dwelling on what we use to be, we will never become who we can be.

I know that Heavenly Father has endless opportunities for all of us. "The best is yet to come!" We must "see afar off."  Heavenly Father has great blessings that await us. It's not always easy to let go of the past, especially when we can't see everything in the future but, we must have faith, and as we do we will grow, we will become better, and we will find greater joy. I know this because I've seen it in my life, as I've let go of who I use to be, and now am becoming who my Father in Heaven knows I can become.

I Am Thankful For Laughter, Except When Milk Comes Out of My Nose

  For those of you who know me, and know me really well, you know I love to laugh. I laugh when I feel awkward, happy, sad, hyper, stressed, I would even say sad, but lately I just cry, I'm turning into my Mom and Aunt Stephanie, but for the most part, I laugh! Laughter is the best medicine for anything and everything. And a good laugh can do a lot of good things, for me at least, and I think for everyone. Even gives you a good ab workout! Which who doesn't like that? So last week was our first district meeting. And I love being able to meet with the missionaries, it is always so awesome to be able to share incites and testimonies with each other, and our district is awesome! Many talents...but not so much when it comes to vocal talents. We all started to sing last week, and I ended up getting the giggles and once I start, I cannot stop. Ya know when your whole body shakes and you feel like you can't breathe, and then when you can breathe it ends up being super loud? Well this is what happened. So this week I told myself I wasn't going to laugh during the song, so they put me in charge of playing the piano. (out of the simplified hymn book I might add.) I haven't played the piano for a long time, but I got through it. But then for the closing hymn we didn't have the piano, and I got laughing again so hard... But as is a lot of things, laughing is like a domino affect, once one falls the rest go with it. And that's the wonderful thing about laughter, about smiling at people, is it is contagious! So smile, laugh a little, this life is suppose to be happy!  In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:25 it reads, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." Our Heavenly Father wants us to have joy! He wants us to be happy! In Moses 1:39 it says what God's purpose is for us being here on earth, "For behold, this is my work and my glory  to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." He rejoices when we are happy, he finds joy when we are successful. So smile today :) Find something to smile or laugh about, you'll find you really don't have to look that far.

First Time Blogger

Hi!! Thanks for visiting my blog...I realize I don't have a lot on it, this is my first day, and my first time blogging, but I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Bethany Cottle, and I'm currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in the Santa Rosa California Mission. I love it! I've met amazing people, who have changed my life. I've experienced so many amazing things, and my testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ has grown so much. I'm so grateful for all the opportunities that my Heavenly Father gives me each and everyday. I am excited to be able to blog about my experiences and to be able to share them with others, hopefully I can figure this blogging stuff out!