Leah's fabulous life journal

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. At Christmas, mummy, daddy and granny (and myself) went to a concert about Christmas! It was very good with live music/Orchestra, a funny conductor and an amazing choir. The songs were "lovely" and very uplifting. They really brought the true spirit of Christmas as we remembered how Jesus Christ was born/the nativity. Most of the dresses were beautiful but a few members of the choir wore quite revealing dresses with splits on the side. This was a shame as it distracted from the performance which was of "good report". Other than that little thing, the evening was a very "praiseworthy" one. I hope...

2 Peter 1, alma 7:23-24, doctrine and covenants 121:45 What are some of the divine qualities of a daughter of God? Charity, temperance, patience, virtue, confidence, humble, submissive, gentle, diligent, faithful, grace, peace, godliness and kindness. We can develop our diligence when we keep the commandments. By treating others with respect, we can practice charity and kindness. If we are faithful and believe in our saviour and Heavenly Father, they can help us to have confidence and belief in ourselves so that we can stand up for what we think to be true. We must remember however to be humble.

The mothers of the stripling warriors had much faith to be able to send their kids into battle. They had very strong testimonies. Because they were so firm in the gospel, their children followed their example and knew that God would be there to protect them. They protected their people and only a few of them were injured however, none were killed. Because their mothers had great faith, they were not harmed. A mother needs to have a strong testimony so that she can be a good example to her children and teach the correct principles, she needs to be obedient and listen to what God asks of her and never doubt it and she needs to exercise daily prayer and scripture study.

Today was church. It was my turn to conduct and I was given the most difficult songs from the entire songbook with lots of annoying mysterious random pauses. Apparently I did really well (according to all of the other members). The other week when I was conducting, the music stand wasn't in its place so daddy/bishop gave amber the look so she was "forced" to stand up in front of everyone. She said it was embarrassing. I was very grateful though because otherwise my arm would've ached from holding the book too long.

Repentance means a lot to me because I have been through my own personal trials and it is great to know that once you have fully repented of your sins, they will be forgotten. It does always worry me that I won't repent to the fullest or that I will miss out on an important step but as long as I want to do all the necessary things and my heart is in the right place. I am so grateful that Jesus atoned for my sins. He also has gone through what I have, so it is great to have someone that understands. When the Saviour prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, he took upon himself everyone's sins. I can barely cope with my own so I don't know what pain and suffering he experienced. I am very thankful!!! The steps of repentance are: Recognising what you have done is wrong Confession Restitution (putting things right) Remorse/Godly sorrow Saying sorry Repenting Forsaking (not doing it any more) Forgiveness

In Proverbs 4:7, it says that wisdom is a principal thing. Also in D&C 90:15 it says to learn about good things like languages and books. D&C 130:18-19 it says that whatever intelligence we gain on the earth will taken with us when we are resurrected. The more knowledge we gain on the earth, the bigger the advantage we will have in the future. It is definitely very important to learn as much as we can and try really hard to make the most of the opportunities we are given so we can develop and benefit when we return to heaven.

This year my form tutor was mrs looker and our head of house was mrs turner. Mrs looker is leaving though so we will have some new form tutors. I made good friends with Georgia b, Chloe, margi, anashe and jalilah. They were all in my tech group this year. In my exams I got 100% in maths. I was extremely happy!!! This year I took my grade 3 exam for piano and passed with merit. For gym and dance our theme was the little mermaid and we came 3rd. Last year we came 2nd when I choreographed it. I started dance this year with miss Natalie doing ballet and modern. I also participated in the main production that happens every other year. I want to continue this year by also doing tap, pointe and contemporary. I think it was a successful year! Year 9 now!!!