My Farewell Talk: The Atonement

     I don't usually write my talks down word for word, just bullet points, and then I talk about them.  So if there is some disjointedness I'm sorry, that is why.

     John 3:16-17 says
          16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

           17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

     Christ did come down to earth, to live among men.  While He was here, He performed miracles and taught the people His gospel.  However, the most important thing He did was in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He suffered beyond anything we know to atone for our sins.  I was asked today to speak about the Atonement, and I felt prompted that I should focus on how important it is for us to use it.

     I've been studying a lot in Preach My Gospel lately, and in it, there is an excellent description of the practical aspects of the Atonement."The Savior satisfied the demands of justice for those who repent of their
sins and endeavor to keep all of His commandments when He stood in our place and suffered the penalty for our sins. This act is called the Atonement. Because of this selfless act, Christ can plead with the Father
on our behalf. Heavenly Father can apply mercy, withhold punishment from us, and welcome us into His presence. Our Heavenly Father shows mercy when He forgives us of our sins and helps us return to dwell in His presence.

     However, Jesus did not eliminate our personal responsibility. He forgives our sins when we accept Him, repent, and obey His commandments. Through the Atonement and living the gospel we become worthy to enter the presence of our Heavenly Father permanently. We must show that we accept Christ and
that we have faith in Him by keeping His commandments and obeying the first principles and ordinances of the gospel."

     This is a story about a high school student in Utah going to his release time seminary class.

     Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he
would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

     One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.  After class,
Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

     Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

     Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

     Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

     "200?  That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said.  "Do you think you could do 300?"

     Steve replied, "I don't know...  I've never done 300 at a time."

     "Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson.

     "Well, I can try," said Steve.

     "Can you do 300 in sets of 10?  I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work.  Can you do
it?  I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said. Steve said, "Well...  I think I
can...  yeah, I can do it."

     Brother Christianson said, "Good!  I need you to do this on Friday."

     Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother
Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts.  Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts,
they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls.  Everyone was pretty excited-it
was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

     Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

     Cynthia said, "Yes."

     Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia
can have a donut?"

     Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk.

     Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

     Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

     Joe said, "Yes."  Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"
Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.

     And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their
donut.

     And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

     Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and very strong.  When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

     Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

     Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

     Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a
donut he doesn't want?"

     Steve started to do ten pushups.  Scott said, "HEY!  I said I didn't want one!"

     Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts.  Just leave it on
the desk if you don't want it."  And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

     Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little.  He just stayed on the floor between sets
because it took too much effort to be getting up and down.  You could start to see a little
perspiration coming out around his brow.  Bro. Christianson started down the third row.  Now the
students were beginning to get a little angry.

     Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

     Jenny said, "No."

     Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve,would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?"  Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

     By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.
Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut.  There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get
red because of the physical effort involved.

     Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts.  So Robert began to watch Steve
closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

     During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the
room.  When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room.  He
started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

     Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the  next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve
was really having a rough time.  He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

     Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

     Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you
want."

     And Bro. Christianson went on.

     A few moments later, a boy named Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in!  Stay out!"

     Jason didn't know what was going on.  Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

     Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him."
 
     Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

     Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now.  Jason, do you
want a donut?"

     "Yes."

     "Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly
and with great effort.  Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

     Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters.  Steve's
arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity.  Sweat
was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

     The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda,
the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?

     Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

     Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she
doesn't want?"

     Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

     Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson , can I help him?"

     Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"

     As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

     In this story, of course, Steve represents Christ, Brother Christianson represents Heavenly Father, and the class is all of us.  Before the class started, a Plan was set up for Steve to pay for the donuts in pushups,
which he agreed to do.  Likewise, Christ agreed to atone for our sins.  Steve did pushups for all of the students, even though it was difficult.  He had never done that many pushups at the same time, and really, it was almost beyond his ability.  As more and more students came into the class, he had to do more and more pushups, but he didn't turn any away.  When Jason came into the room, he was exhausted, but he gladly did the work so the confused boy could have a donut.

     What I find most interesting about this story is how many of the students did not eat their donut.  The work had been done, and it was sitting right there on their desks, but they let it lie there.  They saw all the work Steve had to do as unfair, and they wouldn't eat it on the principle.  Can you imagine how Steve felt about that?  He had just done some of the hardest work of his life so they could have a donut, and they didn't eat it?!  Now imagine this in terms of the Atonement.  Christ did the work, suffered and died for us.  I remember as a little girl I said I'd never sin so Jesus wouldn't hurt more because of me.  That isn't how it works though.  Christ still suffered for me, and there's nothing that I can do to change that.  In fact, if we didn't take advantage of His sacrifice, it would show a disrespect and ingratitude beyond belief.  In any case, we cannot live without it.

     Alma 34:9 says
          9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.

     We all need the Atonement in our lives, we cannot even hope to return to our Heavenly Father without it.  We must all let go of our pride and our laziness, and take advantage of this great gift.  I know that if we do this, we can all return to live with our Heavenly Father, and be truly happy.

     I say these things...

Getting Into Good Habits

     So we all know about the dreaded "early to bed, early to rise" mission schedule.  I know as teenagers/young adults going to sleep at 10:30 seems like such a drag and waking up at 6:30 sounds like torture.  Believe me, when I was at school I often went to sleep after 2:00 a.m. and woke up after 10:00.  A mission is hard enough without considering sleep loss into the equation.  The MTC itself is a rigorous and exhausting experience.  Do yourself a favor and get yourself into a schedule now.

     So what is the missionary schedule?  Well the basics (or at least what I'll focus on right now) are the wake-up, bedtime, and study sessions.

     Wake up.  Right now if you can would be a good time to get into the habit of waking up early.  I know, I know, it's hard at first, but it helps it really does.  Set your alarm, just do it.  Set two or three if you need to.  Here are some ways to make it easier.  First, do something.  If you just drag yourself out of bed and sit there, it's not going to work out.  Right now my dad and I go to the gym at 6:30.  This is nice because that's the next thing on the schedule, is a work out.  Me and my dad work out for an hour, so a little different, but we can't live the schedule perfectly can we?  It's nice to get the blood flowing and wake up.  I don't go really intense, just walking stretching and a little bit of aerobics.  I also use that time to listen to conference talks and Portuguese lessons.  The other thing that helps is knowing your Circadian Rhythm.  Sometimes when we wake up we're so exhausted that we can't get out of bed.  To help with this, I use this little trick.  When you hit the 12 hour mark of when you want to wake up, stop eating.  In other words, don't eat after 6:30 at night.  When your body has food to digest it slows down.  If you give your body enough time to process the food you'll wake up energized and ready.  Last of all, when I wake up tired I think about the Savior.  I know, the whole What Would Jesus Do thing is very cliche.  So I think more What Would Jesus Think of Me?  I feel that if He saw me being selfish enough to sleep when I should get up He'd be disappointed.  That thought makes me cringe and I immediately jump out of bed.

     Bedtime.  Don't mess about, go to sleep.  It's that simple.  Turn off the lights and sleep.  I also have some helpful tips for this too.  Firstly, yawn and stretch.  In the half hour before you go to sleep, close your eyes, yawn and stretch your arms.  Do this four times, spread throughout this half hour.  This gets your body expecting sleep.  You won't have as many problems with falling and staying asleep.  Start now to get your body to associate different things with sleep.  Don't do anything in your bed except sleep.  If you shower at night, make sure it's somewhat close to when you go to bed.  Make it an enjoyable routine.

     Study sessions.  I don't know about you, but reading the scriptures for more than a half hour is really hard for me.  It's going to be difficult to read by myself for an entire hour, and then another hour with my companion.  I'm still working on this, but trying to find something fantastic in your scriptures, or a very VERY specific goal always helps.  The specific goal that I have (and have had for a couple years now) is to have something marked, annotated, or something written in the margins of every single page in the Book of Mormon.  Every verse was chosen specifically for our day, so I should be able to find something on each page.  If I start to get lost in the words I slow down and find something to mark.  As for companion study, my mom is an excellent help.  She is a seminary teacher and loves to talk about the gospel.  We can easily have a conversation for and hour about the Atonement.  If you can find someone to study with, do it!

     Other habits you might want to kick, or get into.  Sarcasm.  Get rid of it as soon as you can.  Sarcasm drives away the Spirit.  I am horrid at this.  I love to be snarky, to crack a joke at something, to make people laugh.  Yes, it's all well and good in normal life, don't worry, but on your mission it's different.  It's easy to drive the Spirit (and therefore investigators) away with a badly placed snarky comment.  I've asked my family to help me be a bit less....that way.  Anyway, moving on.  Other habits.  Technology.  Try and leave it a lone as much as you can, same goes for music.  The less input you have from these sources the better you will feel the Spirit.  I'm not saying become Amish or anything, I am after all typing this up right now (while watching Dr. Who) but if you regulate yourself it will help you feel the Spirit, as
well as discipline yourself.  Think about it, are you going to care what happened on Facebook today six months from now when you're wandering the streets of Rome with your companion?  Probably not, and if you do, you'll probably hear about it in a letter.

     Let's see, unless I'm forgetting something that's all I have to say for now.  Sorry about the double post today but I felt this needed to be said.

So Much to do, I Don't Know Where to Start

     As anyone with a mission call, past or present, or their parents or friends know, there is a LOT to do when you're getting reading to go on a mission.  I see a lot of girls absolutely freaking out because of all the things, and any little thing going wrong throws them into a panic.  I am definitely one of these girls sometimes.  I'm not an expert by any means but I'm going to try and explain or simplify some of the more common questions I see.  We'll assume that the future missionary reading this has already received their call.

     There is a lot of stuff to do so sometimes getting started is daunting.  I was lucky enough to have some awesome, super organized parents and friends who helped me out.  The first thing you need to do of course is send that acceptance letter!  It's in the back of your packet that came with your call.  You need to write it and send it back as soon as possible!  Otherwise it is VERY easy to forget, and if the Brethren don't know you want to go, you'll lose your opportunity!

     Next is to get some info about your mission!  Usually within the first month or so you'll get a letter from your Mission President.  This is mine, from all the way down in Brazil!  I have heard that some South American missions do not do this and in any case waiting weeks and weeks?  No need to sit around until it shows up, let's think of some other ways you can learn all you want about your mission.  I luckily had a good friend who served in my mission, so he told me a lot of what I could expect.  Friends or family are the best source of information.  Sometimes though, you don't know anyone who served there.  You can also find blogs about missions.  Usually though, this is a sister thing, so not too helpful for you elders.  There is an excellent site though that has information from hundreds of thousands of RMs from missions all over the world.  Click here to take a look!  Just find your mission and you can find all sorts of information.  My mission has a website that I have found very helpful.  I also researched everything from common jobs to weather.

     After you've learned everything you want to, it's really time to get to it!  If you haven't already, start reading the Book of Mormon again, this is part of your Pre MTC training and is a major part of what you will be teaching people.  I started on New Year's Day, a whole month before I even turned in my papers.  I only have two weeks before I leave and I still haven't finished.  It is a big project, so keep up on it and don't slip.

     Speaking of Pre MTC training, that is another important thing to do!  In your packet is information about the Missionary Portal.  If you haven't already, log in and do the Pre MTC training. It takes a few hours so do a little each day or do like I did and just go absolutely mission crazy and do it in a single day!  The Missionary Portal also has all kind of cool stuff, like the weather in your mission and a cool countdown that tells you how many days you have left!  Also, it has a list of the immunizations you need.  Try not to stress too much about those.  I got mine done in the course of one week.  I did not however, manage to find a flu shot.  Right now they aren't in season.  If your report date is in late September or later, you'll probably be able to find one before you go, but the rest of us are kind of stuck in regards to that.  Just a reminder for those who will need to take the series of oral typhoid pills.  Put up something to remind you!!  I forgot several times so they weren't exactly on the days they were supposed to.  I think I'll be all right but if I die from typhoid, that's why.

     Next, wardrobe!  Hopefully you already have some clothes already.  Elders this is probably more important for the Sisters.  You guys are lucky, you just have to find some good looking, sturdy suits, shoes, and ties.  Sisters?  Well let's see.  Earlier this week I posted a packing list, and there should be a page on this blog where I posted it.  Right now though I'm going to focus on just a few things.

A collage of my mix-and-matchable outfits!

     Skirts.  Sisters, decide right now what sort of wardrobe you want.  To maximize your outfit count you need to get shirts that match with most of your skirts.  I went the route of plain shirts and patterned skirts.  You can go the reverse, or if you are a master of fashion, a little of both.  Once you make up your mind, it's time to go through your closet and find things you can bring.  I know a lot of girls wonder about maxi skirts and high-low skirts. My personal opinion is this. No on both. The dress and grooming standards say "Do not wear floor-length skirts," I have heard different things about maxi skirts being allowed in certain missions and that certain mission presidents allow them.  However, me personally, I'm not going to search and strain and justify to wear them.  I'm just going to  go by the general standards.  Same thing for the high-low skirts.  I see them as a bit faddish, which is also a no-no.  I don't want to have to worry about them either, since I know some people will judge.  Also I'm a bit of a clutz and I'd probably end up stepping on it and essentially "pantsing" myself.  Just keep it simple, get something nice, mix-and-matchable, and comfortable.

     Shirts.  Like I said, I went plain.  I have several button up shirts of all sorts of different colors.  Red, black, yellow, green, blue, etc.  Simple, great.  Depending on your mission, you'll want varying lengths of sleeves.  I get all four seasons in all their extremes, so I got all short or three quarter length sleeves, more short sleeves though.  For the cold months I brought a few cardigans and coats.

     Dresses.  I'm only bringing, one, and that's a maybe.  They are a bit more limiting than skirts and shirts.  If you can find some good ones, go for it!

A couple of pairs of shoes that I got.

     Shoes.  Oh my gosh shoes!  Depending on your mission, you'll get different types of shoes, but no matter what they MUST be comfortable.  I strongly discourage heels over two inches.  Believe me I am devastated.  I used to wear 6 inch heels with my jeans to class every day (I'm short and I like crazy shoes).  For my mission, I need really good walking shoes.  It is a walking mission, no bikes or cars.  Also really rainy, so waterproof.  I stayed to black leather flats, with one pair of boots.  I was also instructed to get gel insoles.  You might not have to, but I advise this, they are very helpful.

     Other stuff.  Watches and jewelry.  Don't go crazy, but don't be afraid to be pretty!

     Moving on, I might post about wardrobe a bit more later.  For now then, let's continue.  Make sure you get your temple recommend quick, even if you don't plan to go for a while.  It's a personal choice when you go through and get endowed but I can say that the more you can go, the better.  You don't necessarily get the chance to go very often when you're in the field.  My mission doesn't have a temple, and my hometown's closest temple is almost three hours away, so I went through the first time only a month after I got my call.  I go to BYU and with the temple a two minute drive away I was able to go as much as I wanted.

     Unless I'm forgetting something really important, that's all the major stuff.  Just relax and don't stress.  As long as you do something every day and keep on top of it, you'll be "ready" in time.  I don't feel like anyone is ever as ready as they'd like to be but we can get close.  Good luck with your many to do lists!

Getting My Call

On October 6th of 2012, I was sitting in a hotel room in Salt Lake City with my family.  I was curled up on one side of the hotel couch, watching the itsy bitsy screen.  I was trying to pay attention, but it was the middle of a semester and there were a lot of things going through my head.  Grades, work, boys, responsibilities, lots of stress, lots of problems.

When the prophet began to speak, I tried really hard to listen.  When the announcement came about elders serving at eighteen I knew, I just knew that I'd be able to go.  More importantly, in that moment I knew I had to go.

This is part of my blog post from that day

"Oh my gosh, crazy weekend!

Today it was announced that women can go on missions at age 19.  I'm almost 18 and a half.  The instant it was announced, I knew that I needed to go.  That was when I was called, or rather, when I realized that was being called.  Just the simple knowledge of this has pulled me out of my hole.  The last eight or nine months of my life have been really hard, I sort of lost myself.  The worst of it came this past week.  School has been terrible, classes that should be easy turning sour and concepts I used to know slipping out of my head.  Just the other day I was thinking, Why am I in school?  I'm not supposed to be here!  I set up an interview with my bishop, trying to get some help with things that I'm going through.  None of this made sense to me until today.


I'm going to spend 18 months of my life in the Lord's service.  Going on a mission was never something that  really considered, so this is a real change for me.  I've already taken a few prerequisites for the accounting program, and they usually advise you to wait until you come back to do that.  I'm not too worried.  I might need to retake a class or two, but I know that my sacrifice will benefit me in the end.  I'll need to take mission prep classes next semester and finish my GEs instead of accounting prereqs.  I'm actually really excited, it's going to be great!"

I was too young to put my papers in right then, but I still had a lot of work to do to get ready.  I was down pretty far, but I was determined.  I took my testimony a lot more seriously, I talked to my bishop, started going to the temple a lot more, and took a mission preparation class.  Things were going great!

The adversary did try to stop me though.  The weekend before I put in my papers, three of my friends and I took a trip to Colorado for the weekend.  I posted a lot about this on my blog at the time so I'll take some exerpts from that too.

"We stopped at my family home in Laramie for a while, and then continued on.  I took the driver's seat for that leg of the journey.  Around an hour later it happened.  Suddenly, I was partway off the road.  I don't know how it happened, I can't remember drifting off or anything, I was just all of a sudden there.  I tried to get back on the road, but I panicked a bit. Stuck on cruise control at 75 MPH, I overcorrected and veered into the other lane.  There was a semi truck in front of me and a car behind, so I tried to get back into my lane.  This time I pressed the brake.  Still, it was another overcorrection.  We slid right off the road and into the median.  I tried to gain control, but there was nothing I could do at that point.
When the tires on the driver side left the ground, I gave up.  This is when I stopped paying attention tothe crash.  I closed my eyes, let go of the wheel, and prayed.  In that moment where we were upside down, I expected to die.  There were three thoughts in my mind at that time.

I was so glad that I had taken the Sacrament that morning.
I realized all the things in my life I still needed to do.
My friends were in the car too, and I wished that they weren't.

Gratitude and shame.  That was what I felt.  When the car stopped rolling (after at least two full rolls) these were still my feelings.  Grateful to still be alive, but so ashamed of myself for endangering my friends.  Turning around I could see Megan starting to shake, obviously heading into shock, blood on her pillowcase, and glass and dirt everywhere.  I grabbed her by the hand and started apologizing over and over again.  I could see that Jonathan and Cortney were alright, but I didn't know how badly Megan was injured.  Through the next hour, waiting for the police, the ambulance  and my parents, I didn't have time to think about it, all I knew was that we were alive, but I was responsible for anything that had happened to them.

...

First, being alive and well.  There were many things that I feel contributed to that.  We'd prayed that morning before we left.  I truly believe in the protective power of prayer, but it was more than that.  I believe that the Lord protects those who place their lives in His hands and do His will.  Of the four of us in the car, all of us had done this.  Jonathan has a mission call, I just turned mine in last night, Cortney is on track to finish his in the next week, and although Megan isn't planning to serve at this time, she has her priorities based on what the Lord wants her to do.  We have all decided that our lives are not really in our hands, but that we were being directed by the Lord."

The day we got back to Provo was the day I got my Stake President interview and turned in my papers.  Then began the two weeks of waiting, wondering and trying to pretend you could focus on anything else.  Something I found interesting was that I could think of a place and all of the cool things about it and totally be fine with serving there, and ten minutes later I would completely forget where I was thinking of.  Talk about stupor of thought!  I thought about Brazil once or twice, but in the sense of I might not want to serve there, so of course I was called there.

"This week I received my mission call.  I've been called to the Brazil, Florianopolis mission.  I will admit, beforehand, when I would get asked where I wanted to go, I'd either say it didn't matter or that I'd like to go somewhere Spanish speaking.  Those were my feelings.  Although, when someone would suggest Brazil, I would get this secret fear or reluctance, like I didn't want to go there.

When I opened my call my mind was racing.  I saw the passport application and immediately knew I was going foreign.  Then I pulled out the official letter/call and started reading.  Before I said a single thing I saw the word Brazil.  It hit me like a wall, but not in a bad way."

So now I've had my call for a while, in fact I only have two weeks until I report!  I still have lots of work to do but I'm so excited!

To Do List

So I decided I needed to make a packing list of everything I need to get and do to be ready to leave.  If others would like to use this as a somewhat helpful guide, go right ahead, just know that some of these are mission specific.

To Do:

   Get Immunizations
   Pack all the rest of my stuff away
   Finish reading the Book of Mormon
   Finish Mormon.org profile
   Finish online mission prep
   Study Ch. 3 in PMG
   Cancel subscriptions for websites, magazines, etc. 
To Pack:

   Messenger Bag
   2 suitcases (62 dimensional inches)   1 carry-on suitcase (45 dimensional inches) 
   Camera case   Toiletry bags   10 regular garments (poly-cotton since I'm going somewhere hot and humid)   
   2 white sports 
   3 white 
    3 white slips
    nylons
   2 pairs of waterproof black flats
    Black waterproof boots
   One more pair of black flats
   Tennis shoes   10 pairs of little socks for flats
   5 pairs of socks   3 workout shirts
   2 pairs of work out pants
   2 pairs of pajama pants
    3 Baggy bed shirts    2 pairs of jeans for Pdays
   2 Regular shirts for Pdays   Raincoat   Black winter coat   Blazer   3 Cardigans
   8 skirts
   10 shirts
   One dress
   4 belts
   Jewelry
   Watches
   2  bath towels
   2 hand towels   Face soap
   Lotion
   Makeup
   Chap stick, lots of chapstick
   Shower gel
   Razor
   Perfume
   3 Sticks of Deodorant (it works better if you mix up which stick you use every day)
   Nail polish
   Toothbrush
   Toothpaste
   Floss
   Hair brush
   Hair ties
   Bobby pins
   Blow drier
    Straightener
   Shampoo
   Conditioner
   Feminine supplies
   Umbrella
   Winter hat
     Ear muffs
    Gloves
    Running headbands
   Bedding
   Pillow
   Alarm clock with no radio
   Small photo album
   Address book to write home, other family, and friends
    Stamps
   Envelopes
   CD’s with CHURCH MUSIC
   identification
   Money   Scripture
   Scripture markers
   Journal
   Copy of Patriarchal blessing
   Call letter
   Pedigree chart (4 generations back)
   Washable delicates bag
   Gel insoles for shoes