The Book of Mormon

Lately, we've been studying about the Book of Mormon in my religion class and I learned a lot about myself and the purpose of why we have the Book of Mormon. 

Pres. Ezra Taft Benson gave an address regarding the Book of Mormon and why it is the keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He said, "There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony." He goes on discussing why it is so important for us to study the Book of Mormon every single day. One last quote from Pres. Benson, 

"There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path...Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life."

Recently, a friend challenged me to read the Book of Mormon in 3 months. I told him that I would, not really anticipating to do it. I am really slow and the last time I read it, it took me 1-2 years to finish. As I started reading, I really started studying the words and felt the power Pres. Benson talks about. It made me more motivated to finish in that time frame. I didn't make it in the 3 months, but I made it in 4. I finished right before I was able to take out my own endowments at the Temple. 

The Book of Mormon made a huge difference in my life for those 4 months. I have noticed that since I haven't been reading it, I haven't felt the power and peace that it gave to me this summer. I want everyone to know that this book is true. If we follow the counsel given in this book, we will receive revelation for the things we need and desire. It is another testament of Christ and through it, we receive a better knowledge of Him.

Love,

Rach

Wedding Season!

Welcome Wedding Season! Seeing as it is August and school starts here pretty soon, everyone is rushing to get married. It has been pure craziness. Last week I went to two weddings and this week there was only one. There are multiple coming up next week, but I am not planning on attending those. 

 This is my friend Liz, from my program, and her husband. I got to attend her ceremony at the Mt. Timp Temple and it was absolutely beautiful. I love this picture. She was literally glowing and was so so beautiful. 

 We have gotten really close over the last year and can't wait to spend this next year with her. She was probably one of the most beautiful brides that I have ever seen. Congrats Liz!!

 Liz and Jake's reception was beautiful. Liz loves all things French, so they had crepes, eclairs, bread and cheese, and macaroons. Everything was so tasty. Lauren and I had a good time eating, playing with sparklers and dancing. 

 Next up was Mallory. Mallory was one of my really great friends in my study abroad to London. We got really close, literally. The place we stayed at did not have much room. During our stay in London we both had never kissed or dated anyone. One night we were talking and she said, "Rach this is going to be our year! I just have a really good feeling about it." haha it was a good year, but it was her year to meet and marry Tyler. Love you Mal!

Last but definitely not least, Gary and Katie got married today! We have been friends for a very long time. I grew up with these two since we were little. They have dated all throughout high school and wrote each other on their missions. It was so fun to celebrate with them. They are so happy and I am so glad that we're still friends. Love you Gar and Katie!

So that a wrap up for the rush of the wedding season. There will definitely be more to com, starting in October all the way until December. It never stops, but it's so much fun!

Love,

Rach

Happy August!

Can you believe that it is already August! This summer has absolutely flown. School starts at the end of August, and I am actually ready and excited for school to start. This summer has been a really great break and it has helped me get ready for school. I can't wait to see all of my dietetics people! But that's all I have to say. Nothing super exciting has happened. I bet August is going to be the greatest :)

Love,

Rach

MIA--life lately

I apologize that life has been a little crazy and that I haven't really posted for a long time. Here is how my summer has been so far. 

In June, I ran my first marathon. That's right! 26.2 miles, baby!! It was so hard, but extremely rewarding. I still can't decide if I would do it again. 

 Right after I finished my marathon, I rushed over to Bluffdale to the reception of one of my best friends, Katelyn. She was a beautiful bride and I am so so happy for her :) We were roommates 2 years ago, and we had some of the best times! 

 Mallory and I have hung out a lot. We went to the outdoor show of Mary Poppins. It was so cute and we absolutely loved it. It reminded us a lot about London and I miss it so bad! 

 We went to Sunriver, Oregon for the Hansen family reunion. I was able to meet my new cousin, Tate. He is adorable and of course got to ply with my sweet Reagan! We rode bikes, went on walks, played countless games, went to a lake and swam, and just chilled. 

 Dan left to med school, but before he did we went to the Real Salt Lake game. 

 Lots of Cafe Rio runs after studying for the GRE. 

 Went to Bear Lake for the Wirthlin Reunion over the 4th of July. It was so fun to see everyone and have a good time. 

Lauren and I went to Zion National Park and hiked the narrows. It was so much fun. We camped and hiked and just had a super great time together. I love camping and being out in nature!

So that's a quick wrap up of my summer so far. I'll try and be better at updating more frequently on here. Happy Summer!

Love,

Rach

Last Days in D.C

I know that I have been absolutely horrid at blogging lately. Here is the last of the D.C trip. Tuesday was our last day in D.C. We were so exhausted from the previous day, so we took it easy on Tuesday. We just finished up going to museums that we had missed. We started with the Holocaust Museum. It is probably one of my favorite museums, but it sure does not leave you with a peaceful feeling. 

                                      

I find WWII history incredibly interesting. I just don't know how people can treat other people so horribly. It was very educational, and it left me wanting to be a better person and treat all different types of people with kindness. 

 Walked around the Library of Congress, it was so so hot! 

 Then we went to the Air and Space Museum. I think this museum is so cool, but I wish I knew about airplanes and space ships. We enjoyed walking through the museum and looking at all of the cool exhibits. 

One of my favorite things that we did was the National Botanic Garden. They had a beautiful greenhouse with so many different types of flowers. It was absolutely beautiful. After we finished up at the gardens, we went back to Baltimore. It was a nice chill day and a great way to end our trip. 

Coming home was a disaster. We left Johnny and Jenna's apartment super early to make sure we made it to the airport on time. When we got to the airport, our flight to Detroit kept getting delayed. We had a short connection in Detroit before going home to Salt Lake. Finally, the flight was so delayed due to weather that we would not be able to make our connecting flight. I had to get on the phone with a Delta representative and get everything sorted out. Camille had to be back the next morning for graduation. All of the flight options were to leave the following morning, there was nothing else until then. It was incredibly stressful and I told the person that we needed to be in Salt Lake tonight. She had to reroute us through a whole different airline and we left two hours later to get to Denver. We spent about 4 hours in the Baltimore airport, took a 5 hour plane to Denver, waited there for 2 hours and then an hour flight to Salt Lake. After about 12 hours of traveling it was nice to be home. 

I love D.C and the East Coast. It was such a fun trip, and I am so grateful that Johnny and Jenna were willing to host us. I'll be back D.C!!

Love,

Rach

D.C Day 4/5

I am just going to combine D.C days 4 and 5. The 4th day was Sunday and we went to church with Johnny and Jenna. It was really good, we actually saw a girl who just graduated from the BYU Dietetics program and was starting an internship soon. It was really comforting to talk to her about plans after college and what some of our options were. 

Then we came home and made this delicious Greek dinner. I can't tell you what it is, because I have no idea how to pronounce it! But it was absolutely divine. We had pita with tzatziki sauce and some roasted potatoes with the main dish which was meat wrapped in cabbage leaves. SO GOOD!!

Then Johnny and Jenna took us on a tour of downtown Baltimore. It was really cool! 

And they took us to John's Hopkins to see Johnny's lab. 

Day 5 in D.C was Memorial day. It was a day that I will never forget. We got up early and went to Arlington Cemetery to see Pres. Obama speak. It was so cool. He gave a really good speech on remembering our soldiers. It was also baking hot and we all got burned! It was so worth it.  

See, here's Pres. Obama in the flesh! 

Arlington is always one of my favorite things to go see. There is such a special peace about this place and it is so beautiful. I know that I am so grateful for the soldiers who fight in order to give me the freedoms that I enjoy. 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is so so so so so cool!! 

After Arlington, we went and saw all of the monuments and memorials. Here is the WWII memorial. 

FDR Memorial 

Washington Monument

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

MLK Jr. Memorial

Korean War Memorial

The Vietnam wall is also one of my favorites. It is very emotional for veterans who knew people that fought and died and they find their name on that wall. 

After a long day and lots of walking, we went to Panera for dinner. It was really good! 

Afterwards, we went to Georgetown and went to Georgetown Cupcakes. They were delicious!

It was one of the most rememberable Memorial Day's ever and I really had a great time despite the sunburns we all got. 

Love,

Rach