This week, I picked Elder Ronald A. Rasband's talk, "Lest Thou Forget," because remembering and holding on to memories has been on my mind for a long time. So, when I reread this talk, I was happy to read it a felt the importance of remembering spiritual things again.
Elder Rasband spoke of helping a friend who was in the midst of a crisis of faith. He asked his friend to think back and remember the times the Spirit helped him in his life. And then he said, "Generations are affected by the choices we make. Share your testimony with your family; encourage them to remember how they felt when they recognized the Spirit in their lives and to record those feelings in journals and personal histories so that their own words may, when needed, bring to their remembrance how good the Lord has been to them."
I feel like sometimes we forget that our own testimonies matter in the lives of our friends and family. They need to hear our testimonies. Our testimonies, journals, and life will be our legacy of faith to our posterity. Sometimes it is hard to remember or think that we will be the grandma or great-grandma one day. It's weird to think about, but is a truth. One day in the future, our children and grandchildren will look back on our lives and read and tell our stories. It is so important to document those stories-- whether or not you share them online.
Elder Rasband said, "I am determined not to forget my heritage, and because of my name I will forever remember their legacy of faithfulness and sacrifice.
Never forget, question, or ignore personal, sacred spiritual experiences."
One simple way to help us remember and to hold memories is to keep a journal. Journaling is SO hard for some people. Depending on the year, I am one of those people.
When I was a missionary and had time set aside every night for journaling, I was a journal pro. Then I got home and would fall asleep faster than you could say "bedtime" and my journal habits withered.
About six months later, I got back into the groove-- just long enough to document mine and Parker's dating and engagement (I journaled instead of blogged because I wasn't sure what to share with the world... it's a hard boundary to figure out) and then we got married and all that went down the drain because being with Parker is way better than writing about it.
But I HAVE kept up with documenting our lives and journaling in ... nonorthodox (??) ways. And because these have worked for us (I'm trying to get better at real journaling but it's a slowwwwww process) I want to share a few ways with you!
Journal Ideas
Blogging.
As you know, I started my Wednesday Letter series a few weeks ago, and that has really helped me stay up to date with the day-to-day happenings around the banks household. But I've also used my blog as a way to share the spiritual things I've learned with my TOTW posts as well as a few Sadie's Soapbox posts.
Instagram.
I try not to share TONS of personal stuff on Instagram, but I do like to share the happy things that happen. It helps me to focus on the good things that are happening in life & that's worth it to me.
Chatbooks.
This goes along with Instagram, but Chatbooks has thankfully opened up to let you print pictures from Facebook AND your camera roll. I absolutely love our Chatbooks. We've been able to print out our memories from our first year of marriage into little books that I will cherish forever. I've also put our extended family pictures into a book so that we can have those forever and see how our family grows every year. I think that will be such a fun thing for our future babies when they get a little older. I mean, that's what a scrapbook is for, right?? (Also, this post isn't sponsored BUT I do have a link for you that will get you your first
FREE!!
)
Instax Minis.
We also love our Instax Mini 8. We don't take a TON of pictures with this little guy because film can be expensive, but every time we do, my heart is SO happy. I love seeing them print out. We hang them on our wall for a while and then we tape them into our journal that we write in... when we remember.
Missionary Letters and E
mails.
Believe it or not, this is a great way to journal. And I've used many emails as journal entries. I just print them out and tape them right into my journal. This was especially helpful while my little brother was on his mission and while my best friend was on her mission. I would tell them things that were really important to me-- what I would usually write in my journal-- and so it was a win-win!
"To my friend, and to all who wish to bolster their faith, I give you this promise: as you faithfully live the gospel of Jesus Christ and abide by its teachings, your testimony will be protected and it will grow. Keep the covenants you have made, regardless of the actions of those around you. Be diligent parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends who strengthen loved ones with personal testimony and who share spiritual experiences. Remain faithful and steadfast, even if storms of doubt invade your lives through the actions of others. Seek that which will edify and fortify you spiritually." - Elder Rasband
Strengthen your testimony. Share your testimony. And you will be edified and built up. Keep a journal and write especially on the good days because that will buoy you up on the hard days.