July 21, 2025

From Abby - Seeds of Divinity 

GUYSSS
ITS BEEN A GOOD WEEK
Currently typing through blurry eyes in reading my moms email and missing the vibrant nature of my family. Anyways 

I'm constantly bursting with things to tell you and theres just not enough time to portray my giddy desire to yap and yap and yap 

We played games in a random church gym for Pday and I still feel guilty about pulling the chair during musical chairs.. (After I told her not to pull the chair..)

Sister Ortiz if you're reading this I still feel guilty. 

Called the fam and felt like CRYING since they're doing all their summer vacay. Dads email was elaborate with many a picture.

Heres the District 
Yes we wore Lavalavas... We're just poly wannabes at this point. 

TUESDAY WAS ZONE CONFERENCE
Its so strange that you can sit in a chair for like 6 hours straight and by the end of it you're completely EXHAUSTED. The spirit slaps you upside the head multiple times and after you have no choice but to be cooked. I can't help but think of Joseph Smith and how exhausted he must have been ALL THE TIME. Bro was in a constant stream of the spirit. 

Theres nothing I've come to love more than having MY circle of people be exclusivly missionaries. Its the same feelings that come from FSY. When we surround ourselves with striving people.. we FEEL like striving, and theres honestly no better feeling. 

I loved this quote Sister Brown shared from our beloved Gordon B Hinckley 
"You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others"

-BYU speech 1996
She talked about being a powerful influence, and rising above mediocraty.. She asked
"Can you be average AND serve with all your heart might mind and strength?"
As she spoke these two thoughts came to me 
"I want a Larger than life personality"
"I will not rest until I become an instrument"

She also shared Doctrine and Covenants 88:67
"67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things"

MY WHOLE BODY? LIGHT?? I'm so invested in this outcome you don't even know. 

President also dropped LINES
He shared the story of Mikey Monsour.. Who jumped on a grenade to save his friends
He said "You dont need talent to dive on a grenade.. but Subconcious goodness."

"DO YOU HAVE THAT GOODNESS?"
I ACHE to be so possesed of charity that my knee jerk response is always to help and lift others. 

Also this quote from John Wayne
"Life is Tough... Its tougher if you're stupid."

I also saw this LEGEND
Day one Elder Bye!! 

No we didn't plan it we're just that good.

We shared a spontaneous message with this spanish lady! We had set up an appointment to come back with the husband who DID speak english.. (Bro wasn't there when we came back) and his wife didn't understand much english but her bi lingual kid did and was EPIC. When we offered to share a scripture he ushered us into their home and was the in between for us and his mom. it was SOOO SWEETT. Even though we're not Hermanas it was completely worth it :)
Although like 3 times this week people have been like "Hermanas!! "And I say "I Wish!!"

This week we BATTLED two GARGANUTUAN spiders. Guys. Take me back to Canada why are they literally MASSIVE. I'm not scared of spiders until they're the size of a blueberry.. then you're pushing it

Sister Moleni during weekly planning:

Heavenly Father loves you ^
Zone weekly planning is actually bomb.
Elder Johnson (Who served in my area one year ago) was like "Have you visited Jaylyyn?" (Unbaptized child)

We stop by this week because he said that and now have a meal set up with the family. Its actually crazy how we can influence eachother.

GUYS 
I forgot I could play the piano and LOVE playing the piano. I begged my father to send me Clair de lune and i've been OBSESSIVELY learning it. It's probably out of fmy skill range but I have almost two pages down!! 

Like 5 to go but it's fine. 
Theres nothing I love more than the process of  painfully reading notes off a page to it becoming MUSIC

The song and vibrations of the piano and muscle memory becoming MINE. 
God knew I needed a 150 year old out of tune ivory keys stand up piano this transfer.

Casual Pros View

^Serving in Utah= BOMB

Visited with TWO old ladies this week that aren't members but LOVE missionaries. as I'm sitting in their living room i'm itching to ask them WHY THE HECK NOT
But I remain cordial and respect their agency.. 
I feel like whenever I ask people they never have a good reason 
NO reason is good enough to REJECT more joy than you'll ever feel, and the promise of ETERNAL LIFE? Because you don't want to go to church? Or read a book? You go places and read things anyway!!? Except going to church and reading the book of mormon change your life! (And then of course you make promises with YOUR CREATOR. I don't see the hold up) 

Also something I learned this week! Theres a difference between immortality and eternal life! 
Immortality def:

The condition of living forever in a resurrected state, not subject to physical death.

Eternal life def:

To live forever as families in God’s presence

So cool.

Had meetings with three bishops this week 
I think one of the most tiring things i've found is visiting with leadership. One bishop this week was like "Tell me how I can help you" and I essentially go "Tell me how I can help YOU" and he's like "We're opening to anything"  (BOLD) I explain to him that something SO important is visiting people WITH leadership and praying for revelation to push forward Gods work. 
He has this blank expression and says "I'll bring it up in ward council." and dismisses the convo.

You can't ask someone for suggestions, say you're good with anything, and then ignore THE suggestion given.
I think they can sense my annoyance and that doesn't really help either

We went to knock this one house and stumbled upon a birthday party!? This group of old people were about to cut cake while sitting on this european looking little padeo, they insisted we eat cake too and join them in singing happy birthday.
You just never know what's going to happen :)

The hill ALMOST murdured me this week. I don't know what it was but my legs were burning and I could not breath.
Theres nothing like the mental battle that goes on: Legs screaming at me to stop, the +33 sun beating down as I feel sweat on my neck and back, my skirt bunched and clipped up safe from the gears and getting caught between the wheel.. Looking forward up the hill and the 11 minutes left on maps, still somehow pedelling and trying to look happy as I wave at people XD

and in the midst of ALL of that; a silent cheerleader in my brain: "You can do hard things. Your brain says you can't but your body can, you've done this before."

Wildly unimpressed due to the fact i've biked the hill many a time 

At one point this week it actually RAINED and I FORGOT how wet you get biking in the rain. I also forgot all the other times i've biked in the rain and snow I've had a massive coat that was protecting me.. This time I didn't, and I wore my lightest dress. (#Soggy)
I think I've achieved max Aura as a biking SIster
I think i've made it my identity actuall

Literally 
Backpack, Tied dress, pink bike, no updo.. Come at me. 

ALSO I GOT TO SEE MY NIECES

Especially excited about Baby Margo since I've only seen her on FACETIME 

Bless family who care enough to stop by and see me even if its for 45 minutes :)

I love my older sister and her free people overalls, and her patience :)
I take credit for her being such a good mom because she got to practise on Mia and I!
Also Tyler you're a king.

We visited with this guy who's been out of the church for YEARS. 
He has a powerful testimony, but struggles with sin, and feeling worthy
OH how I wish people could understand that THATS when you NEED to go to church the MOST. We were able to bear our testimony of Gods love and of Gods desire for him to COME.We shared 2 Nephi 26: 23-25

 The spirit filled the room, and we all could feel it. For now he rejected coming to church, but I hope this was a seed planted for him:)

Phone work under a tree:

An old guy came out and gave us water :)

Something I've been thinking about a lot this week is Divine Nature.. 
Cant you feel it with every human you come in contact with, that sacred, eternal potential. The light and inspiration, and creativity that rests in the souls of humans. 
The miracle of our bodies, the expansiveness of our minds, our capacity to feel, our drive to do things, and become things. 
Theres no way that doesn't come FROM god. 
I was reading in Topics and Questions of the Gospel Library under "Becoming like God" 
LISTEN TO THIS:
"Latter-day Saints see all people as children of God in a full and complete sense; they consider every person divine in origin, nature, and potential. Each has an eternal core and is “a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.” Each possesses seeds of divinity and must choose whether to live in harmony or tension with that divinity. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all people may “progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny.” Just as a child can develop the attributes of his or her parents over time, the divine nature that humans inherit can be developed to become like their Heavenly Father’s."

We are divine. This earth lifes purpose is to help us REALIZE that divinity, and then make decisions that bring us in harmony with it. 
We then make a promise to God that we will LIVE in harmony with and in that divinity (Baptisimal and temple covenants) and he then can give us our natural, and sacred inheritance as children of God. 

I was curious what the Bible says about this since so many Christian beliefs don't believe in the doctrine of becoming like God 

Romans 8:16-18

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

JOINT HEIRS.

I hope this makes some sense 

I also hope that you, the one reading this knows that you are a divine, and eternal being. You have infinite potential.

And that potential is increased and fulfilled as we live in Harmony with God, and turn to him in our actions and thoughts. 
More joy, clarity, direction, confidence, and peace are in store for us than we can comprehend!

There are more thoughts but this is a SIGNIFICANT amount 

Onward to another week 

Keep on, 
-Sister Smith

From Mom - Fairy Dust

Dear Abby,

As you know, I've been having a lot of fun ordering things from Temu when the mood catches my fancy. They'll ship for free if the order is over $30 and often I find myself a few dollars short and end up adding odd, whimsical items to the cart just to make the quota. (That's how they getcha!) Sometimes I'm surprised what's in the package when it comes because I can't remember most of those last minute items and what was going through my brain when I clicked "order complete." So it is that I find myself with a little pot of $3 skin glitter. Out of curiosity Sunday morning, I was trying to open it and it exploded all over the top of my head, on my dress and a blob landed on the top of my left foot. (Keep in mind, we arrived home late the night before from camping, then up extra early to go to Hinton and it is possible my brain was at low-functioning capacity.) I brushed it off the best I could, giggling a little at the sparkles that caught the light in my hair, on my face, on my dress. Let's just say, if I was in Peter Pan and that glitter was fairy dust, I could have been flying around the room no problem. I didn't say a thing to anyone and I didn't get any odd looks or a single comment all day! Crisis averted besides the fact it was a secret joke to myself and I couldn't help suppressing a little giggle in church every now and then, especially when I noticed my left big toe all sparkly in my open-toed shoes. Ah well ... a day in the life and all that.

We camped back-to-back for two family reunions and were away for nine-days. I came home to the first raspberries in our little patch. Finally some success after eight years of trying! I'm saving them for Bowie to pick when they arrive although I did pick a few for our breakfast oatmeal since we have no fresh food in the house.

We tried something new with camping this year ... Dad and I attempted to sleep in the back of the SUV in a blow-up mattress that fits perfectly with the seats down. I'd call it a win except for the fact that when Dad turns over, I get catapulted. Turns out Dad is a restless sleeper that our foam mattress at home keeps on his side of the bed. It also turns out I can't sleep through being catapulted. Another solution may need to be found if we decide to keep sleeping in the back of the vehicle but it would be an awesome set-up if a good night sleep could be assured! Grandma Smith had us camping at a cute little campground called Kimball Park just a little south of Cardston right beside the river. Since there was zero service (Hannah kept driving to the top of the hill to send texts, haha), we were busy with horseshoes, bean-bag games, photo scavenger hunt, water-gun fights, singing around the fire and all the things that make Smith gatherings uniquely Smith.

(Tryna get a jumping picture )

Not everyone was able to attend but there was someone representing each of the five families. Samantha was there with little nineteen-month old Kazan and he looks SO much like Natasha. And Demond came for the first time! His girlfriend, Candace, said it was the only time in her life to experience family togetherness and she loved it so much. It was also really nice to see David (grandma's husband ... and yes, it's still weird but getting less so as time goes on) running around and working so hard to make it a success for Grandma. It's obvious he's invested in her happiness, which is honestly so reassuring. Sam dominated in horseshoes but I was very proud of getting my twelve points against his 21, I think the closest to beating him out of everyone. 

There's no doubt in my mind that Grandpa Smith was pulling some heavenly strings to make it a success. We went river-rafting and burned to a crisp but everyone left happy and there was zero drama.

Then off to Premier Lake to be with the Bruce's. It was, again, all the Bruce things that make it uniquely Bruce. Grandpa was there with the boat and worked hard to flip the tube; Mia got a face slap and Emma got the wind knocked out of her so mission accomplished! Games until late, even in the rain under a tarp. Lots of food that makes everyone a little sick. Little cousins running amuck. Our attempted family picture on the dock sunk the poor thing and all the spider-homes were flooded, causing the eight-legged creatures to climb on us! Needless to say there was lots of screaming and will go down in history as the most memorable Bruce family picture to date.

Everyone loves Madison as it's obvious that her and Josh are happy. At one point, I found them taking some down-time in the hammock, so it was nice for each of us to have our own campsites when we needed a break!

Ours happened to have a little stream running past it and after the rain, it looked so magical and sparkly, like my Temu glitter exploded all over IT. Sam, Ben and yourself were unable to make it but we were well represented as Steph and Tyler showed up for a day so everyone could meet Margo and for Bowie to be reintroduced. 

We had to leave a bit early and missed them by a couple of hours, but that unfortunate timing was tempered by the reality that we get to see them for at least TEN glorious days starting later today! It's a shorter visit than usual but we'll take what we can get.

The highlight for me, besides the deep gratitude I have for loving family relationships, was sitting by the burbling stream with my scriptures and journal on my lap. The sun shining through the canopy of trees and playing on the water; the rainbow trout slowly making their way upstream in ones and twos, the sound of laughter across the way (knowing it was Bruce descendents). 

Quiet, uninterrupted spiritual contemplation has GOT to be the best kept secret in this world. For me, connecting with the divine makes life truly magical, Temu glitter notwithstanding. In my personal study, I am in Jacob. As always when I study and ponder, my thoughts wander unbidden in a playland of imagination. I used to think it was absent-mindedness but I'm learning that my "spiritual daydreams" are often just heavenly possibilities that get presented to me when I'm in that state of mind and almost always, I walk away with an idea that I never had before. Here's the evolution --> I was thinking about Jacob 1:7 and writing what it means to me to: 1) Come unto Christ; 2) Partake of the goodness of God, and; 3) Enter into his rest. In my notebook it says, “This is the Foundation of being able to individually fulfill the purpose of our time on earth," and I hasten to add, it will look different for everyone! Each segment got a paragraph of its own as I watched a fish swim upstream against the current. It was certainly NOT going with the flow. Apparently they're on their way to lay some eggs, which is an essential errand for those fish. Later on in the chapter Jacob says, "having first obtained mine errand from the Lord," then he went ahead and swam against the current himself, which I LOVE. We wouldn't have his wise words otherwise. Then I wrote in my journal, "Is it even a prayer if you send a question heavenward without the formal starting and ending?" Of course, this has nothing and everything to do with what I was reading because in my own thoughts I was wondering if I had a specific, important errand myself in my current stage of life. (Side note: I was released from my Relief Society calling and not given another. It's so unbelievably strange to not have a calling. I don't know if that's ever happened to me before.) In any case, my "heavenly daydream" and meandering thoughts randomly got me to wondering how I would sign a painting, if I ever, in fact, painted something worth signing, so I found myself experimenting with different artist signatures. Haha. I leaned into the tangent and here's the progression... (You can tell me if it's inspired or the kooky misfiring of neural pathways.) I discovered a block lettering variation that I was satisfied with as an artist's signature --> then it made me want to paint something worthy of a signature --> then I thought about Siobhan's poetry book and her current lack of painting to go with her poems (I have one in there already that she loved and kept, but that's where it stopped) --> then a rush of ideas of things I COULD paint for her book --> then the desire to get home immediately so I could start painting. Huh. Then 2:17, " ... be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you."  Take money out of the equation and think about how the Saviour shared his substance with everyone, but I'm not Jesus so what substance would I share? Then 3:1-2, " ... Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith ... and he will plead your cause ... O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God and FEAST upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever." Feasting on God's love is an interesting thing to ponder and, I suspect, looks different for everyone, but for me right now, it means sharing the riches of amateur talents that I have with others. That, ultimately, was my end result of my study by the stream. And in order for me to see tangible output of painting, I'll def need heaven's help because I JUST CANNOT sit down with any regularity. It's actually impossible for me in spite of effort. TIme for me to swim upstream, I suppose. 

Anyhoo, it's time for me to go get food before Steph, Tyler, Bowie and MargoMae arrive. Wish me luck as I also need to pick up a computer monitor for Tyler, fill water bottles, pick up drycleaning (Dad's suits were embarrassingly crusty) AND consider bird themed party favours. Bowie and Madison's joint birthday party is on Sunday. We're grateful Madison happily goes along with whatever Bowie's theme-of-the-year is. Always a delight. When she was three, it was a woodland theme (Bambi), when she was five, it was fairy-frog-dragon-unicorn and now at six, birds. (Unless that's changed, which it might have.) You can almost see the maturity in her yearly themes. I need luck because my brain can only hold three errands at a time before I start truly misfiring. Maybe my Temu glitter will add extra fairy dust to the day. 

I love you, baby girl! My life will forever be charm-filled because you are my daughter. (This is also true for each of my six beloveds but today I'm extra happy for you and so glad you got to meet Margo before all the extended family. Those pictures are eye-swimmingly precious.) Please remember that heaven is on your side forever and always and you are deeply loved, imperfectly by me and Dad, but perfectly by God. You are rich in spirit, in attitude, in clarity, in stick-to-itiveness, in style, in beautiful hair, in laughter, in boldness, in communication, in justice as well as mercy, and in love. Sprinkle that over everyone you see, be free with it so they can be rich like you are ... like my Temu glitter. 

Mom