Transparency

I believe it is important to be a little more honest and open about myself. It doesn't serve any of us when we are pretentious and hide our true selves. One of the first things that the adversary told Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit is that they should be ashamed and go hide. I have come to know that hiding from others is damaging. It is our honest and open connection that makes us strong and thus it is why families are sealed--to make that connection eternal.

I just heard this thought by Albert Hubbard that has had a big impact on me. "If men could only know each other they would neither idolize or hate." I have found that really knowing someone, and especially knowing their history and heartache, has had that affect on me. It has taught me to be more understanding and less judgmental.

After completing my year of blogging, I originally wanted to continue to blog everyday but do it completely privately in my journal and really open up about myself and my private struggles and weaknesses. (I know what you are thinking, "Isn't that what you've been doing for the last year? And I answer, no, not completely; I have still kept up some pretenses.)

I decided however, that I still wanted to share my journey, and I want to have a little more transparency in an effort that I might give people hope, knowing it is okay to see the honest truth about ourselves. I like Nephi, declare that I am a wretched woman (of course, Nephi said he was a man not a woman) but nevertheless, I do know in whom I must trust. It is only in seeking and embracing the true principles of the gospel and ultimately relying on the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that I can have hope. It is knowing that I have that safety net that allows me to take a hard look and be honest about my weaknesses.