The Plan of Salvation

Dear family and friends,

This has been another hard week.  There are only three weeks of school left in this semester so it's pretty busy!  But that doesn't mean it was all bad.

I was on an intramural basketball team and we had our first championship game.  In the championship games you play until you lose.  Well, we lost our first championship game. In fact, the only game we ever one all season was when the other team forfeited because not one of them came.  Although we never won a game, we won in other ways.  I didn't know most of the team when we started, so I won some friendships.  And all of us won memories.  We worked hard and lots of our games were so close.  We grew as a team, but more than anything we supported each other when we played well and when we played badly.  And we had fun.  So 10 years from now, when I think of my season on an intramural team, I won't remember that we never really won; I will remember how much fun we had!

This weekend was also really fun!  We had the first basketball game of the season!  The atmosphere at basketball games is one of my favorite things about BYU.  There is just a rush of excitement and euphoria!  We also went to the football game.  We bundled up and tried as hard as we could to stay the whole game, but we ended up leaving 10 minutes or so into the third quarter.   It was just soo cold.  I'm cold just thinking about it.

As I mentioned, this week was also hard.  I want to share with you all that even when we have hard times, we can learn from them, and there is still good to be seen.

This week, my bishop from my home ward passed away.  He had been battling cancer for the past two years and he put up a really good fight.  He was such an amazing man and such an influence to the youth, the ward, and so many others.  My dad was in the bishopric with him and I remember hearing so many stories of his charity and his desire to give and help those in need.  My bishop was so loving to all!  Understandably, I've been sad this week.  Death is hard.  But the hardest part for me, is the sympathy I feel for his family.  If his passing was hard for me, I could only imagine how hard it was and still is for his family.  My heart and my prayers go out to them.  I've been praying for them all week.

All of this sounds pretty sad and tragic, so where is the good?  Through this experience I have gained a deeper understanding and testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation.  I was walking home from school, on the phone with my mom, when she told me the news.  I got home, said goodbye to my mom, and ran to my room as the tears started to fall.  I fell to my knees and thought I was going to start questioning why, and (for lack of a better word) start complaining.  But I didn't.  As I cried out to my Father in Heaven, I gave Him thanks.  I thanked Him for His Son Jesus Christ and that He suffered for our sins and for our difficulties.  I thanked God that Jesus Christ knows how we feel and I pleaded that He comfort those struggling with the loss of Bishop, but mostly that He bless Bishop's family with the calming and peaceful power of the Atonement.  I then gave thanks for the Plan of Salvation.  I told My God how grateful I was for His plan and that I had a knowledge of His plan.  I gave thanks that families can be together forever and that we can return to our Heavenly Father.  I cannot properly describe how I felt as I prayed with gratitude for the Atonement, and the Plan of Salvation.  I think it was a feeling of joy more than anything.  But there was definitely some peace and comfort mixed into it.  It was a glorious feeling.  I really felt God telling me that His plan was true.

Con amor,
S. Olsen