Seven!

Once upon a time I graduated from Institute.  At Purdue I took all of the religion classes that were required to graduate.  It was great!  There was a ceremony and I got my name put up on a plaque that (I hope) still hangs in the Tute.  

I suppose that doesn't mean I couldn't ever go to an Institute class again.  And I think I did go after that, but I don't really remember.  When I left Lafayette, and moved to Texas, I stopped going to any form of Institute classes.  I thought about going last semester and last summer, but I just never made it.  

Then institute class started again yesterday and I decided I should go.  I did and it was great.  There is a couple that teaches it and we are studying the Book of Mormon this year.   

What I didn't know going in was that the Prophet has asked that the institute classes record how often the YSA are reading out of the BOM everyday.  There was a sheet of paper that went around with the roll that had you put your name down and a number in the next column.  That number represented how many times you had read out of the BOM in the last 7 days.  I guess they do this every semester so it doesn't matter what we are studying because we have been told to read the BOM always.  But anyways this number gets recorded and then every month the numbers are sent to Salt Lake.  As the paper was passed from person to person and people recorded their numbers, I secretly wondered if I could just write down a higher number since I didn't know about all of this. 

Yeah? Yeah?

No.

Eventually, as the paper got to me, I decided against writing down an elevated number.  I mean, isn't that sort of like lying to the Prophet himself?  I don't know, but not good either way.  I scribbled down my number with a vow to be able to honestly write a "7" next week.  

They also challenged us to have a least one ernest prayer everyday along with reading a Conference talk everyday.  Brother Benegas promised us that if we read a Conference talk everyday (until the new Conference Ensign came out and then started on that one) it would "change our lives!"  

This is sort of weird but I love when people promise me things like that.  I suppose it is because I tend to believe them and then I usually challenge myself to do it just to see if it really will "change my life," and (speaking in religious terms) it has never failed me.  

I actually have a favorite story where the sister missionaries made me a HUGE promise and it did more than change my life!  But that is a story for another time.  :)

Anyways...Institute equals awesomeness!  And I am excited to go next week.  

Here's to the number 7!!