11 days

I feel spiritually low.

I don't understand why people can't respect what I believe when I try my best not to force my religion on them.

I don't see why people have to fight, call each other names, and rag on each other's beliefs. It doesn't do anyone, any good. I don't see why we can't just take each other as people and not force opinions or have to be right.

I think if people want to know, they will seek it out. That's what missionary work is; God preparing those people and the missionaries being there when the person's soul is seeking for the truth.

If the person doesn't want to hear it then they won't hear it.

No matter how many scriptures you throw at them.

No matter how many times you pray for them.

No matter how many times you wish they could see your side clearly.

If they don't want to hear it...they won't.

They will try and find every last lie and try to make it into a right.

Religion is based on faith people, you can't decipher if a religion is true or not by mortal means. You have to search and learn with your heart, you have to learn with your soul.

If God, my Heavenly Father, in heaven doesn't reveal it unto you then you are not prepared for it. You don't want to hear it.

If you want to hear it, you would seek it out.

D:C 4:7 "Ask and ye SHALL receive; knock and it shall be OPENED unto you."

I hate being knocked down because of my beliefs. I live in a free country but it still feels as though religion is still being oppressed. When will we ever get a chance to express ourselves freely without repercussions like other religions. Why do people want to put down my faith so much. It is who I am. I'm not going to argue when you aren't going to listen to me. It doesn't make me high and mighty, it just makes me a peace maker. I don't need to prove anything to you when you don't have an open heart to what I am saying.

I am Brianna Jean Pettit. I was born in Colorado and moved to Utah when I was younger. I have one younger brother. I am a singer, dreamer, lover, and member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know this gospel to be true. I know that Christ died for me. I have a testimony and nothing anyone says can change the way I feel about my faith. I know that I have a father who is in heaven, looking out for me and my family. I know that I am on this earth for a purpose and that purpose continues beyond the grave. I know Joseph Smith was an imperfect man, who had a question, who saw God and the Father, and was DIRECTED by God to bring about the restoration of the gospel. He knew what he saw and he could not deny it, even down to his murder. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet, the only man on this earth to speak with God and receive direction for this whole church that spreads to every corner of the earth. There is light in a sometimes dark and unsure world. That light is Christ and it lies with in each of us. I know all of this to be true and I would die for it. I love this gospel and the person it has helped become, even though I am imperfect and will be always while on this earth. I know that I will be with my family forever, with Christ and with MY Father in heaven.

I am a Latter-day Saint and will always be so.

So have you ever wondered (??) about me? A-Z

Here are a few things you may or may not know about me, but I thought it would be a fun thing to let you know a few things using the alphabet as my guide.

Age: 22

Bed size: Twin

Chore you hate: Doing my hair. Someday's when I know my hair needs to be wash I would rather run 2 miles around up hill both ways than jump in the shower and have to dry my hair.

Dreams: See the northern lights, ride in a hot air balloon, read lots of books

Essential start of your day: Sunshine and bodily food, usually oatmeal

Favorite color: Sea Green

Gold or silver: Silver.

Height: 5'2"

Instruments I play (or have played): Piano, Guitar, Spoons ;)

Job title: Student, Life pursuer, Sister, Daughter

Kids: I have none...hope to someday. But I think my kitty kat counts

Live: Orem, UT

Mom's name: Tamara

Nickname: Bri, Briannajean, Poopana, BJ, Skeezit, Blackjack, Bananabutt

Overnight hospital stays: Hmm not since I was born

Pet peeve: People not trying new things (at least) once, Being late, People whining about things over and over.

Quote from a movie: "Oh, it's not the first time I was tossed out of a window, and it won't be the last. What can I say? I'm a rebel."

Right or left handed: Righty tighty.

Siblings: Oldest of Two. Brother and I.

Time you wake up: Depends on the day. But usually between 7:30-8:00am

Underwear: Yes. There were moments in my life where I have experienced "commando". No go, my friend.

Vegetables you dislike: I like most vegetables, not whole tomatoes though. Yuck.

What makes you run late: Being lazy, reading instead of getting ready, dancing in my room

X-rays you've had done: Teeth, Collar Bone, 4 Fingers, Pinky Toe, Wrist

Yummy food you make: Hamburger Noodle Soup, Turkey/Cream Cheese Sandwich (mmm)

Zoo animal: Siberian Tiger, Penguins

So I know this isn't part of the game initially but i'm going to ask a few friends to do this little adventure. I would like to know more about them even if they didn't about me :)

So I tag: Liesl, Erin, Ashleigh, and Georgina :)

24 days until Nauvoo...

Do I feel:

Spiritually ready? NO

Financially ready? NO

Emotionally ready? NO

..............why am I doing this?

anyone know why?.............

BBC Big Read

I have decided that I want to read all the books on the BBC 100 Best-loved novels. It may take me a few years, but it will be done. I have wanted to read these books for awhile, so now I want to take the plunge, start and one day finish everyone of these books. So here's to 100 books (I'll have a tab at the top to mark my progress, I have however read some of the books already, so i'll mark those off :)) Ok....

THE LIST!!!

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Singing, Choir, Loving people

...are the crutch to days where life is less than awesome. Where life is feeling a bit down, and the smiling faces and singing brings the happiness back in your soul. They have the ability to make it seem like the sun in shining even though there is 3 inches of snow on the ground. I love LDC. I love singing, I love the spirit of the Lord, and the opportunity I have to socialize with these wonderful people in LDC. My goodness, I am blessed.

Come see our show!!! Get tickets HERE, they are FREEEEEEE! :)

22 years

Have I changed in that amount of time? Have I become a better person? Am I striving for greatness. As a result of last night's events, No. I feel old, now don't get on my heels and say, "You're not old, you have so much more to live, grow, explore, and learn."...Ok, Yes I understand this. But if any of you have been through the transition of 21 to 22 there is a colossal difference between turning 21 to 22 then there is from 20 to 21. I don't know what it is but it feels as if I've just passed a bump of my life I never thought I would reach. (Next one should be 30....shudder)

"I don't wanna grow up I'm a toysRus..." old person. That's not how the song goes. I've reached my limit for being able to sing that song and for it to apply to me, at least physically. I can sing that song about my emotional or mental state but frankly it isn't the same.

Last night I was talking to Matt and telling him about my worries of getting older. About moving from daughter to mother one day. (Not in the near future mind you, gotta get a husband first) But it gave me a slight panic attack. I'm not going to be the one that can tell my parents my troubles and expect them to have an answer...I'm going to have to be that person someday. The one with the answers. The one taking care of God's children...if I even deserve them. Frankly, I feel like dirt. I feel impatient and disobedient. If you don't think about it, it will go away. Right? ....Right? Anybody?

I feel even though a full year has passed since I turned 21 that I haven't changed. I have some of the same issues in my life, i'm still a student, i'm still dishonest and disrespectful to people. I'm rude, arrogant, a silly girl. And I feel on a daily basis that I am unworthy to go on this Nauvoo mission or performance or whatever you want to call it. Whether you say it is any of those things or not it is a mission for the Lord...my God. And I feel like I've let him down already. I feel as though these last three months when I should have been preparing more fully have been spent in idling pursuits. Silly isn't it? I guess the root of this whole rant, rave, feel sorry for myself...is Nauvoo. I want to be prepared for it...why in the heck does He want me to go. I feel so inadequate compared to others going. They are MUCH more talented. MUCH more pretty. They have that glow of Christ that I'm sure I lost a long time ago. They are MUCH more spiritually prepared, and worthy. MUCH more musically inclined and MUCH more personable.

We had a little dinner and get together....I hardly talked to anyone because I felt as though I had to fight for attention...I didn't need to do that. I just listened and talked and thought about how fun the summer would be where I couldn't get a word in edge wise and probably not make friends with anyone because i'm one of the only one's who hasn't had a lead part in a show...I've only and will ever only be in the ensemble. Which is fine by me. It's less than a month before we leave and I feel anything but prepared to go...

Here's to another year and making plans, creating goals, losing them along the way and getting even older.

My April Fools Day Experience

THE CONTENDERS!!!!

Preface: Until this point I would leave my keys in my unlocked car in the little pocket in the car door....I will never do such a thing again.

THAT MORNING!

Promptly at 8:00 am in the morning I came across these messages on my car window.

Ominous no?

Let's say I knew who it was from, the person telling me 2 weeks previous that she was planning on pranking me on this fateful day. A day which I hate because I am one thing: Gullible.

Side note: Bro. Eggett sent out a horrible text saying that he was asked to open a new institute down in Arizona and that we would be getting a new choir director before our conference shows (will tell about later) and tour. Let's say none of us in choir were happy when we found it was hoax, some weren't even going to show up to the devotional in which we were singing in. (I did have that thought for a moment, but pushed through it to find him there, laughing, as we all walked in sulking and mad...I wanted to punch the man...but I didn't) But this connects with the prank Ashleigh pulled. While I was at this devotional little missy Ashleigh stole my car and left her's in my place with this message adoring her windows...So she wanted me to sulk into the school and ask nicely for my keys back...dear Ashleigh:I decided to saran wrapped her car...so much with the help of my good friends Shelby and Sarah.We THEN went into the school to give her keys back and she still hadn't seen her car even after she had moved mine a 2nd time because we had taken so long to come to the school she thought we were plotting something...whahahahah!! I played the, "I got pranked and really didn't get you back" face, really really well!!!

Roughly a hour and a half later I received a call from this little prankster telling me that she came out and was informed by the office ladies that she needed to be scared. She didn't know why...until she saw her car.After the fact she called her accomplice of a teacher...and told her she needed help cutting through all the saran wrap. The whole escapade made her late for work...was it worth it? Yes, quite. Revenge is sweet sometimes especially when the person had no idea she was going to get pranked back. Pure brilliance.

So, the prankster pranked but got pranked in the end.The moral of the story: Don't leave your "enemy" the keys to your car.

Other moral of the story: I actually lock my car doors and carry my keys with me so this little adventure won't happen again.