My Fathers Love

I can truly say that I have such wonderful parents. I would definitely attribute the person that I am today to the example that my parents gave me. For this post I would like to focus on what I have learned from my dad.
My dad is the one who taught me how to work hard. He is the one who taught me how to bike, how to fix things, how to kite-board, and the many life skills that I would need for my life.

He sacrificed for me so that I would be able to have all of my needs and most of my wants. He taught me the Gospel. He taught me what it is to be a Priesthood man. He showed by word and deed that you should serve and love everyone. He taught me the importance of serving a mission.

So, what is it that makes fathers be willing to help us? Why do they sacrifice so much for us? If you watch the following I hope it will shed some light on the subject.

I am love my Dad and I am so grateful for him. I also am so grateful for our Heavenly Father and all that he does to sacrifice for us. He truly sees us as His children and  he loves us with a greater love than we will ever know.

The Holy Spirit

"We believe in God the Eternal Father and in his son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost." -Articles of Faith. (In this message I will use the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit interchangeably. Each time I am talking about the same person.) It has seemed for a bit of time that I have been struggling with recognizing promptings from the Spirit. So I was studying all of the different ways to be able to receive answers. So, the first thing that I did was followed the advice of Doctrine and Covenants 4:7 "Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen."  So, I started praying a lot to be able to receive more revelation in my life, but it didn't really seem to change much. So, I once again began to wonder what I was missing.
This takes me to a story I  once heard about an old woman. She had always had a very deep faith in Christ. One day she had run out of money and she knew that the only way that she could get the amount of money she needed is if she won the lottery. So, she began praying with all of her heart that she would win the lottery. When the winner was announced it wasn't her. Then a second time she prayed as she cried simply pleading that she could win the lottery. Once again she didn't win. Finally she prayed and asked why she didn't win. Then came the response, "buy a ticket."
While I don't think it is a good idea to gamble, I do know that the Lord can only help those who have enough faith to act. In my case, I needed to listen. There are so many voices in this world that are shouting. It doesn't take long to see how everything wants your attention. The news talks about wars and rumors of war. Our phones constantly blurt out that we have another message. The music on the radio plays constantly. Our life is always busy. There is always something that we need to be doing. Among all of this the whisper of the Spirit can be very difficult to hear. Yet, when it is heard it can pierce us even to the very soul. (3 Nephi 11:3)
So, what should you do to be able to hear the Spirit more clearly?
Step 1 Remove unnecessary distractions. Take just a minute every morning and every night and find a quite place where you feel peace.
Step 2 Pray. If you feel like you are struggling God wants to hear. Pray and ask him for his help.
Step 3 Listen. The Spirit will speak to you very softly so you must pay attention. Otherwise you might not hear what He has to say.
As you do this I know that you will receive an answer to your question. The answer will come into your heart. A scripture that I really like that explains how you receive an answer is Galatians 5:22  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,gentleness, goodness, faith."
I hope that you will take the time, at least once a morning and once a night, to pray and then to listen for the answer of the Holy Spirit. I know that God answers prayers. I know that the true way to happiness is through listening to the Spirit. The Holy Ghost has been the best companion in my life since I was baptized. He has been there every time I have needed him. I hope that everyone will be able to develop a great relationship with the Holy Ghost.

Changing Seasons

I have always liked the saying, "Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine." This is an exciting time of the year. Slowly but surly the weather is starting to get cooler and the leaves are beginning to change colors. It wont be too long until it is time to break out the jackets and gloves.

Also, this time my life has been a time of change. Elder Adams headed off to Laurinburg and Elder Cronin is now my companion. Another big change is that I only have 7 months left. At times I pause and think about things as they once were. I think of the different places I've gone and the great people that I have met. As I look back I can think of the good times and the hard times. Yet, all throughout my time on my mission and through my whole life one thing has stayed the same. God is here and he always listens.

There are times in life where things just seem to go well. When we are kids it seems that we have no worries and we make decisions based off of what would be fun and discovering the world. As we grow older we seem to notice something more. Slowly but surely the Spirit enters into our lives and directs us to make right choices. With those right choices come opposition. The older we get it seems that our lives start to go through seasons. Some times it is a time of spring and new beginning. Sometimes it is a time of cold ending. The great news though is that there are great things which are to come.
There have been times on my mission that I have wondered what am I doing here. There are times when I wonder if things are ever going to change. Yet, as I've kept working and waited to see God's hand I have seen it. This is truly his work. Miracles still happen. We can make changes in our life. There is a saying, "the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now." There is no time like the present to make a change for the better.