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.

The Blessing of Trials

So, this week has been quite the exciting week. At the beginning of the week we had a car. On Monday we got a call and as it turns out some one else needs our car. So, that meant that it was time to go on the bikes.

So It has been pretty exciting to be able to be biking. Most of the week we would have been biking anyways, so we don't have to much to complain about. Then on Friday, we got more news: one of the spokes on Elder Adams bike is broke and so his bike will not be fixed until Tuesday. You know what that means. It is time to find out if we walk the walk.

So, in all of this I was reading a scripture in the bible. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
"7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Some times in life we are prone to ask, why me? What did I do to deserve this? I was talking to some one this week and they made the comment, "God gives us trials when He thinks we are ready to grow." I have found that the hardest times of my life are also the times when I was becoming my best self. I am slowly learning what Paul means though fortunately not having to go through nearly the amount of trials. It is amazing the great things that God can do with us when we learn to trust in Him. Honestly in the end I just feel blessed that I am able to be the Lord's servant. Sacrifice brings for the blessings of Heaven. What ever trials you go through in life just remember what Joseph Smith was told while in prison for false charges in Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8

" 7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

When you are are on the Lords side you will prevail.

The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ

So, we had district meeting this week and what the focus of it was on was the Book of Mormon. So first let me explain what the Book of Mormon is. The Bible is the story of Christ's dealings with the Israelites in Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon is the Christ's dealings with the people of ancient America (from 600B.C.-400A.D.) I found a really good image that kind of shows what I mean:

So to tell you a  little more about it, it all starts out with a family. They are in Jerusalem. The father Lehi is a prophet and has been warning the people that if they don't repent that they will be destroyed. So the people continue do bad things so Lehi is told by God to leave Jerusalem and go into the desert so that they wont be destroyed. They are promised that if they leave that they can go to a promised land that will be even better for them. So they take a long journey and end up sailing across the ocean to America.
Most of the Book of Mormon is about how prophets are called and they peach about having faith Jesus Christ, repentance, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Throughout the Book of Mormon fathers teach their sons the importance of following God, and they keep a record of the things that are taught on gold plates.

I would say that one of the most powerful parts of the Book of Mormon is when Jesus Christ comes to the Americas after his resurrection. In John 3:5 Christ says, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." And so  Jesus Christ appeared to the people in America so that they could know God's word as well.
Sadly even after the appearance of Jesus Christ the people eventually choose to reject Christ's teachings. And so eventually the last prophet of the Book of Mormon, whose name is Moroni, ends up burying the plates in the ground with the promise that it would some day be revealed to people in our day.

So, in closing, I love the Book of Mormon so much. It has changed my life. There is so much that you can learn from each page. The Book of Mormon has been able to help me whenever I am struggling to still be happy and be able to overcome trials. The message of the Book of Mormon is so powerful. If you haven't ever read it before I would definitely say that it is a must read. If you have already read it I would say read it again. I have learn something new every time I read it. All you have to do is try it out.

New Beginning

1 Nephi 2:15 "And my father dwelt in a tent." Have you ever wondered why Nephi took the time to mention that his father dwelt in a tent? This past week I have been thinking about what it is like to just start over. In the story of Lehi and his family it seems that they were pretty well off. They had their own struggles, but all in all things were looking good for them. Then one day God asked them to do something very big. He asked them to leave everything that they had and go into the wilderness with just their family and what they could carry. I can only imagine how big of a challenge this was for them. And so, here we have this family who once had a lot of riches and now all that they had to their names was their tents and their family.
So, last week I got the opportunity to leave Durham and everything that I was used to and come to Morrisville. Fortunately unlike Lehi and his family we have much more then just a tent. In fact we have a great ward and a lot of potential. The thing that I think that stays the same though is the hope for good things to come. I have said good bye to many friends that I have been able to make, but I know that I will be able to make new ones here.

Ether 12:4 "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." I know that no matter where you are and no matter what has happened that there is still hope. God still loves you and there are great things promised for the future if you just believe in him.