Who's your daddy?

One of my favorite books series that I read before the mission was Percy Jackson Olympians series.

It starts out with a boy that has a normal boring life. Then one day he ends up finding out that he is the son of a god. That is when his whole life changes. In five books you get to read as he goes on adventure after adventure and tries to use his godlike powers for good.

Now you might be asking yourself, "Elder Lewis that is all well and good but why are you taking the time to write about this book?" Well, that is because we are all children of God. We all have a divine heritage. God is not the father of our bodies, but he is the father of our spirit. Each one of us have spiritual gifts and talents. We can choose how to use these talents. In Romans 8:16-17 it says: 

"16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

So, it is up to us to see how we will choose to live our life. Just remember we are all God's children no matter what our choice is.

Why did he have to die?

So, today I want to talk about something that has been pressing on my mind for the past month. It is not an easy subject to talk about and yet it is something that effects each and every one of us. That is on the topic of death and what happens to us after we die.
So, to start understanding the purpose of death we must first understand the purpose for life. Before we were born we lived with God as Spirits. God is the father of our Spirits. He wants us to be happy and to have all that He has. So, He prepared a plan so that we would be able come to Earth, receive a body, learn and grow, and eventually return and live with Heavenly Father again. This was only going to be able to happen through Jesus Christ coming to earth and preforming the Atonement where he suffered and died for our sins.
So, because of all of that we are here. Each one of us is born and we each get the opportunity to live for a period of time and make choices. This brings me to the subject of why I chose to write about this subject. On October 7th Gene Watson, my grandfather on my mom's side died. Two weeks later Gordon Olsen, my other living grandfather died. I love them both so much. I am sad to see them leave this life.

The great news is that THIS IS NOT THE END. Like Jesus Christ, each one of us will one day be resurrected. Our Spirit's and our bodies will be brought back together and this time they will never again be separated. This news brings great happiness to my life. Even better is that the Gospel gives us something more. In the temple we perform sealings, where we make it so that our family will be united as a family forever. I know that I will be with my grandpas again. Death is part of the plan, but so is life, so are families, so is hope, joy love, and happiness. Some might ask, why did they have to die? I honestly don't know why God called them home when he did, but what I do know is that I will see them again.

Temples!

Today I want to talk about how much I love the temple. So I'll start off by talking about what the temple is and then go into why I love it so much.

So, What is the temple? The temple is literally, as it has been throughout history, the "house of the Lord" (see 1 Kings 6:1, 37). The primary purpose of the temple is to provide a dedicated place where sacred ordinances needed for eternal life can be performed. (For more information go to https://www.lds.org/church/temples/why-we-build-temples?lang=eng) One of my favorite things about the temple is that you are able to do work for your ancestors. This is something that dates back to the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 15:29 it says,

"29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"

So, next comes the story of how I came to love the temple. When I was a kid I didn't really take the opportunity to go very often. So, one day I decided that I needed to take the opportunity to go to the temple more often. So, I went with my mom. When I got there who would I see but one of my friends. So, I asked him if he came very often. He replied every week. So, we started to go to the temple each week. After a while we decided that why should we stop with just the two of us. So, we started inviting friends. Soon, I had a lot of friends that joined me in coming to the temple frequently. In the temple there is a feeling of peace that just can't be felt anywhere else. It has become my shelter. Whenever I am in need of peace I have always been able to find it at the temple. I have also been able to do a lot of work for my deceased family members. This work has truly brought me closer to my family and closer to God.

Now, I am serving a mission. I am not currently able to go to the temple every week, but instead I get to help others with their working towards the temple. I left my family for a short period of time so that other families can be together forever. Just the other day as we were out talking with people someone asked how long we work for. We responded that we go until about 9 at night. They replied, "wow that stinks." I would reply it would if it wasn't true, but it is and that is why we try to tell everyone about it. As a missionary, my love of the temple has grown even more. I hope that everyone might one day be able to go to the temple and feel the wonderful peace that is in the temple. It is something that has changed my life and I know that it will change the life of anyone who goes consistently.

General Conference

This General Conference, even though it was a bit ago, was a very exciting one for me. It marks my year and a half mark. So, I got to think all about the events that have happened over the mission. A year ago, I was in Fayetteville with Elder Blackwell. At that point I was practically just starting the mission. I was still learning what I should teach. I just found out that I was going to be senior companion for the first time. I was so excited and when I watched General Conference it helped me to see what I needed to do to be better prepared.

Fast forward to six months ago. At this point I was in Durham with Elder Larkin. At this point I was a district leader. A lot had happened. I was starting to figure out the right way to teach and trying to discover the missionary that I wanted to be. General Conference was great. It was all about how we need to believe and follow Jesus Christ.

This Conference here I am in Morrisville with Elder Cronin. So much has happened. I have seen a lot of change. 9 Companions and 4 areas is a lot. I learned so much each companion and each area. Throughout this time I have changed a lot. Now, the question is what has been the cause of that change? There are two main ways that we can be changed; some changes happen just because we are shaped by our circumstances and experiences. Others happen because we decide to make that change. In General Conference I learned that we will never reach our full potential if we are only changed by how the world shapes us. If we want to reach our full potential then we must seek it out with the help of God.

It is only now that I feel like I am scratching the surface of understanding what Jesus Christ did for us. One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 7:11-13.

"11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me."

Jesus Christ suffered for each of us. He understands every pain we have. He understands every sickness. When we pray to him and say that we are struggling he can honestly say that he knows what you are going through. You don't have to go through your trials and struggles alone. He will help you. All that he asks is that you have faith in him, repent, be baptized by proper authority, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. Everything that we are asked to do help us in the end. God loves us. I know that as we choose to change our lives that we can reach our full potential.

Let's Not Forget Mom

My Mother is so amazing. I love her so much. Who is the one that you turn to when you forget something? Who is the one that make you dinner?  Who is the one that you turn to when every thing seems to go wrong? I am so grateful that my mother has always been there for me. She has taught me how to cook, how to budget my money, to show respect for women, and much much more.

Mom's are always so willing to sacrifice. They go out of their way to help you. Mom's teach you the Gospel both in word and in deed. “The most important of the Lord’s work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes.” -Preach My Gospel
Mom's are a blessing from God. Boys become men because of their mothers.  One great example of this is the sons of Helaman. In Alma 56:47-48 it explains;
"47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."
These boys were willing to die to defend there mothers. Are we willing to live a way that shows how our appreciation for the hard work of our mothers?
This is a great video about how much Mothers sacrifice for us.

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.