The Foolish Man Built His House Of Gingerbread

I remember growing up, my grandma would give us a gingerbread house to make around Christmas time. All of us crowded around the long table - some of us sitting ON the table, much to the chagrin of my grandmother, I'm sure - so that we could put this house together!
Just last week I had the chance of a lifetime: to put together another gingerbread house. We all gathered around the end of the kitchen table to create our masterpiece.

I'm sure many are familiar with the story from the Bible of the wise man and the foolish man. The wise man built his home on a rock. The foolish man built his house on the sand. When the storms came and "beat upon the house," the home founded on a rock survived and the house built on the sand crumbled.
It's a pretty basic story. The children in Primary love to sing, "The wise man built his house upon a rock! The wise man built his house upon a rock! The wise man built his house upon a rock and the rain came tumbling down!"

Well, this time, the foolish man's house was made of gingerbread.

There were a couple of problems that were quick in making themselves known to us:
The first was that the frosting wasn't coming out quickly enough to properly cement the pieces of gingerbread together.
Second, the frosting, once we had it coming out of the bag in a thicker line, wasn't sticky enough to hold the massive pieces of gingerbread together. Irk.

We stuck all of the pieces together and they held...for about 2 minutes. In order to remedy the situation, Sister Harris held all of the pieces together while they were being decorated. Her patience was quite remarkable considering the number of people who were trying to work on the gingerbread house around her arms.

When everyone had decorated to their heart's content, Sister Harris slowly let go of the corners of the house.
Ever so slowly,

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What are we made of? And what is our FOUNDATION made of? If it's gingerbread, we're not going to last very long. (I can say that from personal experience.)
If, however, we are built on the foundation of our Savior, Jesus Christ, no storm, no matter how large, will ever be able to tear us down.
 "...however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines." ("The Laborers in the Vineyard," General Conference April 2012)

No matter where we are now, we can choose to build our foundation on the perfect rock of Jesus Christ. All it takes is daily study of the scriptures, daily prayer, going to church, and seeking to access the power of the Atonement through worthily partaking of the sacrament each week.

See? It's simple! Let's not be built on (or of) gingerbread.

Turtles in the Road

A couple of days ago we were driving to the library. Nothing unusual about that. I noticed something in the middle of the lane next to me and dismissed it from my mind because that's also nothing unusual. As we got closer, however, I realized that it was a MOVING something!

"A turtle!"

"What??"

"A turtle! Oh no! Poor turtle! It's in the road!"
In the midst of traffic we couldn't stop to save him. I don't know what happened to him but I hope and pray that someone else had convenient compassion on him.
As we passed the poor little turtle in the road, my companion said, "Sometimes we're like little turtles in the road: surrounded by all these cars whizzing by, scared, don't know what's going on. Ah!"

A realization sparked in my mind: we ARE like little turtles in the road! We have no idea what we're doing, We often are scared to act because we see all of the evil and darkness in the world. Most things that we come up against are much much bigger than we are. We can't win on our own. We need someone or something else to save us from being run over. (Literally and figuratively.)
We need Someone to have "convenient compassion" on us.
Unfortunately, compassion and true empathy are rarely, if ever, convenient. In fact, 99.9% of the time, compassion and empathy will be extremely INconvenient.
Christ showed compassion on the man with palsy whose friends brought him before Christ by making a hole in the roof and putting their friend's bed through said hole. He also showed compassion on Jairus and his daughter.
In Mark 5, we read that, "...there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw [Christ], he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come, and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live."
Immediately Christ had compassion on Jairus' suffering and grief and followed him. While on the way to the home of Jairus, a woman who had suffered an issue of blood for 12 years knew that if she could but touch Christ's clothes, she would be made whole. As Christ passed her, she reached out "and touched his garment...and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague." Christ immediately stopped and asked who touched him.
Now, we have to remember that Christ was already on his way to help another friend and brother in need. Yet he stopped, anyway.
He looked around and waited for the woman to come forth. He knew who had touched his clothing. He stopped in order for this woman to come forth that everyone might see the miracle which had just occurred.
She came forward and told Christ and the multitude what had happened to her and Christ's words to her are some of my favorite in the entire New Testament: "Daughter, they faith hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole of thy plague."

While He was speaking, a man came from the home of Jairus and told them that his daughter was dead. "Don't bother Christ anymore" was, in essence, what they tell Jairus.
Can you imagine the pain and grief that must have overcome Jairus? Knowing that he has come to the Lord in desperation and that He is now, apparently, unable to do anything.
Again Christ calmed wounded hearts and souls, this time with the simple words, "Be not afraid, only believe." He raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead.
In a short span of time, simply because he was willing to stop traffic and help two little "turtles in the road," lives were changed. In fact, lives were GIVEN because Christ was willing to stop and help.

So, compassion may not be convenient. In fact, sometimes it may seem to be a great inconvenience to be compassionate - to stop and help a friend who is struggling and needs someone to talk to, to share your testimony of the reality of God's love with someone who feels alone, to bring someone cookies when they are recovering from surgery. These things are so small yet they're so important!!
How many times has Christ played a part in your own healing process? He has had compassion on you.
So help a little turtle out.

Who is Joseph Smith?

Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont in December of 1805 to a family who loved God and was deeply rooted in a belief in the Savior, Jesus Christ. His parents taught their children to love God and to love the scriptures.
When he was 14 years old, there was great religious excitement in his hometown. His family soon began to attend the Presbyterian faith and four of them joined the church. Joseph, however, became confused by the many differing and contending doctrines that were taught in the different denominations.
He noted, "...so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right..."
He continued, "While I was laboring under [these] extreme difficulties, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
This passage of scripture struck him with great force and as he pondered on it he came to the conclusion that this would provide the solution to his dilemma.

He simply needed to ask God.

One spring morning in 1820, Joseph went to a grove of trees near his home. He knelt and began to offer a heartfelt prayer, seeking answers in the midst of so much confusion and uncertainty.
"Immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me...the power of some actual being from the unseen world..."

Continuing to cry out in his heart to God, for he was unable to speak, Joseph said, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. They spoke to him and taught him. His question of 'which church should I join?' was answered with, "They [are] all wrong." He was told that he would be called to restore the fullness of Christ's church to the earth, just as it was organized while Christ, Himself was on the earth. He would be given power and authority to do so. In a later vision, Joseph was told that his name "should be had for good and evil among all nations..." and that he would be instrumental in bringing forth a book of scripture that should stand as a second testimony to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
He was given the answer that he had been searching for. He was given a miraculous vision, a prophetic calling. He knew that Christ lived "for [he] saw Him, even on the right hand of God."

Few of us will see God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ while we live here on earth. However, we can come to know for ourselves that They live, that they are in fact two distinct and separate Beings, and that our prayers are heard and answered. We can come to know that God loves us and that He truly is the Father of our spirits. We can come to know that Jesus is the Christ. All it takes is some honest and sincere study of the scriptures, prayer, and intent to act on the answer that you receive.


Before my eighth birthday, I began reading the Book of Mormon from the very beginning because my dad had suggested it.
Before I began reading I knelt down like I had been taught and offered what was probably a very simply prayer. I remember asking to know if The Book of Mormon was true. I got up, pulled out my scriptures and began reading from the title page. I read the Introduction and the Testimonies of the 3 and 8 Witnesses. Then I reached The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
As I read about his experiences and read his own words, I felt something that I had never felt before. It was as if a little flame was burning behind my sternum. I felt warm and happy.
After pondering for a couple of moments on what this could be, I ran upstairs and described to my mother what I was feeling.
"That's the Spirit."
The role of the Spirit is to testify of truth.
I knew she was right. I was feeling the Spirit. I couldn't deny it.

Do We Really Want to Know?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and everyone can have the opportunity to learn and grow and change because of the sacrifice that Christ made for us.
That is reality that I have come to know and understand for myself. Everyone can come to know these things for themselves! All they have to do is read, pray, and ponder. Something that can take 5 minutes every day.

Now, let's crunch some numbers here:
In one week, all we would need (at the bare minimum) is 35 minutes.
In one month, a little bit more than that: 140-175 minutes or 2.3-2.9 hours.
In one year - 52 weeks: 1820 minutes or 30.3 hours.
Out of 8736 hours, over 4368 of which are waking hours, we can't give 1/288th of our time to find out if God is real? If The Book of Mormon is true? If God really does speak to men today?

Now, if God is there then this is the most important thing that we could ever find out. No other endeavor is more essential for our well-being than that of coming to personally know our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

"[I am] inviting you to hear the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ so you can study, ponder, pray, and come to know for yourself if the things we are sharing with you are true.
Some of you may respond, “But I already believe in Jesus and follow His teachings,” or “I am not sure if God really exists.” [My] invitations to you are not an attempt to diminish your religious tradition or life experience. Bring all that you know is true, good, and praiseworthy—and test [the] message. Just as Jesus beckoned two of His disciples to “come and see” (John 1:39), so [I] urge you to come and see if the restored gospel of Jesus Christ enlarges and enriches that which you already believe to be true...
"Absolute truth exists in a world that increasingly disdains and dismisses absolutes. In a future day, “every knee [shall] bow” and “every tongue [shall] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11). Jesus the Christ absolutely is the Only Begotten Son of the Eternal Father. As members of His Church, we witness He lives and His Church has been restored in its fulness in these latter days." ("Come and See," Elder David A. Bednar, October 2014 General Conference)

I know that Christ lives. He will come again and I am determined to be one who can look on Him and say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..." (2 Timothy 4:7) Then He will look on me and say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:23)
Those things which we will have been called to be faithful over may be small and simple but if we are faithful, the blessings and rewards will be beyond mortal comprehension.
Let us come and see! Let us work so that we may know for ourselves the peace that is to be gained by a consistent study and pondering of the scriptures.
Do we really want to know?

To Hear the Words of God

Once again we were asked to update our iPads. (They keep asking me to do things that I have to ask for help on. I guess that's how we grow.) As I was updating my iPad, it said, "Preparing update...This release contains improvements and bug fixes. Learn more."
This struck me! I am so excited!

The October General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is coming up on the 4th and 5th - Saturday and Sunday!
General Conference  - the time of year when the modern-day prophet and the apostles speak to us and teach us the things that God needs us to know and then apply into our lives.
General Conference! That glorious time of the year when we get a spiritual FEAST for two whole days!

What a wonderful blessing and opportunity this is! We get to hear those whom the Lord has called and chosen to lead and guide us. They speak to us on a multiplicity of topics, including marriage and family, education, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the importance of spiritual and physical self-reliance, being prepared, loving and serving our fellow man and many others.
Someone once said, "Live your life in six-month increments." Well, luckily, General Conference is every six months! ;) We are to focus on the things that the prophet and the leaders of the Church tell us for six months. Then when we have General Conference again we are to add to our knowledge those new things that they teach us and apply them into our daily lives. The more we apply, the more knowledge and understanding and capacity to learn and grow the Lord will give to us.

Someone in my ward recently said, "Only in the Church is 10 hours of meetings considered a break."
That is so true, my friends.
"10 hours of meetings? You all must be crazy!" is probably what many people think when they hear of General Conference.
It's true that it's 10 hours. However, I know from personal experience that those 10 hours of meetings are the spiritual renewal I need to continue on for the next 6 months. The Lord truly is speaking to us through the words of the living prophet who is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and also through the Apostles, General Authorities, and General Auxiliaries that speak to us.

General Conference is the update! We need to prepare to receive it. Come with questions and concerns. Pray and ponder and fast so that you can receive the answers that the Lord has prepared to give to you. Prepare to receive revelation! "Preparing update!"
This General Conference will teach us how to improve and bring our lives more fully into alignment with God and His will for each of us. Our leaders are guided by the Holy Spirit to tell us how we can fix the spiritual problems and 'gremlins' in our lives and be more happy and more focused on God and others. "This release contains improvements and bug fixes!"
SO, watch General Conference! Look it up! "Learn more!"
Follow this link for the opportunity of a lifetime: to hear the words of a living prophet of God; to hear the words of God.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/?lang=eng

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten"

We had transfers not too long ago. I was nervous as I usually am on transfer day and even that night I was still getting used to the many changes that had suddenly occurred. I was praying and felt very down and lost. I simply asked for peace and for the Spirit to be with me. Immediately, the words of a song that I had sung just that afternoon at transfer meeting came into my head: "He is hope when a journey begins. He is strength in the wind. He is faith when my courage wears thin. He is rest when I'm wearied and worn. He's the place where I'm loved and I'm known. When I come unto Christ, I feel like I'm coming home." As these words whispered through my mind, calm gently fell over me and I felt at peace, just as I had asked.
One of the elders who was going home said, "Coming unto Christ IS like coming home. It's wonderful but it's really hard; it hurts. This whole week I've just had to keep thinking, 'Let it burn.'"

A favorite quote of mine (let's be honest: I have TONS of favorite quotes) says,"If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill."
Amen to that!
The times when I think and feel like I'm trying my hardest and the times when I feel like I should be the happiest because I'm being obedient are often the times that are the most trying and frustrating!
What happens?
Well, this is what happens: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten..." (Revelations 3:19)
Also: "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth...Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." (Hebrews 12:6,11) Isn't that a glorious promise??

'Chasten' as defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary is to, "have a restraining or moderating effect on..." So the Lord, when He chastens us and calls us to repentance, is simply "reining us in," so to speak. He is catching the "natural man" in us by the collar and inviting him to leave. (Mosiah 3:19) We can either focus on the pain that this causes or we can focus on the fact that our Heavenly Father loves us and is only doing this because He knows that what He has in store for us is better than what we have going on right now. ("The Will of God," https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-014-the-will-of-god?lang=eng)

As we accept the changes that our Father in Heaven is seeking to help us make, we will be happier. It's hard! It hurts! But you know what? "...afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness..." I don't know about you but I know that I want that result: "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" - all of the blessings that our Father in Heaven can and will give to those of His children who are obedient to the commandments and who "...seek...first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness..." (Matthew 6:33)

What'll it take to get us to that point?
Sanctification. Consecration. Holiness. A desire to turn to and rely on the Lord in all things.
In Doctrine and Covenants 101:5 it says, "For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified."

We cannot be sanctified, or made holy, without chastening. We cannot become consecrated missionaries, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or disciples of Jesus Christ without chastening, rebukes, true and sincere repentance, and changing our behavior, indeed, our very nature in order to bring our will and our being in line and in accordance with that of our Heavenly Father's. ("Becoming a Consecrated Missionary," Tad R. Callister, 2008)
There is always a higher purpose behind the things that the Lord does and behind the things which He allows us to go through. In the case of our chastening, the Lord is seeking to break us down that He may then build us up even higher and stronger and with a deeper and more abiding testimony and conviction of the love of our Father in Heaven and the Savior, for us.
As we become sanctified, made holy, consecrated and dedicated to the Lord and His work of salvation, we will find that we truly are coming home.

Faith and Grace

My dad coaches football and occasionally, when I was younger and my mom was busy running errands, my dad would take us to practice and we would sit on the sidelines while the boys were working out. I remember looking at these high school boys and think, "Oh my word, they are HUGE!" (I was pretty small and always looking up to these high school students.) Watching them work out though, it was very apparent that every single one of them, no matter how naturally athletic they were or how quickly they built muscle, had a large amount of work that was required for them to 1) reach the standard for whatever position they were playing and 2) to maintain their weight, strength, flexibility, stamina, and speed.
With the football players, the help and belief and desire that they had was good. But it was not until they applied themselves and pushed their desire to become action - involving weight-lifting, running, stretching, two- and three-a-days and listening to the coaches - that they were able to become what they wanted to become (amazing football players!) or overcome anything they were struggling with.

These young men had faith, in a sense. They believed that they could be good football players and they wanted to become great football players. They 'received grace', after a fashion: they were coached continuously along the way, they had the support of their family and friends and coaches, they were always receiving help. If that was all they had (grace and faith), that would never be enough to push them to become the football players that they needed to become.
Likewise, with only faith and grace, without any works, we would not become the people that our loving Heavenly Father has prepared us to be.

God gives more knowledge and understanding to those who seek it diligently and with real intent, which is the desire and willingness to act upon the answers which we receive from the Lord, and with faith in Christ, "[manifesting] by their works" that they will continually act upon the promptings of the Spirit that they receive. (Doctrine and Covenants 20:37)

Faith is a belief in Jesus Christ that leads us to act. Actions that come from true belief in our Savior and His ability to save will be in accordance with God's commandments.
Faith requires action. James said, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?"

The answer is no.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
So, we are saved "by grace...through faith," not by faith.

What is 'grace' then?
"The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ."
The definition continues: "This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts...It is truly the grace of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible." (Bible Dictionary, 'Grace' emphasis added)
We are saved by the grace of God through our faith in Christ. If someone says that they are saved by grace, they are correct after a fashion. If someone says that they are saved because of their faith they too, are correct in some ways.

Yet, without works, "faith...is dead, being alone" and Christ's grace cannot be accessed for it takes work to reach or obtain anything. The Lord has said, "...when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21) As with everything else that God gives to us, continual desire and effort (obedience) are required.

Works, faith and grace must all go together.
Without true faith, we will never have a desire or motivation to act.
Without grace, which both enables us and also allows us to be cleansed from sin, we will have no chance of returning to live with our Heavenly Father for "no unclean thing can dwell...in His presence." (Moses 6:57)
Without works - obedience to the commandments, following the counsel of the prophet, and seeking to know the will of the Lord through prayer - our faith is not justified  ("declared or made righteous in the sight of God" - New Oxford American Dictionary) - and we cannot access the power of the Atonement, given so graciously by our Heavenly Father through our Savior Jesus Christ. So, without works, our faith is for naught.
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how...by works was faith made perfect?...Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (James 2:17, 21, 22, 24)

When we allow our faith - our belief in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ - to lead us to action, we will come to know for ourselves that the Lord loves us personally, individually, and perfectly. We will come to know that it is by the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ that we can obtain eternal life and that as we work and act in order to seek His will and to become all that He wants us to become, we will someday hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:23)

Let Go and Let God

We were driving down the street yesterday and we saw a license plate that said, "LGO&LG."
My companion said something about what the license plate might stand for and I thought she said, "Let Go and Let God."
Good thought, huh?
Let go and let God.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, in a talk entitled "As Many As I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten" given in April 2011 said, "God uses another form of chastening or correction to guide us to a future we do not or cannot now envision but which He knows is the better way for us."
Sometimes we feel that things are out of our control. We feel lost and confused as we go through trials and tribulations - fires - that the Lord allows to continue even though our pleas may be otherwise. Yet we may come to know through these trials that the Lord is aware of us and our prayers. He does love us and that is the very reason He is allowing us to struggle and to learn to rely even more fully on Him.
'Francis Webster, a member of the Martin Company, stated, “Everyone of us came through [our trials] with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.”'
("A Priceless Heritage", http://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/07/a-priceless-heritage?lang=eng)

There was one night in particular when I felt completely and utterly lost and alone. I felt unneeded, unnecessary and like a complete failure. I was depressed, afraid, and wanted little more than to be encircled in the arms of my mom and dad. How many of us haven't felt that before?
I remember, very vividly, standing in front of the bathroom mirror while I was brushing my teeth, trying not to cry. I was praying fervently and earnestly for peace. That was all I wanted: peace. I had been praying all day long in my mind and heart and especially throughout that evening.
As I prayed, suddenly a line from a song swooped into my mind. The only piece of the song that I could remember was, "When through the deep waters I call thee to go..." I could hum the tune and sing the words but as soon as I got to the end of that line my mind went absolutely blank. It was like a black sheet had been dropped over the rest of the song. I couldn't remember anything about it except that it was a hymn.
That irked me like nobody's business but I was going to be late for bed if I stayed up to try and find it. So, singing that one line repeatedly and somewhat resigned to the fact that I was just going to have to wait to solve this mystery, I knelt down next to my bed and began to pray.
I had scarcely begun to pray when the Spirit came into my mind and the whispering thought that I had previously had, (to go and find the song who's line was running through my head), turned into a shout.
"Ok! Oh my word! Sorry!" I grumbled a bit about how I was going to be late to bed but I obeyed.
I booked it into the front room and stole my companion's hymn book which was sitting on her desk. I didn't really know what I was looking for but as I flipped open the hymn book, it opened to #85 "How Firm A Foundation." Immediately, the first line of the fourth verse caught my eye: "When through the deep waters I call thee to go..."

But it continued:

4. When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

5. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

I sat there on the cold hardwood floor and sobbed. The Lord had called me to go through these things but I would not be overwhelmed, He would be with me, my trials would be sanctified to me, and one of the reasons that I was being allowed to go through this was so that I would become sanctified and refined.

The scripture that I memorized yesterday is in the Book of Revelation 3:18,19.
"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire..."

The best gold, the gold (the people) that the Lord will use to build His kingdom has been and will be refined.

The verse continues, "...that thou mayst be rich; and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed...and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent."

The Lord will guide and strengthen us throughout our time on this earth. We need to let go of our fears, our pride, our desire to always be right, and allow Him to take our trials and tribulations and sanctify them to us.
As we continue through this mortal, probationary state, let us always remember that "[He] will be with [us, our] troubles to bless" for His grace is sufficient to all those who will humble themselves before Him.

My 'Heart'

Elder David A. Bednar gave a beautiful definition of the word 'heart' in the scriptures: "Our heart is the sum total of our desires, motives, intentions, affections and attitudes."

So, when our hearts are pure that means that not only are we thinking pure thoughts and saying pure things but we have pure, clean, righteous desires. Our intentions and motives are pure and without guile or deceit. Our affections are continually on the Lord and His plans and purposes. Last but most certainly not least, our attitudes are pure.

What does it mean to have a pure attitude?
Personally, I think a pure attitude is summed up in pretty clear terms by one of my all-time favorite quotes. (I have said this many, many, many times).

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." -Gilbert K. Chesterton

How are we considering the things around us? How are we reacting to the unexpected catastrophes that always seem to happen and the everyday mistakes that everyone makes - including ourselves?
Are we grumpy and frustrated? Pessimistic or easily irritable? Irked and ready to give up?
OR, are we optimistic? Cheerful? Happy and energetic? Eager to overcome challenges? Ready to face whatever the day may bring because we know that our hearts are in the right place and we are on the Lord's side? (If so, we know that, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31)

I will go so far as to say that if we have a bad attitude about something, our hearts are not in the right place nor are our hearts on and with the Lord in all things.
(Believe me, this is calling me to repentance!)

As I have studied this definition of the word 'heart', I have learned invaluable lessons, especially through the scriptures. If we "liken all scriptures unto [ourselves]" as Nephi suggested in Nephi 19:23, these are some of the glorious insights we get into the word 'heart' as given by Elder Bednar:

"Blessed are the pure in heart (desire, motive, intention, affection and attitude): for they shall see God."
Matthew 5:8

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart (desires, motives, intentions, affections, and attitudes) be also."
Matthew 6:21

"...this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts (desires, motives, intentions, affections and attitudes) far from me..."
2 Nephi 27:25

"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart (desires, motives, intentions, affections and attitudes), might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."
D&C 4:2
See that you serve Him with all your desires, all your motives, all your intentions, all your affections, all your attitudes. Make sure that you serve Him in ALL that you do. No matter what, no matter when or where, serve The Lord our God.

One of my personal favorites is Jacob 3:1-2.
"But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart (desire, motive, intention, affection and attitude). Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.
O all ye that are pure in heart (desire, motive, intention, affection and attitude), lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever."
Jacob 3:1-2

The scriptures are amazing! Goodness! I just love them so much!

How grateful I am for the blessing of having the restored Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth today. This is Christ's only true church upon the face of the earth and the people that He has called to lead His church are inspired. They are to lead us through these difficult and challenging times. However, it is completely up to us to take their advice and counsel.
Let us remember this simple definition of a simple word given by a servant of the Lord. As we do so, our hearts (!) will be softened, our wills become more aligned with God's, and our families more united in the common cause of coming unto Christ.

The Called to The Qualified

"To walk with God, no strength is lost. Walk on.
To talk with God, no breath is lost. Talk on.
To wait on God, no time is lost. Wait on."
-James Hudson Taylor

"God does not begin by asking us about our ABILITY
but only about our AVAILABILITY and if we then prove our DEPENDABILITY He will increase our CAPABILITY." - Elder Neal A. Maxwell

God always qualifies those whom He calls. We have each been given abilities and talents and gifts that our Heavenly Father has given to us simply because He loves us. As we use those gifts and talents and abilities in the ways that He intends for them to be used, He will increase the ways in which we can use them and He will give us more and more capacity to accomplish all that we desire to do and all that He has in store for us.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6)

Eyes to See

I like my eyes. They're pretty important to me. They're brown; nothing crazy. Yet it is because of my eyes that I can read my favorite stories. I can read music. I love colors and patterns. I enjoy watching the leaves dance on a peaceful autumn day.
Someday I hope to be able to see Christ and witness His glory and light.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind..." (Luke 4:18)

Ears. They look sort of funny. However, they allow me to hear a cello - one of my favorite instruments. I love to listen to my siblings giggle over some newfound joke or silly movie. I enjoy listening to the sound of the crickets chirping away outside my window. Thunderstorms are another favorite sound.
Someday I hope to hear Christ's voice say to me, "...Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."

"...I would that ye should remember to retain [Christ's] name written always in your hearts...that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you." (Mosiah 5:12)

My hands are essential to playing the piano. It is one of my favorite pastimes and always brings me joy, peace, and happiness. I can feel the piano keys because of my hands. I can play with my sisters' hair because I have fingers.
Someday I'll be able to feel my Savior's hands and feet and side and witness that He is the Redeemer of the world.

"And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come." (3 Nephi 11:15)

All three senses - sight, sound, and touch - were used when the people came to know for themselves who Christ was. They heard His voice speak to them and call them by name. They heard Him pray for them. "...and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father." (3 Nephi 17:17) They felt the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side. They saw His face, the light and glory that surrounded Him and they "[bore] record, that it was he..."

God has made it possible for us to know that He truly did send His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to suffer and die for us. How miraculous and wonderful is that?? He has made this possible by allowing us to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. In Galatians 5:22, 23 we are told what we will feel when the Holy Ghost is with us and when it is testifying of truth: "...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance..." Everyone of those feelings is from God for "...that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually..." (Moroni 7:13)
When we feel the Holy Spirit, we can know that what we are hearing is true. When we know that what we are hearing or seeing or feeling is true then we had better be quick to act on that prompting!
In Doctrine and Covenants 8:2, the Lord told Oliver Cowdery, "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." We may not be able to see Christ but we can certainly know logically and intellectually and spiritually that He is our Savior. We will feel it in our heart. We will know that it is true in our mind. Once we know that, our task is to endure to the end. The prophet Nephi says, "Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20)  And John 17:3 states, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Someday, we will stand before God and Christ. We will know Them and recognize Them. That is inevitable. It will happen as surely as I type this. We can stand before Christ and then fall at His feet just as Thomas did, joyfully exclaiming, "My Lord and my God!" That will only happen, however, if we are doing all we can in this life to prepare to meet God, to know the Father and the Son, to see the light of Christ enter into our life and change it for the good. True joy will only be felt as we seek to know God and Christ mentally, intellectually, and spiritually.
Someday we will see our Savior, we will hear His voice calling us by name, and we will have the opportunity to feel the prints of the nails in His hands and in His feet. Until then, may we continually have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart open to the feelings and promptings of the Holy Ghost. Let us seek to continually feel the Spirit in our lives that we may hear the Spirit bearing record that He is Christ, the Son of God and thus know that someday, we will see Him.

Light Entered In

Throughout our lives - and especially on our missions - we learn to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes that voice is a ray of sunshine that illuminates the path we are to take. Occasionally it will be persistent but most of the time it is a quiet whispering, a peaceful and gentle feeling, an impression on our mind and in our heart.

Just the other day, my companion and I were crossing a little street in Virginia. I was pondering and praying about where the Lord needed us to go for the last half hour of our evening. We had planned on visiting a couple of people but somehow that didn't feel right. The name of a woman in our ward came into my mind. I brushed it away because we had visited her home the night before and a couple of nights before that. Both times, no one had answered the door.
Her name continued to float its way into my mind. Finally I voiced my thoughts to my companion and after some discussion we decided that this was, indeed, the word of the Lord coming to me. We drove for several minutes and finally stopped in front of her home.

I prayed desperately that something would happen so that this wouldn't end up being a complete waste of our time and so that I would know if this had been an actual prompting of the Spirit.

We knocked and the door opened! The Lord had heard my prayer. He had also shown me that miracles would happen IF I was willing to act on any and all promptings that I might receive no matter how crazy or outlandish they seemed to be.

In General Conference, October 2007, Elder Richard G. Scott said, "The best way of finding truth is simply to go to the origin of all truth and ask or respond to inspiration." ("Truth: The Foundation of Correct Decisions")

Simply put: get on your knees and pray and then get onto your feet and act.

Faith is a principle of action and power. On page 641 of the Bible Dictionary, it states, "Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action..." That means that, like James said, "...faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (James 2:17) If we are not acting on the belief that we have, we will begin to lose it.

I prayed for help to exercise faith. I was scared and didn't know if I was doing the right thing when we knocked on that sister's door. Yet as we act, just like the sun after a storm, light enters in and helps us to recognize that the Lord will never lead us astray. In fact, His Spirit will only direct
us in paths of truth and righteousness as we act on the faith that we already have.

My Personal Discipleship - Never Look Back

"...our personal descipleship will not be judged by friends or foes. Rather...at that day the important question for each of us will be, 'What thinks Christ of me?'" (Elder Neil L. Andersen, "What Thinks Christ of Me?" Ensign, May 2012)

CALLED TO SERVE
Over a year ago I received a large white envelope in the mail. The return address was Salt Lake City. When I opened it I read the words, "“Dear Sister Herring: You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Washington DC South Mission.”
I had never been back East. I didn't know what to expect except the heat and humidity. Yet the moment I read those words, "Washington DC South Mission," I knew that was where the Lord needed me to be. There were people whom I would have the privilege of teaching and serving and helping. There would be plenty of lessons for me to learn. There were going to be so many opportunities for me to strengthen my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to become more fully converted and help others do the same. This was going to be the time of my life!

I went to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Utah and from there to Northern Virginia. I met my companion and we drove for about an hour to get to my first area.
Within the span of the first 24 hours, I was already wondering if I was going to make it to 18 months. I was scared to talk to anyone, I didn't know what to say or what scriptures to share and I was afraid that everyone hated me. I felt ridiculous at times.
As I kept meeting people and learning more about the teachings of Jesus Christ, my confidence grew and I continued to become more and more happy as I saw others come closer to Christ as they felt the Holy Spirit.

THE FIRST GREAT ADVENTURE
Six weeks after coming to Virginia, my companion and I were in the middle of our nightly prayers. The phone began its shrill ringing that always made me want to throw it when it woke me up in the morning. I was the closest to the phone and so I flopped onto the floor next to where it was charging. "Hello, this is Sister Herring and Sister Bell!"
"Sister Herring! Are you ready to train [a new missionary]?"
My companion leaped over to where I was lying on the floor and I numbly handed it to her. I put my head in my arms and cried.
That week I went to our meeting where we get new companions and are transferred to different areas around the mission. I waited anxiously, praying that the Lord would help me because I had no idea what I was doing.
When I saw my mission president driving up with the new missionaries my panic began to increase. President walked up my trainer and I and said, "Sister Herring, how are you feeling?" I couldn't say anything. I was close to tears. I finally choked out the word "Terrified." President looked at me and said, "Sister Herring, when you walk in those doors you can't show your fear. Those new missionaries are going to look at you as an example and you can't show that you are afraid. Walk in, put on a smile. The Lord will help you."

So I did.
I've never regretted it.

Proportional Elephants

My companion and I were trying to draw an elephant on a sticky note. We had a couple of images of elephants that we were trying to use as something to go off of but it wasn't working very well. I'm no artist. We were struggling to get the proportions right so that it would actually look like a presentable little elephant.

Finally my companion threw in the towel and said, "You do it." Aaah! So I thought for a couple of minutes about elephants. I looked at the three images that we had and went back to the drawing board. There was nothing wrong with the elephant that we had but I wanted this little drawing to look more like an actual elephant instead of a caricature. Some things needed to be changed.
I took the penciled image that we already had and began drawing a new elephant on top of it. Suddenly I had an epiphany! Inspiration! The drawing came together and looked like a beautiful little elephant!

Now, I don't know how to draw elephants. What helped this little elephant to change was the fact that I was suddenly asking , "How can I make this elephant look correct?" instead of saying, "This elephant looks awful!" Instead of saying, "I know something needs to be changed," I asked, "What looks weird about the elephant and what would make it look normal and more proportional?"

Oftentimes, we recognize that something about our life needs to change. We need to be more patient, more loving, more gentle, more Christlike in general, yet we are not quite sure how to go about it. We want to make our lives more in accordance with the standards the Lord has set. Yet we are making statements. We say, "I need to be more -," rather than asking the Lord how we can fix the problems and situations that we are facing. We try all the normal things: pray for patience, ask for suggestions from family members and friends, read and study the scriptures. There are things that are often overlooked and questions that are often not asked, however, that can help us to become the person that God needs us to be.
God needs us to be specific in our prayers and our desires. If we desire and even expect direct and specific answers, we must be willing to ask specific questions.
When I told my mom over and over again that I was bored during a car ride, she didn't have many answers or solutions to give me. However, when I changed my statement to the question, "What can I do until we get there?" she was much more inclined to give me varied and specific answers. Questions lead to answers.

Our Heavenly Father is much the same way.

When we seek His guidance and direction, we need to ask Him specific questions and He will then give us specific answers and help. As we seek His help in overcoming weaknesses and fears, we can ask what He needs us to do in order to strengthen our weaknesses. We can ask Him to do things to help us. We can ask Him to help us feel peace and comfort in order to know something is true or in order to know that He loves us. When we ask Him clear and direct questions, He can then bless us with answers and guidance and personal revelation and inspiration through the Holy Spirit.
Ask Him for help. He loves each of us more than anyone else loves us and because of that, He is willing to do more than anyone else to help us.

"Frogger"

My companion plays a game called "Frogger". Whenever we walk across a bridge that spans a highway, she stops immediately at the edge of the road below (usually making me run into her because I'm not paying attention). The point of the game is to make it across the bridge without being "hit" by the cars that are speeding along below. As soon as she spies a gap in the cars she darts across the bridge, only stopping if she is about to be "run over." When the way is again clear, she's off! Points are gained only by getting all the way across the bridge without being "hit" by a car.
The first time I saw her play this game, a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. The first was, "What in the world is she doing?" As I thought about it, a scripture in Mosiah 3 came to mind. Verse 19 says, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, for ever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Throughout our lives we are asked to run, figuratively speaking. Sometimes we are asked to run across a bridge. There are many things we have to avoid; we have many obstacles that stand in the way of our ultimate goal of returning to live in God's presence eternally. Our sins and mistakes and the "natural man" as the prophet Benjamin says, are some of these obstacles.
God wants us to return to His presence, however. He wants us to find peace in this life through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have eternal joy in the next life. The Articles of Faith 1:3 says, "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."
An ordinance is a sacred act like baptism that outwardly shows our inner commitment to our Heavenly Father and to obeying the commandments He has given to us.
As we are obedient to the commandments and as we seek the help and guidance of our loving Heavenly Father in crossing "the bridge of life" we will be more happy and more at peace than if we were trying to do everything on our own.
In The Book of Mormon in Mosiah 2, a king named Benjamin teaches the people about keeping the commandments. He says, "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold our faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."
If we will seek to avoid the sins and temptations of the world, (the cars speeding below the bridge), and if we will hold fast to the truth and commandments that God has seen fit to give to us, if we "become...as a child," we will be brought to heaven. We will come to understand the love that our Heavenly Father has for us and we will gain greater and greater desire to know Him more fully and to understand the sacrifice of His Son. We will find more peace and happiness by obedience to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, than in any other way.

Swedish Fish and Self-Mastery

I ate some Swedish fish.
In fact, I ate a lot of them. They're just SO GOOD!
Unfortunately, that means that the entire bag that I purchased on Monday was gone on Thursday.
Self-mastery, anyone??

Self-mastery is a term I have heard a lot lately. As I began to study self-mastery and self-control, I came across synonymous terms like temperance, moderation, modesty. Then as I studied those, I came across more terms: abstain, cease, refrain, chastity, bridle, the Word of Wisdom, sanctity, virtue.
Everything simply kept coming back to the fact that, without self-mastery we cannot have the Spirit to be with us. However, as we keep our lives within the standards set by the Lord we are promised that the Spirit will be with us continually.
That is an amazing promise!
I know that I want to be eligible to receive all of the blessings that my loving Heavenly Father has in store for me.
Step 1: don't buy any more Swedish fish.

How can you have more self-mastery?

Eternal Truths, Unchanging Words

An eternal truth is something that is true at all times, no matter what. God is eternal. He is unchanging and we can trust that everything that He speaks is truth. God has spoken to His children throughout the scriptures and, because He is unchanging and eternal, He continues to speak to His children even in this day and age.
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is convincing evidence that God continues to speak to His children today because He loves us just as He loved those in the past centuries. 2 Corinthians 13:1 says, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." The Book of Mormon is the second witness that is promised to God's children - a second witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of Christ's divinity as the Son of God. This book of scripture teaches Christ's doctrine and gospel as taught to the people in Jerusalem. The difference is that it is a different people: those in the Americas starting in 600 BC (the time of the prophet Jeremiah in the Bible). God loves all of His children. He is no respecter of persons and He "[remembers] one nation like unto another." (2 Nephi 29:8)
The coming forth of the Book of Mormon to us today was prophesied in both the Book of Mormon and in the Bible.
The Book of Mormon says, "And because my words shall hiss forth - many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.

...
Know ye not that there are more nations than one...and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?...
Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today and forever
(2 Nephi 29:3, 7-9)
Isaiah prophesied, "Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder....And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek shall also increase their joy in the Lord...They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine." (Isaiah 29: 14, 18, 19, 24)
The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is the "marvelous work and wonder" that Isaiah prophesied about.
An older woman invited the missionaries in to visit with her. They talked with her, gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon to read and left. After a couple of weeks, Elder Carpenter was strongly impressed that they should go back and knock on her door again to follow-up with her. She again invited them in and, when they asked her if she had read the Book of Mormon she indicated that she had. She had finished it. Soon thereafter she was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After her baptism the elders continued to visit her. One day they asked her to read something that she had received in the mail. This elderly woman said she would like one of the elders to read it to her. He declined and said, "This is for you. You need to read it."
"Elder, you don't understand, do you?"
Surprised, Elder Carpenter asked what he hadn't understood.
"I can't see to read. I haven't read the words of a book for over fifteen years."
He stopped her and reminded her that she had read the Book of Mormon. Her response stopped him.
"I knew it was true because I could see to read. God granted me that sight so that I could read the book but when it was finished, He took that ability away from me again. Elder, will you please read to me?"
"...the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." (Isaiah 29:18)
"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity...[and] will also come to know by the [power of the Holy Ghost] that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah." (Introduction to the Book of Mormon)

For the World

A few days ago we got a flash flood warning through a text. It was pretty obvious that the rain was torrential but we were unsure of just how torrential it was until we got the text. We had been watching it rain for a number of hours as we studied and ate wondering if it was going to let up or if it was going to be a soggy-shoe-day. (It was a soggy-shoe-day if you were wondering.)
I was thinking about it and trying to find some way that I could relate that situation to the Gospel. I thought for quite awhile and then the idea flitted through my head: prophets.
How in the world do prophets relate to flash flood warnings?
Just like the flash flood warning that we received told us what would happen in the future and how to prepare for it, prophets are men called of God to teach us about the past, the present, and the future. They help us to see what things we need to do in order to be ready for the threats and dangers of the world both physically and spiritually.
We, as children of God are entitled to receive personal revelation. We can see the world and many of the troubles in the world. We can see ways to keep ourselves out of trouble. We can see some simple ways to stay out of the rain. God, through personal revelation, helps us to see other more effective ways to keep ourselves safe from the floods of the world.
Prophets, are entitled and authorized to receive revelation for the whole world. They can see not only the immediate "weather patterns" that each of us have in view but they can also see the future problems and dilemmas that we may face. Prophets help us to see more fully the threats and worries of our day. They teach us exactly what we need to do in order to be safe and to keep our families safe.

In Proverbs 29:18 it says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." The footnote on the word 'vision' says, "Revelation; Vision." Where there is no revelation the people perish spiritually. When there is not a prophet to guide the people in the way of the Lord, the people leave the truth and seek after their own ways.
Throughout the Bible we see that when the prophet is cast out or is killed the people begin to fall even further into sin and spiritual disarray. Prophets are a protection that God has given to us. They help us to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him..." (Moroni 10:32)
Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, until He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets." Prophets are God's way of speaking to the world as a whole. Having a prophet on the earth in no way undermines the wonderous blessing of being able to receive words from God for ourselves and for our families and those under our stewardships or responsibility. In fact, it strengthens the revelation that we receive from God for ourselves. When the prophet teaches something we are expected to go to the Lord and ask Him if these things are true. "And if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (Moroni 10:4,5)

God expects us to use the knowledge that we currently have in order to help our families. He also expects us to use the tools that He has given us, like prophets, in order to know the things that we need to do in order to return to His presence.
God has always spoken through prophets to His people for,"[He] is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (2 Nephi 29:9) The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "Seeing that the Lord has never given the world to understand by anything heretofore revealed that He had ceased forever to speak to His creatures when sought unto in a proper manner, why should it be thought a thing incredible that He should be pleased to speak again in these last days for their salvation?" (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Chapter 10: Prayer and Personal Revelation)
God loves us. He wants the very best for us and by giving us prophets, God shows evidence of that love. He shows love for us individually by giving us personal revelation. He shows His love to the world by giving us prophets and granting them revelation for the world.

A Little Drawing Lesson

"He looks like a roly-poly!"

My companion and I were trying to draw an elephant on a sticky note. We had a couple of images of elephants that we were trying to use as something to go off of but it wasn't working very well. I'm no artist. We were struggling to get the proportions right so that it would actually look like a presentable little elephant.
Finally my companion threw in the towel, per se, and said, "You do it." Ah! So I thought for a couple of minutes about elephants. I looked at the three images that we had and went back to the drawing board. There was nothing wrong with the elephant that we had, but I wanted this drawing to look more like an actual elephant instead of a caricature. Some things needed to be changed. I took the penciled image that we already had and began drawing a new elephant on top of it. Suddenly I had an epiphany! The drawing came together and looked like a beautiful little elephant!
I realized that once there was an image or a vision of the elephant I wanted drawn in my head, my hands could put it on paper. I simply had to have the correct vision.

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." If we don't have at least an idea of what we want to accomplish, we aren't going to get very far. Let's say that a king decides that his kingdom needs going to go to war against another nation. He needs a vision or a cause in order to rally the people together to fight. Then he needs a plan: what is he going to do to accomplish the vision of winning this war? He is then accountable to the people in the kingdom, the people he is counseling with, and God for what he does, how hard and effectively he works, and what is accomplished. Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential." Vision is important!

With my little elephant, I knew what I wanted done. I had a vision: there was going to be a cute little elephant on this little piece of paper. What did I need to do in order to accomplish the vision? I needed to practice. (There were a number of little pieces of paper on the table and in the garbage by the time I was finished.) I was accountable to my companion (who also wanted this elephant drawn)as to whether or not I finished the drawing of the elephant.
It may seem very silly and small but if I hadn't cared and if I hadn't had the desire to see this little elephant drawn, I would never have accomplished it. I was a little shocked when I finished! It actually looked like an elephant and I was able to show myself that I can draw hard things! Without a vision, "the people perish." However, Elder Ballard continued and said, "When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." With a vision, "...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37:6)

It's As Simple As That!

I was talking to another missionary a few days ago and they asked me if I felt that I was using my talents to share the Gospel and to invite others to come unto Christ. I thought for a moment and then answered, 'no.' I haven't felt that the talents that I know God has blessed me with have been utilized to their full potential as I am serving a mission.
Missionaries and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the week before Easter, were asked to share posts on Facebook using #BecauseofHim.
I decided that I was going to use my talents and have fun with the things that I posted. So, a friend and I decided to sing a song and post it with the theme of #BecauseofHim. The first song that I posted is called "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee." We had fun putting it together and recording it! It was simple, it was easy and it was a way to share our testimonies of Christ and His sacrifice for each of us.
Throughout the rest of the week I would find hymns and songs from the Children's Songbook and record them to post on Facebook, all the while using #BecauseofHim and writing a brief testimony of what the words of the song meant to me.
As I posted each song, I felt a greater desire to continue to share the Gospel using the talents the Lord has given me. Missionary work is as simple as that!
When we share the Gospel, God gives us a greater portion of His Spirit to be with us and our desire to invite others to come unto Christ is strengthened, we are personally uplifted and we can be sure that the hearts and lives of those around us will be touched.

"Thy sins are forgiven thee" #BecauseofHim

Every day we have the choice to look backward at the past or to look forward to the future. At times the past seems too dark for the future to ever become bright.
President Spencer W. Kimball said, "Sometimes...when a repentant one looks back and sees the ugliness, the loathsomeness of the transgression, he is almost overwhelmed and wonders, 'Can the Lord ever forgive me? Can I ever forgive myself?'"
I'm sure that there are many who have felt that it just isn't worth it to try to keep pushing forward.
President Kimball continues:
"...when one reaches the depths of despondency and feels the hopelessness of his position, and when he cries out to God for mercy in helplessness but in faith, there comes a still, small, but penetrating voice whispering to his soul, 'Thy sins are forgiven thee.'"

Because of Christ we can be forgiven of those sins that weigh us down and that try and test our ability to endure.
Because of Christ we can know of a surety that God's love for us is unconditional, that His Son's Atoning sacrifice is for everyone, and that we can change.
What change will you make today because of Him?

#BecauseofHim

This morning, in the middle of something important, I suddenly had a flashback to a youth conference that I went to a number of years ago at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. There were a couple hundred people at the conference and we were all gathered in a big circle, watching the competitions and games that were happening.
One of the games that they played was tug of war. They played multiple times, each time with a different group of teenagers and leaders. Finally, they said that the final round of tug of war would be my father against anyone else.
My dad went up to the rope, picked it up, wrapped it around himself to give him better leverage, and waited for people to pick up the other end of the rope. There was much laughter as a couple of young men tried their hardest to pull my dad off of his feet with no luck. In fact, my dad simply yanked on the rope and pulled the young men across the mid-line. A couple more people joined the first two with no success.
The leaders called up a few more teenagers in addition to the ones already there. Even with the added strength, my dad just dug in his heels and held on, pulling the group across the line and to their knees.

Finally they called in the troops!

A number of teenagers volunteered to put their strength and their heart into pulling my father across the little line scratched into the dry ground. A leader came up to me and said, "Go help them!" I felt rather awkward in light of the fact that I was inwardly cheering for my dad! Reluctantly I took the gloves handed to me and walked to the back of the rope. Grabbing ahold of the rope, this now much larger group of teenagers pulled and tugged and finally succeeded in pulling my father to the ground and across the line.
Thinking about that experience this morning made me smile and then laugh. We had to try so hard to pull one man across a thin line in the desert ground!

Then I pondered on some of the things I am asked to do as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:
How can I put the kind of passion into talking to everyone that my friends were putting into pulling my father across a line?
How can I, as a representative of Jesus Christ, serve Him with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength?
I then pondered on Christ's sacrifice for each and every one of us and all that we can do and become because of that selfless act. I know that as we work to come unto Christ and to invite others to come unto Christ, we will succeed to overcoming our challenges and trials. Even though our trials may seem insurmountable, and even when we may try again and again with little to no obvious success, eventually, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." (Preach My Gospel) Through Him, we can overcome all things. #BecauseofHim

Little Lights, Important Warnings

We were on the way to a baptism that was 30 minutes away. We jumped into the car and the moment that the car turned on, a little light began flashing on the dashboard.
"Oh, no..."
"What?"
"I think we have a flat tire."
We reluctantly got back out of the car into the pouring rain. Looking at the tire there was no doubt in our minds that the tire needed to be changed before we could safely go anywhere. My companion looked at the job at hand and said, "Ok. Do you have a jack?"
The woman we were with looked at her. "What? Do you know how to change a tire?"
I answered for my companion: "She's done it many times. No worries."
 My companion proceeded to find all of the equipment that was in the recesses of the trunk and take off and replace the tire. Meanwhile, it began raining even harder than before.
Finally the tire was replaced and we were on our way, slowly, to the baptism. The next day, the car was taken to the shop and the tire fully replaced. All was well.

There have been times in my life when a little light has gone off. That little flashing light, be it a sore throat, guilt for something said, or tears, are warnings that something isn't right. President Boyd K. Packer said, "All of us sometime, and some of us much of the time, suffer remorse of conscience from things we did wrong or things left undone. That feeling of guilt is to the spirit what pain is to the physical body.

But guilt can be harder to bear than physical pain. Physical pain is nature’s warning system that signals something needs to be changed or cleansed or treated, perhaps even removed by surgery. Guilt, the pain of our conscience, cannot be healed the same way." (The Touch of the Master's Hand, April 2001)

God has given us "flashing lights" so that we can turn to Him to be healed, both physically and spiritually. If we follow the instructions implicitly given with the warning - to turn to Someone who can help us - then we can begin the process of fixing the problem immediately. However, if we do not take the time to fix the problem and to seek help from those who can help us, then we will run into trouble further down the line.

If my companion and I had ignored that flashing light and had tried to drive to the baptism without checking and eventually changing the tire, we would not have made it very far. The same principle applies to sin and to the guilt that comes as we sin. If we ignore that guilt and do not seek to repent, change and return to God, that guilt will continue to grow until it is an undeniable weight. When we stop and check and change a tire before we get onto the highway, it takes time but it is a simple fix. When we wait until we are on the edge of a highway to change a tire, it becomes a little bit more difficult. When we hold onto sin it becomes harder, as time passes, to let it go. However, if we are willing to be humble and seek the Lord's help and the healing and cleansing power of Christ's Atoning sacrifice, the weight of sin and guilt can be lifted and we can receive the comfort and strength that we need and have our burdens removed from our hearts.

May we ever seek immediate repentance and cleansing through the Savior's sacrifice. If we turn to God in prayer and humble ourselves before Him, "...then is [Christ's] grace sufficient for [us]...and...then will [He] make weak things become strong." (Ether 12:27)

Physical Road Signs, Spiritual Blessings

Why do we have road signs?
They're just big, metal signs on poles.
Why do we have road signs? Especially in parking lots. I always thought they were pretty useless. Until my sister started driving.
She had mocked me plenty when I started driving so I decided to 'pay her back.' She was going to drive our 15-passenger van and so I hopped into the back with my homework, ready to have a grand time.
We got to a parking lot and my sister practiced driving and stopping and following the lane lines and the street signs. I thought I would have a lot of laughs. That, unfortunately, was not the case. In fact, I think I shrieked a couple of times.
The road signs were difficult for my sister to follow because she was trying to focus on so many things at once. She began to feel overwhelmed and didn't know which part of driving was most important for her to put more of her attention into. (I'm sure that my stifled screams didn't help the situation.)

I have noticed that when I have too many things on my plate, I tend to begin to feel overwhelmed and then I lose perception of which things are most important. Just like road signs that are tucked away on the side of the road,  I forget that the little things, like reading my scriptures and going to bed on time, are the most important things that I could be doing.
Yet those road signs keep us in the correct lanes, keep us going the correct direction, help to know which road leads where. Without these little signs, many of us would be very, very lost.
Likewise, the "little" commandments - scripture study, continual prayer, fasting, going to church, etc - can be overlooked. However, lots of trouble comes from overlooking these simple steps. It was difficult for my sister to focus on the road signs but when she finally did, driving came much more easily and was much more safe.
In Doctrine and Covenants 29:34, the Lord says, "...all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal..."
All things are for our spiritual, as well as temporal, well-being. The road signs of life are to bless us and bring us in closer harmony with God's will for us as His children. He will never give us a law that serves no purpose.
Let's follow the little road signs of life and God has promised that, "when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21)

Born to Win

It is possible that there will be times throughout our lives when we will feel inadequate, useless, unworthy, and/or like a failure. These thoughts are common. Yet they are not from God.
We are taught, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (Articles of Faith 1:13) In this case, "we THINK after these things."
God did not place us here on this earth to feel that we are inadequate, unworthy or unloved. His purpose in placing us here on the earth was to "prove [us] now herewith, to see if [we] will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command [us]." (Abraham 3:25) In fact, His work and His glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses1:39)
God wants us to succeed. He wants us to accomplish our purpose here, which is to prepare to meet God. (Alma 34:32)
God has promised that He would prepare a way for us to do all things that are required of us. He has also said that the way that we will be able to accomplish all these things is through the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (1 Nephi 3:7)
God has created us to do, to accomplish, to fight, to win. We are here on the earth for a purpose that is specific to each of us and God will help us to fulfill that purpose as we trust in Him.
In other words, we were born to win.