General Conference!!!

Twice a year the general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, the prophet and apostles, speak to the whole world. It is broadcasted on tv, and also at every LDS church on Saturday Spril 2 from 11-1, and 3-5, and Sunday April 3 at the same times. We invite everyone to watch! A prophet of God is taking the pulpit and speaking to everyone, just like the prophets of old. Follow this link to learn more about General Conference!

Faith in God

"Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him." 1 Nephi 7:12 reminds us why we need faith. Without faith then God will not be able to help us. As we promise to obey Him and His commandments, He promises blessings to us, but without faith in Him then we will not recieve those blessings. Matt. 13:58 explains why Christ didn't do some miricles, because those people didn't have faith in Him, or Heveanly Father. Moroni 7:40 says "...how is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope." If we do not have faith in Christ and His plan, how can we hope for a better life both here on earth and the life hereafter. In The Infinite Power of Hope, a talk by President Uchdorf, he speaks of a story about his mother and the hope and faith that she exhorted in finding her lost children. I promise toeveryone that if we can all just trust the Lord and follow Him in Faith, that we will have a better life. How can you show your faith took our Heveanly Father each day?  

Important or Not?

"I am not sure, is it worth it?" How many times does this familiar phrase go through our heads? How many times do we answer wrong? I know in my life that there have been many times that I have been faced with a difficult problem, and I don't always choose the right path. There have been many times where I have put many material things in front of what is really important. Family is one of the most important things in this life, and too many times have I not put them before my hobbies or activities. I would invite everyone to watch this short video, and then ask yourself these questions, "Do I need this? Is it above the worth of my loved ones? Is it really worth it in the end?"

Armor of Snowboarding

For each different outdoor activities, there are different things that we need to have so we can achieve the most fun and be the safest that we can. Snowboarding is one of my passions in life. Each article of clothing that I put on when I go to the mountain is significant in their own way, and they all act together for a larger purpose, for protection.
The first thing we need is a nice warm coat. Coats come in many different styles, colors, and fabrics. We need to make sure that the coat we pick is suitable for the task of snowboarding. An ideal coat should be water proof, not too bulky, but very warm and breathable. A good coat is what will keep you warm and dry, likewise with a pair of snow pants. They should be warm, light, and water resistant. With all of these components in these two articles of clothing, you will have a great chance of staying warm.
Next we need are other little things that if left unattended or ignored, will lead to a miserable time on the mountain. Gloves, socks, and maybe a face warmer. Gloves are something that everyone needs. Everyone falls. Everyone needs hands to carry out the tasks during the day. Keeping your hands warm and safe is very important while snowboarding. I can promise you that if your hands are cold, you will have a miserable time. The same things that you look for in a coat, or pants, is the same for gloves. Socks of course keep your feet warm and comfortable. Snowboarding you are on your feet all day, with bad socks your feet will get cold and blistered. Socks are so important and many people overlook that fact.
The next and one of the most crucial components of snowboarding is a helmet. The helmet protects your head. The most important body part. Without proper head gear, we can get seriously injured. We use our head, or mind to think, to make choices each and everyday. When choosing a path to go down on the mountain, we need to be able to pick out the best route to go down for our needs. Whether we want jumps or just a nice easy trail, we need to be able to choose accordingly. Without a proper helmet, we might lose that ability to be able to interpret situations and choose to the best of our ability, due to an injury.
All these basics are needed for a safe and enjoyable time on the ski hill. If we listen to experts, and heed their advice and warnings, then we can have fun and be safe. Many are wondering how this relates to the gospel, here is how. The world we live in today is full of temptations, and people trying to misguide us. We need to be centered in the gospel for our protection. Coats resemble families. If we have a good family we can stay strong in saying no to drugs, drinking, and other inappropriate behaviors. Snow pants are just as important as the coat, so are friends just as important as the family. If we have good friends, if we are around other people who have the same morals as we do then we will want to follow them and they likewise will want to follow us.
Gloves and socks are our teachers and bishops and even prophets of the church., anyone we look up to. With them helping us led a good life, as long as we follow their example then we can not be led astray. Prophets have given us their teachings so that we can follow what our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to do, these writings are The Book of Mormon and the Bible. With those things at our hands and leading the way on our feet, we can lead a very happy, and joyful life.
The helmet is the most important part, and likewise with Christ. He has given us a perfect example to follow. As long as we have him always on our minds, then even if we crash or stumble in life he will protect us and help us not receive any serious injury. With his atonement he suffered for us. He paid the price of our sins. A helmet will protect us. It will get broken and damaged but all the while being there to protect us. As long as we follow what Christ has put forth for us, we will be able to be safe, but if we are breaking the rules then our armor or protective gear wont be able to help us. We have to stay within the bounds, within the limits that Christ has set. In this video, even though it is skiing, it teaches us the importance of why we need to stay in bounds and abide by the laws that our church follows. This amazing article entitled Helping Teens Stay Strong by Brent L. Top and Bruce A. Chadwick, explains to us why we should all live the gospel standards, and in doing so how we can set an example for others.
I know that as we follow the laws that Christ has put forth for us, then we can live without regrets, that we can be happy and safe. Let Christ into our lives and see how He can protect us, and see what blessings come from following his commandments.

Faith In All Things

Faith is the first and a very important step in the gospel. Faith in our Heavenly Father and his Son is the first step in his plan for us. Jesus Christ set forth the gospel here on earth for us to follow, and that first crucial step is faith. A scripture that I love is 1 Nephi 3:7. Nephi is commanded by the Lord to go and get the brass plates. He has so much faith in the Lord that no matter what he is commanded to do he will go and do it without question. I know that as we have faith, we can do anything. In the talk by Elder Rafael E. Pino of the seventy, titled Faith In Adversity he speaks about faith, trials, and how faith in the Lord and his teachings can do for us in our lives.
Through faith, Christ can do amazing things for us in our lives. Through faith we can repent through Christ's atoning sacrifice, and we can receive help in our most difficult times. Only through faith are any of these things possible. The first question that Christ asked his followers if they needed anything done for them is, "Do you have faith?" or, "Do you believe that I can do this?" The first step to anything is faith. Through faith anything is possible and I know that as we put our faith into action that we can be led by the hand of our loving Heavenly Father and his Son to do great works, because faith alone will not qualify us for the highest degree of heaven, but  by exercising our faith. There is a saying I once heard. I am not sure if it is a scripture, or just a saying so if you know please let me know so I can quote it properly but it reads, "Faith without works is dead, and works without faith is fruitless."
Let our faith shine through with how we act and what we say. Matthew says it best in the new testament in Matt. 23:15. I council to everyone reading this that faith is so important and without it we are lost. Have faith, show that faith in your works and deeds, and you will have the strength to get through those everyday trials that we all are faced with.

Joseph Smith

“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3). Joseph Smith was such a remarkable man. Everything he did from the time he was 14 years of age was devoted to our Lord and his son Jesus Christ. The Life and Minisrty of Joseph Smith is an account of President Smith's life. I encourage yall to read it, or just parts that you are courious about, and leave me feedback. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

"Of Things That Matter Most"

Today, I was wondering what to write my post on, so I started reading a talk by President Uchtdorf, entitled "Of Things That Matter Most". He talks on slowing down, learning to know ourselves, and really focusing on what is important in our lives. Read this talk and try and put what President Uchtdorf asks us to do into our lives and see how happy it can make us.

Choice and Accountablilty

Every morning we have two hours of study, one hour of personal and one hour of companion. As I was taking that hour to study I fell asleep, but it was not in vain. I had a dream about choice. I was at a car lot. There was a really nice red sports car. It was cheap, really good looking, and fast, but there was a catch. A hidden price that I had to unwillingly pay if I bought this car, there was a ninety percent chance that i would get pulled over and get a ticket every time I drove it. On the other hand, there was a different car. A normal four door sedan, nice paint nothing broken on it, but a little more expensive. The best part was is that there was a zero percent chance of me getting pulled over and getting a ticket. So which one do we choose?
As I woke I pondered on my dream. I had woken up just in time so I had to decide which car I wanted while I was awake. "Which one?", I thought to myself. As I started weighing my options I took into account everything that I had witnessed about each car. The sports car was beautiful, fast, and cheap, just what a teenager is looking for. The other was a nice reliable, four door, normal looking car that was a little expensive. I was in a rut. At first my thoughts were, "Well duh I will take the sports car!" As I thought about my decision I was taken back to the idea of getting pulled over. Ninety percent chance. The other car, even though more expensive now, will be cheaper in the long run because I have a zero percent chance of getting pulled over and getting a ticket.
I pondered what this all meant for some time. I came to the conclusion that the sports car was temptation, it symbolized the wrong path, while the four door sedan symbolized the right path, the gate and way to happiness. Sins may look tempting now. They may be fine in society today, but they are not what we should be doing, because we will pay the consequences later.
Choosing the right path, the right friends, and the decision to live your life worthily starts right now. If we drive that sedan, if we can follow Christ, we will have freedom and happiness. He has already paid for our "tickets", or our wrong doings. All we have to do is follow what He has set for us.

"Stay on the High Road" is a talk in which President Gordon B. Hinckley explains why and how choice is so important.

"In my quiet moments, I think of the future with all of its wonderful possibilities and with all of its terrible temptations. I wonder what will happen to you in the next 10 years. Where will you be? What will you be doing? That will depend on the choices you make, some of which may seem unimportant at the time but which will have tremendous consequences.

"Someone has said, 'It may make a difference to all eternity whether we do right or wrong today' (James Freeman Clarke, in Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book [1923], 95).

"You have the potential to become anything to which you set your mind. You have a mind and a body and a spirit. With these three working together, you can walk the high road that leads to achievement and happiness. But this will require effort and sacrifice and faith."

I invite you all to choose the sedan today. Choose whom ye will serve. In 3 Nephi 13:24 it says, "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." (see also Matthew 6:24) Choose right now the path that you want to follow, pick the sedan and see how much further you can get with out getting a ticket.

The Atonement

The Atonement is such an amazing thing. Without the atonement then we would never be able to live with our Father in heaven. None of us are perfect, but with the atonement we can all be made perfect. Matthew 5:48 says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." The only way that we are able to accomplish this is through the loving atonement that Jesus Christ suffered for us. In the video Finding Faith In Christ, Thomas, one of Christ's apostles, says this, "Greater love hath no man then this, to lay up his life for his friends." Jesus Christ suffered for us, he gave his life so we all could be made perfect and live with him and our Heavenly Father once again. If we are lost, if we are confused, if we are scared or sad, turn to Christ. He is the way. He is the path in which we need to follow here on earth so we can have eternal life and live with Christ and Heavenly Father again. 

Companionship Study

Everymorning we have personal study time and companionship study time. This mornings companioship study was different then usual. We had three other elders stay with us last night, and since we all had to shower and get ready this morning three elders went to another apartment to shower and study over there. Left in my apatment was me and two other elders that were not my original companions, but of course we still did companionship study. Two of us read Helaman 5. An amazing chapter that speaks about dedication, sacrifice, and faith. I don't want to give anything away but I challenge everyone to read this chapter in The Book of Mormon and see what Nephi and Lehi went through so they could serve their missions and serve our Heavenly Father. As we serve him with all of our with heart, might, mind and strength as the scriptures continiously tell us what to do. I can promise that as we do this, that our Father in heaven will bless us for it.

The Sabbath Day

Church is something that should be sacred to all of us. We should want to strive every week to want to go to a building that is set apart from the world so we can worship our Heavenly Father.  The fourth commandment in the book of Exodus is to keep the sabbath day holy. Different people take this commandment and apply it differently. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we refrain from work, playing sports competitivly, and shopping on this day. I can promise you that as we keep the sabbath day holy then we will see the blessings that come from it.
The other night I was at our church building with another missionary, and a recent convert asked us if we would want to talk to her two children about respecting the chapel. We decided to take them into the chapel and explain to them why it was so important and why we do not run or be disrespectful in it. They were both pretty young children and I still am not sure if they understood why the chapel is so important, but I could tell that the mother could feel the spirit testifying to her of the truth of what we said as we tried to teach her son.
Church buildings are sacred and they need to be treated as such. We need to take time out of our busy week so our Sunday is free and open to worship, go to church, and be with family. What are your thoughts on the importance of the sabbath day?

The Book of Mormon; The word of God

Being out on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not easy. There are so many people here ready to argue their beliefs and try and tear down my faith, and The Book of Mormon itself. There are many people that believe the Bible to be the word of God, and we as Mormons believe the Bible to be the word of God as long as it is translated correctly (article of faith 8). I am not as learned in the Bible as many of the people out here, and what is new to me is the opposition from people who believe the Bible but will not believe the Book of Mormon. There are many who are extremely nice, caring, and genuine followers of Christ. They will do whatever is commanded of them to get back and live with our heavenly father again, and that way is laid out in 2 Nephi 31. This chapter is all about the doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of Christ is the plan, or steps that we have to do here on earth so we can return to live with God again. Only through faith, repenting of our past transgressions, being baptized by someone holding the restored priesthood authority of God, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, can we be received into our Father's kingdom.
The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our savior and only through him we can reach our father in heaven. I would invite those not of the LDS faith to read The Book of Mormon, and then pray with a sincere heart, having faith in Christ, (Moroni 10:4-5) and you will receive an answer to your question. You too can come to a full understanding of Jesus Christ's full and perfect gospel through The Book of Mormon.
In the introduction of The Book of Mormon it reads, "The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel."
 I promise that as you read this book and pray for the truthfulness of its message, you will know in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit that these things are true. You will know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God.

Patience

Patience is something that for me personally is hard to understand, and I have to work very hard at it everyday. Learning patience is something that I have learned a lot of on my mission even though I have only been out a few months. God works in myterious ways, and I might never come to a knowledge of His ways, but if I can just acknowledge that patience is how he works, then that is what I will do.
The other day I was with Elder Hyde as my two companions were in a leadership training. Elder Hyde came into my area and we went about going house to house as I had planned the night before. All of our plans and all of our people we wanted to see fell through, or weren't home. We decided to go try and see a man that we had never seen before and from what I had heard he was not very interested, but we decided to head to his house anyway. On the way there we ran into a family that was moving out of their house. We decided that it would be a great service opportunity. We helped them move some pretty heavy stuff into the moving truck, while it was raining, all the while telling them about the church and why we are out on a mission. When it was time for Elder Hyde and I to leave, we offered to help them move into their new house or have missionaries in that area help them, but they weren't really that interested in actually sitting down and having a lesson with missionaries at all. Even though they didn't want to be taught and we didn't get an appointment with them, we left them with a good feeling about the church that we belong too. I wanted to be able to teach them but that will come in their own time, and God's time. He will decide when they are ready to hear the message that we have come out here to share.
 In the mormon message, Continue in Patience, President Uchtdorf gives examples of why we need to be patient and how our common adversary is trying to pull us away from our goal, trying to pull us away from our Heavenly Father. I invite you all to watch this video, and your testimony will grow as mine has as you recognize the situations where you need to be patient and why you need to be patient.
I know that if we just wait, and allow the spirit to work in us it will manifest to us that we are not giving into temptation for a reason, that what we are doing is what God wants us to do. As we strive to follow our Heavenly Father's plan and follow his guidelines that we will be able to live with him again and have everlasting life just as He has promised.

Greenie all Alone

My two companions, Elder Walker and Elder Dye, went to a leadership training today. They went to become better trainers and missionaries. So that leaves me, a greenie with hope that some other missionary with a year or so under his belt will come down and help me out in Thompson Station. Elder Hyde was the one who I brought back down with me so we could find new investigators and continue in the work that I was left to do. He has only been out one transfer, six weeks, longer then I have so you can understand my reservations about leaving us two alone in a big area, in which we were both new too. As I picked him up and we went to work, my attitude completely changed as we became better acquainted with each other. We are both from Idaho, and we have similar interests. With our attitude and tracting skills, we tracted for hours, we picked up a few new potential investigators, and had a great time helping a family move as we shared the gospel with them. A man answered a door we knocked on today. When we first told him about the B.O.M. (Book of Mormon) and asked if we could give him a copy he said, "Honestly I don't think that I would ever read it." Just then Elder Hyde was prompted to tell him his own testimony of the B.O.M. Shortly before we left, he accepted a copy.
Today was the first day that I really realized how much attitude can change my own outlook on a situation. How much more our Heavenly Father will bless us as we put forth the effort with a helping attitude. How much more we can get accomplished when we really put forth the effort to get it done. I have a strong testimony about attitude after today and it is something that I hope everyone can learn and apply.
 Here is a talk by President Thomas S. Monson entitled Faces and Attitudes. The attitudes of accomplishment is a very powerful section on why we need the right attitude and the different types of positive attitudes. 

Church History

I have been reading in personal study lately a lot about our church's history and the trying times that the early Latter-day Saints had to go through. There are many testimony building stories in the book Our Heritage. There were many hardships when the early Latter-Day Saints treked out to Salt Lake. Death was abundant but that didn't stop them. Here is an excerpt from Our Heritage. "Death frequently visited the Saints as they slowly made their way west. On 23 June 1850 the Crandall family numbered fifteen. By the week’s end seven had died of the dreaded plague of cholera. In the next few days five more family members died. Then on 30 June Sister Crandall died in childbirth along with her newborn baby."
A whole family dying was not uncommon as saints made the trek out west. Examples like this one help me be more humble and help me realize that if they can make it then I can make it. I love this church and I am so thankful that I can be out here serving the Lord for two years. Even though I miss my loved ones and friends, it is but a small price to pay.

Obedience

Todays entry is short and sweet. Obidience is something that almost everyone struggles with. Many people do not like rules and everyone has heard the saying, "rules are made to be broken". I completly disagree with that statement. The more we follow the rules that our Heavenly Father has put forth for us to live by the easier our lives will be and the more blessings we will be showered with. Follow with all the steadfastness in your heart and you will be rewarded.
3 Nephi 27:21-22 

Prayer

 The power of prayer
I have only been out here on my mission for about a month and already I have seen the importance and power of prayer in my life and my investigators lives. I have too many experiences to recount on here but I just now have such a strong testimony of how prayer can influence your life. In the Book of Enos in the Book of Mormon he begs the lord for forgivness all night, and is forgiven of his sins. The power of prayer is great and we must pray often so we can always feel close with our Heavenly Father, recieve guidience, and ask for forgivness so we can be made perfect, even as Jesus Christ is perfect. Which leads me to the Scripture of the day.
3 Nephi 12:48

Tracting!

So my first real tracting experience yesterday and it was interesting. A member referred us to tract her street so we decided that that is what we were going to do. So Elder Dye, Elder Walker and I went tracting for about an hour. Some people were really nice and just said 'Hey ya know i really respect what you guys are doing but I am happy with my church.' So we kept pressing forward. Some people simply just looked through the window and waved us off their porch. Most just didn't answer or weren't home. The most memorable was the lady who came to the door and after Elder Walker had finished telling her who we were she immediately said, "No thanks I don't believe in polygamy." So Elder Walker politely said, "Well that's good because we don't either." We then explained to her that we don't believe in multiple wives and that we only want and can have one. After that she politely declined our invitation to talk to her further and we were on our way.
I thought that talking to her was just a waste of time being a greenie, or new, to the mission field but my companions said that as long as we got to help someone understand our church a little more then it wasn't wasted time at all. 

Scripture of the day. Alma 5:51

Baptism!!!

Our investigator has a baptismal date for this Saturday!!!! But we had some set backs. So we live in Springhill and we are covering two wards which both go to two different buildings. Each building is about 30 minutes away from where we live and where anyone in either ward lives. The ward that our investigator will soon be in meets in a building in Colombia which is south 30 minutes from us, but on Saturday in that building there is already a wedding and two other baptisms. So we either have to drive the other 30 minutes in the other direction to have her baptized or go to a lake, whatever it takes we have faith that it will work out and she will get baptized this Saturday.