Hope, Sacrifice, Joseph Smith

 Moroni 7:41-42 "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.

Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope."

I love these two scriptures. Hope is such a big part of our outlook on life. One person comes to mind when I think of hope, Joseph Smith. When he was a young boy he hoped that there was a better way, he hoped that there was only one way to interpret the Bible. That hope and faith that he had led him to pray to Heavenly Father and receive his answer to his questions and more then he had ever hoped for, but because he asked in faith, knowing that his prayer would be answered, so it was.

Joseph Smith, after he received the first vision from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, suffered greatly. Only his family believed what he said he saw. He was persecuted for his belief and for the Book of Mormon which he translated. He was persecuted until his death, until he was murdered at Carthage jail.  

Christ,"[ suffered] his cross, and [bore] the shame of the world," (Jacob 1:8). He suffered for all of us. He suffered so that we might be made clean like unto him. Christ didn't need hope that his atoning sacrifice would be enough, because he KNEW it would be the last great sacrifice. 

We need to have hope. We need to be able to hope for a better life after this. If we have faith then we must have hope, and if we have hope then we must have faith. We need to be like Christ and even Joseph Smith. We need to hope for better things to come even if we are being punished or bullied for what we believe. Christ has promised that if we are faithful unto him as we are being persecuted for our believing in him, we will be made strong. 

One of my favorite scriptures in the new testament is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheth me." I know that if we all persevere through all of our trials in our lives with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and faith, that we can be so happy. I have seen it work in my life and I know it will work in yours too. 

Past, Present, Future

"A mistake is only a mistake if we fail to learn from it." I have heard this saying all of my life, and how true and false it is. Let me explain my reasoning for both as it pertains to living the gospel.
As we strive to live God's commandments, Satan throws curve balls at us, sends tidal waves in our direction, and pushes mountains in the middle of our path. Through these tough times, we will falter. We will choose the wrong path every once in a while. Why? Because none of us are perfect. Choosing these wrong paths are mistakes, but as long as we learn from them we will know how to avoid them later on down the road.
A mistake is a mistake, but if we learn how to not make that mistake again then we have learned the lesson that we should have. There have been many times in my life that I have made the wrong choice, driven down the wrong road, and hung out with the wrong crowd. All of these were mistakes, but as I pushed through these trials, I learned a very valuble lesson that I could only learn from making these mistakes.
Mistakes are also always going to be mistakes if we keep looking back at them and beating ourselves up over them. The saying "forgive and forget" applies to us personally as well. In order to learn from a mistake we need to keep truckin along down the road, AND not look back on them. Dwelling on the past can be just as painful and degrading to ourselves as making the same mistake again.
As long as we follow our only perfect example, Jesus Christ, we can lead the best life that we know how. We can turn those mistakes, those past transgressions into lessons well learned. Lessons that we can teach others, lessons that we can apply in our lives to make us happier and more at peace with the things we have done wrong.

I am so thankful for the Saviors perfect example and his atonement. Without repentance it would be impossible for anyone to enter into heaven. This video explains more about why we shouldn't look at the past as much as we should look forward to the future.

Any Burden Can Be Lifted

This video can explain and show the forgiving power of the Atonement better then I ever could by just using words alone. The power of Jesus Christ's everlasting atonement does so much more then we realize. The atonement can cleanse us from sin, soften our hearts, and help us forgive one another. 2 Nephi 2:22 says,   "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation." 
As long as we put all of our faith and confidence in the Lord, and his Atonement, we can and will be made whole  through him. As Christ himself had once said, "...be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole." We can be made whole through Christ, and I can promise you that as you let the atonement work in your life that you will see a huge change, for the better.

Ask a Mormon

People are always getting told so many wrong rumors about Mormons. Many people go and ask preachers, and other people of high standing, but no one knows exactly what Latter-day Saints (Mormon) believe better then a Mormon. This video will answer some questions that many people have. Watch it and find out!!

Mountainous Climb

In life everyone has their own different challenges. Some are harder then others. Some seem to tear people down, down to where they themselves think that they can not get back up. I am hear to tell you that anyone, through the help of Jesus Christ, can get back up.
Life is a roller coaster. Only being 19 years old, I am still confused. What am I going to do with my life? Am I supposed to be doing this? Why am I doing this? These questions go through me head all the time, and I do not know the answers. One of my favorite analogies is this:

Life's struggles and challenges are like mountains, and we are the climber. We look up on these challenges and wonder, "How in the world are we going to climb over this road block in our life?" We can climb the mountain by ourselves, without any equipment but it will be difficult and we will slip and we will fall. Climbing a mountain without a rope or harness is like going through life without Jesus Christ or the gospel in our lives. Jesus Christ is the rope, harness, and all the equipment necessary to climb our own personal mountains, to overcome our obstacles in life. If we fall, Christ is there to catch us, and get us climbing again.
I have been through difficult struggles in my life and I have not always had the harness on, and I have fallen. We might always be able to get over the mountain, even without equipment, but how much easier will it be with it?! One elderly man we were teaching, we will call him Steve, was so close to being baptized. He was almost baptized about 40 years ago but the water was too cold, so the missionary told him to get out. He knows that this church is true, and he knows that he needs to be baptized, so why aren't we teaching him anymore? Well he told us to not come back for a while, I was crushed. He was so close! Now after much thought and praying on the subject I know that as I trust in the Lord, that He will lead and guide me as what to say and do for Steve.
Isaiah 26:4 "Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:" I know that as we trust in the Lord, no matter what we are being afflicted with, we can climb that mountain, drive around that roadblock, and we can again be on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.

Satan's Game

 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil" (Matt. 4:1) Satan knows us, he knows our weaknesses. By accepting God's plan, we also accepted the hardships and trials that this life would bring. Satan is everywhere, he is in movies, books, magazines, and people. He hits us while we are down, he takes cheap shots anywhere and everywhere he can. There are no referees, no coaches, no rules. He does everything he can to make us feel worthless and pathetic. Even the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was tempted by the devil himself. Satan tried to break down the will of Christ, if he tempted the only perfect being ever to walk this earth, why wouldn't he tempt us also? 

But there is a way out. There is a way through the difficult times when Satan is hitting us with all hes got. Christ. We have to turn to Christ, turn to His love, and the love of our Father in heaven. We need the strength that only Christ and God can give us if we want to make it through the barrage of Satan's attacks. Philippians 4:13 states, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheth me." How true this statement is.

I have seen in my own life the love that our Father in heaven and Jesus Christ have for me. I know without a doubt in my mind that the only way to have the strength sometimes to get through tough times is to turn to Heavenly Father. I know that if we do, then we can get though any trial, climb any mountain, and beat Satan at his own one-sided game.

Easter!

When I was little, I never took much notice to the importance of many things. I didn't understand the need for my parents to work, why I needed to do chores at home, and why I had to go to church. As I grew older I quickly came to the knowledge of why these things had to be done, but one important date I was still confused about was Easter. Why did we celebrate Easter. It seemed silly to me to have a holiday centered around a little bunny who hides chicken eggs around. Many people forget the importance of holidays. Christmas is taken just as a day to recieve gifts, money, and a day off from work. Even though Christmas and Easter both are days that we should be with our families,  recognizing our savior Jesus Christ should be the main focus on those two days. As a Christian and a Latter-day Saint, I want to expound just a little about why Easter is so special. Easter is the day that Christ was resurrected. After three days of laying in a tomb, he was risen from it and his spirit was reunited with his body. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." Easter is a day to remember Christ rising and breaking the bonds of death,so if we follow our Father in heavens commandments we too can loose the bonds of death and become like christ. Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This video is just a short but profound look on what Christ had to endure to fulfill his father's will. As this Easter season comes upon us, I would invite all to turn your attention to Christ and really try to understand what he did for us.