We Stand Together

Many of you already know that I was released as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a few weeks ago. My two years + were up and it was time to flip to the next chapter of my life. I thought my current post-mission "chapter" of life would be boring and not as rewarding as it was on a mission, but I was wrong. The Lord still finds a way to bring amazing experiences to me that testify of the truthfulness of the restored Gospel. I really want to share with you just one experience I had this last Sunday! In order to do it justice, ill share a few stories that help explain it. A preface never hurt anyone right?

 This story has everything to do with some stripling warriors

I grew up with a pretty large group of friends, most of which belonged to the LDS church, as I did. As we all were around the same age, we would always be in the same Sunday classes and around the same grade in school. We became really close. One year, when we were all around 15 years old, our church youth leaders took us to BYU Utah on a week and a half long trip. Towards the end of our experience there, there was a testimony meeting in which all of us boys bore our testimonies of the Savior and how much we love Him and each other. We felt very united and it caused an even stronger bond between us all. Other groups on the trip named us the "stripling Warriors" after the Ammonite sons led by Helaman. (the story starts in the Book of Mormon Alma 53) On the bus ride home, we all shared a spiritual experience that for me, is a little too sacred and personal to share on this blog. But I can say that Heavenly Father was teaching us that night with the spirit and it motivated us all to prepare to serve full time missions when we came of age.  

The oldest of us began to go on missions a few years later and we all were preparing ourselves to follow their examples. However, a few of us began to fall from the church. It was and still is the most sad thing to see my brothers who i love, fall away from what we all know to be Heavenly Father's truth and direction. This story is how we as a brotherhood, as stripling warriors, continue to stand together.

This story will continue in a latter post...

Finding the power of hope

There was a time early on my mission that I was blessed with the opportunity to teach a younger lady who was going through a lot of rough times. I remember as my fellow missionaries and I helped her slowly get rid of her bad habbits and as she got rid of them, she found so much happiness, it often brought us to tears. She really found so much hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Satan really worked on getting her down though, and it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong. She wanted to do things right and to get away from her old life, however it kept pulling her back. It is sometimes hard to keep hope in situations like that. Imagine how the Savior felt as he went through what he went through. What a powerful example of keeping hope. He knew there was something better then giving up and that his Heavenly Father loved him and was watching over him. We can have that same comfort as we go through trials. This young lady was able to hold on, through her trials, and it blessed her life because she did not give up. It saved her life as she held on to what she knew to be true, even though her situation made it seem hopeless. 

It is an honor to bring this hope to those who need it. I have hope through my savior Jesus Christ that I will one day live with him and my Heavenly Father again and that I will be clean of all sins and be released from my burdens, sorrows, and fears. I know it.

I love this video because it expresses how I feel towards the power of hope, I hope you enjoy!



There is power in the "doing"

    I read a scripture this morning in the Book of Mormon found in 3 Nephi chapter 27 verse 21 In which Christ says, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;..." It reminded me of the scripture in Matthew chapter 7 verse 21, where Christ says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; But he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven." 

    As I read these scriptures I thought of how often Christ asked us to follow Him. As we follow His perfect example we become like Him. Through repentance and the mercy of our Heavenly Father, we can be washed clean of all our sins and mistakes. In doing what the Lord has commanded us to do and through repentance, we are becoming more like Him.

    Too often can others proclaim faith in Jesus Christ and live a life without following His commandments. Faith has everything to do with doing! If we never do His will, we will never become like Him. President Thomas S. Monson, the living prophet today, continues to invite others to follow Christ's example and become like Him. He has said, "Let each of us learn of Him, believe in Him, trust in Him, follow Him, obey Him. By so doing, we can become like Him."

    I know that as I do the Lord's will and obey His commandments, I can enter into His kingdom of heaven and I can be happy in this life as I prepare for it.

How can we bring strength to our families today?

    Growing up in southern California, I wasn't exactly sheltered from the outside influences of the world we live in today. In high school especially, it seemed like I could try just about any drug or start any kind of addiction with the help of fellow school mates. When I was younger, it always puzzled me to see 14, 15, or 16 year old kids doing the worst kind of things I only thought existed on movies. I always thought, "How can their parents allow them to do this? How can someone think this is ok?" As I've gotten older, my eyes have been opened to the problem. when there is no doctrinal teachings to guide the children's moral judgment, then their moral discipline is weak. In 2011,  it is tough to survive with a weak moral standard.
    That moral discipline can only be sparked and fueled by the doctrine of Jesus Christ. For me and my family, we found so much strength in the words found in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. A testimony of the Book of Mormon and the truth it shares with the world has always been firm within me. I have field tested what it teaches which is the pure doctrine of Christ, Ive taken it's challenge to pray to our Heavenly Father to know if it is more of His scripture, and I know that it is. The Book of Mormon does not get me to Heaven, it doesn't replace the Bible, but what it does is build my foundation in Christ and His Doctrine. It teaches me how to be a disciple of Christ. It strengthens me to be firm in the face of temptation and helps me make the right decisions.

    I know every family can find that same security and strength in the doctrine of Christ, through reading and believing in the Book of Mormon.  

Just some thoughts and feelings

    Recently I've been pondering on the scripture Mosiah 2:41, found in the Book of Mormon. It asks us to consider something. "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 out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness..."
    I wish that all could feel and say that they fit into that happy state, but there are so many that cannot say that. I wish I was able to reach out and by the direction of Heavenly Father, bring them all to the truth and bring happiness to their lives. However, everyone has the right to make their own decisions, I can't make decisions for others.
    I am reminded of a scriptural lesson learned in Ether 12:6, also found in the Book of Mormon. Moroni, a prophet, says, "I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."
    If you have a desire to be happy then have faith in the Lord that he has the power to make that happen. It may not be seen, at first, but the lord knows every one's potential and it is always possible with the Lord.

God's plan of happiness for all of us

Church on Sunday

          Sunday is the day we worship the sabbath. Every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints goes to church on Sunday to their local church building. Each congregation is called a ward. Wards are divided up by boundaries and 6-10 wards are collectively called a stake.

          When I go to the Franklin LDS church building I attend the Winstead Hill ward. It meets at 11:00AM. Every time I go I feel like I am part of a big family. Each of us care for each other and are learning about our Father in Heaven and His plan for us here on earth. We are concerned for each other's welfare and spiritual well-being. Anyone is welcome to come and visit and I am positive they would feel comfortable attending. The Book of Mormon teaches us by example what Christ church should do; "And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls." (Moroni 6:5)

          I would hate to go through a week without first attending church on Sunday. I have found that as I go to church, the Lord blesses the rest of my life through out the week. I had, once before while I was in college, attempted to miss church for a lame reason that I had felt sick. As my ride left to church with out me, I immediately began to feel regret and the rest of my day was spent with a negative feeling of guilt. My week following was nothing special and I had difficulty being myself. That next Sunday I made sure I was at church, I couldn't afford another week without the blessings from the Lord for coming to His church and worshiping Him. 

        The Lord's church is on the earth today, come and see and feel the truth of it by attending a local LDS church. You will see the blessings come into your life, as I have, when you come to His church.  







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This is one of my favorite mormon.org "i'm a mormon" videos, check it out and enjoy!

Do commandments tie us down or keep us up?

                                     

   God gives us commandments for our benefit. They are instructions from God on how to live a happy life. Our ability to choose right or wronge will never be taken from us, but we can lose out on happiness in this life and in the next due to our bad choices and resistance to God and His instructions.
    Ive noticed that a lot of people these days feel that commandments are a burden, not a blesssing to their life here on earth. Some say it is not necessary to keep God's commandments, because through Christ and His grace, we have a free ride to heaven.
    Commandments can be compared to a string tied to us as a kite. Some may want to cut the string to release them from an earthly anchor so that they can be free to fly higher or wherever they would like. Those who have flown kites know that this is not a good idea. Kites need that string and someone on the end of that string to keep it anchored so that it can fly consistantly and not crash to the floor. It is the same for us with the commandments of God. They act as an anchor to our souls and allows us to fly in safety. Cutting ourselves from God's instructions and not relying on them is just as destructive as cutting the string to a kite. Commandments allow us to be free and they help us reach our full potential. As we keep Heavenly Father's commandments, we get closer to Him and to a life of happiness.
   I know that Heavenly Father loves us and has given these commandments to us so that we can be happy and so that we will be ready to live with Him again.

The Temple

Have you ever wondered about the Mormon Temple on Mack C Hatcher Memorial Pkwy in Franklin Tennessee? Check out these links to find out more about the temple and about the Mormon church services held every sunday!

Find a Mormon Church near you         What to expect at a Mormon church

Information about the Mormon temples

The Path

    Why did so many of those who lived in Jesus's time not follow him and his teachings? Was the perfect truth and the perfect teacher not enough to persuade them? Even with such ideal situations at hand, there ability to choose was still in place. That ability to choose is called agency. Agency is the ability and privilege God gives people to choose and to act for themselves.
    We see in the scriptures that the majority of the people used their agency to not believe the savior while he was on earth. Christ said in Matt. 15:8-9, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." With their hearts far from him, their "understanding [was] darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts." This blindness of heart kept the people from seeing Christ for who he truly was, their savior.
    This same blindness in heart we can see today as Christ's message is still being taught among God's people. Some may say they follow him, but they continue to teach doctrines of men and not of God.
Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, prophesied of these days in Isa. 42:16, "And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."
    I testify that these paths are found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has yet again brought a clarification to his teachings and to his one path. Just as in times of old, we are faced with a decision to make: will we use our agency for good by seeking for, finding, and following him and his path? Or do we not look, not believe what we have found, and not be willing to follow God's commandments? As we exercise faith, we will be lead to that path by the spirit. I know each of us have that power to choose to follow our savior and his path. More about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ

How can I find God's direction in a world of distractions?

Nephi, a young man found in the early pages of the Book of Mormon, was faced with a decision we all have to make. Should I forget about worldly things and follow God?
  His father, Lehi, had a dream that he and his family needed to leave home and move away from Jerusalem because it was going to be destroyed. Nephi's brothers immediately began to complain because leaving Jerusalem meant leaving "the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things." How often do we complain about following God's commands and directions when God asks us to leave our worldly possessions behind?
  Nephi took a different approach by asking God in prayer if what his father said was true. He said, "I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father." with a witness that his father's dream was true and that he needed to leave, Nephi found comfort in his decision to follow God's direction.
Through prayer we can always recieve direction and comfort in following God's directions. In a world like today, we need to be relying on God to first give us direction and then to give us comfort when He asks us to walk away from our worldly habbits and possesions. Prayer is how Nephi relied on God and we can do the same today.
I am so grateful that God loves us and is constantly helping us to move away from the world and closer to happiness and His love found in obedience to His commandments.

Hope is seeing what isn't seen

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." - Romans 8:24-25
The Apostle Paul teaches us to have "hope [in] eternal life, which God, that can not lie, promised before the world began..." (Titus 1:2) A prophet from the Book of Mormon named Ether says, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with a surety hope for a better world..." (Ether 12:4) Our hope in eternal life is made possible by our savior, so we should "have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal..." (Moroni 7:41)
I believe in these prophets and the words that they have shared with us in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They have helped me see the hope that I can have eternal life. I know that Christ is the one who has made it all possible. Through studying God's scriptures and prayer, I have began to see the unseen. Hope has motivated me to move in faith towards a more righteous life and towards my savior, it can do the same for you.
The Book of Mormon 
Hope through Jesus Christ

Foundational Doctrine

I believe Christ wants us to experience life, but also be able to withstand the storms that come our way that come in opposition to our correct choices. I read in the Book of Mormon today in 3 Nephi, chapter 11 verse 39 which reads; "Verily verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them."
The doctrine of Jesus Christ is faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I have found that if I focus on these simple things I can overcome the storms that come my way by holding on to Christ's teachings and His doctrines.