What Christmas Means

What Christmas Means

I love these two Mormon messages, because it talks about the Spirit of Christ, and how we need to remember Christ during Christmas. I also love these Mormon messages, because it talks about giving instead of receiving. It is important to give more than you receive because when we give we will receive many blessings. I think it is also important to focus on Jesus Christ, and what He did for us just like President Thomas S. Monson said. If we drop the mas in Christmas it becomes Christ, and this is what we need to focus on is Christ and what He did for us. I think it is always great to remember what Christ did for us and to follow His example that he set for us. Each Christmas I try to remember what Christ did for us and I try to live my life like Christ would. A few examples of how Christ lived his life is He was patient with others, He had a lot of charity and love towards people, he served people, etc. Just like the Mormon message states, we should serve others, because when we do that it not only makes us happy it makes other people happy as well. I know that when I serve people it helps me come closer to Jesus Christ. It also makes me feel good, and the person I served feel good. I remember when I was in High school I was leaving a store and Io saw a homeless guy with a sign that said he needed money for food. I passed him, but then I got a warm feeling in my heart telling me to go back and give him some money. I followed the spirit and I gave him $2.00 After I did that I felt good, because I knew that I helped that homeless person get waht he wanted to. I challenge all who read this to give something to others, not only during Christmas, but everyday we should serve one another. Another example that I can remember is my younger sister Morgan and I use to take walks all of the time together. We would talk about things like school, sports, etc. Every week that we would walk together I would buy my sister a Dr. Pepper from a soda machine. She really appreciated that, and I really appreciated her talking with me. It was great. Another example of service that I have done is I helped my sisters out with homework. I also helped my sisters and my older brother with problems that they were having. in life. Again it made me feel good, and them. As you can see there are many ways to serve others. I can promise you that as you do that, that your life and your families lives will be blessed. I know that Jesus Christ would serve others. Again I love Christmas time because it should be about Jesus Christ.

I know that every year my family does things to prepare things for Christmas. Things like decorate the house, do the Christmas tree, decorate the tree with ornaments, etc. Something that I really like doing with the family is going around the neighborhood and looking at Christmas lights. i like doing this because it makes me feel the spirit. One of the houses decorates their house with lights every year, and they go all out. I really like going to this house around Christmas because one of the family members always dresses up like Santa and drives his sleigh around the street. It is great. I really like going there. It helps me focus on the true meaning of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas to me is remembering Jesus Christ, and all that He did for us. Another thing my family does is every Christmas morning we read Luke 2:1-10. This scripture talks about Jesus Christ birth  I love reading this with my family because it helps me focus on the true meaning of Christmas, which is Jesus Christ. It isn't about the presents. It is about spending time with family and focusing on Jesus Christ. Just like the Mormon messages taught us. Another reason why I love reading these scriptures is because I forget the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is good for me to review it. I love the part that talks about Marry wrapping Jesus in swaldiling clothes, and when the Shepard came and visited him. When the Shepard's said something Mary took it in and remembered it. Another thing that my family does is we eat breakfast together. It is great, because we get to talk with one another, and find out what each person in the family is doing. We need to be doing this everyday though. I know that I can do better at this, along with focusing on Jesus Christ everyday.

I would like to bear my testimony. I know that the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. is the true and only church on the earth. I know that God loves me, and that Jesus Christ died for my sins. I am great full that He died for my sins, because that made it so that I could repent of any mistakes that I have made in life and be forgiven of them. I am great full for Christmas so that I can focus on the importance of the family, and focus on what Jesus Christ did for me. I know that is the true meaning of Christmas. It isn't about the presents. It is about focusing on Jesus Christ, and spending time with the family. I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who restored the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. back to the earth. I also know that he translated the  Book of Mormon. I know the  Book of Mormon is true, because I have read about it and I prayed to Heavenly Father to know if it is true? I got an answer from the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost gave me a warm feeling in my heart, and mind telling me that the  Book of Mormon is true. From that I know that the  Book of Mormon is true, that the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. and everything about the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. is true. That includes Jesus dieing for my sins. I challenge everybody who reads this post to think of Christ and what He did for us not only during Christmas, but every day of our lives. I also encourage everyone who reads this to spend time with their family. I can promise you that when you do this and you follow God's commandments and the example of Jesus Christ that your lives and your families lives will be blessed.
If you want to learn more about the Mormon beliefs of Christmas, more about our church or anything you can visit momron.org, and ask the missionaries on this website. They can help you.Again I invite everyone to remember the true meaning of Christmas this year!!!

Testing Revelation

Dallin H. Oaks

I love this message by Elder Oaks. It is so true. The Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints receives revelation from God, and teaches us about what God wants us to do. We can verify what the Prophets have said by going to the original person where it came from. In other words we can pray to Heavenly Father and see if it is right, what Prophets have told us. Just like Joseph Smith received revelation from God  when he asked his question(Joseph Smith History 1:16-17) we can to receive revelation from God. What I want to talk about is how Joseph Smith came to that point of receiving that revelation. All that I am going to talk about today can be found in Joseph Smith History 1:11-20. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng

Joseph Smith was 14 when people were confused about which church was the true church, this was the same with Joseph Smith as well. Joseph Smith went from church to church to try and figure out which church was true. None of them seemed right to him. Joseph Smith did some studying in the Bible. He told himself that either he needed to find out which church was true or he was going to remain in darkness for the rest of his life. He was reading in the Bible one day when he came across a verse in James chapter 1 verse 5 which reads "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upraideth not ; and it shall be given him. That scripture hit Joseph Smith with so much power that the next morning he went in the woods and prayed to God. He got into the woods where he wanted to pray, so he got on his knees and began to pray to God. Satan knew that God would answer Joseph Smith's prayer, so he tried to stop Joseph Smith from praying by binding his tongue so that Joseph couldn't speak, but Joseph Smith really wanted to know, so he exhorted all of his power to speak. Joseph Smith almost gave up, but at the last minute Joseph saw God and Jesus Christ and described it in these word "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head in the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages who 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 History 16-17) Jesus Christ told Joseph to join none of the churches, because they were all wrong. (verse 20) This is how Joseph Smith received his revelation by praying to God the Father. I know that if we pray to Heavenly Father that He will answer our prayers. Even if it takes a long time to answer our prayers I know that He will and does answer prayers. I know this because He has answered mine.
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. I know this because I have read the book of Mormon. I prayed to God to know if it was true. Heavenly Father gave me an answer to my prayer through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost gave me a warm feeling in my heart. This was an indescribable feeling. I know that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God because I have read the Book of Mormon and I prayed about it to Heavenly Father. I did this same thing to know if the church was true. I got the same warm feeling from the Holy Ghost telling me that everything about the church is true. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet that leads our church today. I know that God the Father loves me. I also know that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and provided me a way to repent of the mistakes that I have made so that I can return and live with God in the next life. I am so great full for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that when I follow it and the things that the Prophet and apostles say to do that I will be blessed. I am great full for this. I know that I can find out what the prophet and apostles have said is true and from God by praying about it. Just like Elder Oaks said, " Anyone who doubts this , and none are discourage from personal doubts can verify the authenticity and content of the message by checking it with the official source, by revelation." Again this is so true, when we pray to Heavenly Father for things that we want to know, need, etc. He will help us out. I am so great full for all of the things that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have done for me.
I challenge all who read this to read the Book of Mormon and pray to God to know if it is true. I know that when you do that you will receive an answer, just like I did, and you will receive revelation from God. I know that these things are true! I hope that everybody who reads the Book of Mormon can come to know that these things are true as well!!!

THE WILL OF GOD 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

I love this Mormon message, because it talks about how we can become closer to God. We need to "willingly accept and even seek correction."-D. Todd Christofferson. I love this quote because we all make mistakes in life, even I do. When we stop and seek corrections, and ask people how we can improve we can learn from our experiences. I know that when I go on transfers on my mission I ask if there is anything I can improve on to be a better missionary? Whoever is with me usually has some information that I can improve on, and I take that information and use it on my mission. I have found it to be very helpful when I apply it in my life. 

I love the example that Elder Christofferson gives about Brother Brown. Brother Brown cut down a bush and Brother Brown thought the bush asked him why he did that? Then he said because he was the gardner and he knows what is best for the bush. Then my favorite part is when he didn't get the job to be a general in the military and he blamed God for it, butGod spoke to him through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost reminded him of what he said to the bush. "I am the gardner here and I know what is best for you." The Holy Ghost put his own words in his mouth. Then he realized that he needed to repent of his sin, for blaming God. When I heard this for the first time it reminded me of a quote that I saw on facebook. The quote said, "Sometimes you plans don't work our because God has better ones. I love this quote, because it reminded me of a situation that I had when I was looking for a job. I was looking for a job so that I could earn some money. I tried getting a job at Roaring Springs Water park, because my brother worked there. I went through the interview thinking I was going to get the job. It turns out that I didn't get the job, though. I was mad, because I wanted a job. I was mad, at Heavenly Father for not letting me get the job. As the quote says though sometimes your plans don't work out because God has better ones. Well this is exactly what happened.  God had better plans for me. Instead of getting that job at Roaring Springs water Park I got a job at Wahooz Family Fun Zone (Boondocks). I realized that God was looking out for me, and he had a better job for me, because if I had of worked at Roaring Springs water Park that would only be a summer job. Where as Wahooz Family Fun Zone was a full year job. Just like Brother Brown I repented of my sin for being mad at God at that time. I also thanked Him for all that He helped me with. 

I took this Mormon message into my life. I know that I make mistakes all the time,  just like blaming God for noting getting that job the first time, and sometimes I blam other people for them. I know that through repentance that our sins can be forgiven. There are certain steps that we need to take. The first step is A-Admit that you have done something wrong. Then we need to B- Be sorry for what we have done. Then we need to C-Correct our sin by confessing it to God. The last step to repentance is to D-DON'T do that sin again.

I am so great full for everything that God and Jesus Christ have done for me. I know that with out them I wouldn't be here serving a mission. I know that God loves everybody, just like 2 Nephi 26:33 says "For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteththem all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and hedenieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." I know that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God. I know that he restored the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints back to the earth. I also no that he translated the  book of Mormon. I know that the  book of Mormon is true. I have read it and prayed about it to know if it is true. I got an answer from the Holy Ghost telling me that it is true. The Holy Ghost gave me a warm feeling in my heart, and that is how I know it is true. I also know that th Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true, because I prayed to know if that was true, and the Holy Ghost gave me a warm feeling in my heart telling me that it is the true church. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the true Prophet of God that leads and guides this church today. I am xcited to hear him and all of the other general authorities speak in conference on October 6 & 7. I am so great full for my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and all that they do for me. 

Well hopefully this blog and Mormon message has helped anybody out with what they need. I know that it has for me. 

Stay Within the Lines

Stay Within the Lines

Elder Jefferey R. Holland

I love this Mormon message (yes it does relate to sports) but I love it because it is true. If we don't repent of bad things that we have done before our missions then just like elder Holland said we won't be able to move the work forward, because we will choke up (not be able to speak) about something that we haven't repented of. I also love how he said "The Lord has draw lines of worthiness to stay in this work." I love this quote because it is so true. If we don't stay in the lines then we aren't going to be able to serve our missions. If we do one bad thing then that leads to another, bad thing. If we keep on doing bad things then we won't be able to go to the temple or on our missions, because we will need to repent of all the bad things that we have done. If we do serve our missions without repenting of some bad things that we have done maybe we will get blessings, but we won't get all the blessings that the Lord wants to give us. I love what Elder Holland said "No missionary can be unrepentant of sexual transgressions, or profane language, or pornographic indulgences and then expect to challenge others to repent of those very things. You CANNOT DO THAT! The spirit will not be with you, and the words will choke in your throat as you speak them. You cannot travel down what Lehi called forbidden paths, and expect to others to the straight and narrow one." "I love what Elder Holland says about repenting before we go on our missions. If we don't these things will happen to us and we will not have the holy Ghost to lead and guide us in the right words to say.
 I love what Elder Holland says about Satan. He said, "We speak boldly because satan is a real being set on destroying you, and you face his influence at a younger, younger age." This is so true. Satan is trying to destroy us. DON"T think that he won't tempt you on your mission, because he does! Last week satan was trying to get me to go home. He was placing thoughts in my mind saying/asking why I came out on my mission? He told me that I should go home. I was about to give in to His temptation, but through prayer I was able to conquer satan. I prayed to Heavenly Father to help me not fall into satan traps. I also asked Heavenly Father if I needed to go home? All though Heavenly Father didn't answer my prayers right away, He did. It takes time for Heavenly Father to answer our prayers. Heavenly Father answered my prayer through Elder Pinegar. Elder Pinegar said "Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." When I heard this the spirit came over me. That is when I knew that I was worthy to serve a mission. It was a great feeling. Just like my prayer, Heavenly Father does answer prayers. Again it may take a while for your prayer to be answered because it will be answered in the Lord's time. I know that if we are patient, have faith, and keep on praying for help or whatever we need that our prayers will be answered.
The last point that i love dler Holland made is "to play in this match some of you have to be more morally clea, than you now ar." I know what elder Holland says is true. i encourage all of you who read this post to follow his advice. I also challenge you that if you do serve a mission to first repent of everything that you need to repent of. Also to do as my grandma told me. She said to me before my mission Kelton (Elder Jenkins) 20% of people who go out to serve there missions just do it to say they can say they went on a mission.  did 80% of people who serve there missions go out because they want to do the work, and bring people closer to Christ. She encouraged me to be one of those 80%. Just like my grandma I encourage all of those who serve a mission to be one of those missionaries who serve there missions because they want to do the work and bring people closer to Christ. DON"T be one of those 20% missionaries who just go to  say they served a mission. Ber one of those 80% missionaries.
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on the earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. i know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I am so great full that he restored the church to the earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the true prophet leading and guiding our church today. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I also know that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and was resserected. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father, and that He wants us to return and live with Him again in the next life.

The Sting of the Scorpion 

Elder Patrich Kearon

-of the seventy

I love this Mormon message it goes over a lot of things that i can relate to missionary work & my family. I love the story that he tells about the scorpion. He said that he was consistantly told by his parents to wear his shoes. He was on a camping trip once with his parents. He felt that he didn't need to wear shoes because he was going on a a short walk. He put flip flops on. He then went for a walk and then he felt a sting. A scorpion had stung him. He ended up being in pain. He also was in pain on the way to the hospital which was more than 2 hours away. I love this message because I figured  out 1 commandment and a rule that I need to follow. As it says in Exouds 20:12 "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth." I love this commandment because we do need to honor and love our parents. The second thing that I learned from this Mormon message is with every decission we make there is a consequence for it. It could be a good or bad consequence. Elder Kearon made a decission to wear flip flops instead of shoes. He paid a consequence for it because a scorpion stung him. His consequences was that and being in pain until he got to the doctors. another thing that i learned from this is that as missionaries we need to follow the mission rules. If we do then we will always have the spirit to be with us. The spirit will also guide us. I also like when Elder Kearon said "disreguarding what we know to be right whether through laziness or rebelliousness always brings undesirable and spirtually damaging consequences" This is true becauswe when we don't follow rules we will get undesirable consequences. I also like when he said "We must cease fighting against God and instead give our whole hearts to Him holding nothing back. Then He can heal us, then he can clense usfrom the venomous sting of sin." I love this quote because it is true. When we pray to Heavenly Father for foregiveness he will foregive us, but we need to be wise and never do it again.
One relationship that this video had that i liked is when the doctor helped the boy get better. This relates to Jesus because He atoned for our sins and has mercy upon us. Through this we can repent of the bad things that we have done and be foregiven of them. I really liked this Mormon message because of these points I made. I encourage all who read this to live by what Elder Patrich Kearon told us.  I know that when we do that our lives will be happier, and we can come closer to our HEavenly Father.

Parenting: Touching the Hearts of our Youth

Missionaries: Touching the Hearts of our Investigators

I love this Mormon message, because it just doesn't relate to parents touching the hearts of the youth. It can relate to missionaries and how we can touch our investigators. I love it when Elder Robert D. Hales related a story of his grandson asking if he was there. I love this, because when I saw it I thought of how we could use this to touch the hearts of our investigators. The first thing that I got out of this is when Elder Hales said to the parents that "being there means understanding the hearts of our youth, and connecting with them. Connecting means not just conversing with them, but doing things with them to." This is one of the ways that we can help our investigators come closer to Christ is by communicating with them, connecting them with God & Jesus Christ through prayer. Also understanding their hearts, and what they are going through. I also love the second thing that Elder Hales says "To truly understand their hearts we must do more than just be in the same room, or obtain the same family and church activities. We must plan and take advantage of teaching moments, that make a deep and lasting impression upon their minds and hearts." We can use Elder Hales advice with our investigators by helping them understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do that by planning for investigators in companionship study. We take advantage of teaching moments that make a deep and lasting impression that can affect our investigators minds by talking with them over chat for the first time. Maybe when we say something to them that will lead to another question that will eventually help them come loser to God thee Father and Jesus Christ. I love the last comment that Elder Hales makes. He asks the parents "Fathers, Mothers as you drive or walk children to school or take them to various activities do you take the time to take the ear plugs so they can hear you, and feel of your love? Do you take the time the time to talk about their hopes and dreams and fears?" We can use what Elder Hales said here by not listening to music while on chat, or while in a lesson. We need to pay attention to our investigators and what they have to say.. We also need to talk with our companions about what we think of the investigators and how they are doing, also if they are coming closer to God & His Son Jesus Christ. When we do this our companionship's will be much better because we will know where we want to go with our investigators. I remember my Choir teacher use to tell us that "communication is everything."-Rich Lapp. This is ture because when we don't communicate with our companions or other people such as our investigators then the work can't move forward, because if we don't communicate with each other then we will all be lost.  The last thing that Elder Hales says I think really relates to us as missionaries. He said "For our interactions to truly touch their heart, we have to pay attention to them just as we pay attention to a trusted adult collegue, or close friend. Most imprtant is letting them talk. Then asking them questions, and then being willing to listen, yes listen, and listen some more. I love this last thing that Elder Hales said. it relates to our investigators.This relates to our investigators because we do need to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to do that though we need to make sure that our investigators understand everything by asking them questions. Once when we ask them questions we need to listen to them,  and make sure that they understand everything that we have taught them.
I know that when we relate the suggestions that Elder Hales said to our investigators that our investigators will come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, by getting baptized and confirmed a member of the church. I challenge all who read this to do these things, because I know that when we do that we will bring people closer to Heavenly Father & His Son Jesus Christ.

Strength Beyond My Own-

I love this video. I love everything every person says in this video, because it is true. I know that when I am at the temple that I feel the spirit a lot. I love helping people come closer to Christ by doing their temple work for them. I remember when I took out my endowments that  it was like Jesus Christ & Heavenly Father were actually there with me. Just like the girl said in the video I felt like I was wrapped in God's love. The spirit is so strong at the temple that I would want to go there everyday. (unfortunately I can't because I am a missionary bringing people closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ) When I get home I will try and go every day. after my mission. There are so many things talked about in this video. that I agree with. The first one is when I go to the temple I feel God's love wropped around me. It is just like having God right by my side. I also love in this video where it says that when we go to the temple that we are away from worldly things. I remember a talk at the MTC fireside when a speaker said that when we go to the temple that Satan can not enter with us. I think that is great, because I feel the spirit a lot at the temple the spirit tells me of what I should do. I love what Elder Nelson said in this Mormon message. Each temple is a house of learning There are many blessings and things that we can do when going to the temple.I will just list a few below.

Blessings & Things That we Can do at the Temple:

• The spirit of the Lord is always with you in the temple.
• It is peaceful in the temple.
• Satan can never enter the temle.
• When we help people with baptisms for the dead, endowments, etc. we bring them closer to Jesus Christ.
• We can be sealed with our families for eternity.
• Heavenly Father will help you out with problems that you are having.
• We can find peace and joy in the temple.
• Create a better relationship with our Heavenly Father.
• We go to the temple so we can be taught by the spirit
• We can receive direction in our lives.

 These are just some of the amazing things we can do at the temple & blessings  that we get when we go to the temple. I love these two videos on the temple. I encourage everybody who reads this post (who is a member) to go to the temple. If you aren't a member I encourage you to walk on temple grounds, because when you do you can still feel the spirit. .I love going to the temple. I hope all members of the church do to. Again I encourage all members to go to the temple. 

Continue In Patience

President Dieter F.Uchtdorf

I love this Mormon message by President Uchtdorf. I love the definition that he gives he said "Patience means staying with something until the end. It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. He talks about how a  study was done with 10 4 year old children.  The experiment was done by giving the 4 your old children a marshmallow. The person doing the study then told the child that he/she could wait . 15 minutes and get 2 marshmallows. What the professor found out is only 3 out of the 10 children (30%) could wait. What i got from this Mormon message is that we all need to be patient with one another. If we are our lives will be better, and more rewarding. Just like the 3 kids who waited that 15 minutes. They were rewarded with another marshmallow. Just like the 3 kids who had enough patience to wait 15 minutes for another marshmallow I encourage all of you who read this blog to always have patience with people. I have learned through out the years of being a missionary that when I was not patient with people or investigators that the day seemed to drag on, and on, and on. It seemed like the day would never end, but since I have watched this Mormon message I have tried to continue in patience with people and investigators. I have found out that when I had patience with people and investigators that my day goes by a lot faster and I am more happy. I remember when my front wheelchair tire broke off I was a little mad, but I remained patient. I know that because I got to call my dad to see what he wanted me to do. I got a letter from my dad that said that he liked how I wasn't mad about my wheelchair breaking off. That made me happy because that was having patience. I am still having patience because the guy who was suppose to come fix my wheel didn't come Through my patience my days have gone better and they have gone faster. I love the suggestions that President Uchtdorf gave in this talk about having patience. He recommends that we should keep the commandments. Second we need to trust in God our Heavenly Father, Third we need to serve Him with Christ like Love. Fourth we need to exercise faith and hope in the savior. Last thing he recommends is to NEVER give up!. I love these suggestions that he gives us, because they are true. These four suggestions are what I would like to talk about. 

1. Keep the Commandments

I know that when we keep the commandments of Heavenly Father, that we will always have His spirit that when he prayed the answer didn't come immediately, but he learned that with us. When we have His spirit to be with us we can continue in patience. 

2. Trust in Heavenly Father

I love what President Uchtdorf says about receiving answers to your prayers. He said that "the answer didn't come immediately, but God's promises are not always fulfilled as quickly or in the way  we might hope." I know this to be true. When I need help with something or want to know something Heavenly Father doesn't give it to me right away. He waits a little and makes me wait, but helps me find the answers. He wants me to be patient. I love the scripture 

3. Serve Heavenly Father with Christ-like love

I know this is true to. Since I have been on my mission I have been serving in the temple as a veil worker. I always serve in the temple with Christ like love. I am also always patient with people inside the temple. When i am patient I can feel the spirit. I also try to be loving like Christ as a missionary. I say try to because when I am on chat sometimes we get trolls/pranks. Sometimes this makes me mad and I am not loving people like i should, but when I do love people on chat weather they are a troll/prank my day goes by a lot faster, and the spirit stays with me and helps me out with questions. I love that. I am improving on having Christ-like love.

4. Exercise Faith and hope in the Savior

This is a great key in patience. In order to have patience we need to have faith that Heavenly Father will help us out with patience. I remember I was at a priesthood meeting and President Gubler spoke to us about praying to have faith everyday. In order to have faith we need to pray for it. When we pray for faith and have faith that will increase our patients. I love Matthew 14:22-33 when Peter was drowning but he saw the Savior walking on water and asked for the Lords help. Peter saw the winds he was afraid and lost faith. Jesus did help Peter, but asked Peter why he had little faith? When Peter had little faith he had little patience to. If Peter had of had more faith then he would've had more patience and probably wouldn't have panicked. I love what Presidetn Gubler said in his talk faith and fear do not go together. Peter had little faith, because of that the Savior didn't help him until the last minute. I know that when we have faith and hope in the Savior that our patience will increase. When we do that our lives will be better, because we will have more faith and patience with one another.

5. Never Give Up!

I love the last suggestion President Uchtdorf recommends to us. I like this because we should never give up. When we give up we lose all the things mentioned above. We lose them because we won't want to do any of them. When we lose them then we don't have patience, and our lives will not be as good. I encourage all who read this blog to NEVER give up. Heavenly Father will help you with patience, and anything you need. In order for Heavenly Father to help us though we need to do these 5 things that President Uchtdorf has suggested to us.

I know that when we do these 5 suggestions that President Uchtdorf gave us that we can have patience, with anything,just like the 3 4 year olds did. I again encourage you to all have patience. The reason is because it is a Christ like attribute, and it will help you out in life. I know that we can all have patience. If 3 4 year olds can do it, so can you. 

Moments that Matter Most

President Uchtdorf

I love this message by President Uchtdorf. I love  his quote in this message when he said "We would do well to slow down a little. Focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that mater most."-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The reason I agree with this quote is because when I was at home I always complained about the bad things that had happened to me. For instance when I had a bad day at work I would complain about a team leader that I did not like. That didn't get me anywhere though. It just took 5 positive things away that happened in my life. When I complained that not only brought me down but it brought everybody that was around me  down. What I should have done is focused on the positive things that happened at work instead of the negative, or as President Uchtdorf said I should have slowed down, and seen the things that mattered most. I also liked when President Uchtdorf said "Dilengently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the savior or the world." This is true. I should have foucssed on the positive things that happened to me, then the savior would've been with me more often. I encourage everyone who reads this blog to think about the positive moments that happen in life instead of the negative. I know that it will  help you and the people around you out in life as it has helped me.

Elder Malm's Talk on 3 pillars

What meeting a general authority can do

Elder Malm

Today (June 24 2012) I meet a general authority. His name is Elder Malm. He came up to my companion and i and he asked how we were doing? We told him we were doing fine. Then we shook his hand. I noticed his last name as I shook his hand. It was Elder Malm. As soon as he shook my hand I felt the spirit come upon me so strongly. It was awesome! It was awesome talking to him. 

He asked us if we were there when he spoke 2-3 weeks ago at the MTC? I said yes. He said great. I remember him telling us about 3 basic pillars for missionary work. The three pillars that he told us about was 1. Desire, 2. Work, & 3. Faith. He then listed things that need to happen under each one. 

1. Desire

• We need to have a testimony, and know that it is true.
• We need to love God: This one was big for me, because I knew that I was going to be challenged while on my mission, and that I would run into problems. I realized that sometimes I blamed God for bad things that had happened to me or my family. When he said that we needed to love God, I felt bad for all of the bad things that I had blamed God for. 
• We need to love others: This is true. When we love others, blessings will come to us. Then your day and the other persons day will go better.

2. Work

• Work Hard: This means that we need to be studying the scriptures, helping people out with things that they need, etc. When we do this we will be blessed. 
• Work Smart: We need to be and work smart.
• Focused: At first when he said this I thought to myself what does he mean by focused? Focused doesn't belong under work. Then he said that when we work hard and are smart then we should be focused on the work. Then it made sense. I thought to myself that in order for work to happen we need to be focused on the work, and we do that by working hard & smart. When we do these things then we will be focused on the work and then the work can move forward.

3. Faith

• No "baggage": I loved how he explained this to us. In order to be a successful missionary we need to get ride of our sin, because if we don't, then missionary work can not happen because if we have sin on our mind then we will be thinking about that, instead of being focused on what we need to do, and how we can help out our investigators. He encouraged us to repent of our sins. 
• No Limits: What I got from this is that we need to limit ourselves, to things that we do. What I mean by this is that we should be finding people to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, instead of watching a Mormon message, or checking facebook posts, etc. just to pass time away. Instead of doing these things when we don't have time. We can be finding people on chat, planning for lessons, reading a general conference talk, reading preach my gospel, etc.
• Thy will- What I got from this is we need to trust in the Lord with whatever we do. When we do trust in the Lord, He will help us out with whatever we need. I can testify to this, because when my brother got kicked out of the house for bad things that he did I was mad/angry and heart broken. I was mad and angry at him because he had done some bad things. My heart was broken because I wasn't going to see my brother as much as I wanted to, because he was getting kicked out of the house. That was a sad day for me and my family. Through pray and relying on Heavenly Father to help my brother out I got through it. I know that when we rely on/trust the Lord that He will help us out with whatever we need. 

He also talked about what work, desire, and faith have to do with planning, prayer, and persistence. He drew a triangle with work, desire & faith at each point. He then told us that the line that connects work and desire is planning. When we plan we have both work and desire because when we are planning we are working to plan for our investigators, and planning leads to desire, because we desire them to come closer to Christ. The line that connects desire and faith is prayer. When we pray for someone we have a desire to help people, but in order for that prayer to work we need to have faith. The last line that connects work and faith is persistence. Persistence connects work and faith because persistence means continuing doing the work. In the middle of the triangle he put obedience & Consecration. Obedience because when we are obedient to God all of these things will happen. Also because we need to follow what we are asked to do. consecration because we need to have the spirit with us, or else the work can not go on. When we have the spirit with us and we are obedient towards what the spirit directs us to do, the work will move forward and the triangle will be complete, and we can help people come closer to Christ.

I guess I wrote this blog because once when Elder Malm shook my hand his talk made sense. I encourage everyone who reads this to follow what Elder Malm said. I know that as you do that your mission will be better, go a lot faster, and that Heavenly Father will help you.

Imagine what spending a little time with the family can do!

Imagine what spending a little time with the family can do!

I wish I had of done things like this with my family before I left my mission. I guess what I am trying to say is I wish that I would have spent more time doing things with them. Such as going on more walks, swimming, playing basketball, etc. I did this with my sisters occasionally, but I wish I would have done more things with the whole family, before my mission. I also wish that I wouldn't have argued/gotten mad at my family for things they did, that I didn't like. As John 13: 34 says " 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye ^alove one another; as I have loved you, that ye also ^blove one another." I should have done this loved them, instead of fighting/arguing or getting mad at them. Now that I am a missionary I have noticed so many things that I have done wrong to them. It makes me feel sad to. 

I love these three videos and what they teach, about how family is important. I love how the family is playing together and enjoying themselves. Again I wish that I did this because they seem so happy, and I was happy, but I could have been happier. I also wish that I would've read my scriptures with them more often. I could have helped them understand the scriptures when they were confused. Oh well I guess it is like refekki says "It Doesn't matter its in the past." You can't change things that have happened in the past. I just have to move on, and when I get home from my mission I will spend a lot more time with them. I know that when I do, that they will be a lot more happier (not that they all ready are) I encourage everybody who reads this to spend time with your family! I know that if you do that your lives will be happier. Just like the videos say imagine what spending a little time can do with you family. I can promise you that as you do that your life, and their lives will be better. 

I remember when my brother got into some trouble, I spent time with him and I encouraged him to go to church, and keep on reading his scriptures, and pray. I keep doing that with each letter I write. i hope one of these days that he will take my advice and go to church, start having personal prayer, and read his scriptures. I know that as he does this that his life will be better. I know that as I and people do these things that it will make their lives happier. Again I encourage you to spend time with your family, and help them out.

Dare to Stand Alone

President Thomas S. Monson

I was watching this Mormon message. I think it is great, because it talks about standing alone. We do need to stand alone and follow Heavenly Father when put into tough decission. If we do we will be blessed, and our lives will be much better. I remember when I got my firs job at Wahooz Family Fun zone being tempted to work on Sundays, because my brother worked on Sundays. I loved following my brother's example. When I was filling out the application for the job I had to think about if I wanted to work on Sundays. Sure there were some advantages to working on Sundays. Such as; getting more hours so that I could make more money, which would help pay for my mission. I would be away from my family for a while. I could also be with some people that I enjoyed working with. There were some disadvantages to. Such as; not going to church, not being able to renew my covenants that I made with my Heavenly Father at baptism. I wouldn't be able to see friends at church. I would also not be able to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many more disadvantages to such as; not being able to go to temple preparation classes, which would cause me not to be able to go to the temple. That would have made it so that I wouldn't be here on my mission. In the end though I prayed to my Heavenly Father, and I asked Him for help of what I should do. I then thought about the negative and positive things that I listed above. In the end though I received an answer to my prayer. My answer was that I needed to go to church, instead of working on Sundays. This was hard because again I wanted to earn more money and follow my brother Andrew. He works on Sundays. In the end though I am glad that I didn't work on Sundays, because first of all if I had of been working on Sundays then I wouldn't be on my mission, serving the Lord. I would also have probably ran into some troubles just like my older brother did. For instance him not serving a mission, getting blessings from going to church, etc. I am glad that I could set an example for my older brother by going to church, serving a mission, going to institure, not dropping our of college, etc. I am glad that I did these things because now my older brother is trying to go to church at least once a month. I am also glad that I am writing him letters each month. He really enjoys getting them. I just sent him a package. It included some candy and a picture of the Salt Lake City temple. I included a letter on the back of the postcard of the Salt Lake City temple. I encourage him to read the Book of Mormon, have personal prayer, and go to church. One more thing I included in that letter is I said "I hope that one day that I can see you in the temple." I hope that gets him motivated to do the right things. I can't wait until the day comes when I get to see my brother go through the temple. That will be a happy day. In the end though I am glad that I took President Thomas S. Monson's advice when he said that we need to stand alone. I love his quote. "You are never alone when you are standing with the Lord." It is true. That is what I did I stood with the Lord and look where it brought me. I am serving the Lord now, and I love it! I hope that we can all stand with the lord when going through temptation to do something wrong. I can promise you that if you do, that the Lord will help you out. I can also promise you that God loves you. He loves everybody! 

Come What May and Love it:u ElderWirthlin

I was watching this Mormon message by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, entitled come what may and love it.. http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#come-what-may-love-it. I learned a lot from this Mormon message. The first thing that he says in this is to laugh instead of groan. I loved the example he gave of the driver who got mad at some other driver because that driver cut him off. We shouldn't get mad at people. We should love them. Just like Matthew 22:39 says "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self." Another scripture that talks about love is John 5:12. This says "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." One more scripture that talks about love is Matthew 5:44-45. This says "But I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." I love this last scripture because it talks about loving your enemies, bless them, and do good to them. I love this because we deal with trolls everyday. However we should not complain or groan about them. We should love, care and pray for them. We should do what Elder Wirthlin said to laugh about it, because when we groan the spirit goes away and Satan comes into our lives. I know I hate it when that happens. I loved the second thing he said we can do which is to seek for the eternal. When facing a problem we should pray about it. Jesus Christ suffered greatly. He knows what we are going through. He understands our suffering and grief. If we pray to Heavenly Father He will help us out with whatever I need. I remember praying to Heavenly Father when I got a letter from my Grandma saying she thought Andrew was back to his old habits. When I got this letter I remember that I felt sad. I remember then and there I said a prayer to Heavenly Father asking him to help me out, and to get through this. All though my brother was possible back to his old habbits I still love him.The third thing he talked about doing is understanding the principle of compensation. I think this means that all though we go through trials, we will get blessings from them. This is also talking about having faith. I know I had to have a lot of faith when I heard that my brother was possibly back to his old habits. The fourth thing we can do is put our trust in our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father will help us out with problems that we are having. Just like my brother. I prayed to Heavenly Father to help me to get through it and He did. He will help anybody out with their trials that they are having. I loved the last thing that Elder Wirthlin said which was to put your trust in the Lord, do your best, and leave the rest to Him.
I know that if we do these 4 things on our missions and in our lives that both of them will go better. I challenge everyone to do these things. I know that they help me out when going through problems that I have. I know they will help you out to.

The power of prayer

The Power of Prayer.

I got a letter from my mom saying that my dad lost his job. They said that they were having troubles with my dad losing his job. I told them to read . http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/32.8-9?lang=eng#7 (2 Nephi 32:8-9). This talks about prayer, and how if we pray to Heavenly Father that He will help us out with what we need. My family did this and I got an email back from them saying that it really helped them out. I encourage all of us to pray to God about our problems, what we need help, and thanking Him for all that he does. I know that if we do these things He will help us out.  Another example is my sister Morgan was having problems with at her basketball games.  I told my little sister Morgan to pray to Heavenly Father before her basketball games and ask Him to help her out. I also told her that she also needed to pray after her games whether she won or lost and to thank Heavenly Father for everything He helped her out with. She did this and she is doing better at basketball. I know that if we pray to Heavenly Father that He will help us out with what we need. I know this because I have been praying for help a lot lately. To know that my family is okay. To know that they will be blessed even though my dad lost his job. I am always praying for them. I know that since I pray to Heavenly Father for His help that He will always help me out and He will always be there for both me and you.