Prepare for Disaster

Let's face it, each of us will have disasters in our life.  What kind of disaster?

 Wind?

 Water?

 

 

Fire?

 Earth?

 Small Children?

 Some of these might seem pretty scary, but none of them can destroy that which is of most importance.

With each of these Disasters there come a temptation to lose Faith, give up hope, or simply sink into despair.  However we can prepare for this temptation before hand, so that we will not be in despair, give up hope, or lose our Faith.

What is needed for us to be prepared when these temptations come upon us?

Read.

Pray.

  

Go to Church.

It is by doing these small and simple things that the great things are brought to pass.

"You know, brethren, 

that a very large ship 

is benefited very much 

by a very small helm 

in the time of a storm, 

by being kept workways 

with the wind and the waves."

-- Doctrine and Covenants 123:16

"And now, my sons, remember, remember 

that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, 

who is Christ, the Son of God, 

that ye must build your foundation; 

 that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, 

yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, 

yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, 

it shall have no power over you 

to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, 

because of the rock upon which ye are built, 

which is a sure foundation, 

a foundation whereon 

if men build 

they cannot fall."

--  Helaman 5:12

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What would YOU like to hear ? ? ?

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So I sit here and type stuff about the Gospel all the time.


Sometimes I don't know if what I say really helps people.

So here is your chance,

What is Something about the Gospel

that you have questions about,

or maybe just something

that you would like me to write about?

Just leave a comment below and a blog post shall pop up sooner or later. :)


This Blog is here to help you anyways, not me.




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Airbending - A Flexible Ability

The key to Airbending is flexibility, finding and following the path of least resistance. Airbending is notable for being almost entirely defensive.  Airbenders never seek a fight and they never seek to strike an opponent directly.  As contention is of the devil, we should also never seek to harm others, or hurt their feelings.  If something happens that we do hurt someone emotionally or physically, we should do everything we can to make it right and help them feel better.

As the element of freedom, Airbenders can move about and dodge attacks without needing to worry about gravity or other environmental factors that limit the other forms of bending.

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Airbending requires evading attacks with speed and agility to exhaust your opponent, or using massive amounts of inertia for explosive gusts of wind.  Satan tries the same thing, he either waits until you are tired and unable to defend against his attacks, or he uses overwhelming force day after day until you give in.


Airbending's opposite is Earthbending.  Learning to by completely flexible, and solid as a rock at the same time, is something that almost everyone struggles with.  We must be Firm and Unshaken in our testimony of Christ, while still being led through an unpredictable life by the Holy Ghost.

Waterbending - A 'Fluid' Ability

Water is the element of change.

We make a promise with God when we are Baptized, and covenant to change from past evil ways.

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Waterbending is mostly flowing and graceful; acting in concert with their environment.  A waterbender must learn to mind their surroundings in order to keep themselves safe.
 

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The people of the Water Tribe first learned Waterbending by observing how the moon pushed and pulled the tides of the ocean. They then learned how to simulate the effect themselves.

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Aang used the Spirit of the Moon to help him protect the Northern Water Tribe during an attack by the Fire Nation.

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Almost all forms of Waterbending involve moving and shaping a body of water to the Waterbender's desire. The bender must know exactly what is supposed to happen before they start trying to bend the water or they won't get very far. The Spirit is the same way, if we don't know what we want to do, He won't tell us how to get there because we are the ones in charge of providing the goal or destination, He is the heavenly GPS that will get us there.


Waterbending is the opposing bending art to Firebending. Just like the gospel has eternal opposition of righteousness and wickedness, we can see the representation of this opposition in everything around us.

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The power of a Waterbender is connected to his or her present emotional state. If an inexperienced Waterbender were to lose his or her temper, their Waterbending force is intensified, but in turn, control is lost.

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The people of the Foggy Swamp Tribe always had a much more easy going method of Waterbending. They would use it to get from place to place, and to have the swamp grow where they wanted it to by bending the water in the plants.

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"And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water."

-- 3 Nephi 11:26

Earthbending - A Steadfast Ability

"And Jesus answered and said unto him, 

Blessed art thou, 

Simon Bar-jona: 

for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, 

but my Father which is in heaven.  

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, 

and upon this rock I will build my church; 

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

-- Matthew 16:17-18

Here Christ is teaching Simon, to whom He gives the name of Peter which means 'small stone', and tells him that Christ's church will be built upon the 'rock of revelation'.  Revelation is only possible when you are listening to the Spirit of the Lord.  When the timing is right, the Spirit will whisper what to do, how to do it, where to go, what to say, who to talk to, as well as give advance warnings.

Earthbending demands a special connection with the earth that is achievable with neutral jing, doing nothing but waiting and listening until the right moment to strike.  By waiting and listening you can sense where things are, and when someone else who might be a threat is near by.

Sometimes however even when the Spirit does speak to us we don't listen.  Either we are too distracted by things of the world, or we hear Him and then Choose not to obey.  If we are going to have the Spirit we need to be willing to act on what He tells us to do.

For good Earthbending you must be solid like a 'rock'.  Meaning you don't just move the rocks, sometimes you let the rocks move you.  If you can bind yourself to the Earth and accept what the stones intend to do, it makes them a little more willing to act under your direction.

"Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; 

nevertheless, they were steadfast and immovable 

in keeping the commandments of God, 

and they bore with patience 

the persecution which was heaped upon them."

-- Alma 1:25

"No matter how the wind howls, the Mountain cannot bow to it." -- Disney's Mulan

So practice being immovable like a rock, and sooner or later the rocks will move for you.  The Spirit will tell you what you need to know, but the more willing you are to listen and then follow His instructions, the more willing He is to tell you about stuff.

Fire Bending - It's a Talent

"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one;

to every man according to his ability"

-- Matthew 25:15

I am a Fire Bender. 

Just in case any of you are unfamiliar with what that actually means, I shall try to explain.  Avatar The Last Airbender is a cartoon based in a world where people can manipulate, or Bend, the four elements of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air.  Each nation has individuals that can Bend that specific element, but the Avatar can Bend all four elements. 

Airbending is the aerokinetic ability to control and manipulate currents of air.

Waterbending is the hydrokinetic ability to control water, as well as its many forms.

Earthbending is the geokinetic ability to manipulate earth and rock, in all its various forms.

However I said that I was a FireBender.

Firebending is the pyrokinetic ability to create and control fire.

Fire is the element of power, consisting of overpowering force tempered by the unflinching will to accomplish tasks and desires.  Firebending is the most dangerous of the four Bending elements.  Firebending represents energy and life, not rage and anger. 

Fire is also a symbol of Power.  The Holy Ghost is represented as a Baptism of Fire, being the Power that cleanses your Spirit.

"Then he called his twelve disciples together,

and gave them power and authority

over all devils, and to cure diseases."

-- Luke 9:1

" I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance:

but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,

whose shoes I am not worthy to bear:

he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"

-- Matthew 3:11

Firebenders use their internal body heat as a source of their bending.  Firebending power comes not from physical size nor strength, but rather from the very control of one's breath.  In order to Firebend properly, one must have "inner fire", or a drive and purpose in what they do.

So you are probably wondering, How does someone learn to Firebend?  Most people learn from their father or other close family member.  Some learn from an instructor.  Others learn from ancient Firebending Scrolls.


This is a Firebending Scroll.

These Firebending Scrolls are like the Scriptures.  They are a record of how to Firebend, written by someone who learned from a Dragon, the original Firebenders.  Much like the Prophets and Apostles writting about their interaction with God.



These are two dragons, Firebending Masters, teaching Zuko and Aang.



Learning from a Master helps us to understand exactly what you should use your Bending for, and increases our abilities.  Much like the Apostles learning from Christ.

By reading the Scriptures, and praying to our Heavenly Father, we can each find how we should be using our own Bending element to better serve others.  We have been given talents, and we need to use those talents or they will be taken from us. (Matthew 25:25-28)

Read the Scriptures and learn of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Then Pray and let the Master teach you how to use that knowledge in helping others.

Firebending is one of those things that I enjoy, and so I do the best I can in warming up others on a cold day.