Hercules - Go the Distance

Figure out where you belong,

And then go there.

Hercules wanted to feel like he 'belonged' somewhere.  His heart told him that he was more than just the son of a farmer.  He knew that when he found his place he would be 'great' or 'awesome' or 'radical'.  But even having this in his heart he still didn't know what to do about it.

"I will find my way, I can go the distance.

I'll be there some day, if I can be strong.

I know every mile, will be worth my while."

How do we find our way in this Troubled World?

 
How Far do we really have to go?

Heavenly Father has given us the Prophets, both Ancient and Modern, to guide and direct us in His Ways.  We don't have to go very far if we don't want to, we just have to LIVE the Gospel anywhere we are.

We are not perfect at this, but through the Atonement of Christ we will 'be there someday', if we 'can be strong' and LIVE the Commandments.  Every mile WILL be worth our while, but if we don't put any effort into it then there will be no reward to look forward to.

Hercules left his parents to find what he needed to do in life.  As a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I have been away from my parents for two years.  As much as I have missed them I also have found out much about myself, and about the ways of God.  Sometimes we need to leave our surroundings and that which is familiar in order to grow in the Gospel. (Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:29-30)

So what are you going to Do?

Start reading the Bible and Book of Mormon everyday?

Show more Kindness to others?

Volunteer your Time in the Service of others?

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom;

that ye may learn that

when ye are in the service of your fellow beings

ye are only in the service of your God."

-- Mosiah 2:17

"And the King shall answer and say unto them,

Verily I say unto you,

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,

ye have done it unto me."

-- Matthew 25:40



I SHOT HIM!!

So this one time, Rodney found a new toy.

Every now and then we get these ideas that we are 'Invulnerable'.  We often forget that we only have the promise of the Lord when we do what He says.

The Spirit is much like the Protective Shield, and He will guard us from temptation as long as we turn to God with all our hearts and seek after Him.  We must do our part before the Lord will do His.

When we are serving the Lord we should not intentionally put ourselves in bad situations.  We need to do all that we can to protect ourselves first, and then ask the Lord to do thatr which we cannot.  In other words, we should not test out the Lords protection by driving twice the posted speed limit, and we should not allow our friends to shoot us, even in the leg.

The Lord has set limitations on our life, and if we are not obedient to His commandments we put ourselves in danger where He cannot help us, for God must keep His word.

Have Faith : Step into the Darkness

"There are times when we have to step into the darkness in faith, confident that God will place solid ground beneath our feet once we do."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

We must show our Faith in God in order to receive His Highest Blessings.

"Now, he who finds the Grail must face 3 challenges.

First, is the path of God: Only the penitent man shall pass.

Second, is the word of God: Only in the footsteps of God, shall he proceed.

Last is the breath of God: Only in a leap from the lion's head shall he prove his worth."
-- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

So what do we do to show Faith?

First : Pray

Second : Read Scriptures

Last : Go to Church

What can you do to be closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, in your own Life?

We all must be DOING something ... For in the DOING, do we BECOME.

O. Vincent Haleck

Armor of God - Four of Six - Shield of Faith

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, 

wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

-- Ephesians 6:16

The Shield of Faith is your most important piece of armor.  It says 'Above All' because even if you aren't righteous all the time, or you don't have a good preparation period, or sometimes you are not as 'True' as you should be, YOU CAN STILL HAVE FAITH.

"Jesus said unto him, 

If thou canst believe, 

all things are possible to him that believeth."

-- Mark 9:23

Faith is more than a mere belief.  Faith is an action word, if you have faith in something you are willing to DO something about it.  The first principle of the gospel is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Without this faith it is not possible to have any form of progression Spiritually.

However, if you have Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Principle of the Gospel becomes something that we desire almost daily, that is to repent for things we do wrong.  Faith leads us to Repentance.

Faith can be acquired and still be forgotten.  Sometimes it goes dormant and is not needed for a time.

"Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant"

-- Alma 32:34

This is when we need to continue to Study the Scriptures to increase of Faith in other parts of the Gospel, because Faith has a very short shelf life.

If we use our Shield of Faith, we can deflect and block all the attacks that Satan throws at us.

However, if we have that Faith in Christ, but we don't ACT on it, it is like having a shield and going into battle with it just hanging by our side.  No effort to lift the Shield and there will not be a deflection of oncoming attacks.  The shield then becomes this dead weight that instead of helping us, it actually hinders us.

"Thou believest that there is one God; 

thou doest well: 

the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, 

O vain man,

 that faith without works is dead?"

-- James 2:19-20

"Ye see then how that by works a man is justified,

 and not by faith only."

-- James 2:24

I know that by having True Faith in Jesus Christ we will come closer to our Savior and receive a fulness of Joy.  We will have more peace in our lives, and there will come a time when we shall see that our Faith has 'Shielded' us from the Fiery Darts of the Devil.


NEXT POST : Helmet of Salvation

What to DO When We Struggle

"And it came to pass that the Lord God caused 

that there should be a furious wind blow 

upon the face of the waters, 

towards the promised land; 

and thus they were tossed 

upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

And it came to pass that they were many times 

buried in the depths of the sea, 

because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, 

and also the great and terrible tempests 

which were caused by the fierceness of the wind."

Ether 6:5-6

We all struggle in life sometimes, and the winds and the waves and the storms come upon us with the fierceness of wolves.  However as these trials and temptations are beating upon you, look to Christ, that sure foundation, "whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)

"And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep 

there was no water that could hurt them, 

their vessels being tight like unto a dish, 

and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; 

therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters 

they did cry unto the Lord, 

and he did bring them forth again 

upon the top of the waters."

Ether 6:7

If you are having a bad day, say a Prayer.

Meditation on the Law of the Lord

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord; 

and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

-- Psalms 1:2

How do we delight in the Law of the Lord?

As I was reading this scripture I thought about this question.  I wondered how it applied to me.  I could see that by obedience to the commandments of God I am indeed a happier person, but do I delight in the Law or just act out of fear?

The second half of this verse states that the individual meditates day and night in the Law.  During the times of the Old Testament the 'Law of God' was what we know as the 'Law of Moses'.  So it is saying that we should be meditating, or thinking about, the Law of Moses day and night.

Well what about now?  We don't follow the Law of Moses anymore, so does this scripture become void?

NO.

We are supposed to meditate the Higher Law, taught by Christ and His Apostles.  This makes it so that we can always be thinking good uplifting thoughts.  It is when we stop thinking about the Laws of God that we start thinking carnally and cultivate desire to sin.

So to delight in the Law of the Lord is to desire to 'do good continually'. (Alma 19:33)  It becomes something that we are happy about, and willing to do, rather than being told to over and over again.

As we meditate in the Law of the Lord by reading His scriptures and pondering their meanings, we will grow closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and be more able to follow His example.

Read a verse or two of scripture each morning and then think about it throughout the day.  I promise it will help in every aspect of your life.

What are You DOing???

As a missionary I often ask people to read the Book of Mormon.  Missionaries ask people to pray and ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, and to come to church so they can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit more powerfully, and to learn more about God and His commandments and His kingdom here on the earth.

We are always asking because we know that in order to truly understand something you have to act in faith to see what happens.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true because I have read and prayed about it myself, not because someone else told me a little bit about it and I said 'hey why not'.  My journey to truly knowing what the Book of Mormon was just that, a journey meant for me to be able to understand the gospel, and how it applies in my own life.

So are YOU going to do something about it, or are you just going to sit there and read all about it without ever truly trying to figure it out for yourself??

I hereby invite anyone reading this to Read the Book of Mormon, Pray and ask God if it is a True record, and then to act in Faith.  I know that anyone who follows this course will feel the Spirit, and know what to do to come closer to Jesus Christ.

If you do not have a Book of Mormon, go to this website and request one for free.
>>http://mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon/<<

Any questions you may have can be answered by reading and praying about this book.  If you would like to learn more, or ask missionaries in your area about the Book of Mormon, please go to one of the following.
http://mormon.org/missionaries/ to talk to the missionaries.
http://mormon.org/faith/ to understand what we believe.
http://mormon.org/meetinghouse/ to locate the nearest meetinghouse to you.

I am the Light and the Life of the World

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,

I am the light of the world:

he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,

but shall have the light of life."

-- John 8:12

"Ye are the light of the world.

A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle,

and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;

and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

-- Matthew 5:14-16

"The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble."

-- Proverbs 4:19

He who walks in Darkness, knows not where he goes.  But if you have received the light of Christ, the Words of Christ shall tell you all things that ye should do. (see 2 Nephi 32:3)

"For we walk by faith, not by sight"

--2 Corinthians 5:7

Why Does it Feel so GOOD to be Baptized??

So this post comes from abyss of my minds' twisting nether.  Mostly I have a mental 'filing cabinet' where everything to do with gaming or movies and TV shows gets dumped.  It's probably the biggest filing cabinet in my brain.  But, once upon a time I was watching a movie called "Stargate", where a group of US Air Force guys use an alien device which creates a stable wormhole to another location, usually a planet, and when you pass through the event horizon, (point at which the wormhole is located), it transports you almost instantly, (about .2 seconds or something), to the other side.  No one had ever recorded being able to turn it on before.  So when they go through the first time it has a cool Computer Generated visual sequence with some intense sound effects.  You then see one of the characters standing on the other side and he says, "What a rush."  After a few minutes go by everyone calms down and they go about securing the area and doing their military thing.

Well, I'm not military, but that is kinda the best way to describe how I feel when someone follows Christ into the waters of Baptism.  I feel this RUSH every time someone comes to the waters of baptism.  However just like in the movie, a few minutes go by, or for me it is a few days, and then everything is normal again.  Nice and pleasant where I know what I need to be doing and can do so with confidence.  This is one way that the Lord prepares us for future trials in life.  He gives us a taste and when we handle it well, we prove that He can trust us.  He then trusts us with a little more the next time.

 "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line;
here a little, and there a little"
-- Isaiah 28:10

"For behold, thus saith the Lord God:
I will give unto the children of men line upon line,
precept upon precept,
here a little and there a little;
and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts,
and lend an ear unto my counsel,
for they shall learn wisdom;
for unto him that receiveth
I will give more"
-- 2 Nephi 28:30

I know that as we follow the lord, we will be able to have that RUSH of Happiness, that EXCITEMENT within our soul, so that we will be sustained in our trials and carried through all our afflictions.

What Exactly is Required to be 'Saved' in the Kingdom of Heaven ? ? ?

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?"

-- James 2:14

Lets say you are at home, and your stomach says your hungry.  You believe and have faith that there is food in the fridge.  Your friend tells you that there is indeed food in the fridge.  You know that the food in the fridge would make your stomach feel better, but unless you actually get off the couch and go in to the fridge and get some of the food you will still be hungry.

In the gospel you can believe that Christ is the Savior of the world.  You might even read scriptures, and have your friends tell you all about it.  But unless you actually do those things which Christ has commanded us to do on your own, you will never be able to gain a testimony, and be saved at the last day.

The first action to take after having a Faith in Christ is Repentance.  To Repent is to ask for forgiveness for sin, or something you have done wrong, and to promise that you will do you best to never do it again.  Part of the Repentance process also includes making things right with others, or paying them back if you stole something.  When we sin we incur spiritual debt, but through Repentance and exercising our Faith in Jesus Christ that debt can be paid.

Mark 16:16

After you believe and repent of your past sins the next step is Baptism.  Just as before if you have a belief and do nothing about it, then you really don't believe in it that much.  If you truly believe that Christ is your Savior, and you have a desire to follow Him, then you will be baptized even as He was.

When Jesus Christ was baptized He walked somewhere around 40 miles to get to John the Baptist.  There were people who baptized right in Jerusalem, but He walked to John the Baptist because John had something that the others did not have . . . The Priesthood.  The Priesthood is the Authority to act in the name of God.  It is required to perform sacred ordinances.  While anyone can go to a lake and perform a baptism, only those baptisms done by Priesthood Authority will be recognized by God.

Acts 2:38

Even after we are Baptized we still need to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  This is much like an upgraded conscience.  The Holy Ghost is there to testify of truth, to comfort us(John 14:16), and to help us make good decisions.  We can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost before Baptism, but the Gift of the Holy Ghost is when He becomes a constant companion, if we live worthy of His presence.

Matthew 24:13

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is just that, His Gospel.  We have to follow His plan in order to have a part in it.  We cannot pick and choose which parts we like and which parts we don't.  If we are to live again in the presence of our Eternal Father, we need to Endure to the End of all things.


So in order to truly be 'saved' you must have Faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, Repent of your sins, be Baptized by someone who holds the Priesthood, Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End.

What Have You Done With Your TIME?

So my companion just informed me that he feels the pressure of being halfway through his mission.  This reminded of one of my favorite songs, TIME by Jericho Road.

The song goes over whether or not you are using the TIME the Lord has given you here on earth.  Are you using your TIME, or are you losing out on blessings by not keeping His commandments?  Are you paying attention and listening to the messages He is sending your way, or are you missing them?  Are you wishing that you had more TIME to study what is from God, or are you priorities somewhere else?

Here are the lyrics, don't just read them, study them.  At the bottom there is a link to listen to the music.  I think you will enjoy it once you know what it is that they are trying to say.

Time is a tickin'
Are you listenin'
When you find out what you're missin'
You'll be wishin'
That you would've taken

Time is a wasting
Are you waiting
To find that yours is taken
You'll awaken
When you're running out of time

Time is a moving
Are you using
Your time or are you choosin'
To be losing
The precious gift of time

It went so fast
But you thought it would last
And I wonder when you'll see that
Your time's run outChorus:
It's time
To make the best of time
Just trust and you will find
There's something you can do
To make the best of time
You gotta understand
When you reach out your hand
Someone's reaching out for you
Just leave your fears behind
It's time

Why are you waiting
Hesitating
To change your situation
Stop delaying
Don't live your whole life blind

He is your best friend
So remember when
Your life seemed like a whirlwind
He was waiting
Forever by your side
It goes so fast You think it's gonna last
But I wonder when you'll see
That the time is now

Chorus

You can never live your life over
There's no crying on anyone's shoulder
How long can you walk the line
No more faces to hide behind

You gotta just trust and believe it
Put your faith in what you can't see yet
You know it's not too late
He's guiding you along the way

Chorus

Take a step of Faith and look into that which you don't understand and haven't given the TIME.  Spend more TIME with your family.  Take time to sit and relax, WITHOUT THE TV ON.  Go outside and contemplate how things work in nature, and think of what you really want to do with the TIME you have before it is all gone.


Listen at : http://grooveshark.com/#/s/Time/1eRa4c?src=5

Lyrics taken from : http://www.lyricsera.com/

The Gospel of Jesus Christ Requires WORK

So some people think we are in a huge depression.  Others think it's just a little recession.  I think it doesn't matter because if you are doing as God would do, He will bless you with everything you need.

Even though we don't always get everything we want when we want it, God will provide for our necessities.  In the Book of Mormon there was a people who took an oath to never take up weapons of war ever again.  These people were called the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, and they had the promised protection of the Nephites.  When their mutual enemy, the Lamanites, came to war against them, the Nephites struggled to defend themselves as well as those who they had sworn to protect.  When the time came that the Anti-Nephi-Lehites wanted to take up arms to aid their brethren, Helaman forbade them lest by breaking the covenant, or promise, which they had made with the Lord, they would have been slain.  However, they had many sons who had not entered into this covenant, and these sons valued the liberty of their fathers, even more than their own lives, and they 'enlisted' to join the army against the Lamanites.  See Alma 53:14-16.

Thus we see that once you say you are going to do something, you need to do it.  We also see that the liberty of the fathers was protected by the hard work that their sons gave in service.  However we cannot look to someone else to fulfill the requirements the Lord has set to enter His kingdom.

When Joseph, son of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, was sold into Egypt, he served in several positions where everything was 'commited into his hand'.  After more than a couple years since seeing his family he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret a dream.

The dreams of Pharaoh, and Joseph's interpretation, are as follows:(the teal is my own interjections)

"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:

And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine(good cows), fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:

And, behold, seven other kine(sick cows) came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:

And the lean and the ill favoured kine(sick cows) did eat up the first seven fat kine(good cows):

And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears(good corn) came up in one stalk, full and good:

And, behold, seven ears(bad corn), withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

And the thin ears(bad corn) devoured the seven good ears(good corn): and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.

Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass."

-- Genesis 41:17-32

Here we see that everything the Lord does is done by the 'mouth of two or more witnesses'.  He gave Pharaoh two dreams, plus the testimony of a Prophet.  Three witnesses were given that there would be a time of plenty, and then a time of famine.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God,

that I will send a famine in the land,

not a famine of bread,

nor a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord:

And they shall wander from sea to sea,

and from the north even to the east,

they shall run to and fro

to seek the word of the Lord,

and shall not find it."

-- Amos 8:11-12

"Let no man deceive you by any means: 

for that day shall not come,

except there come a falling away first,"

-- 2 Thessalonians 2:3

And thus we can plainly discern,

that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God,

and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness,

and then have fallen away into sin and transgression,

they become more hardened,

and thus their state becomes worse

than though they had never known these things."

-- Alma 24:30

Here we have more than two times that the Lord has told us there would be a falling away, or an apostasy, before His second coming.

"And he shall send Jesus Christ, 

which before was preached unto you:

Whom the heaven must receive

until the times of restitution of all things,

which God hath spoken

by the mouth of all his holy prophets

since the world began."

-- Acts 3:20-21

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren"

-- Deuteronomy 18:18

The famine of hearing the words of the Lord is over, the church that Jesus Christ established has been restored again to the earth, which is the restitution of all things, including the Priesthood which is Authority to perform sacred ordinances in the name of Christ.

We are told to "WORK out your own salvation"(Philippians 2:12), and the way has been shown in the scriptures.  The Book of Mormon stands as SECOND witness of Jesus Christ.  Through the Book of Mormon we find that we must indeed have FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ, REPENT of our sins, be BAPTIZED by someone holding the proper authority to do so, receive the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, and ENDURE to the END.

I promise that if anyone is struggling with life right now, be it because of family problems, lack of employment, depression, or addiction, by reading the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes a day you will find peace, hope, and balance in your life and family.

The Tale of the Snoodle

This is a Veggie Tales clip, teaching about how God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Although the young Snoodle, who was very sad, didn't know it at first, he was designed to be glad.

As we move along on the dirty, dreary, dusty roads of life, we can look to Him, who can erase all the strife, for He knows better than we.  And as He hears us, we know that He cares.  For when do we seek Him, that He's not aware??

If we look past the cloud of despair, that others paint for us and throw in the air, we will see that He loves us, and is standing right there, but we must turn around, and just ask Him where.

Where do we need to go??  Where is thy truth to be found??  Where is the safety, from the great storms of life??

The answer will be as it has been in the past, search thee the scriptures, from the first to the last.

ok.... "No more rhymes now I mean it! ... Anybody want a peanut?" (The Princess Bride)

Even though the drinking of Tea is bad because it harms your body, (you can substitute some hot chocolate), the character depicting our Heavenly Father has the young Snoodle wait while He painted a picture.  This is the doctrine of "Be still, and KNOW that I am God." -- Psalms 46:10

We can also KNOW that our Heavenly Father is there for us, by reading His scriptures and Praying to Him asking for Him to tell us what is right.

I know that from reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon, we will find the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and these truths will lead us back to His presence.

Deliverance Comes from the Deliverer

We might not be able to stop our children from sticking their fingers in the toaster.  We might not be able to stop them from putting a knife in the power outlet.  We might not be able to have them understand why certain things are bad for them, and we might not be able to stop them from placing their hands on the red hot stove.  But we can always give them a band aid and kiss it better and tell them they shouldn't do it again.  Sometimes they listen, Sometimes they don't.

But just like that bright red on the stove, which is interesting and unknown to them, so is sin.  Something about it seems to attract us to it.  Our Father in Heaven repeatedly tells us, Don't do this...Don't do that.  He also has told us repeatedly, DO this, DO that, and DO them all the time, not just when you feel like it.

Again, like the red hot stove, when we sin we must take the consequence.  Sin brings Spiritual pain.  The only band aid strong enough to help is the Atonement of Christ.  He can kiss it better, and wipe away the tears.  But we have to be DOing what He has told us to DO in order for the Atonement to have any effect.

This is the method of us being Delivered from sin by Jesus Christ.  When we are obedient we receive blessings.  When we sin we we lose those blessings, and things always turn into problems because of our choices.

However, when the Children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, the Lord raised up a Deliverer for them.  This came after they had Prayed and asked for His help in their afflictions.

"The Lord thy God

will raise up unto thee a Prophet

from the midst of thee,

of thy brethren, like unto me;

unto him ye shall hearken;"

-- Deuteronomy 18:15

Moses was sent to redeem, or save, his people from slavery to the Egyptians.  Jesus Christ came to redeem and save all people from slavery to sin, and the bondage of the devil.

"And I,

if I be lifted up from the earth,

will draw all men unto me."

-- John 12:32

Through Jesus Christ we are able to repent of our sins, and then receive forgiveness.  He was raised up to be our Deliverer.  We must do our part, for the Atonement to have effect in our lives.  We have to be full of good works and righteous actions, or we will stand before the Judgement bar knowing that we have sinned and cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

"And for this cause have I been lifted up;

therefore, according to the power of the Father

I will draw all men unto me,

 that they may be judged according to their works."

-- 3 Nephi 27:15

"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again

in its perfect form;

 both limb and joint shall be restored

to its proper frame,

even as we now are at this time;

and we shall be brought to stand before God,
knowing even as we know now,

 and have a bright recollection of all our guilt."

-- Alma 11:43

Prince of Egypt

So as i studied the scriptures this morning I read a little bit out of Exodus where Moses is born and a few chapters later when he confronts Pharaoh.  I then thought about one of my all time favorite movies, the Prince of Egypt.  It goes through the life of Moses, and depicts how he came to understand and obey the Lord.

One of the best parts is when Moses must use the Priesthood to perform signs and "wonders" and thereby convince Pharaoh to "Let his people go."

I found this video and the words of this song make so much sense, it seems a wonder of its own that Pharaoh would not soften his heart before losing his firstborn son.

I hope we can all listen swiftly to the Spirit, and not harden our hearts against the Lord.  When His Spirit whispers to us that we need to do something, quickly obey and just do it.  I know that by obeying the voice of the Lord we will find greater peace and happiness in our lives, and we will be able to build upon a firm foundation.

Mowing the Lawn

So today I was mowing a lawn for service this morning with a riding lawn mower, and I have never used one of those before.  After the first few minutes I realized all my lines were squiggly, and not even close to straight. Then I remembered something that I learned about 3 years ago.

When you drive a tractor through a field, you don't watch what is right in front of you.  You watch the edge of the field you are driving towards.  This gives you a stationary spot you can aim for the entire length of the field.  I considered this concept and decided that it would work for mowing the lawn as well.  Turns out I was right.

Then I thought about how this could be applied to the gospel, and as I sat on the rumbling lawn mower I thought of making goals.  When you make a goal to do something you automatically have things to do before you get there.  I made a goal mark of getting to the other side of the lawn in a straight line.  This meant I had to adjust the steering wheel several times a second, it wasn't a very straight steering wheel in the first place, but eventually I would get to the other side, turn around, and aim for somewhere at that end of the lawn.

This is applied in the Gospel of Jesus Christ because we have to know where we are going in order to get there.  The path to return and live with our Heavenly Father is 'straight and narrow' so we have to make sure we can see the end goal from wherever we are.  Then we can progress down that path that is before us until we get there.

Occasionally we find ourselves making squiggles in our path.  This is not a good thing but we can always pray and receive strength from Christ to straighten out our paths.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

--Philippians 4:13

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

--Psalms 119:105

Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven

We all have things we need, and things we want.  Sometimes we need to go without the things we want so that we can help others who need our help.

It is in the hard times of life that we grow the most, and sometimes we don't know how much our actions will influence someone else's life.  I hope that we can all do something to help those we know find happiness, and peace as they journey through life.

"Behold I say unto you,

that by small and simple things

are great things brought to pass."

-- Alma 37:6

"The journey of 1000 miles,

begins with a single step."

-- Author Unknown

Learn From Trials, Then Act Upon Your Knowledge

"I love the musical and motion picture Fiddler on the Roof. There a wonderful Jewish father sings “If I Were a Rich Man.” His memorable prayer concludes with this pleading question:

Lord, who made the lion and the lamb,

You decreed I should be what I am;

Would it spoil some vast eternal plan,

If I were a wealthy man?

Yes, Tevye, it might. Let us give thanks for what we are and for the circumstances God has given us for our personal journey through mortality." --Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign May 2003, Give Thanks in All Things

I found this talk from the April General Conference in 2003 to be rather interesting.  I also quite enjoy this movie quite a bit.  But as Elder Oaks said, we must be grateful for the situations we find ourselves in.  Sometimes this can be rather difficult, but as long as we do our best to deal prudently with what we are given we will be able to see the lessons the Lord intends for us to learn from those situations. 

If everything was easy, nothing would be difficult.  We learn from struggle, when we want to gain more muscle or strength we don't sit around and play video games all day.  Instead we get up and go do something.  We lift weights, go for a walk, go jogging, go on a hike with friends, go outside and play tag, go play rugby or frisbee.  All of these options require GOing and DOing something.  If you are in a race and want to make any sort of progress towards the finish line, you must first GO forward.  If we sit back and are not actively looking for ways to do better, than we will indeed not do better.

From this we know that in order to gain spiritual strength, we must exercise our spiritual muscles.  We can GO to church, DO some scripture study, Pray to our Father in Heaven, watch video clips from General Conference.  There are many ways in which we can grow closer to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.  But each of them require that we DO something.  We must choose to learn of them and then follow their teachings.  Once we know what we need to do it is time to GO and DO it.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father:

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded,

for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments

unto the children of men,

save he shall prepare a way for them

 that they may accomplish the thing

which he commandeth them."

-- 1 Nephi 3:7