Who is REALLY in Charge Here?

Just in case you were wondering, I do not like sports.

However I do like looking at symbols, and most sports teams have an animal as the symbol of the team.

Lion

Penguins

Bears

So why do we used all these animals as a symbol of strength for the team? We are higher on the totem pole than they are right?

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
-- Genesis 1:26

So if we are the ones who attach specific symbols to animals, wouldn't God help us learn through symbols as well?

Christ sacrificed His life for us Vicariously.  His suffering can take away our sins.

In the same way He commanded us to be baptized.  This allows us to follow His example more fully.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
-- Acts 2:38


There must be an opposition in all things.  Think about it, if you never got hurt at all, would you really know what it felt like not to be in pain?  If you never saw the sunshine, would dark clouds really be that gloomy?  If you were never alive, would you be able to die?

 "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.

If not so, ..., righteousness could not be brought to pass,

 neither wickedness,

neither holiness nor misery,

neither good nor bad.

Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one;

wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead,

having no life neither death,

 nor corruption nor incorruption,

happiness nor misery,

neither sense nor insensibility."

-- 2 Nephi 2:11

So there is opposition in all things, and they compound in one.  The Ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol of life, but it closely resembles a cross which we see today as a symbol of death.  This is where we may easily see that opposition must be a part of mortality.  Through the Resurrection of Christ we shall all be made alive, but with His Death on the cross He would never have been Resurrected.

God can see everything.  Below is the Eye of Ra as well as the 'All Seeing Eye' that is on the back of American currency.  Egypt again has the ancient form of a symbol we recognize today.  They knew that God could see everything, and used this trait to depict Ra, the false 'Sun God' of Egypt.

As we read the scriptures, we should look for those symbols that help us to understand the True nature of God, as well as our purpose in life.  These Symbols will make it so we know exactly who is in charge here on Earth, and it is the same person who has been in charge forever.

Patience - Children

"Patience means active waiting and enduring. 

It means staying with something and doing all that we can 

working, hoping, and exercising faith; 

bearing hardship with fortitude, 

even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. 

Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

 

-- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 

Many times in Life we seem to put ourselves in a position we need something but have to wait on others before we will be able to get it.  If we are always trying to move forward it becomes easy to forget that we sometimes need to "be still and know that [He is] God."(Psalms 46:10)

Even when we are pained from seeing someone else struggle, we might be able to help them more by allowing them to figure it out and being patient with them, even if we already have a solution.

“We should learn to be patient with ourselves. 

Recognizing our strengths and our weaknesses, 

we should strive to use good judgment in all of our choices and decisions, 

make good use of every opportunity, 

and do our best in every task we undertake. 

We should not be unduly discouraged 

nor in despair at any time when we are doing the best we can. 

Rather, we should be satisfied with our progress 

even though it may come slowly at times.”

-- Joseph B. Wirthlin

 

I sometimes struggle because I feel that I am not 'good enough'.  A good friend showed me the other day that even if I do something stupid every now and again, it doesn't make me a bad person.

There are 168 hours in a week which is 10,080 minutes.  Even if I was to do something stupid for 30 minutes a day, only 2.08% of my week was stupid.  If 60% was a passing grade, I think most of us are at least C average because we spend roughly 30% of our time in bed.  Knowing that I was doing much better than my brain thought I was has helped me to move forward, feel better about who I am, and what I do.

Cristmas Presents - What are We Really Giving ? ?

What are we really giving at Christmas time when we give others presents?  Is it simply a thing?  Is it something that as great value?  Is there a lot of stuff they have to get themselves in order to use it?  How long did it take us to get it?

We should be giving a piece of our Heart to those who we love, including the Savior.  These presents, though they might be temporal objects, should never be just another thing for them to have, but something that they will enjoy and treasure as a gift and memory from you.  There should be no need of telling them to find other supplies in order to feel of your love for them.  We should take the time to put care and love into our Gift, and not just find something as a last minute thought.

This link has a song of a poor young boy who only wanted to help his mom be happy.

The Christmas Shoes

We should try to help others find true Joy and and Happiness all year, but to celebrate the Birth of the Messiah is a very Special time.

Stille Nacht (Silent Night)

May we each find a way to help those who may not have a 'fulness of Joy' this year as we celebrate Cristmas.

Joy to the World




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Me and My Dad - Live to Learn

I have learned a lot from growing up.  I didn't always want to learn anything, but my Dad taught me somewhat whenever we did anything together. (1 Nephi 1:1) What I gained the most is what I need to do in order to survive the trials that come after me all the time.

So this is me and my Dad.  He is teaching me the ways of the master chess player.  He is also teaching me the ways of life.  I think I was losing at this point, but that would depend on what losing is.

Losing to me is not learning from what you did wrong last time.

Losing to me is not being happy that you got to play the game in the first place.

Losing to me is not playing again just because the other guy is better than you.

WINNING on the other hand, is when I would intentionally get every piece killed off without putting my King in jeopardy, just because Dad took my Queen on his third move.

WINNING is saying, "Dad you're better than Me, but I am going to play anyway."

WINNING is when the conversation goes something like this...

"I beat you." - Dad
"I took your Queen." - Me
"Queen doesn't matter if you don't protect the King." - Dad
"So, maybe he was a stupid King and I wanted you to destroy his entire army and take him out of power because he didn't do his job right." - Me
"I still beat you." - Dad
"So, I got rid of the stupid King so now I get a Smart King and then I can beat you." - Me

That is a WINNING conversation in my book.

While I was growing up me and my Dad played chess all the time.  I remember one day we were supposed to be fixing the sprinklers in the backyard but we took about 4 hours and eat Sandwiches, play chess, and watch M*A*S*H.  Mom was a little less excited when she got home and nothing was done, but me and Dad were happy because we spent time doing something we enjoyed.

I also remember times in school when the only way I knew how to explain something was through chess.  If it didn't have something to do with taking out that guy in order to move in on the King then it didn't matter.  Everything I ever used I had learned from my Dad.

About a year ago, before my mission, me and my Dad started playing Starcraft together.  Almost every morning I would get up, eat breakfast, and turn on the computer to get on FaceBook.  After about 20 or 30 minutes, I would hear almost the exact same thing,

"READY TO DIE?" - Dad
"Sure." - Me

We would then play Starcraft for about 4 hours, and then go do chores.  My Dad should probably stick to chess, because playing 4-5 rounds of Starcraft a day, for about 2 months, he only ever 'won' about 30 games, while I 'won' about 200 games.

However my Dad won every single time to me.  Even though the game said he lost because I had killed off all his little army dudes, he never stopped playing with me.  He was always ready to say, "you cheated, do it again", even when he knew I didn't cheat he was alwasy trying to learn how I was beating him.

So as long as you learn from what you fail at, you never fail at all.  You never 'lose' if you 'Won' some knowledge.

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ,

we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ,

and we write according to our prophecies,

that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

-- 2 Nephi 25:26

This is what I have learned from My Dad.

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/