Restoration of the Priesthood - Anniversary

Do you know what today is?

Today is the 183rd Anniversary of the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.

On May 15th, 1829, John the Baptist (as a resurrected being, see Matthew 27:52-53 and 3 Nephi 23:11) came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the bank of the Susquehanna River.  He then Ordained them to the Priesthood which he held, which is the same Priesthood that Christ was Baptized by.

Without this Authority nothing that we do in this life would be of any effect out of this life.

When asked who the Apostles said Jesus was, Peter replied,

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

-- Matthew 16:16

It was upon this, the Testimony of the Godhead, that is the keystone of the Church, upon which the Devil has no power to overthrow.

Christ then stated:

"I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:

and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth

shall be bound in heaven:

and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth

shall be loosed in heaven."

-- Matthew 16:19

It is through this Sealing Power, to bind on Earth and in Heaven, that we may be with our Families Forever.
Without the proper Authority of the Priesthood, nothing done in any religious ceremony is of any effect after we depart this life.  Only by doing what God has Commanded, in the way He commanded it, may we truly be saved at the last day.

Ninja Turtles - Unity

     I am a huge fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  One of my friends once nicknamed me 'Ninja Turtle'.  His nickname was 'Ninja Penguin'.

But have you ever wondered why the Ninja Turtles always defeated the Foot?  Or why the Shredder never seemed to have the upper hand?

First off, it was a movie, and the good guys almost always win.  The part that I wish to point out is that the Ninja Turtles were UNIFIED in the fight against evil.

So many times I see people arguing and fighting over something when the real problem isn't "who is right and who is wrong", the problem is "Who needs help?"  It doesn't matter if you think you have a better solution to the problem, if the other guy has an option hear him out and see if it works.

(Pay attention to what Shredder says between 3:40 and 3:50)

The Godhead is unified even though they are separate and distinct individuals.  This is because each member of the Godhead is working towards the same goal.

We all have differnt Skills, Talents, and Abilities.  Just like each of the Turtles uses a different type of weapon to fight against evil, a staff, swords, and nunchucks, so too might we use our "several Ability" (Matthew 25:15) to help others "come unto Christ and be Perfected in Him". (Moroni 10:32)

So next time you feel like arguing about how something should be done, try listening to what the other person has to say before concluding that they are wrong.  Always remember that we are to be Unified, which does not mean that we have to do the same thing as everyone else, but that we work for the beneift of the whole and not just ourselves.  We must always have the same purpose in mind. 

The Lord has said, "If ye are not one, Ye are not mine."

Doctrine and Covenants 38:27

Smile, your Heavenly Father is watching out for you.

Isaiah 52:12

Mommy Prays - and Teaches Me

I wish to Honor my Mom today...

In the Book of Mormon, there is an account of 2000 young men who join the army during a particularly dangerous war.  Their fathers had made an oath and covenat not to take up weapons ever again, and so they could not go themselves to defend their family.  These sons knew the oath that their fathers had taken and chose to go themselves to protect their parents.

On the battle field their Commander, Helaman, asked if they would go against an army that had been chasing after them, knowing that that army was larger than them.  The Humble and Faithful 'Stripling Warriors' Gave their response based on what their parents, particularly their Mothers, had taught them.

"Father (Helaman), behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go,"

-- Alma 56:46

"And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."

-- Alma 56:48

I also know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's church here on Earth.  My mommy taught me to Pray when I was very young, and now that I am old I know that I can talk with my Heavenly Father whenever I need to, and that He will give answers to my Prayers.

What would i do Without my Mom?

Without my Mom, i would not be here.

Because of Mom, i have no Fear.

Without my Mom, i would be dumb.

Because of Mom, i don't suck my thumb.

Without my Mom, i get upset.

Because of Mom, i get a pet.

Without my Mom, i am confused.

Because of Mom, i watch the news.

Without my Mom, i would probably die.

Because of Mom, i don't get high.

Without my Mom, i wouldn't pray.

Because of Mom, i know the way.

Without my Mom, i would be lost.

To lose my Mom, is too high a cost.

I LOVE YOU MOMMY!!!

Deception - Not Always

Sometimes I think we might feel like others are dishonest with us,

or that they only want to take advantage of us.

In this clip from the Karate Kid, Daniel is complaining because all he has done is 'chores' for Mr. Miyagi.  What Daniel doesn't realize is that Mr. Miyagi has been building 'Muscle Memory' for his Karate training.

Things are not always as they seem.

Sometimes God does the same thing with us as He tries to help us learn the Gospel.  We often think that 'LIFE' is just not fair.  Which is not exactly true.

"Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man,

for the judgments of God are always just,

but the judgments of man are not always just."

-- Mosiah 29:12

God will Judge all men with a Just Judgementat the last day.

Everyone will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

Most of the time when something 'unfair' happens to us, we start thinking that something has gone wrong.

If we step back and look at things from a different perspective, we can often see that it might be completely what should have happened.  I have often heard people talk about 20/20 hindsight, (when I was little I thought that meant some people had eyes in the back of their head), and this is what I intend to point out in this video clip.

Daniel didn't see the true meaning of things as he was sanding the floor, waxing the cars, painting the house, or painting the fence.  Yet after a simple and brief explanation from Mr. Miyagi, he understood exactly what each of those tasks was for. 

As we pass through life, I promise everything happens for a reason.  If we seek first to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Follow His Commandments, we can then learn to accept God's timing.  We will be closer to Him, and we will understand those things that He wants us to learn.

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?

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

 .

Joseph Smith : Prophet of the Restoration

This is one of my favorite movies.  The Bible speaks of the "restitution of all things."(Acts 3:21)  The Bible also says that there would be a general or great Apostasy, or a "falling away."(2 Thessalonians 2:3)

In Ezekiel 37 The Lord speaks to His Prophet of two books of Scripture, the Stick of Judah and the Stick of Ephraim.  The Stick of Judah is the Bible, because it was written by the Jews.

What then is the Stick of Ephraim?

What book of Scripture did the tribe of Ephraim write?

The Stick of Ephraim is the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon was written upon the American continent.

The Book of Mormon was brought forth in modern times by a Prophet of God.

The Book of Mormon was Translated by the Gift and Power of God.

This movie is a depiction of what Joseph Smith went through in order to restore the Church to the Earth.

ENJOY

Click HERE for a free copy of the Book of Mormon

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

O. Vincent Haleck

Easter Remembrance

Pray About It . . . What Does it Mean to Pray ? ? ?

Prayer is one of the ways in which we as Humans receive Revelation.

The Bible Dictionary states the following about Prayer :

        "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.

        Christians are taught to pray in Christ’s name (John 14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–24). We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ—when his words abide in us (John 15:7). We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent his mind, but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart."

Prayer is something we should do out of love.  When we love the savior we will pray to the Father for forgiveness when we have done something wrong.  When we love our neighbors we will pray for them even when they are not in need of help.

The pattern of Prayer that Christ taught His diciples was to pray to the Father, in the Name of Christ.  Much like a letter to a dear friend.  We speak freely and sometimes emotionally in personal prayer.  We can say whatever we want our Father to hear.  We give Thanks for our blessings, and we ask for those things we still need help with.

I hope that we might each find a new desire to pray, and to speak with our Heavenly Father more often.

This is my prayer for everyone, in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.