Thursday, December 30, 2010

Scripture of the day...

  I have really grown to love this scripture in Romans 1:8-12 here is why. "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."

  I like Paul give thanks each day for all of you that read my blogs. I give thanks that He has allowed me a new way to reach out, and share a small part of my great testimony of Our Master, Jesus Christ. That each day I am able to think of things to say that will hopefully help someone out there increase their faith in our Lord. We have all been given so many gifts, that we should share with others. I am in thanks each day to Jesus Christ for the great faith I have in Him. May we all look around us and give thanks for all that we have been given in life, and share the good news the Gospel brings to each of us.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Jesus is the Way

  Recently, I was thumbing through my scriptures and read these verses and I thought I would talk about how grateful I am for the knowledge that Jesus Christ made it possible for ALL of us to return to God's presence. The verses that I read were these from Acts Chapter 4 verses 10 and 12. "10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

  I love how powerful of  a testimony was given by two of Christ's apostles, Peter and John given here. Telling us, this is of how, and where our salvation comes from. That Christ came and the people rejected and crucified Him, but God still brought Him back from the dead, so Christ could fulfil the rest of His divine mission, and save man kind and be resurrected.

 I have often wondered, what is the meaning of the word apostle? So, I read the definition of the word apostle in the LDS bible dictionary, and it says, apostle means sent forth to share their witness as a special witness of the resurrected Lord. That's is exactly what Peter and John were doing. Sharing their own special witness that they had seen the Lord again! That Christ was indeed resurrected, that not only did He live, but He still lives now. And that they knew that there is NO other way or name where by man can be saved. It is only through the name of our dear Master Shepard and eldest brother Jesus Christ we can be saved. Because of His endless love for each of us we can be saved. I wish to add my testimony of this as well, that I know that Christ will save us all as we believe His name and follow Him. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Spirit of God

  The hymn on my mind today is from the LDS hymnal page 2, and it is The Spirit of God. I love this song because the Spirit of God is all around us. And as this song sates it can be that burning we all have inside us. After all the Spirit or the Holy Ghost is that baptism by fire that we are taught about in the scriptures and in Corinthians we are taught that our bodies are a dwelling place for the Holy Ghost. So, it just makes sense that we can have this fire burning within us. The Lord is indeed extending the saints understanding, thanks to the modern day Prophets and apostles on the earth today. Here are the words to the hymn:
 
 
1. The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.
[Chorus]
We’ll sing and we’ll shout with the armies of heaven,
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given,
Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen!
2. The Lord is extending the Saints’ understanding,
Restoring their judges and all as at first.
The knowledge and power of God are expanding;
The veil o’er the earth is beginning to burst.
3. We’ll call in our solemn assemblies in spirit,
To spread forth the kingdom of heaven abroad,
That we through our faith may begin to inherit
The visions and blessings and glories of God.
4. How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion
Shall lie down together without any ire,
And Ephraim be crowned with his blessing in Zion,
As Jesus descends with his chariot of fire!

  Verse one speaks of visions and blessings returning to the earth, which can cause some people to think or wonder wait a minute this all stopped with the apostles and there won't be anymore of this. Which causes me to look to the scriptures when it says things like this. In the book of Acts chapter 2:17-19 it quotes words from the Prophet Joel that says: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:". There we are told that before the day the Lord comes again these things are going to happen.

  Verse two speaks of how our knowledge and power will be expanded. This is not because men are more powerful, this is because of the spirit the Lord is poured out upon us. Such as the story of David and Goliath, Goliath was clearly favored in that match up, but David had an unseen power on His side and that was the power of the Lord. Thanks to the power of the Lord, David is able to defeat the foe. The Lord has so much power that He is willing to give to the children of men. We have to prepare and be worthy of it, so we can do similar things.

  Verse three talks of how we will gather together as a body of saints. We do that each Sunday and twice a year at our General Conference, which is like Ephesians 4: 11- 13 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:". We are becoming more unified in our faith. True it is not the whole world yet, but that is the next part of the verse, spreading the Kingdom abroad. That is what I am doing now, and all of my other missionary friends. Trying to spread this glad message with the world. That these things have not ceased. God still speaks! We are still receiving direction and guidance from a loving merciful Father above!


  Verse four, How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion can lie down together without and ire. How wonderful to think that things that would normally would not get along. I guess the lion gets along fine with the lamb, its just in a bit worse shape afterwards... But to think of all animals living together in peace. If it will be that way with animals, it will be the same with us as humans because we will be in the presence of our Father. Wow, what a great feeling it will be, when we see Jesus descending in His Chariot of fire and we will all jump and shout for joy!! Singing Hosanna Hosanna to God and the Lamb and glory to them forever! Amen and amen!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

How Great Thou Art

  Today, I would like to write about one of my favorite hymns, How great Thou Art. I love this hymn because I makes me realize how truly great our Master is. If you begin to think of the worlds that were created at His command and creating us from the dust of the earth and how nothing that man can make can even begin to compare to the things that God has and does create it gives us a small glimpse at how Great and Powerful our God is. So, I tried to put the words on here but there is a copyright restriction so just bare with me as I go through it.

  The first verse starts by talking about some of the things that were created in the universe, and the awesome wonder the author is in when he looks at the things the Lord has created. Such as the worlds the stars, and the thunder. All things that most of of notice but rarely take the time to think of the great effort it may have taken to have these things be. When I look up at the stars, in Montana and Wyoming it is especially nice because the sky is so big and there are little lights to effect what you can see, and think about how many stars there are out there and the time and effort it may have take I get a sense of that awesome wonder the author is speaking of.

  Verse two talks more about the things that the Master created on this beautiful earth. The woods and the forest glades. The birds sweetly singing in those trees that were made. Looking down from the lofty mountains and getting a glimpse at the view that God can see each and everyday as He looks out over what He has made. It often makes me wish that we could all have a little more time to get to sit and admire these things. To get a few more chances in life to sit and listen to the water running through the brook and feeling the cool summer breezes. How great a love God has for us to create these great places and wonder for or pleasure.

  Verse three is my favorite. And when I think, of God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, MY burden gladly baring, He bled and died to take away my sins. What love! God the Great creator of all of the Heavens and the earth sent His only begotten Son to bleed and die for us, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US! That Christ, the only perfect person to ever walk the face of this earth, was willing to show His perfect obedience to His Father and do all that He asked Him. To suffer for all of us that fall short everyday, and not only to suffer, but to give up His own life in such a cruel way. That He, The Christ, allowed Himself to be hung on a cross and suffer and die. That verse makes me cry nearly every time I sing or read it. When I reflect on the silly things I do each and everyday that He gladly took upon Himself so that I would not have to suffer for those things. And He did it not only for me, but also EVERY person to EVER walk the face of this earth.

  The last verse: When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation, (which means a loud shout or other demonstration of welcome, goodwill, or approval.) And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, (which means the act of paying honor, as to a divine being; worship. And or fervent and devoted love.) And there proclaim, My God How Great Thou Art! What a joyous day that will be when we can shout praise of joy and gratitude for our Savior Jesus Christ. When we can begin to give back some of that GREAT love which He showed to us! Brothers and sister, I am soo grateful for hymns like this that enable us to sing praises to our Lord! As missionaries, our mission president encourages us to sing at appointments because it invites the spirit. They tell us even if you don't have a good voice the Lord will help us there as well, and its so true. The Lord doesn't expect us to be perfect, but He sure what us to do our best. And that can be one of our gift to God, is to try our best! Be a little more positive if that's something we struggle with or give of our time to someone in need our who is lonely. He would gladly do that for us, so lets do it for others. May the Lord bless each and everyone of you this fine holiday season. All my Love, Elder Kevin House  

Monday, December 20, 2010

Joy to the World!

  I have always enjoyed this Hymn, its up beat a little faster and The message it brings. I have always thought of it as more of a Christmas hymn, but I think we should sing it more than just the one time of year because The Lord has come so we should always be looking for ways to share this joy! I don't know why this song will let me get the words and those others wouldn't but oh well, here they are:

1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints, and Saints and angels sing.
2. Rejoice! Rejoice when Jesus reigns,
And Saints their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
3. No more will sin and sorrow grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He’ll come and make the blessings flow
Far as the curse was found,
Far as the curse was found,
Far as, far as the curse was found.
4. Rejoice! Rejoice in the Most High,
While Israel spreads abroad
Like stars that glitter in the sky,
And ever worship God,
And ever worship God,
And ever, and ever worship God.


  I love the whole song, but I will go through verse by verse telling what I like about them. The first verse tells us all to make room in our hearts for the King that the earth is about to receive. I like to think of it as "The Lord is coming the Lord is coming!!!" with similar excitement as the chicken that thought the sky was falling!! That OH MAN!!! Something big is about to happen!! And the saints and angels sings praises to this King welcoming Him into this great world, because we know because of the scriptures the great mission He came to fulfil! The next verse telling us to rejoice because He has come and all things of the world testify of that! Verse three talking of when the day Christ returns again all of the bad things that infest the earth will be gone to trouble us no more. The last verse telling us to ever worship God. That is the important thing, is to ever be worshipping God. The Christmas time is a great time to do it, but we should always be trying to have that great joy with us. The Lord does live and He loves us all so much! Let us all enjoy this great holiday season!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Because I Have Been Much

  The hymn I wish to talk about today is hymn 219 I Have Been Given Much. This is such a wonderful hymn because it causes me to think about all of the many wonderful gifts that I have been given. Each and everyday we are all blessed with soo many gifts that we notice and so many others that go by unnoticed. The songs talks about my glowing fire my loaf of my bread my roofs safe shelter over head and the need to share them with others. I know that those are all things that I am very grateful but too oft I don't give the thanks necessary for those gifts or share those gifts with others.

  What an important thing it is to share the gifts we have been given with others. At times this can be hard, because we think we don't have enough for ourselves how can we spare to share with others. When I begin to think like that my mind is drawn to the scriptures, the story of the widows mite, the story of the woman who gave food to the prophet and her food never ran out and she was able to provide for her family. The Lord is the one who gave us these blessings and He will always bless us with more especially if we are willing to help others with what we have been given. Each day that we live is a gift from God. The way that this amazing planet is set up where food grows, air is produced, we don't go floating away, we don't have huge predators trying to eat us we have homes to live and here in Wyoming I have become even more grateful for wood stoves and furnaces. We have it really easy compared to how things have been in the history of the world.

   I love the last verse to this song, how it talks of how we have been blessed by the love of Our Great Lord. Talks of how we must share that knowledge that we have of God's love. That we must share it by word and deed. It reminds me of something my mom would say to us growing up, "you say you love me now show me". She would say this because my brother and I often would have wrestling matches that she wasn't much of a fan of or we would be too rowdy and not listen to her. This was her way of getting us to claim down a little and start to listen again. We live in a world with so much information out there and yet there are still people that don't know that our Father in Heaven loves them. They may not know of the ultimate gift given for all of man kind, Our Savior Jesus Christ. None of us could make it back into the presence of our great maker without that gift. We are so lucky to be in this great time of year to share this message with others that even though we may not have enough money to help someone by buying gifts or toys, but we can help them by sharing the message of Jesus Christ with. I know we all have many gifts and talents that God has given us just to help others so lets share them.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy

  The hymn on my mind today is hymn number 335 from the LDS Hymnal called "Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy". This hymn is talking about a light house from above that guides those that are lost at sea to safety. The way that it has been explained to me is there are two sets of lights on a beach. There is an upper and a lower set and if you can line up the two lights it you can be guides safely into the harbor. The need to have these lights together is because there can be many obstacles as one tries to make there way to the shore that can be seen during the day but cannot be seen at night such as coral or rocks or other things that aren't friendly to boats. So both sets of lights are of great importance. I think of the higher light as God and the lower lights as those that God has sent to guide His children. So I was trying to get the words and I can't seem to figure it out how to get the words on here so go look it up, its really good!! The words can be found at new.lds.org and type in hymn 335 and it will get you there.

  God is this higher light, He wants to help and lead us.There are some things that He has to let us do by ourselves or we would never learn. One of the greatest things about God is He won't leave us alone, He will always be there to guide us along so we can make it back safely to the harbor, or Heaven. We can look back on history and see that God has a pattern, and that is calling prophets to the earth to help us. We all face times where we are in the dark and we can't seem to find our way by ourselves, can't find our way past or through the rocks. We can however look for the lights that He places into our lives to help us. God is a God of justice, but His bowls are also full of mercy. Man, I really wish I could get that song on here. Well when you listen to it, put yourself in that situation, that you are lost out at sea and you are relying on these lights to bring you safely home. As we get those things of darkness out of our hearts and minds it will loosen satans grasp on us and we can make it back safe.These things in life are too hard to do alone. The risks are to great and the journey is too hard. I have heard a pretty cool way to look at over coming darkness.You and bring a light into a room full of darkness and it will case away a great deal of darkness, but you can't bring a thing of darkness into a room and make it dark you must remove the source of light first. After all Christ says I am the light and life of the world. So let us all look to that great light and be saved.

 

Friday, December 10, 2010

Hymns

  Last month I talked a lot about things I was thankful or grateful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. This month, I would like to do something similar, and that will be to discuss my one of my favorite hymn's each day. Since this is the time of year when we focus on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, I thought I would share one some my favorite hymns about Him and His life, ministry, birth and which ever other ones mean the most to me. Though, I have next to no musical talent I still enjoy to try my best and to listen to others share their wonderful talents. There is a great scripture talking about the song of the heart in The Book of Doctrine Covenants section 35:12 the Lord is speaking to Emma Smith through Joseph Smith and says: For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. Sounds to me like a good reason to have hymns or songs in church. Here is the hymn I wish to start with, Hymn 134, I Believe In Christ. Here are the words.

 
1. I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I’ll sing;
I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand amens my tongue employ.
I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son.
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his; his name be praised.
2. I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
As Mary’s Son he came to reign
’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.
I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
Who did gain all his Father hath,
Who said to men: “Come, follow me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be.”
3. I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.
4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I’ll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.


  Such a powerful hymn. This has been one of my favorites for a long time because it describes exactly what we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints believe. That He is Gods Son, He came down as a mortal man to save all of us from the woes of sin. That He can and will set of free from Satan's grasp. The last verse is my favorite, that while we are here going through all of the grief and pain that we all go through that we can look forward to that Great day when He will come again. The glorious day when we will get to stand in His Presence and see the marks of the nails in His feet and know that He went through it for us. I know That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is, in deed coming again to the earth to rule and reign, we do not know the hour or the day but we do know that it is going to happen and what a great day that it will be.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Every Knee Shall Bow

Today, I would like to share some thoughts that I had yesterday. About once a month we have a zone conference, it is a meeting in which a large group of missionaries under the direction of the mission president gather together for training. As missionaries, we all have room for improvement and we want to get better so I love these meetings. Since it is getting closer to the holiday season there was a bit of a Christmas theme yesterday, and all of us were asked to prepare a 2 to 3 minute talk on our Savior Jesus Christ. It was so wonderful to hear the different talks from the various missionaries and to hear how our Savior has helped them and what He means to each of them. There was one that really stood out to me and that is what I will be writing on today. That is Every Knee Shall Bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is The Christ. This comes from Philippians chapter 1 verses 7-13. And also in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 27:31.

  Here is what those scriptures say: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
 12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Mosiah 27: 31Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all-searching eye.

  I have always looked at these scriptures as gloom and doom scriptures. It always sounded to me like it didn't matter if you did or didn't accept Jesus Christ, in the end you won't be able to deny it. In a sense it means that, but the way the person described it yesterday gave it a whole new meaning to me. The way it was described yesterday was something like this, God can either compel you to be humble or you can do it yourself and which would you rather it be? Would you like it in the great Day of Judgment to be standing there trembling the whole time with fear knowing thinking, "Oh no!! Did I do all was I supposed to? Do I know how He is? Does He know me?" I am sure there will be a certain amount of that no matter how good of a life you live, but how much better of a feeling it will be when at that day we are confident. We are standing there gladly waiting for our turn, when we can go and bow before The Son of God and weep at His feet and give Him thanks for the many countless blessing That He had given to you. That as weak and foolish as we all are at times, He, Jesus Christ the only perfect man to ever walk the face of this earth, will and does forgive us of the many wrongs we do. That the love He has is so infinite that He begs us to repent that He may heal us. I know after the way it was described to me yesterday and hopefully after I have explained this today it will bring these scriptures into a whole new light. That we look forward to the day when we bow before our Lord and confess Him to be The Christ rather than being compelled to do it because we did not know Him. Let us all work harder to Truly Know who Jesus Christ is, and what better time to do it than the time where so much of the world focuses on His magnificent birth.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Serving Our Fellow Man

Today I don't have much time to write but I must say what I am grateful for today. Today was a pretty good day. We were able to go offer some service. I have always enjoyed some good manual labor, and thats exactly what we got to do today. We got to go help someone hang sheet rock, I wasn't much help , because of the operation but I was glad to be able to help a little. It was nice because we were able to feel busy all day today and thats something that we haven't done in weeks. It was so nice to have a chance to go out and work to feel busy again. I am am amazed at how fast it the days go by when we are able to stay busy. The scriptures talk of being engaged in good things, helping others in whatever ways we can. The two great commandments are to love the Lord with all of our might and hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. I know it always makes me happy to help others and even happier when I am the one receiving the help. Now we all should try our best to keep the commandments, especially these because they are the two great commandments and they can have such a impact in not only our lives but all of those that we help.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Early Morning Meeting

  This morning as we were getting ready to go to our meetings, I thought thats what I will write about today. Each Sunday morning we have a missionary meeting with some of the ward members to discuss the weeks missionary work, the people we saw those that need help etc. Our first meeting begins at 7 am, so we wake up at 5:45 am to begin getting ready. As I wrote that down just now I was thinking, an hour and fifteen minutes to get ready?! Are we really that slow, we are guys not girls for crying out loud! But in a way it is nice because it gives us some time to just sit and ponder in the mornings. Thats what I did this morning is I just looked at the living room window for a few minutes and thought about the wonderful life Heavenly Father has given to me.

  I was thinking what a special time of year it is, getting closer to the holidays its nice to be able to reflect on things that have gone by. I was thinking this morning how grateful I am to be on a mission. To have the energy that I do, that I feel as good as I do and that I am healing up. Then I was looking at the snow on the ground, the sun wasn't out yet, but I was still able to see out a little ways and see a little fog. The fog reminds me of home, our winters back in California we have fog and in Wyoming its snow.  A scripture that often pops into my mind when I have a chance to sit and be still is from Psalms 46:10. It reads: "Be still, and know that I am God..." Simple but powerful. There are times in our lives where we need to stop and be still and remember the big man up stairs. To remember that His will is what is going to happen. We may fight it we may try and change it, but eventually His way will win. So we need to reflect on our own lives see where we are, see where we can improve and if needed change things so we can have a few more chances throughout each day to recognize God and the miracles that He is working all around us. So if needed take a little more time in the mornings before meetings before school before work and talk to God, look at the great and many blessings He has brought into your lives. You won't be disappointed. 

Saturday, December 4, 2010

O the Cunning Plan of the evil One

  There was a talk given by M. Russel Ballard this last years October general conference and he gave an amazing talk on, "O the Cunning Plan of the Evil One". The whole talk was great, but there are a few points that I would like to focus on. He began by talking of a fly fisherman. Elder Ballard talks of how experienced fly fishermen study the fish, find out what they like, what they what they hunger after. They, the fishermen, make artificial lures to help deceive the fish, make them think it is food but in reality it is a way to hook or trap us. Lucifer is the same way. Here is how is relates the two:
"The use of artificial lures to fool and catch a fish is an example of the way Lucifer often tempts, deceives, and tries to ensnare us.
Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “hunger,” or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is."

Elder Ballard goes on to say many more things on this topic so I challenge you to look it up and read or watch it after you are done reading at new.lds.org. Satan is real, he tries his best to tempt us all each and everyday. I know it is hard to resist these temptations at times, but God will give us the strength we need to over come and resist these temptations. We need to always remember to have a prayer in our hearts try to keep good clean thoughts.  He has given men power to claim raging seas, move mountains, walk on water, power to make it through impossible situations, so He can and will give us strengthen.

Friday, December 3, 2010

On my mind today...

  Well, after last weeks trip back to the hospital I have decided to go back to missionary work a little bit slower, so it has given me a lot of time to read the scriptures. Yesterday, I decided to got through and read all of the chapter headings in the Book of Mormon. I have thought about doing it a few times but have never had the free time to do it. It was pretty fun. It was definitely not the same as reading the whole book but it was interesting to see the different passages I have marked, as I went from chapter to chapter. When I read, or do most things, I distracted really easily, like when I see lots of colors on a page I usually have to stop and read a few of them. Which I am very glad I did because I was able to find quite a few scriptures that I haven't taken the time to think about, such as this one in Mosiah chapter 7 verse 33. It reads: But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

  I really liked that because of the way it talks about how the Lord deliver us out of bondage. I like how it uses the word pleasure to describe Him forgiving us. He looks forward to it. He wants to help us. I was also reading in the book of Acts today and once again, Paul amazes me. Going through so much persecution and he delights in it because he knows he is suffering for a greater cause. Paul knows that when people see him going through these hardships it will cause them to wonder why and look into why he is suffering for these things. Which lead him to many chances to share his testimony of the gospel. By sharing his testimony with King Agrippa, the kings says you almost caused me to become a Christan. There are times when our actions will speak louder than our words and there will be times when our words will help to back our actions. As we rely on our Savior and turn to Him with full purpose of heart He will deliver us from bondage.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Family, Friends, Loved Ones

  I have been thinking a lot about how grateful I am for my wonderful family friends and loved ones. While we are out on our missions we have very little contact with family and friends. We email home once a week, we call home twice a year, mothers day and Christmas. We can write letters which are always fun to get, but if you are like me its tough to write people back. So not a whole lot of contact with them. I know for my parents it is very tough at times like these for them, not to be able to come and see me or even call me and find out how I am doing.

  It has been pretty hard to not get to talk with my family but I think I have learned to be more grateful for them during this process. When I read their letters and emails I can truly feel their love even though I cannot see or hear them. The same can happen to each of us as we pray. We know that God hears us, but it can be tough to know this because, we can't see Him face to face and talk with Him. But, we must know that He loves and cares about us and look for the ways or the people that He brings or has brought into our lives to help us. I have been amazed at how many of these people The Lord has brought into my life. In each area I have covered on my mission, each person I have served with, and friends from home that have had a huge impact on my life and has helped me in one way or another.

  The Lord loves us all and has a great purpose for each of us. We must always strive to understand what He wants us to do. So search the scriptures pray do all you can to understand how you can help yourselves and others. Also always remember the Lord doesn't expect us to do things by ourselves. In the Book of Mormon in the book of Nephi chapter 3 verse 7 Nephi shares a very good piece of knowledge. He says how the Lord will provide a way for us to accomplish every task that we have before us. God will help you!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Christ, The Living Water

Today my reading has been in The New Testament, in The Gospel According to John. It was talking about how Christ is the Living Water so I decided to share my thoughts on this topic. I am sure there are many different meanings of this statement, but that is the wonderful thing about the scriptures is they mean different things on different days to us. This morning what kept sticking out to me is how Christ will always be there to fill us when we are feeling drained. The world today is full of so many things that offer to fill us or to satisfy our needs, but do these things last?

  In high school I was privileged enough to play sports with a group of well talented athletes that worked well together. We worked hard we had fun and we won. We were the first team to go through our high school to win a league title and a section championship. We were all so happy to have accomplished what we did, we did something that many classes before us had come very close to doing but never quite got there. So we felt really good about ourselves for a while. Then time passed and it wasn't quite as exciting, it was special, but life moves on. We can only look back on the memories we can't go back and do it again. But the gospel is a joy that we can we relive over and over. The good feelings that we feel we don't only have to look back and remember the good feelings and not do it again. We can do it again, everyday if we want it.

  Christ in this story is speaking to a Samaritan woman and asks her for a drink of water after a long journey. She asks Him, do you not realize I am different? Our people don't help each other and you want me to help you? And Jesus replies if I had a special gift would you like me to keep it from you? God is greater than all of us and He freely gives gifts to all of His children, and His gifts don't stop coming, they are there anytime we ask for them. They will follow like water from a well. God is there waiting for us to ask Him for help. His well will never run dry if we allow ourselves to seek His help. Unlike the things of the world that will bring happiness for a time, the joy we feel as God helps us in our live never has to stop. God doesn't care how long our journey has taken us away from Him, when we go looking He will be there with out stretched arms and with a buckets full of water to quench our thirst. Never let our spiritual well run dry my friends.