The Way To Perfection:Study

Just imagine this, Your 5' 4" a solid 100 pounds and just skin and bones, your opponent is a good 6' 4" and a good 280 pounds. Sounds pretty hard to believe that these two people could go one on one with each other. Its only obvious that the monster of a man, the 280 pound man would in a sense destroy the little man that is weighing in at 100 pounds. There is no hope for the little man, Right? well, not necessarily, why do I say that you might be asking? Well crazier things have happened, no matter how big or strong the guy is and how little you are, you can still defeat that person. There are so many ways, of course you couldn't really go head on to the man, but you can find his weaknesses. You would have to study him out, and see what he lacks in. He might lack in movement, stamina, whatever the case, but you would find that so you can come out on top.

When I was in the 6th grade, you could say that I was a wee-little-lad. Don't know the exact size of me but I was small. I still played football. I would never stop loving and doing a sport just because I was not big enough or whatever the case was. But my 6th grade year, I went into the football season, I really loved catching the football, so a receiver you might say I wanted to be. Well to my surprise I was not put as a receiver I was put on the line. I was blown away, a little man like me on the line, brought a big shock into my eyes. I didn't even really know what to do on the line. I felt like the team on "Little Giants" that had no idea what they were doing. But they kept on pushing through and found the other teams weaknesses and at the very end they came on top. Even though at times it was tough and I was put on the line against some very VERY big boys. I got pushed around most of the times, I still pressed through it and I even did what I was on the line to do. To block them or get through to cause a massive pile up so the line backers could tackle the quarter back or running backs. But the only way that I was able to accomplish that was to study the man out in front of me. I had to see what his weakness was. Most of the time I just had to be faster then him.

We always need to be studying. If its for a big football game, basketball game or even preparing spiritually.

Our Heavenly Father has given us Scriptures to study on a regular basis to prepare to meet him and to learn of what we need to do in life. These scriptures are The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. In Doctrine and Covenants 109:7 it states, " Yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith." (Boldness added). Study is a vital part in our progression in Perfection. If we did not study we would not learn and grow in this gospel. As I study the scriptures every day, I learn something new all the time. That is the stuff that I need to apply in my life, so I can be better and know what I need to do or stay away from so I can be like our Heavenly Father.

Through studying out the things necessary for coming out on top when going head on to a giant or whatever the case might be we can be successful and we can prepare our selves for PERFECTION!!!  

                                              

The Way to Perfection: Prayer

You run, sprint, hit, catch and practice you hardest!!!
You tighten up your laces, put the head gear on, practice your shots, and get the blood pumping!!!

These are all things that we do as we prepare for the big games, for Football and Wrestling. We do all these things for the physical aspect of the game, but what do we do to prepare spiritually? Both steps can help reach that goal of Perfection!!

Each time I went out to the field for a game, or to the mat for a match, I always turned to something. What might that be.....? PRAYER!!! We always need something to prepare us, For the Perfection in Sports its practice. Practice, Practice, Practice. and Spiritually its Prayer.  I never really thought about how much prayer works. But it does, and this is how.

Before running out to the field before each game, my team and myself would all gather together and have a moment of silence, each time we did this, I would bow my head and say a little prayer to my Heavenly Father. For protection, guidance and possibly success. Saying that little prayer kept my relationship with my Heavenly Father strong and close, I new each time I went out to the field I would have His added protection with me. In the Book of Mormon, a Prophet councils us to "pray always", 2 Nephi 32:9 says, "But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform anything unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul." (Boldness added). Always turn to the Lord in everything we do.

Another experience is for Wrestling, before each time stepping into the middle of the mat to shake the opponents hand, I would grab my ankle strap and I would walk to the edge of the mat bow down and as I put the strap around my ankle I would always say a little prayer. Saying that prayer to my Heavenly Father, I would feel the Peace of the Holy Ghost that I would be watched over.

The power of Prayer is so important for us to prepare us for Perfection. It shows our Humility that we need the help of our Hevanly Father in our Lives. Over the years as I have turned to prayer in sports, or just questions and concerns I might have for life. I truly see the care our Heavenly Father has for us. I know as we turn to Him, our Heavenly Father in prayer, we can be guided and protected for the evil ways of the advisary, D&C 10:5 states,  "Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work." We can make that step to Perfection!!!

The Way to Perfection

Whats the one thing that you want to receive in life? Is it, your favorite car, job, house, etc... what is it, ponder about that. As I have progressed through life, one thing that I have thought about in trying my hardest to achieve is; PERFECTION!!! Now I know I will never achieve perfection, cause I am imperfect, we all are. The only perfect one is our Savior Jesus Christ. Wouldn't you say that's a great goal to try and achieve. We all want to gain perfection. Even Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to look for perfection. In Matthew 5:48 it states, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." That is, to strive on a daily basis to be like our Father in Heaven. So that has been my goal in life, PERFECTION!!! So what do we need to do in our lives to strive for that Perfection? Over the next couple of blogs I would like to address "The Preparation to Perfection". Comparing The Gospel aspect of Perfection, to the Perfection of Sports. So stay tune with my blogs and see how you can achieve PERFECTION!!!!

FAITH? WORKS?

So today I was pondering about the word Faith? What is it? Why do we need it? Then I was also pondering about the word Works? What is it? Why do we need it?

There is a lot of commotion about Faith and Works. Some of us might have Faith but be lacking in the works. Some of us might have the Works but lacking in the Faith. Why are these two words so important to returning to be with our Heavenly Father.

First I would like to explain what each word means and its importants then I will tie it into on how we need both Faith and Works to return to be with our Father in Heaven.

So Faith as states in Alma 32:21, "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true," Faith is something you believe that is true but you cannot see. Just like our Savior Jesus Christ. We have all not seen Him but we know he truly is the Son of God, that He died for us and through Him we can return to be with our Heavenly Father.

Without Faith nothing is possible. We cannot receive anything. Faith is a daily task that we always need to continue to increase. You can never have to much Faith. As it states in the Matthew 17: 20; "Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." As we gain Faith we can do so much. It is so important to have Faith in our lives.

Next Works? Works, something so good to have in our lives. But something so simply to forget about. The definition of the word Works is, "The effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something." The Lord has asked us, "If ye love me, keep my Commandments" (John 14:15). Those are works, that we need to accomplish. As we show our Love for Him by keeping his commandments we are blessed with, increased Faith, (hum, there is the word I was was looking for) and also increased support and protection from our Heavenly Father.

 It is something that we need to do on a day to day basis. Not just today and take a couple days off and then get back on it. We need to strive to work everyday and every hour. Just like our Faith we need to strive to increase our Faith everyday. 

These two words; Faith and Works are so key and important to have in our Lives. We might have one but not the other. If that is the case we cannot progress. We are stuck. Its kinda like a rowboat. Usually you have two ore's that you use so you can go straight and get to your destination. Well if you forget one of those ore's and only use one then you will just go in circles. You would not continue on to your destination. With two they work together and then you will have a straight shot to your destination.

That is why our Heavenly Father has counciled us on exercising both; Faith and Works. As We read in James 2:14,17-18 & 26 it says; "14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

We all need both of them to reach the potential our Heavenly Father wants for us. I can testify as we strive to live our lives with The Faith and Do the works we can and will return to be with our Heavenly Father and we can receive the blessings that He has in store for us. Always remember John 14:15; "If ye love me keep my commandments." This is what He asked us to do. We need Faith and Works in this commandment.

"The Way"

Last Thursday Elder Roerdanz and myself were driving home to Great Falls Montana from Chinook Montana. We came across something that happens all the time in Montana during the Spring time. We hit Construction. The joke up this way is that there are two seasons; Winter and Construction. So we ran into some road construction and I had no idea that running into something that most people hate running into while traveling on vacation or going home would open my eyes to something amazing pertaining to The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we came into visual of the Construction there was a flag lady to warn us to stop. As we came to a stop the lady came up to our window and said, "Just have to wait for a "Pilot Car". As Elder Roerdanz and myself sat there, we began talking about why in the world do we need a pilot car. As we looked ahead and saw a bit of the construction, we felt like it wasn't looking to bad as far as heavy equipment or anything like that. We thought we could make it safely around all the work and have no problems. And plus even get through a lot faster then having to wait and follow behind a "Pilot Car".

What we did not know but later came to find out, as we traveled farther into the Road Construction, there began to be more and more heavy equipment and a lot of machines tearing up the road. We then realized how important it was for us to wait for that "Pilot Car". That Pilot Car knew what was going on, how long the Construction was and what was on the path of our travel. If we would have not listened to the lady at the very first who said, "Just have to wait for a "Pilot Car", then the consequences could have been bad. We could have been seriously hurt by the machinery or even lost on the un-paved road.

As we continued on in the Construction zone, thoughts started rushing in about our Savior Jesus Christ. How He is "The Pilot Car". As it states in John 14:6; "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." He is the one that leads us, guides us, and helps us every step of the way.

As we go through life we might feel like we know what to choose, what we want and what to do. We might try to do it without our Savior Jesus Christs' help and then we catch ourselves in trouble, or in a rut that we cannot get out of, but we always have the "Pilot Car" or our Savior Jesus Christ that helps us through the way. We do not have to go into things blinded. As we look upon Him, He will provide, and show us the way to return to our ultimate Goal, to be with our Heavenly Father.

As that Road Construction opened my eyes, I now see how important that "Pilot Car" was for us to get through the construction safely. I know that just as that Pilot Car helped us out, we have our Savior Jesus Christ to help us out, to protect us and lead us through this life. He truly is "THE WAY".
                                              

This is the "Pilot Car" that led us through
the construction.

This is the equipment that we could see
at the beginning of the construction



 

This is the kind of equipment that we could
not see deeper into the construction



   

To the Mother's of the World

This Sunday we get to celebrate Mother's Day. What a honor it is to reflect on all my mother has done for me. To all you mother's out there, Thank you and may you have a joyous day on this special day.

My mom is very close to me, she has comforted me when I needed it, She has taught me everything that I need to know in my life. She is a great example to me. She teaches me the best things in my life. She is truely a Great Mother.

As I reflect on my life and how much she has done for me, I cannot put it all into words. But this I do know, that I am proud to say that I am her son. If you all have not noticed I like poems to sum up what I feel and this poem says everything about my mother.



Each day I think about my Father in Heaven and His plan for me. I know that God placed me in my family for a special reason, He gave me the right mom for me and with that I am forever Greatful.

To you mom, I love you. I thank you for everything you have raised me up to be. You taught me well, and for that I will always be greatful. I cannot say enough about you with words but Just know that I LOVE YOU!!!

also to the rest of you mother's out there, thank you for your love and support. May the Lord Bless you all for everything you do for us. YOUR THE BEST!!!!

"Becoming Stonger"

As I reflect on my life, I continue to ask myself, "How much can I take?" Our Heavenly Father is mindful of each and everyone one of us. He knows what we go through, what we face and how much we can handle. Each time we are faced with challenges and trials, it makes us stronger and stronger. It makes me think of a great poem that has great meaning as we go through life facing those things that we do not think we can bare till after the fact. It is called "The Oak Tree".

The Oak Tree

by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.

  

A mighty wind blew night and day.

It stole the Oak Tree's leaves away.

Then snapped its boughs

and pulled its bark

until the Oak was tired and stark.

But still the Oak Tree held its ground

while other trees fell all around.

The weary wind gave up and spoke,

"How can you still be standing Oak?"

The Oak Tree said, I know that you

can break each branch of mine in two,

carry every leaf away,

shake my limbs and make me sway.

But I have roots stretched in the earth,

growing stronger since my birth.

You'll never touch them, for you see

they are the deepest part of me.

Until today, I wasn't sure

of just how much I could endure.

But now I've found with thanks to you,

I'm stronger than I ever knew.

The things that we all face in life, show us how strong we truly can Become. Just like this Oak Tree, I never knew what I could endure but with the trials I faced, the trust and faith I put in the Lord I always knew that I would come out on top and "Become Stronger".

 I know that as we put our lives into the Lord's hand and remember that we will never face anything in our lives that we cannot overcome. The Lord will help out and He will provide to make us "Stonger".

"What Lack I Yet?"

Today I have been pondering over something that everyone thinks about. What do I need to do to receive Eternal Life? Pretty big question to be asking huh? There was a story that came to mind, it is found in The New Testament in the first book, Matthew 19: 16-22;

16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

 19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

"What lack I yet?" We all might be good with the commandments, or other things, but we all have something that we need to work on. This life is a time to progress, live our best lives, and Follow Him. We need to continue to ask ourselves daily and ask ourselves, "What lack I yet?" What do I need to give up, change or do. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of things that we need in our lives. We have to take the time, stop and think about those things. We might have all the worldly things that we want but do we have the spiritual things that we need. Our Heavenly Father has given these great things for our reach, we just have to grasp a hold of them and Follow Him. That is truly the things that we need to do in this life to receive Eternal Life. Like Christ said to this man in these Scriptures, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven". how many of us could do that, I challenge all of us to ask ourselves "What lack I yet" and see what we need to do in this life to receive Gods greatest Gift, Eternal Life.

"Come Listen to A Prophets Voice"

Oh how grateful I am for a living Prophet that leads and Guides us today. We all have the opportunity to listen and hear from a living Prophet Today and tomorrow. I just want all of you to know that God still calls prophets today. Just like it stats in Amos 3:7; "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." God has done that in the Past and will always do that. He never changes His word. He is the "Same yesterday, today and forever". I know that we have a living Prophet, and as you open your heart as you listen to him and the Apostles your heart will be touched and you will truly feel the truthfulness of the things they say. They hold the truth and they share the truth for our lives today.

"He was There"

One thing that has been on my mind lately is Trials. We all face trials in our lives, some more of a serious note. As for me I think of all my trials that I am face with, it gets me down at times, as we all do. I have always been a big fan of the poem, "Footprints in the Sand", especially with trials that I face. I love this poem because, when we are faced with trials in life, we tend to forget about our Lord, and ask "Where are You". This poem shares with all of us that He is there, He will always be there. Sometimes we just don't notice him. As you read this poem, think of all the hard times in your life that you have only noticed one of the footprints and then think "Who was there", was it just me walking by myself or was it Him. I can testify to you all that "He was There", He will always be there to lift us up when we are down. I will be eternally Grateful for that.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”

The Gospel of Jesus Chirst

Today I want to rap The Gospel of Jesus Christ by concluding off with something that a lot of people forget about and don't do. Well I know I tend to forget to do. That is Endure to the End or Keep on Keeping on. Never give up, always follow the example of Jesus Christ and strive to stay on the Path that our Heavenly Father wants us on.

As we go through life, and we make these wonderful steps that our Heavenly Father wants, such as Having Faith, Repenting, Being Baptized by proper Authority, And receiving The Gift of the Holy Ghost; the question often comes up, "What do we do know? Am I saved now? What else?" These are some of the questions that I tend to ask myself as I continue to grow up and grow. And we all know that that is not it, there is more that we have to do in this life to return to be with our Heavenly Father.

In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31: 19-20, it clearly addresses just that. It states, 19And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

 20Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

That is truly what we have to do. As I read these verses it shows me what I have to look forward to as long as I live worthy of it. We can all receive Eternal Life, As we gain that faith, we repent of our Sins, follow the Example of Jesus Christ and be Baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and also Endure to the End. 

ITS THAT SIMPLE!!!

We all wish it was that simple though huh? Life is Rough but I know that as we continue to look forward to that end goal, praying for the protection and guidance of that Gift that we have, The Holy Ghost. We can all Gain that ultimate Goal, Eternal Life with our Heavenly Father and our Loved ones.

I know this is True!!! 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

As we enter the waters of Baptism, we make those sacred convents with our Heavenly Father. As we make those promises with Him, He gives us a special gift. And it is what I am going to talk about today. It is The Gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is the 3rd member of the God Head, He is a personage of spirit that can reside within us, to Comfort us, teach us, and direct us. While we go through this life we face many of challenges and difficulties. God has given us a special gift as we live worthily and have been Baptized and received the laying on of Hands with one having the proper authority. We can have the Holy Ghost a member of the God head to be with us at all times. What a wonderful gift that our Heavenly Father has given us.

The Holy Ghost is there to keep us on the Straight and narrow path that our Heavenly Father wants us on. As we heed to the council of the Holy Ghost, we can make right decisions and do what our Heavenly Father wants.

It is great to know that we can have a special member of the God Head to be with us at all times, in all places as long as we live righteous lives and are in tune with the Spirit, and listen to its promptings. I am greatful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, it has helped me make many difficult decisions that I did not know how to make. It is a Gift that all should have in there lives at all times and could have by the proper authority.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

I wanted to continue on with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We've talked about Faith and Repentance so far. And those are great steps that we need to have in returning to our Heavenly Father. The next step to doing such that is we all need to be Baptized.
In the Bible in John 3:5 it states, "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." So it clearly states that we need to be born of the water. Its really interesting as you think about Baptism. What is it?

Of course it is the opportunity to be born again and have our sins washed away. That is a special privilege that our Heavenly Father has set forth for us to becoming like him a little more. We are not perfect, none of us are, but our Savior Jesus Christ is and you might be wondering, Well if Baptism is what it really is and Christ is perfect why was he baptized. Well the Book of Mormon has the answer for you, In 2 Nephi 31: 5-7 it says, "5And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!

 6And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?

 7Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments."

Christ, Himself was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. It is a commandment of God, so everyone that comes to this earth needs to be baptized.

Now how are we baptized? Some people think that anyone can baptize, but that is not the case, Jesus Christ was baptized by John The Baptist who held the Priesthood Authority of God. So we need to all be Baptized by someone holding the right authority from God. Its that simple, we need that authority and God has reached out to His children and has placed His authority back on the earth. This brings up another topic that I would love to talk about in another post someday.

But as we are baptized we make some covenants or promises with our Heavenly Father. They are; Taking the name of Jesus Christ upon us, Always to remember Him, and To keep His commandments. Three basic promises that we make but sometimes are so hard to keep. That is why each week we partake of the Sacrament to Re-new those promises and strive to live them to the best of our ability.

But i know that Baptism is an essential part of us returning to our Heavenly Father. It shows our commitment, desire to follow our Savior Jesus Christ and to live as He has lived.  

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Well today I would like to talk about something that happens after we have faith in Jesus Christ. It is called Repentance.

When we have the faith in Jesus Christ that we need, it makes us strive to be more like him. With us all not being perfect we need something to help us out a little with it all. That is why Repentance is so importance. In Romans 3: 23 it says; "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Pretty direct and bold statement that is told to us. But its a fact of life. Like I have mentioned many of times, we make mistakes, we sin, cause we are not perfect. But our Savior Jesus Christ has come into the World to Sacrifice His life as a ransom for all, as it also states in the Scriptures.

So He has sacrificed His life so we can have repentance. So what is Repentance? I like to think of it as CHANGE!!! The most simple way to put it. Changing something bad into something good. As a missionary I like to teach repentance in a five step thing, or its also called, "The a,b,c's of Repentance".

A: Acknowledge.
         So we first have to acknowledge that we did something wrong.
B: Be Sorry.
         We have to feel bad that we did something wrong.
C: Confess.
         We all have to go to our Heavenly Father and tell him of our wrong mistakes and ask for forgiveness.
D: Don't Do it again.
         In other words, we need to Forsake that sin. Turn away from it and never do it again.
E: Enjoy the Blessings.
         Once we have truly repented of our sins and turned away from them, God will bless us for our effort.

Now a lot of us, well at least me, might be saying why can't E be first and then everything else. Well sorry to say, life would be to easy if E was first cause then we wouldn't have to go through A-D. But I know as we practice our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and we Repent of all of our wrong doings then we can truly feel the loving hand of our Heavenly Father and the Blessings that He has in store for us.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

So a few weeks ago I addressed our Heavenly Fathers Plan for all of us. My question for all of you is How do we recieve that highest Kingdom of Glory. I talked a little about how we can but today and the next couple of days that is what I would like to focus on. How can we return to be with our Heavenly Father in The Celestial Kingdom?

We all do great things in this life that of course will help us get to that point of returning, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe that there are five things that we need to do and follow to continue to do the correct things to return to our Heavenly Father. 

They are; We have to have Faith in Jesus Christ, We have to repent, We have to be Baptized, We have to recieve the Holy Ghost, and the last thing and one of the most important things is we have to Continue that process again, in other words we have to Endure to the End. All of these are called The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So the first thing we have to do is have Faith in Jesus Christ. Most of us as Christians can say, "Ok i got that one down. I have had faith in Him since I was a kid". And I totally agree, as Christians we have grown up to believe in Christ and learn of him. We all have faith in him.

Well what is Faith? Faith is a principle of action. In the Book of Mormon it says, Alma 32:21, And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. That truly is what faith is. We know something to be real or true without seeing it. If we saw it, it would be knowledge and so that is why we have faith in Jesus Christ. Not all of us have seen Christ, Himself, and so we have to excierce our Faith and believe on Him. Who He is, What He did when He came into this World and everything.

We all have to exercise our Faith in Jesus Christ, that is the first principle in the Gospel. Without Faith we would not be able to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the fullest to return to live with our Heavenly Father. I know that we all need faith to progress to that great blessing.

Walk on!!

Well today I would like to post on something that is oh so dear to me. I came into contact with a sweet old lady that loves to do poetry and she gave us some copies of her poems and said that we could share them with those that could us it. So this poem is from sweet old Allena Austin from Worland, Wyoming.

WALK ON

Life can be tough,

The road can be rough.

Walk on

Walk on

What seems forever to you and me,

Is but a second in eternity.

Walk on

Walk on

Long may be the road,

Heavy may seem the load.

Walk on

Walk on

Whether it be on sand or stone,

We will never walk alone.

Walk on

Walk on

Our Heavenly Father showers us with

Blessings from above,

He will always send us His love.

Walk on

Walk on

When our journey's at an end,

We will meet our Savior, our Friend.

Walk on

Walk on.

This poem is so amazing. As I was reading this poem it stuck a scripture in my mind. It is found in 2 Nephi 31:20; Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. I've often asked why do we need to continue to keep moving forward, in other words Endure to the End? Well this poem and this scripture shows us why we need to. We need to continue to Walk on or Endure to the End. We don't know how long we have in this life but if we look forward to what our Heavenly Father has in store for us we can receive the Ultimate Goal, Eternal Life.

I hope this poem and scripture helps all of you out to never give up, to continue to press forward, to walk on and to endure to the end, the outcome is so great that we all have in store waiting for us all.

Gods Eternal Plan

Well as we continue to progress in Gods Plan, we can truly see the love that God has for all of us as his Children. How He wants us to return to be with him and how important the growth in this life is. Today I would like to discuss what happens to us after we are judged. My personal feeling is that this part is one of the greatest part on Gods Plan.

We believe that after we are judged according or works by our perfect judges, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. We will be placed in a place that best fits what we have done. We call these The Kingdoms of Glory. They are separated into 3 kingdom; The Celestial, The Terrestial, and The Telestial. They are all considered Heaven, but like it stats in 1 Corinthians 15: 41; "one star (or kingdom) differs from the other".

The Celestial Kingdom is the highest Glory that we can receive. This is compared to the glory of the Sun. Just like today if we look at the sun, it is the brightest and we can't really look at it for a long period of time. I think this is how the Celestial Kingdom is, it is the brightest, purist. Why? Cause that is where our Heavenly Father presides, only the best for the ultimate creator, our Heavenly Father. This is where we can be in the presence of God, and Jesus Christ. And also where we can be with our family together forever. This is the place for those that followed the Example of Jesus Christ, accepted His Gospel and lived it, and always followed The commandments of God.

The Terrestial Kingdom is the 2nd Glory. This is compared to the glory of the moon. I like to think it as, how we can look at it for a very long time unlike the sun, but it gives off a good portion of light that we can see around us. So it still is a good place but of course there is something a little better, such as the sun. This is the place that those that lived honorable lives but just didn't live the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well as they should have.

The Telestial Kingdom is the 3rd Glory. This is compared the the glory of the stars. As we go down the list, the sun the brightest, the moon a little less brighter and then the stars, they still give off light but not nearly as much light as the moon and the sun. This is the glory that those that never accepted Christ Church and that never repented of their sins will receive.

Whatever Glory we receive, we will be happy with that one. We always have to remember it all is because of our desires and works here on earth that we receive that glory. That again is why it is so important to live worthy of Gods spirit on this earth. To help lead and guide us in this life so we can receive the greatest Glory. The Celestial Glory. To be in Gods presence and the be the happiest we can be.

I know that this is Gods Eternal Plan for all of us. As we think, ponder and pray about "Where did I come from, Why am I here, and Where am I going" we can truly see Gods loving hand in all our lives and how we needed a perfect plan so we can be like our Heavenly Father. I know as we strive to live faithful lives and follow the example of Jesus Christ, that we to can one day return to be in Gods presence again, He wants all of us back. We need to remember that at all times, when times are rough, think about that. We can get through them, and we will also know that everything we face is part of Gods Plan. I hope and pray that what I have focused on and talked on for the past week or so, has opened all of your eyes to see that God does truly love you all. I say these things in the name of Jesus Chrsit, Amen.

Gods Eternal Plan

Well today I continue on the Wonderful Plan that God has for us.

After the Spirit World, the waiting room, we will all be Resurrected and Judged according to our works and desires here on earth.

The Resurrection is a wonderful gift that has been given to us all from our Savior Jesus Christ. Christ, Himself was resurrected and so we too shall be resurrected. What is the Resurrection? You might say, well the Resurrection is the reuniting of the Body and Spirit. In the Book of Mormon it explains the resurrection perfectly. It is found in Alma 11: 41-44, " For behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

 42Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

 43The 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.

 44Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body." So as it says in 43 reunited again in a perfect form. that is amazing, that God would give us that gift to be free from any sickness, pains etc.. How great that is to have that.

As I think about the resurrection, oh how much I look forward to that, we all have aches and pains which if you think about it, makes us not perfect. There is that word again. Part of Gods Plan, to become like Him. PERFECT!!! And so with the Resurrection given to us all, we have that extra step of becoming like our Heavenly Father.

As you continue to read on in Alma 11, it talks about how we will all be "Judged according to our works." That is where we will all stand face to face with the Perfect Judge Himself, Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. They know everything that we have done, are doing and will do, and we will be Judged according to what we have done in this life. That is why doing your best in this life is so key. Don't just wait till its to late. We always have to remember our Savior Jesus Christ and His ultimate Sacrifice that he made for us, as we do that we will continue to want to be like him. We just need to continue to strive to follow His example and better our lives.

I know as we remember Jesus Christ and why He truly came down to this earth. Fulfilling the Resurrection and being the example for all of us. The answers to why we all need to be resurrected and also why it is so important to "start now" on our works to trying to be like him.  We will see the importance of this life for the life to come. I know that everyone of us will be Resurrected like our Savior Jesus Christ, into a perfect form and we will also be judged according to our works and desires here on earth. It truly is important to "Start Now", so we can have eternal happiness.

My next address will talk about what we will receive for our works and desires!

Gods Eternal Plan

Today i would like to address, Where we are going? Its a fact of life, We all are going to die eventually. But where do we go when we die. Do we just close our eye's and in a sense just sleep a very very long time, or what. What happens to our Spirits, our bodies, everything what happens to us? Well over the next couple days again I would like to focus on that. And I hope what I have to say helps you understand completely Gods Plan for us after we die.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that after we die we go to a place called the Spirit World. This place is a Waiting Room, for the Resurrection, (which I will address in a later day). In the Spirit World, we learn and we grow just like we did in this life on Earth. And we also get the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ and accept his Gospel. Not everyone in the World has even heard about Jesus Christ or God.

Its great to know that God loves each and everyone of us and wants us all to know and hear about Him and His Gospel. With Christ being the Center of Gods Plan, and He is the only way we can be saved or return to be with our Heavenly Father, we need to hear about him, and grow in his Gospel. That is why the Spirit World is so important in Gods Plan, because those that haven't had that opportunity to accept Christ in their lives then they would not have a chance of returning to be with their Heavenly Father.

And with everything that i have talked about before this, I said How God loves us and He wants us back, So we need every way that we can to accept Christ and the Spirit World is one of those ways.

I know that The Spirit World is nessasary to us returning to be with our Heavenly Father. In Matthew 5:48 it says, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. God wants us to be perfect like He is, but we are not perfect in this life, but as we continue to strive to be as He is then after this life in the Spirit World we will be able to prgress even more to becoming like he is.

Gods Eternal Plan

To continue on with Gods wonderful Plan for all of us, Today I would like to address our stay here on earth. And why its this life is so important.

We all have had experiences; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Why is that? Is that really part of Gods plan for us to face the bad and the uglies? Well, If we turn back to Adam & Eve, they made a mistake, they fell. What for? God gave them an amazing gift, its called Agency, or Freedom to choice good or bad. And so with them having that agency. We all have that agency too. God wants us to be happy but sorry to say, sometimes we choose to do wrong or bad things in this life. In other words, we sin. So sinning brings sorrow into our lives. We all have faced that. Its a fact of life. If we did not experience the good and bad. This life would be boring. We would not grow. And that is why we are here on this earth. To learn and to grow from the good things and the bad things we face in life. Those things that we face in life prepare us to be like God.

I have often asked myself, why am I here? There is a great scripture in the Book of Mormon that tells us why we are here. It is found in Alma 34:32, For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

That is why we are truly here, we are to prepare to meet Him, by learning, growing and striving to live as He is. And of course to perform our labors, to do work. As it states in the Bible we are going to one day be judged according to our works. So we go through this life, always thinking about that end result, Returning to our Heavenly Father. But darn it we keep making mistakes, WHY? How am going to return to my Heavenly Father if I continue to make mistakes.

Well let me tell you, we all have an older brother, His name is Jesus Christ. Oh, how greatful I am for Him. He came into the world out of Love for all of us. To pay the ultimate price, And die for all of us. He took upon himself everything that we have, are and will ever go through. That means the pains, sicknesses, afflictions, temptations, and sins. Everything, its truly amazing to know that he did that, Why? cause he loved us.

God new that we would not be able to return to be with him, having agency to choose good or bad. He knew that we would all fall in a sense and make mistakes. So he sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. To fulfill the ultimate Sacrifice, The Atonement so we could indeed return to be with him someday.

We always have to remember our Savior Jesus Christ's Atonement, as we go through this life. As we accept his sacrifice into our lives, and repent of all our sins then we can indeed one day return to our Heavenly Father. How greatful I am again for My Savior Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father, for giving us this chance to come to this earth life, to learn and grow, and so we can become like Him. I feel His loving arms around me every single day, showing me my path which way I should go. I know that we all can one day return to be with Him, and it all begins in this life as the ultimate test. 

                                     

Because God cares about us, we don’t need to wander through life, wondering what our purpose is.

                     

Gods Eternal Plan

Yesterday I addressed Where did we come from? Today I wanted to start to address Why am I here? 
Most of us face challenges and struggles in this life to make us as why am I even here, Why do I have to go through all of these hard, difficult times. Believe me, I have asked those same questions. Over the next couple of days I would like to address these questions that we all have about Why are we here?  As i talked about in my last post, I said God wanted us to have a plan so we can become like Him, and so that plan had to consist of us gaining a Physical Body as he did. So we needed to come down and to do so.

Jesus Christ under the direction of God created this earth that we live on this day. You can find that in Genesis 1-2.

With the Creation completed God sent our very first two parents Adam & Eve down to the earth. Most of us know the story of our first two parents. They were in Gods presence and then got tempted and partook of the fruit. This brought sin into the world, and it also got Adam & Eve cast out of the Garden of Eden. Was this a bad thing? Yes, it was in a sense but God he controls everything and so he made something bad into something good. In the Book of Mormon it talks about Adam & Eve in 2 Nephi 2. There are some key verses that we need to focus on for why The Fall of Adam & Eve had to happen. In verses 19-23 it says,   19And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth. 20And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all the earth.

 21And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents. 22And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.23And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

These verses state why it was necessary for Adam & Eve to fall. When they were in Gods presence, they were innocence, they did not know the difference from good or bad, and they could not have have any children. And so if God wanted us as his children to come to earth and become like him then there needed to be a fall. So we could indeed come into the World. In 2 Nephi 2: 25; Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. This is exactly why the fall needed to happen. Before the fall we had no way of coming down to this earth and gaining a physical body of flesh and bone like our Heavenly Father and we would have never experienced Joy, which is one of the most greatest thing that we can have in this life. So with the fall happening, We could be able to have that, that opened the gate for us to progress through Gods Plan.

I know that the Creation of the Earth was needed for Gods Eternal Plan to continue on, and also The Fall of Adam & Eve was necessary for Gods plan to continue. With them Falling, gave us the opportunity to come to this earth and to experience everything that we already have, are, and will experience throughout our lives. And this is what I will address next time.

God's Eternal Plan

We all go through life asking the simple but profound questions; Where did we come from? Why are we here? And Where are we going? Well for the next couple of days I would like to focus on just that. To help us as Gods children realize that He has a Great Plan for all of us.

WHERE DID I COME FROM?

The simple but difficult question that I have often asked myself and many of you also have asked before. As I have grown up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that question has been answered. God has a simple and direct Plan that shows us that we lived before this life. And God himself knew each and everyone of us as his spirit children. In the Bible in Jeremiah 1:5 it says, Before i formed thee in the belly i knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb i sanctified thee, and i ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. So from that scripture we learn that God knew each and everyone of us. And he also had a purpose for each and everyone of us before we came into the world and was born.

You might be wondering, Well why if we were with God before this life did we have to come down to earth and be born? Well God is our Father, He loves us all, & He wants us to be like Him. But When we were in His presents before this life, we were different then him. He had a physical body of flesh and bone and we were just spirits. So there needed to be a plan or something that gave us that opportunity to be like Him. So He presented a Plan, The Plan of Happiness to all of us. Jesus Christ, Gods son, was the center of that plan, because it is only through Jesus Christ that we can return to be with our Heavenly Father. So with Gods Plan presented to all of us before this life, we all had to make a choice either to follow Gods Plan or to reject it. With us being here on this earth today, it shows that we accepted His Plan and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Its great to know that God has a Plan for all of us. That we lived with him before this life and he has a purpose for all of us on this earth today. I encourage you all to read this, ponder it over and think about, Why am i here? I will address this topic tomorrow. 

The Mediator

This video has so much meaning. As we go through life we face hardships, trials, and difficulties. Big choices in life all come our way. What should we do? Buy it, Get it, Save it, whatever the case might be, we all have them as we go through life. And we all have to make our own choices. Such as this man in this video. He faced a major challenge, and he knew that it would be difficult to pay off the debt, but he thought that it was a long way off till the debt was due. In life that is what we do also, we do stuff that we think that it will not hurt us at the time being, and it won't be something that we have to worry about for a while. Till the time comes to late. We keep pushing it off, trying to forget about it, so it will never come to a close. But in all reality, its right in front of us. Returning to our Eternal Father.

We will all be judged and looked upon on the things that we have done in this life; the good, the bad, everything. Of course we all have made mistakes, sinned and wronged someone else. Its a fact of life. That is part of the learning and growing process. Thank goodness for The Mediator, Our Savior, the one that can help us out. Step in front with all the mercy that he has and take the justice. Just like in this video. His friend was in trouble, but the Mediator stepped up and helped out to satisfy the demands of justice. Alma 34:16, "And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety". That is what Jesus Christ did, when he came into the world, He fulfilled the Atonement. Taking upon Himself the pains, the sicknesses, afflictions etc.. everything that we go through in our lives. So when we do make those mistakes in this life, we can look upon our Mediator for that help. He can truly take those things away, as long as we accept His atonement into our lives and we follow Him in every way we can. We can all truly feel His loving arms around us and feel the mercy that He brings into our lives.

As you watch this video, just think, what can I do better. Where has the Mediator stepped into my life to help me out. We all have Him right there. We just have to take the step to let Him in, to feel of his love. One of my favorite scriptures in Revelations 3 says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and ^aopen the door, I will ^bcome in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." He is there, I testify that he is, I continually feel the Loving Mercy that He has for me everyday. He Lives, He loves us all, in the name of His name, Jesus Christ, Amen!