The Lonely Drive on Christmas

Christmas morning 2011 at 3:00 am! I couldn't sleep because I was so excited for Christmas morning. Finally when 6:30 rolls around we hop out of bed, run to the tree and tear open presents. Always a good way to start the morning. I have never been able to sleep the night before Christmas because growing up my older brother and I shared a room so there was more talking and that has continued and probably always will. I don't think the lack of sleep came from the presents but more from the spending time with my family all day and just sitting around watching our new movies or putting together the new toys or fixing the scooters that we just got because they couldn't handle the jump! But it has always been a day to spend with my family. Since I have been on my mission I have spent Christmas with other missionaries so it has still been like having a family there with me.

However, the thing that stuck out to me this Christmas was not only that it was Sunday but that on our way to church (at 8:00 am) we saw so many people driving, driving either alone or with their dog. And for some reason that really got to me, to see so many people not with their families made me realize just how blessed I am. Seeing all the people driving and knowing exactly what my family was doing, which was watching all the nieces and nephews open presents and sharing that joy together and there I was sitting there driving to church and seeing all of these people alone on this holiday. That sight really made me want to share the gospel even more! I wanted to stand on Cafe Rio and yell the plan of salvation and that we can be with our families for time and all eternity! I realized the great need for temples on the earth today and the need for a Prophet to lead and guide us in these troubled times. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a huge emphasis on families. We believe that families are the most important social unit in society. We learn from our families and in them we grow physically and spiritually and we can become closer to God as we study together and pray together. It breaks my heart to see people alone on the holidays because that means they are alone most of the year! Lets end this and bring our families back together! We can do it with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Let your light shine in!!

So when your standing in a dark room can you see the light slowly fill the room? When your standing in a light room can you see the dark creep in and take over the light? Well, let me answer those so we are on the same page. You can definitely see the light coming into a dark room from either under the door or through the window or many other light sources. But it is not as easy to see the dark creep into the lighted room, it always looks like the dark is at bay. Why does this even matter? Well let me tell you why this matters, let me tell you the point of this conversation! I hope you will find that it is a very important topic because it is to me.

    I ask those questions because light is just like the light of Christ or the gospel and the dark that creeps into our lives is just like sin or evil that sneaks its way into our lives. Picture with me for a second that you are standing in that dark room, and your in that dark room because there are evils in your life that are surrounding you at all time, whether they be drugs alcohol or other things in this world that Satan tries to drag us down with. But you are standing in this room and you can see under the door that there is light out there. It is pretty easy to spot that light when you are in that dark room right? And as you are standing there the door slowly opens and the room is filled with light!! I don't know about you but I like the light a lot more than I like the dark. Now lets pretend you are in a well light room. Where's the dark? You have to purposely be looking for the darkness under the door, but if your not seeking it out it is easy to ignore. Now the door opens and does the darkness cover the light and make it dark in the room? No, the light extends outward into the darkness and makes it easier to see out there.

Isaiah Ch. 60

   Now let us asses this analogy. The light I am speaking of is the light of Christ! When you are surrounded by evil you can notice even the slightest bit of light or the slightest bit of change in your life because of the gospel! The light of Christ even in a small amount can change your life. In my missionary experience of bringing the light into someones life is a completely life changing experience for both sides. On the side of the person in the dark room or the person without the light because they can see the light come into their lives! And on the side of the person in the well lite room or person with the gospel in their lives because they can see how what they have in their lives changed someone else life and it makes them want to share it more often! So i',m asking you if you feel you are in the dark then open the door and let the light in, go to mormon.org or lds.org and see and feel the light and if you have the light share it, open the door and bring light to those in the dark!

How Big Do You Dream?

     With the NBA playoffs in full swing and with all the super stars showing off their mad skills, I know that basketball players of all ages are trying to be the super stars. Everyone dreams of being them, we dream of shooting like them, we dream of jumping like them, we dream of running like them. I know this is always true for me, I always dream of jumping like Vince Carter in the 2001 dunk contest, I dream of shooting the lights out in a packed stadium like Ray Allen. However, often times my dreams fall short when I am playing on a carpeted basketball court about a third of the size of an actual court. I realize that I can't do a 360 between the legs dunk and get a standing ovation, I realize that hitting 7 out of 10 three pointers in front of a couple guys is far less exciting than that of Ray Allen doing it in front of a packed house. Although I fall short of my dreams more often that not at least I dream big and continue to dream. People all over the world have different kinds of dreams, some want to be a world champion team roper or a movie star or even a kick boxer. But no matter what your dreams are and however big and out of reach they may seem, our dreams always stretch us to be better in this life. Look at the professionals of the sports world, did they achieve what they have achieved by not dreaming that they would be there someday? No, they have always had that dream in their hearts to be there and make a difference in some way.
            Although those are great goals to have in our lives there is an even greater goal. And that is the goal of living with our Father in Heaven for all of eternity with all of our loved ones. If that goal doesn't seem like a big goal then I don't know what does. However, I know this goal is attainable because of the love and the guidance through the gospel that God has shown to us in this life. This dream can be realized by following the commandments and by living what we know to be true and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church. It is my dream to live with my Father in Heaven again and I will do all I can in this life to make that dream come true. But it is not only my dream that I myself live with Him again but also all my loved ones and dear friends. I need to share what I know is true so this dream can be realized for them and for me. This is an eternal dream that can easily become a reality with faith and prayer and love for your fellow man. This dream will stretch us and we need to always have it in our hearts and our minds to accomplish this dream.

Ripple Affect

     I wish I would have gotten a picture. What I saw was something that could only be expressed through a picture so we all could have seen it. There are pictures of what I saw but they are paintings and just aren't the same. Elder Mortenson and I were driving by some frog ponds in Lewistown Montana and I looked over to them and saw what I wanted a picture. It was a small family, 2 kids and a father. The two little kids were sitting on the park bench waiting for their dad to cast their line for them to fish. I watched as the Father cast and I saw the line hit the water, as we continued to drive I could see all the ripples in the water spread out over the entire pond. Some people might think that is pretty weird to want a picture of or think I'm just a big softy (which I'm not), but it was literally picture perfect. As I saw this unfold I thought of the classic ripple theory, how such a small thing can impact such a large area. For example LeBron James moving from Cleveland to go play with D-Wade and Bosh in Miami, look at that ripple affect. Sure it was a huge thing in the NBA but the national coverage and the things around that happend because of that reach far beyond the NBA. People were saying that Clevelands economy was going to drop like a rock because a basketball player left their town. That was the example that popped into my head and I'm sorry if you don't agree.

    The next thing I thought of was the Plan of Salvation. Here I was looking and a father and his two children and I said to myself "I wonder if he knows he will be with them forever?" Because through the Saviors love for us and his fathers love for us it is possible that we can live with the ones we love forever. As a missionary you think of those kind of things, in that perfect moment I wondered if he knew that it could be like that forever. I know that one day he will get the opportunity to hear of the great plan, it might not be in this life but if not then it will for sure be in the next. It is my testimony that we can live with our families forever through the Plan of Salvation. I know that those loved ones that have passed on are there waiting for us to come and it will be a glorious day when it comes to be reunited with those we love.

Life Devotions

 All my life I feel that I have been working on the exact same project. That project is a 1970 SS Chevelle. I know what your thinking and I agree, I love that car too. But I feel like it has taken up my entire life, all my money, all my time, and all my energy. However, it hasn't taken all my life it has only taken the last five years of my life. I bought this car because I knew that it would make me happy and I was right. Every time I see a picture of that car or have a flash back to working on that car I get a big smile. So the two main sources of my happiness for the last five years have been my family and my car, but now my car may soon be finished and then what? Yes, it will still make me happy to drive and see and I will always work on it but what will fill that happiness spot when my car is all done? I have asked myself that question for a long time now ever since we took my car to be painted, and last night while lying in bed I came up with the answer. Don't worry about it!! Profound I know, it is human nature to worry about it, whatever it may be. But when you think about it, it all just makes sense, just don't worry about it. Every time I think that I can feel the stress fall away. I'm pretty much just saying be happy with what you have right now. I look at what I have right now and that is serving the Lord for the next couple of months and that made me happy. That I get to be here serving the lord and spreading the gospel of truth and light, to help change peoples life for the better! So don't worry about what will make you happy next, just stop and look around and see what you have right now and see the many ways that it is making you happy and I promise you that you will be happy. I can promise you that you will have a new outlook on life because you wont be waiting for something, you will understand what you have better and appreciate it more. Do these things for yourself.

Stars

Friday night I was laying in my bed in Dubois, Wyoming and as I was laying there I looked out the window to see the night sky. While looking at the sky I saw two stars in the sky looking back at me. One of the stars was way brighter then the other star. I couldn't help but thinking "gees what a lazy star, here this one is shining bright and showing it's power while this one is barely putting out any light." Then I asked myself why I'm comparing these two stars together there are reasons and possibly light years why that star isn't as bright as that one. I mean that less bright star could be another planets sun or something. I'm no scientist but I do know that there are millions of reasons why stars are of different brightness. The world started flowing into my head and I thought of society today and how we compare ourselves to those around us. We compare ourselves to those: LeBron James, Aaron Rodgers, Albert Pujols, and some famous actor that i cant think of right now. But the point is, is why do we compare ourselves to those stars around us? Why aren't we happy with who we are and who God made us to be? God made those people with those characteristics and they made the most out of what He gave them. We should also strive to evolve our talents that our Father in Heaven has given us so we to can be someone to look up too. That is another point, we shouldn't want to be those famous people, we should by seeing them want to become better ourselves. That is my challenge to everyone, to find out what your talents are and to magnify them to become the best you can possible become. However, we will not be all we can be without the help our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so keep Him in your heart as you strive to be better and He will bless you and carry you on your journey through life.

Lift Your Voice unto Him

"Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteouness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen" 2 Nephi 5:35.

 This scripture from the Book of Mormon is one of my favorites. At the beginning it tells us that God answers prayers if we will ask him. God knows what we need in our lives and he loves each and everyone of us and knows us personally. Then Nephi says that he will lift up his voice to God. Nephi felt the power of prayer in his life and he wants all of us to feel that same feeling of receiving an answer to our prayers! I encourage all to find out for themselves to pray and ask God and feel his love.