Eternal Familes

One of the major blessings of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is knowing that we can be with our families not only for this life, but for all eternity. This knowledge has been a huge blessing in my life as I have had some pretty significant trials with regards to my family, but I know that as my family keeps the promises they have made to God, everything will turn out for our good. Enjoy this cute little video on the blessings of eternal families.

I can do hard things!

Have you ever done something that you thought was really hard? How did you feel while you were struggling during the task? Yet, how did you feel afterwards when you accomplished the impossible task? I remember an experience I had a few years ago which I would like to share.

For a church youth conference (an activity where the young men and the young women would go for a couple of days and do some fun stuff), we were going on a hiking/rappelling trip in a place called Robber's Roost in Utah. I wasn't particularly excited about this trip but I decided to give it a chance. A lot of my friends were going anyways so I might as well go hang out with them for a couple days out in the middle of nowhere. We traveled down there and camped at the trail head the first night. The next morning, we were off and running. The first day was really fun. We were navigating through these slot canyons and squeezing into narrow passages and rappelling down steep inclines and all sorts of fun. Rappelling wasn't really my thing but I was doing ok with it. At the end of the first day was where the problems started happening. Utah was in a pretty good drought at this point in time, but we were assured that the areas where we were camping had plenty of water to drink. We get to our first campsite...and there's very little water. There was not nearly enough for everybody who was on the trip to fill up their water bottles. We managed to find a place where water was dripping off several places and placed our water bottles underneath the drops and prayed that in the morning our bottles would be full of water. A lot of them were thankfully and we continued on our way. This 2nd day was much Much MUCH harder. We were tired and sore from the hike the day before, we had very little water, a few in our group had injuries that prevented them from walking very good, and a hike that was supposed to be only 9 or 10 miles turned out to be more like 20. There was a few times when I didn't think that I was going to make it, yet when this thought came into my mind, so did another one. The theme of the trip was "I can do hard things." This gave me comfort and helped me keep one foot in front of the other. A scripture also came into my head found in the Book of Philippians: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13) http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/philip/4?lang=eng Needless to say, there was a lot of praying done that day. Yet, at the end of that second day, we made it to the campsite where, thankfully, there was plenty of cool water to drink. We had a little bit farther to go the next day and I had never been more thankful to see a car in my life. We had made it! It was really hard, and we almost gave up, but we made it.

In sports, we often see teams with a huge challenge in front of them. The same is true with my BYU Cougars in the year 1990 when we hosted the #1 ranked team in the nation, the University of Miami Hurricanes. This team the year before had won the national championship and it's not too often that really good teams agree to play in Provo. The game went back and forth until this play to put BYU ahead for good...completing the victory over a really tough opponent.

I know that we can do hard things. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered all of our pains. He knows exactly how we feel when we go through these hard times. If we turn to Him, he will be right there to comfort us and give us the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  

The Power of Unity

I've been thinking a lot lately on the subject of unity. The Lord has said: "...I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27) http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/38.27?lang=eng#26 What a powerful statement! If we are not unified, if we are not one, the Lord doesn't claim us as his own. There are so many people in the world who believe so many different things. Yet, the Lord expects us all to get along. He said: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

I thought hard about what I might share to explain what I'm getting about in terms of unity. You definitely have to be unified in sports. If you're not unified as a team(or with yourself if it's an individual sport), you won't win. However, while I was thinking of some totally awesome sports clip to share...something from my childhood popped into my memory. Now you may think it's silly, but I loved watching Saturday morning cartoons as a child. One of these shows was called Digimon. It's been so long since I've even heard of Digimon that I wonder how this clip came into memory, but it did. The clip I want to show is from the ending of one of the last episodes in season one.  At this point in the show, the kids and their Digimon (creatures that they're paired up with) think they've defeated all the evil enemies that have been threatening their world (normal life), and the Digital World (some crazy other dimension) for good. However, they've still have one challenge left to face, and it's their hardest one yet. This evil monster introduces himself, destroys their crests (or the source of their power, which allows the Digimon to transform into stronger creatures), and transforms them all into data. We'll pick it up from there...

Yes, I know...a lot of it is really cheesy and weird, but keep in mind that it's a children's show. The message I wanted to get across is these kids were in a tough spot. All of the odds were against them. They were data, they had lost the source of their power so their friends couldn't transform, and there didn't seem to be much hope for them. Notice at the beginning how when they first become data, they're shown as individuals, but at the end, they're a team, and their power returned. Imagine what we could do as the family of God if we were all unified. What kind of power would we have? What sort of obstacles could we overcome? The love of the Savior will make it easier to overlook our petty differences and become united as children of God.

New Testament...on Twitter???

Have you ever wondered how modern social websites like Facebook and Twitter would have been used at the time of the Savior's ministry? This video depicts what it might have been like. When I first saw this, I thought it was too powerful not to share, so I hope you enjoy!

Do you believe in Miracles?

A couple of days ago, I posted a video from the Prince of Egypt featuring the song "When you Believe." I thought I'd continue on the subject of miracles. There are a lot of people these days who believe that miracles ceased with Jesus Christ and the Apostles.  The prophet Moroni in the Book of Mormon disagrees. He says: "For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles. But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are...And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought? And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles. And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles. And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust. Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." (Mormon 9:9-11,15-21)

There are many miracles that have happened in the world of sports, but only one that I can think of that actually has the term "miracle" in its title. In 1980, the Winter Olympics were going to be held in Lake Placid, New York. The United States team was made up of just young college players, who were very promising, but never had much experience at high level competition. Days before the Olympics, the United States challenged the Soviet Union, the world power in hockey, to an exhibition match, and lost miserably. This loss didn't discourgage the United States one bit. In their first game in the Olympics, they tied with Sweden 2-2 and beat heavily favored Czechoslovakia 7-3. Encouraged by their performance in their two toughest games, they won 3 straight games to advance from group play to the medal round, where they faced...you guessed it...the Soviet Union. In spite of an inspirational gametime speech from their coach, the United States fell behind early 1-0, but tied it up quickly with a goal by Buzz Schneider. The Soviet Union scored again, but Mark Johnson scored with 1 second left in the first period to make it tied 2-2. The Soviet Union dominated the second period, but only scored one goal, making it 3-2 going into the third and final period of play. Mark Johnson scored again for the United States, and then United States team captain Mike Eruzione scored to put the Untied States up 4-3 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Soviet Union tried desperately to score, but were unsuccessful. With 10 seconds left, the building counted down and with 3 seconds left, TV sportscaster Al Michaels said the famous phrase: "Do you believe in miracles?" This game has since been called the Miracle on Ice. The United States would then go on to beat Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal.

I know that miracles have not ceased. They still go on around us all the time. If we feel that they have stopped, it is because of our own unbelief. God loves us. He is a God of Miracles. He wants us to be happy and successful in this life. He also wants all of us, His precious children, to come back and live with him again. I know this is possible only through obedience to God's commandments, living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and by applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ when we make mistakes. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, for all that they have done and continue to do for me in my life.  

When you believe...

I read this really cool statement the other day. "Miracles do not produce faith, but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness, although miracles often confirm one’s faith." That made me think of this song from the Prince of Egypt. There really can be miracles...when you believe.

Tag Team Effort

Recently, I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time on my mission so far. I have a deep love and appreciation for the Book of Mormon and the messages it contains. It truly testifies of Christ and of His mission as our Savior and Redeemer. It outlines the way we can get back and return to our Heavenly Father. It answers the question of what happens to us when we die. All this, the Book of Mormon answers and more. When I finished it, I realized that I hadn't read much of the Bible. I knew the familiar stories and some really powerful scriptures, but I had never really took the time to read much. I started with the New Testament and am enjoying reading about the Savior's life and the things that He taught while over with the people in Jerusalem.

At this point, some of you who have been following my blog for a while are wondering what on earth the Bible and the Book of Mormon have to do with sports...well...I'll tell you. The Book of Mormon and the Bible work hand in hand. They do not take away from each other and they don't add to what's being said either. Both contain the fullness of the everlasting Gospel as taught by Jesus Christ Himself. They make one great team in testifying of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His reality and divinity. Besides being a BYU fan (I think I've made that abundantly clear), I'm also a really big Utah Jazz fan. Those of you who are familiar with the history of the Utah Jazz know that not too long ago, they had one of the greatest, if not the greatest, 1-2 punch in NBA history. John Stockton was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1984 with the 16 pick overall in that years' draft. He played his entire career lasting of 19 years with the Jazz and is one of the greatest point guards of all time. He holds the NBA all time record of career steals and career assists while averaging a respectable 13.1 points per game and shooting 52 percent in his career. He retired from the NBA in 2003. A good chunk of Stockton's career assists went to his good teammate, Karl Malone. Karl was drafted by the Jazz in 1985 and quickly became one of the best power forwards to ever play the game averaging 25 points per game, shooting 52 percent, while collecting 10 rebounds a game in 19 seasons, 18 with the Jazz. Here are just a few of their many highlights:

The way Stockton and Malone worked together was a thing of beauty. It was almost as though they could read each other's minds on the court. It's the same way with the Book of Mormon and the Bible. They work together. They support each other and encourage people to read each other. I know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible to both be the word of God and the messages in them will help us get back and live with our Heavenly Father again.  

Hope

The word hope itself has a lot of different meanings. One use, for example, is I hope I'm going to win the lottery. Hope in this context means that you want it to happen but you're not entirely sure that it will happen. I've used this version of the word hope a lot, especially when talking about sports. One example that comes to mind is the 2009 season opener of BYU football. We were playing the mighty Oklahoma Sooners in the very first game played in the 1.3 billion dollar Dallas Cowboys' stadium. We were not favored in any way, shape, or form. Oklahoma was coming off a season which ended in a loss in the National Championship Game. They had the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford back for his junior year along with many other very talented, future professional players. The year before, Oklahoma had a downright ridiculous offense, averaging 50+ points a game. The game was going to be televised nationally on ESPN so tons of people were going to be watching the game. The days prior to the game, I was just hoping that it would be close. I was excited that football season was here, but I had basically already put us down as 0-1 to begin the season. I was even tempted to not watch the game. It's a good thing I did...

The word hope as used in the scriptures takes on a whole different meaning. In the language of the gospel, the word hope means sure, unwavering, and active. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon talks about hope this way: "And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart." (Moroni 7:40-43) http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng

Sometimes, it can be hard to have hope in these troubled times. There are terrible things happening all around us. I take comfort in hoping for the promises written in the scriptures given to those who are doing what's right. Here's Mormon's words again: "Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven...Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart... that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." (Moroni 7:3,48) Whenever it is hard to hope for anything good in this life, I remember the words of the Lord to the prophet Joshua: "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."(Joshua 1:9) http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/josh/1.9?lang=eng#8  My friends, let us take comfort in these trying times and do our best to "hope for a better world" (Ether 12:4) http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng  and let us not be afraid, for "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/8?lang=eng

If you have only a desire to believe...

Recently, I was reading Alma chapter 32 in the Book of Mormon. This chapter is all about faith and there was one verse that really stuck out to me. It reads : "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." Alma 32:27 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32.27?lang=eng#26

What good things have happened in your life simply because you had a desire and worked for it to happen? In sports, when two teams play, usually one team is favored above the other team to win. However, that doesn't guarantee that is what's going to happen. When the underdog beats the favored team, we call this an upset. In order for a team to pull off an upset victory is to have a great desire and a belief that you can win, even when nobody else thinks you can. They must have that desire if they are to win. One example in the 2007 NBA playoffs really stood out to me. The first round in the west side featured the number 1 seed Dallas Mavericks (best team in the playoffs) against the number 8 seed Golden State Warriors (last team to make the playoffs) in a best of 7 games series. Dallas won an outstanding 67 out of 82 games in the regular season, while Golden State had won an acceptable, but far less, 42 games. Dallas was coming into the playoffs looking for vengeance after blowing a 2 game to none lead in the NBA Finals the playoffs before, meanwhile Golden State was making their first playoff appereance since 1994. Dallas, and basically everybody who wasn't a Golden State fan, was not expecting the Warriors to be any sort of a problem whatsoever. Not only were they a problem, they were a downright nuisanse . The Warriors stunned Dallas by taking Game 1 on their home floor making spectacular plays that you generally see only in the video games. Dallas blew them out in Game 2 and everybody relaxed, saying the Game 1 victory was a fluke. But the Warriors, in front of a crazy home crowd, took Games 3 and 4 and led the series 3-1. Dallas, needing to win or be eliminated, delivered in Game 5 at home. However, that would be their last victory as Golden State demolished them in Game 6, winning the series 4-2 and becoming the first 8 seed to beat a 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs in NBA history.

If Golden State hadn't believed or even desired to believe that they could beat heavily favored Dallas, they would not have won. I know that even if we only desire to believe in the words of Christ, as Alma describes, we allow a place in our hearts for our testimony to grow. As we do all we can to learn the truth for ourselves, that desire will become a passion, and that passion will become a deep abiding love for the Savior which will lead to following His example.  

You keep shooting.

In basketball, I play as either the point guard or the shooting guard, mostly the shooting guard because I'm terrible at dribbling and decent at shooting. There are days however when my shot is off...way off...and I struggle during a game. During one such game, I was over on the sideline and my coach, noticing that I was frustrated, came over to me and said, "Hey, you got this. Don't worry about it. Don't think about it. You keep shooting." I didn't understand why my coach was telling me this. I had already taken a bunch of shots and missed most of them, but knowing that my coach had confidence in me and my abilities lightened my mood and increased my motivation. Did it work? Did I make a shot? Well...

Ok...so it wasn't a game winner in an NBA game...but I did make a shot, in fact I made 3 3 pointers in a row. How does this relate to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? There will be days when we feel that we're not shooting well. There are going to be days when we just can't seem to buy a basket, but we MUST keep shooting. So how do we shoot? We keep reading our scriptures. We keep saying our prayers. We keep going to church. We keep the commandments of God. If we keep shooting, eventually one of them is going to go in. I know that as we do these things, we'll become closer to our Heavenly Father and an All-Star in His eyes.    

Easter

Next Sunday, the entire Christian world will be celebrating Easter. We remember His suffering for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He atoned for all of our sins. We remember His death on the cross, and His glorious victory over death that first Easter morning. Here is a very touching video from an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Elder Jeffery R. Holland. As we go through this next week until Easter and always, remember Him and all that He's done for us. Without His atoning sacrifice, there would be no hope for any of us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. He loved us so much that He was willing to go through all that pain so that we wouldn't have to. He died for us so that we may live. I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and His love for me.

"Harline's still open..." :) Enduring to the End

A principle of the Doctrine of Christ that I've been thinking a lot about lately is enduring to the end. Several times in the scriptures states the importance of enduring to the end. Jesus himself said very simply: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." This is a principle that is much easier said than done. When we take our first step by being baptized, some people think we're done and that's all we have to do. The Prophet Nephi in the Book of Mormon disagrees. He states: "And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path (meaning baptism), 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. 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." ( 2 Nephi 31: 19-20). http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/31?lang=eng
In the world of sports, you can find many examples of enduring. I think of Tracy McGrady with the Houston Rockets, when everybody thought that the game was over, scoring 13 points in the last 35 seconds to beat the San Antonio Spurs. I think of  1981 NCAA Tournament with BYU's Danny Ainge going from coast to coast to lay it up and win the game against Notre Dame. One that stuck out to me is the 2006 BYU-Utah football game. Both teams were doing well that year and the expectations for the game were as high as they usually are. The game went back and forth between the two teams. It wasn't until the 4th quarter when Utah scored a touchdown to make it 31-27 Utah with less than 2 minutes left in the game. BYU drove the ball down the field until they were at the Utah 12 yard line with 3 seconds left to go.  What happened next was a pure miracle...

I know that as we endure all the trials that come our way and do what we're supposed to be doing, we will be happy and obtain eternal life.

Faith from Halfcourt

Lately, we've been asked to study what's called the Doctrine of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ is 5 basic elements: Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. As I've been studying, I've pondered a lot about these elements and how they apply in my life and in the lives of others. I'll just talk about faith for now. Faith is described in both the Book of Hebrews in the Bible, and the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, as being something that is hoped for, but not seen. As I've thought about this, I thought about basketball again. One of the really exciting things about basketball is the buzzer beaters. Time is running down in the half, quarter, or the game and you have the ball. With one second to go, you just toss it up there just to see what happens. Those things never go in, right...?

Ok, so maybe I lack faith in myself hitting a half court shot at the buzzer, but that kind of faith is not that important. Faith needs to be centered in Jesus Christ. When we have faith in Christ, we accept and apply His Atonement and His teachings. We trust Him and what He says. We know that He has the power to keep His promises. A really good chapter about faith is in the Book of Mormon, Alma chapter 32. I strongly encourage you to click this link and read it: http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32?lang=eng. You'll learn a lot. I know that as we have faith in our Redeemer and trust in Him, we will see and recognize His hand more abundantly in our own lives. We will come closer to Him. I'm grateful to my Savior for all that He has done for me.

Life's not fair!

I heard a statement a while ago that made me laugh and also caused a bit of pondering. It went like this: "If life was fair, horses would ride half of the time." At first, I laughed at the visual image of a human giving a horse a ride, but then I thought about how many times we truly think that life isn't fair. Take me playing the game of golf for example. I've been playing golf for quite a few years and I improved a lot from where I was when I started but I'm still nothing to be proud about. Then I see stuff like this:

How come some people get all the luck???

We all know life isn't fair. That's just a fact of life. Some are rich, while others are poor. Some are healthy, while others are really sick. Some are happy, while others can't find reasons to get out of bed in the morning. What really counts is what we do when it seems like all we have is bad luck. We don't hear the horses complaining about their turn for a ride, so why should we complain? The truth is we have so much to be grateful for. Something that I like to do when I feel like I have all the bad luck in the world is to count my blessings, which is the name of one of my favorite hymns. Now this video is a little silly, but try to pay attention to the words of the song...

My advice to you: Yes, life isn't fair, but when life gets you down, count your blessings and thank Heavenly Father for the things that you do have.

Trials, Adversity, and how to get through it.

One of the main purposes of this life is to test how we will deal with the trials that come our way. The Prophet Lehi in the Book of Mormon taught that "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility." In order to know and truly appreciate the good in life, we would also have to experience the bad.
So to demonstrate this, I want to turn again to the world of sports. I remember, when I was younger, I was not very good at basketball. I couldn't shoot right. I couldn't dribble. I could barely pass without it getting intercepted by an opposing team member. Basically, I felt like I couldn't do anything right in the game. In essence, I felt kinda like these people:

This was a real trial for me. I loved the sport! I wanted to be good at it so I could contribute to my team. This frustrated me until one winter during basketball season. I had a really good coach. He knew I wasn't very good, but was willing to overlook it. He worked with me. He taught me good skills and wouldn't give up on me until I got it right. It took a while, but overtime, it got to where I could do stuff like this: 

Ok...maybe not exactly like that...but I improved! So where am I going with this? We all have trials in our lives, most of them are much more troublesome than not being able to play the sport of basketball. We want to be happy and have a peaceful, calm, enjoyable life and our trials distract us from this goal. Fortunately, we also have a Coach. He'll stick with us and help us obtain the skills we need, to have a happy successful life. He will never give up on us. This Coach is our Savior, Jesus Christ. How grateful I am for His help through my life. There were several times that I thought I wasn't going to make it, but that's when He put His arms around me and coached me through it. I know He does the same to everybody as well. In your times of struggle, go to your Coach, and He will help you through your hard times. 



Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration

In the spring of 1820, a 14 year old boy entered a grove of trees with a question. The answer he received changed the world and the lives of millions of people around the world. This is a movie about the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It's about an hour long, but I love it. I hope all of you take the time to watch this movie and ask God if this man really is a Prophet. I testify that he is, and that through him, the Lord restored the fulness of His Gospel to the earth once again. I testify that you can learn the truth of it by watching this movie, reading the Book of Mormon, and asking God with a real desire to know if it is true. I know He will answer you with a yes, because I have done the same thing.

Vision

I remember in my elementary school, middle school, and high school years when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. In elementary school, I had no idea. I thought I would never live to get old enough to have a job and have to provide for myself. In middle school, I wanted to be a teacher of either music or physical education. Some of the most influential people that I knew at this point in my life were my choir and PE teacher. I thought that if I could affect another person's life as a teacher the way these teachers have affected me, my life would be a success. Things didn't change much in high school and at this moment I'm considering sports broadcasting or a music teacher. I'm not sure still exactly what I want to do with my life but at least I have a vision of what I want to accomplish. This principle of vision also applies a lot with missionary work. I don't know if I would be where I am today if I didn't have a vision of going on a mission when I was younger. I knew that's where I'm supposed to be, and now that I'm here, I'm not regretting it one little bit. In the book of Proverbs, it states that "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." We must have a vision of what we want to accomplish in life or else there's no desire to do anything. For example, honestly if I didn't have a vision of what I wanted to accomplish on my mission and my desire to share the Gospel with people, it would be really hard for me to get out of the apartment and go to work. I know that as we obtain a vision of what we want to accomplish with the short time the Lord has given us on this earth, and then do everything to accomplish them, the Lord will bless us and help us with the righteous desires of our hearts. I'm so grateful for everything that the Lord has blessed me with, and for the opportunity to be a missionary serving the Master Jesus Christ. There's nothing better I could be doing with my time than accomplishing my vision of serving a mission.

BYU Basketball and Missionary Work

Those who know me well know that I'm a HUGE sports fan. I follow the NBA, College Basketball, College Football, Major League Baseball, etc. etc. etc. Sports are a huge part of my life. As for my favorite team, I'm a very passionate, loyal, die-hard BYU fan. The Cougars are my team. One unique thing about BYU sports is that a good number of the athletes that play at BYU are a little bit older than you'd find at most colleges throughout the country. This is due to some who choose to forgo playing their various sports for a couple of years to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This video is the story of such an athlete named Tyler Haws. I have had the opportunity to watch him play in person and on TV. He's an amazing basketball player, yet when the time came for him to serve, he did not hesitate. Now that I'm on a mission and see the things that I "give up" while serving the Lord, I admire people like Tyler who put their athletic career on hold to serve the Lord. Enjoy!   

The Pride Cycle

Lately in my Book of Mormon reading, I've been in the part of the Book of Mormon where something we like to call The Pride Cycle is very apparent. The Pride Cycle starts out when the people of the Nephites are being blessed so much by God. They have all these riches and all these worldly possessions that the Lord is blessing them with. After a while, the people begin to boast in these riches and begin to rank themselves higher than other people. They begin to forget the Lord, who is the reason they have all these wonderful blessings in the first place. When this happens, the Lord starts to stop blessing them, and begins instead to start punishing them. In the Book of Mormon, the punishment happens in a number of ways including war, famine, a curse upon their worldly possessions, etc. After they decide they've been afflicted enough, they begin to remember the Lord and ask for forgiveness. The Lord forgives and starts to bless them again. This cycle repeats several times throughout the pages of the Book of Mormon.

While reading this, I can't help but think about where we see this in our own lives today, and how we can avoid it. As a missionary, I see many people who have quite a bit of worldly wealth and give all of the credit to themselves. They don't thank God, or even acknowledge Him for their bounteous wealth. Often, these people don't have any desire to hear the Gospel. It saddens me when they have all this wealth that could be used to help people but instead they selfishly keep it to themselves. How do we avoid all of this in the first place?

First, we have what we call as missionaries, an attitude of gratitude. We always remember the Lord in all the blessings that He gives to us. The Lord has given us so much and if we keep expressing our gratitude and truly remember where the blessings come, we'll avoid being prideful.

Second, we keep the commandments of God. It's hard to be prideful when you're constantly feasting upon the words of God written in the scriptures and through His modern servants. It's hard to be prideful when you're kneeling in prayer every morning and night. It's hard to be prideful when you attend church every Sunday. If we're constantly doing what's right and remembering God, we will avoid being prideful.

Third, we be humble. Jesus Himself said: "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4) Humility is the opposite of pride. We can't be humble and prideful at the same time.

There are many other ways that we can avoid the Pride Cycle. These are just a few that I thought I would share with ya'll. Let us always remember from where our blessings come. I testify that they come from our loving Heavenly Father. He wants to bless us, and He will if we're doing what's right.

After General Conference

Today was the second and last day of General Conference. The Spirit of the Lord was present as we
listened to His servants. Lord said to the Prophet Amos that:

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."(Amos 3:7)

He also declared that: "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38. The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We accept them as scripture.)

 I have loved sitting down for the last two days and hearing the words of the Lord through his modern day Prophets and Apostles. I testify that everything these men said are true. They are the words of the Lord and we should pay heed to them. I encourage all to read their words, and ask God if they are true. I testify and promise as a representative of the Master, Jesus Christ, that if you do so with a sincere heart and real intent, God will tell you that they are true. You will come to the same knowledge that I have. I love my Savior very much. He suffered and died for the sins of the world. Even more personally, he suffered and died for me. I owe Him everything. Let us follow His words given to us by His prophets.

General Conference Experience

I love General Conference!!! The session this morning was amazing. There were some really inspiring talks given. I really want to live my life better and be more like our Savior Jesus Christ. Interesting things happened during the afternoon session. So, we were ready to receive some powerful spiritual learning when all of a sudden the screen freezes and blacks out. We weren't really worried about anything because technical difficulties happen all the time. Sure enough, it came back on within a few minutes. However, about halfway through the next talk, it froze and shut off again. We again just left it and it came back on again in a few minutes. This happened during every talk of this afternoon session which means we didn't really get to hear much. It's disappointing, but there's obviously something the Lord wanted us to learn from this experience. What I learned really from this experience is how you look at things during difficulties. While my companions and myself were certainly upset for having Conference delayed countless times, I remember thinking that the talks will be online in a couple of days so if I don't get to watch the whole thing, I'll get a chance to when they're put on the Internet. It's not the end of the world. I remember that sometimes I would get really upset and angry over just little things like this, but as I try to look at things optimistically, it really makes a huge difference. You're not flustered. You're not angry. You're just calm and you just face the challenges. You're also have to be very patient(which means we get two marshmallows :) ) and just have faith that things will work out. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the chance today to hear from modern day Apostles and our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. I can't wait until the Priesthood Session( the session only for men) this evening. It'll be great!

Special Treat: 2 posts in one day!

Since General Conference is tomorrow, which I'm super excited about, I thought it would be cool to share one more really great conference moment! This story comes from the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. He tells a story of what can happen when we don't keep our emotions under control:

"Recently as I watched the news on television, I realized that many of the lead stories were similar in nature in that the tragedies reported all basically traced back to one emotion: anger. The father of an infant had been arrested for physical abuse of the baby. It was alleged that the baby’s crying had so infuriated him that he had broken one of the child’s limbs and several ribs. Alarming was the report of growing gang violence, with the number of gang-related killings having risen sharply. Another story that night involved the shooting of a woman by her estranged husband, who was reportedly in a jealous rage after finding her with another man. Then, of course, there was the usual coverage of wars and conflicts throughout the world.

I thought of the words of the Psalmist: “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.”

Many years ago, a young couple called my office and asked if they could come in for counseling. They indicated they had suffered a tragedy in their lives and that their marriage was in serious jeopardy. An appointment was arranged.

The tension between this husband and wife was apparent as they entered my office. Their story unfolded slowly at first as the husband spoke haltingly and the wife cried quietly and participated very little in the conversation.

The young man had returned from serving a mission and was accepted to a prestigious university in the eastern part of the United States. It was there, in a university ward, that he had met his future wife. She was also a student at the university. After a year of dating, they journeyed to Utah and were married in the Salt Lake Temple, returning east shortly afterward to finish their schooling.

By the time they graduated and returned to their home state, they were expecting their first child and the husband had employment in his chosen field. The wife gave birth to a baby boy. Life was good.

When their son was about 18 months old, they decided to take a short vacation to visit family members who lived a few hundred miles away. This was at a time when car seats for children and seat belts for adults were scarcely heard of, let alone used. The three members of the family all rode in the front seat with the toddler in the middle.

Sometime during the trip, the husband and wife had a disagreement. After all these years, I cannot recall what caused it. But I do remember that their argument escalated and became so heated that they were eventually yelling at one another. Understandably, this caused their young son to begin crying, which the husband said only added to his anger. Losing total control of his temper, he picked up a toy the child had dropped on the seat and flung it in the direction of his wife.

He missed hitting his wife. Instead, the toy struck their son, with the result that he was brain damaged and would be handicapped for the rest of his life.

This was one of the most tragic situations I had ever encountered. I counseled and encouraged them. We talked of commitment and responsibility, of acceptance and forgiveness. We spoke of the affection and respect which needed to return to their family. We read words of comfort from the scriptures. We prayed together. Though I have not heard from them since that day so long ago, they were smiling through their tears as they left my office. All these years I’ve hoped they made the decision to remain together, comforted and blessed by the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I love General Conference! I hope you all can find some time to watch it and to apply the things the Lord wants us to know! Sessions are Saturday Morning at 11-1, Saturday Afternoon at 3-5, Saturday Evening for Men at 7-9, Sunday Morning at 11-1, and Sunday Afternoon at 3-5 Central Time. Broadcasts are on BYUTV, the Mormon Channel, lds.org, or at a Mormon Meetinghouse near you! Hope y'all can come!

Patience

Another one of my favorite General Conference talks comes once again from President Uchtdorf. Although God's promises aren't fulfilled immediately, they will always be fulfilled. Patience can sometimes be hard, but it is always worth it if we endure to the very end. This little video is based on President Uchtdorf's talk in the April 2010 Conference.