Clear Blue Skies

Alright so the past few days Nashville has had some bad weather. The weather here is ridiculous! Yesterday was the worst. We went out walking because it had stopped raining for a little bit. We were trying to find this address of a person that wanted us to come by and visit sometime. Well it started to rain a little. So I busted out my umbrella to keep me dry. Then it started to rain harder. Next thing I knew we were walking through a river in the street up to our ankles, the wind started blowing really hard, and tornado sirens were going off! My umbrella didn't do its job. The only thing that was dry was my hair. It was pretty intense! I survived though. I tried to keep a good attitude and stay postive even though I was soaking from head to toe and would have rather been stayed inside. We made it back to our apartment in safety and got dried off and everything was just fine. Now today is a beautiful day with clear blues skies. That seems to be the trend here in Nashville. They have a big storm and then it is followed by a beautiful sunny day. Now I want to relate this to the Gospel. The big storm can be related to some sort of trial in our life. Something that just really gets us down. What we have to do next is endure it well. We can rely on the Savior and ask our Heavenly Father for help to endure through prayer. We need to trust God. The prophet Alma gives this advice to his son Helaman in the Book of Mormon. In Alma 36:3 it reads "And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their ^atrust in God shall be supported in their ^btrials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be ^clifted up at the last day." In this scripture it lets us know that we will be supported and lifted up at the last day. So this can be related to the beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies the day after the storm. I know that when a trial or trouble comes our way if we endure it well with a good attitude and trust God, we will receive a reward and better times will come. I know this because I know our Father in Heaven loves us and wants the best for us. He doesn't always make it easy, but that's because he likes to test our faith and wants us to learn and grow. I know he will never give us anything we can't handle with his help.

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Today I didn't really know what to write about. So I figured I would just write about the thing that I try to share with people everyday, while I am out here in Nashville serving a mission. That thing is the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the most important message that I can share with people. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of this restoration.

First off let me tell you about the Restoration and why it is important. We are all children of our Heavenly Father and he loves us. The gospel of Jesus Christ is to help us live happier lives. He revealed that gospel to prophets ever since the world began. Our Heavenly Father always had a person here who could teach the Gospel. When Jesus Christ came to the earth he set up his church and taught his gospel in it's fulness. He taught this gospel to his apostles and gave them priesthood authority to run his church. When Jesus Christ was crucified and suffered for the sins of the world, his apostles tried to keep the gospel in line and correct. The Apostles were persecuted and many were killed. After this the people began to misinterpret things and changed some of the doctrines. This is why there are so many churches today.

So this is what happened, after many centuries the fulness of the gospel was restored. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, who was praying to find the truth. They told Joseph Smith that the fulness of the Gospel was not on the earth. They called him to be the prophet of the Restoration. They restored Christ's Church once again. More scripture was revealed through Joseph Smith that he translated by the power of God. This scripture is called the Book of Mormon. If you read and pray about this book and ask God if it is true you will receive an answer as it says in Moroni 10:3-5. I know this is true. I am so thankful for the blessings I have received through being a member of Christ's Church. I love sharing the happiness it brings to people everyday. I have seen it bring so much Joy to people on my mission.

Here is a video about Joseph Smith.

Repentance is so cool

Today I am going to talk about repentance. I think this is one of the greatest principles in the gospel of Jesus Christ. True repentance changes our hearts. When we except Jesus Christ as our Savior, this leads us to repent of anything we have done wrong. Which means we realize we are doing wrong, feel sorry for it, ask God for forgiveness, and never do it again. In Luke Chapter 15 it talks a little about repentance. It gives the parable of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. The parable of the lost sheep talks about a man that has 100 sheep and one is lost. It talks about leaving the ninety nine and going after the one that is lost. In verse 7 it reads "I say unto you, that likewise ^ajoy shall be in heaven over one ^bsinner that ^crepenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." What I get from this scripture is that repentance is a joyous occasion and that we will feel way better when we repent. The parable of the prodigal son is about a man that has two sons. One of the sons asks for his inheritance and leaves home and spends it on "riotous living". He decides to come home and ask for his father's forgiveness. The father is really excited when he comes back and throws a party. The older son was mad because he stayed and worked and kept the commandments, but his father never gave him anything for it. His father says to him in verse 31-32 in Chapter 15 of Luke "And he said unto him, ^aSon, thou art ever with me, and ^ball that I have is thine.
It was ^ameet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found." So anyways what I am getting at is that we all need to repent each and everyday because it's the best. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who will forgive us. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for our sins.

A Helping Hand of Service

I love helping people! I also love when people help me or my family. Little acts of kindness and service make the world not only a better place, but a happier one as well. The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that service to your neighbors and friends is serving God. In Matthew 25:40 it reads "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me." And in Mosiah 2:17 it reads "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." I know that these scriptures are true. This morning my companion and I got to go mow a guy's lawn that couldn't do it by himself because he recently hurt is knee. It felt so good being able to help somebody in need. As you may know, my mom was in an accident a little while ago. There has been so many people that have helped out my family. From bringing them meals to eat, to sitting at my mom's bedside, to doing fundraising carnivals. I am so thankful for all of this. It brings me so much joy. I know this is all done because of the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it teaches. I know that providing service to others is really providing service to God. I am so thankful that I am serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and able to provide service for people each and everyday. It brings a great spirit. I hope that we all can find ways to help others.

Word of God

Alright so I read 1 Nephi chapter 8 this morning and thought I would talk about it. First off it is an awesome chapter in the Book of Mormon. It is a vision that Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, receives in a dream about the tree of life. He basically sees a path leading to a tree that has some really good fruit on it. He goes and partakes of it and it is sweet above anything he has ever had. Lehi desires for his family to partake of  it. He sees a couple of his sons and his wife and calls for them to come have it. This whole thing kind of takes place in a very dark and dreary place. Lehi also sees a rod of iron that goes along the path that leads to the tree. There are many people that are pressing forward holding on to that rod and coming to partake of the fruit. He also sees a large and spacious building where the people are laughing and scoffing at the people who were at the tree. Some people decided to leave the tree and go to the large and spacious building. Lehi's son, Nephi, a couple chapters later in chapter 11 sees the same vision and the Spirit of the Lord helps him understand what everything represents. The iron rod represents the word of God. The tree of life represents the love of God or eternal life. The large and spacious building represents the pride of the world. So the moral of the story is that following the word of God and staying on that path will get you to feel the love of God and eventually you will receive eternal life. I have definately seen this in my life. Staying on the strait and narrow path and listening to the word of God has really helped me. Living in Las Vegas, there is evil all around you, but when I read my scriptures and listened to my parents I was able to stay away from that evil. I noticed when I was living the gospel I was happier and I could feel the love of God in my life. If you get a chance read 1Nephi chapters 8 and 11.

Prayer is the Best

I don't really know how to blog. So just bear with me. Tell me how I do. For the past few weeks I have gained a great testimony for personal prayer. I know it works. I read a scripture recently about praying with full energy of heart. It's Moroni 7:48. It reads "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^apray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true ^bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall ^cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be ^dpurified even as he is pure. Amen." I love that phrase "full energy of heart". That is something that have been working on for the past couple of weeks. Praying for help from God in the troublesome times really helps. Praying with all the energy you can having a real desire and charity for others helps Heavenly Father know that you really want something and is more likely to help you. I have been praying a whole lot for my mom lately because she was in a bad accident. I know that our Father in Heaven is watching over her and she is getting better and better everyday. I know that our Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us and if we pray to him with a "full energy of heart" he bless us with the things we need.