"As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten"

Alright so I was looking through the talks from the General Conference in April. I read the one from D. Todd Christofferson and I really liked it. The title of the talk is "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten". He basically talks about how God knows everyone of us and that he has a plan for each and everyone of us. He shares a story that President Hugh B. Brown, who used to be in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and of the First Presidency. The story is an experience that President Brown has with a currant bush and being in the Canadian Army.(watch the video at the bottom) The moral of his experience is that he realizes that God is the gardener. He realizes that God loved him enough to cut him down a little and redirect his life and prepared him to be an Apostle. Elder Christofferson's talk  is about how God chastens us for three different reasons or purposes. They are: (1) to persuade us to repent, (2) to refine and sanctify us, and (3) at times to redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path. I really enjoyed the whole talk. It really hit home for me. I know God loves us and sometimes he makes us go through trials for our good. He knows what is best for us. I have seen it in my life how God has directed me through trials and tribulations.

Here is a video of Elder Christofferson's talk at the April 2011 General Conference.

God's Creations

Well I couldn't really think of anything to write about today, so I figured I would just tell you about things I like to do and that I miss a lot. When I was back home, I really enjoyed being outside. I loved looking at all of God's wonderful creations. I loved going camping, hunting, and fishing. The outdoors is the best place to just relax and think. There is no doubt in my mind that God created everything in this world like it says in Genisis 1:1 "In the ^abeginning ^bGod ^ccreated the ^dheaven and the ^eearth." I love the mountains and trees. There is nothing like hiking to the top of a mountain and looking out over the rest of the valley at all the trees and animals. I know that God created this earth just for us. In 1 Nephi 17:36 it reads "Behold, the Lord hath created the ^aearth that it should be ^binhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.Behold, the Lord hath created the ^aearth that it should be ^binhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it." So this is how I possess it as the scripture says. I went camping and enjoyed the outdoors. I also went snowboarding in the wonderful mountains out west. Snowboarding is one of my favorite things to do. I miss it so much. I can't really do any of these things while I am on mission, but that's for a good reason. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church. I know the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel and that is why I am missing out on these things for 2 years, so I can share that with people.

The Carnal Mind

First off I want to say sorry to anyone that reads my blog for not posting in awhile. That's probably not very many people, but anyways sorry. I got moved to Lebanon, TN and we haven't been able to get to a computer for a little bit. I don't have very long to write a post today, but I will write a better one tomorrow hopefully. So just a short  message for today. I was reading the Book of Mormon this morning and I came across this verse in 2 Nephi Chapter 9. It's verse 39 which reads "O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in ^atransgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that ^bcunning one. Remember, to be ^ccarnally-minded is ^ddeath, and to be ^espiritually-minded is ^flife ^geternal." I really like this scripture. What it means to me is that we should not yield to the temptations of the devil. He uses things of this world like money, cars, and other stuff to deceive us. Lusting after these things is being carnally minded and that leads to death. Now if we follow Jesus Christ and try to be as spiritually minded as we can, meaning always thinking good thoughts and doing good, then we will eventually receive eternal life. I know that's true and I know Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.