What Do You Desire?

Alright about a week ago I starting thinking a lot about desire. I don't have any clue why, but I did. I guess it started when I was reading in Mosiah Chapter 11. It was talking about King Noah and how wicked he was. In verse 2 of that chapter a phrase stuck out to me that reads "he did walk after the desires of his own heart." The reason he was a wicked king was because that is what he desired, wickedness. Then a few days ago I was reading the General Conference addition of the Ensign. I was reading a talk from Dallin H. Oaks titled Desire. It was a really good talk. It got me thinking a lot about what I desire while I am on my mission, in life on this earth, and after this life. While I am here in Tennessee on my mission my desire is to bring souls unto Christ. Some of my desires in this life are to have a good career, getting married, and owning a Chevy Camaro. However these earthly desires don't matter that much. The greatest desire we should have is eternal life. In Alma 29:4 it reads "I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their ^bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction." I know this scripture is true. If we truely desire eternal happiness and we do the things necessary to get there God will grant it to us. One qoute I really liked from Elder Oaks talk was this "Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming." So desires play a big role in what we become and where we want to be. So what do you desire?

"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.

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.