Baseball and the Game of Life

     Many people who know me, know that I love the game of baseball. Most of my growing up life has revolved around baseball; from Little League, to Tournament Teams and on up through High School. I love everything about the game, maybe that's why its one of my favorite sports....

     Baseball is an interesting sport. There isn't a lot of contact and action like there is in football and basketball. People say that baseball is "slow, boring and nothing happens". However, many people don't know how much you actually have to be doing while you are playing. They say baseball is 90% mental and 10 % physical. Hence the reason people think not much goes on. A LOT of mental aspect goes into the game! 

     You must constantly be thinking about what you are going to do when action happens. You never know when something is going to happen so you always need to know ahead of time what you are going to do with the ball! If you are ready and on your toes, when the action does come, you will successfully execute the play! That's the key, being prepared and ready, for you really don't know what's gonna happen on the next pitch. If you aren't ready, then games can be lost. 

     The game of baseball is a lot like the game we are all in, the game of life. I have learned a lot of life lessons from playing sports, which I appreciate all my coaches who helped me see that life isn't just all about sports and you can learn a lot from sports about how to be successful in life.  But what I wanted to focus on for a moment is how if we are prepared, ready, and "on our toes", whatever comes our way can be dealt with successfully. Part of this life is to be tested and we are tested in SO many different ways. If we do what we know to be right and prepare ourselves for life's challenges, we can "execute the play" and find joy in our journey through life!

     We must always be on the look out. It says in the Book of Mormon "if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not" (Mosiah 4:30). I know that we do our best to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, we will win the game of life and make it back to the presence of God, our ultimate goal!



The Book of Mormon: From God or the Devil?

     Lately I've been thinking about a talk that a General Authority of the Church gave in General Conference in October of 2011. The talk was given by Elder Tad. R. Callister and the title of his talk is The Book of Mormon- a Book from God. This talk was one of my favorite talks and most of my information from this blog comes from his talk.

     Elder Callister begins by telling of an experience his great-great grandfather had. While reading the Book of Mormon for the first time, his great-great grandfather said, "That book was either written by God or the devil, and I am going to find out who wrote it." He then read through the Book of Mormon twice in the next10 days and declared, "The devil could not have written it—it must be from God."

     There is no middle ground with the Book of Mormon, it is either written from God, or not. Ultimately it is up to the person deciding who its from to actually read it for themselves and find who it truly came from.

Let me tell you more from Elder Callister used in his talk to demonstrate how the Book of Mormon relates to the Bible which proves it is in fact of God. First Elder Callister poses a question. "But why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ?"

He then gives us the answer, "Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1)".

He continues, "The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: [now pay attention to this analogy] How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.

What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses."
 

     The Book of Mormon, like the Bible, only testifies of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. The Book of Mormon provides warnings against the devil and his temptations and testifies against him. Why would the Satan provide a book that completely goes contrary to his plan? He would not do that! Therefore, the Book of Mormon has to be from God. I know it is because I have read it and have been brought closer to my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. You too can know for yourself whether or not the Book of Mormon is from God or not. The only way for you to know that for yourself is to read from its pages.  Like Elder Callister's great-great grandfather, I know the devil could not have written the Book of Mormon, it must be from God.

Resurrection, Judgement, Immortality

     When Jesus Christ comes again at His Second Coming, then comes the resurrection of mankind. At death, our bodies and our spirits were separated. At the resurrection, our bodies and spirits will be reunited. All people, whether good or bad in this life will have the opportunity to be resurrected. Resurrection is a free gift our Savior gave us, and it is He who makes it possible. 

   "Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death" (Alma 11:42).

Oh and did I mention that when our bodies and spirits are reunited at the resurrection, that they will never be separated again? Yeah, we will be immortal!!

"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time..." (Alma 11:43). How awesome will that be to have perfect immortal bodies when we are resurrected?! Immortality is a free gift given to us. Everyone will have their picture perfect body that we all want. 

     When pondering the being immortal thought, I thought about Barbie and Ken and their "perfect bodies" and that got me to thinking how much more perfect our bodies will be when we are resurrected!  Just blew my mind! However, because we will have perfect, immortal bodies, that does not guarantee us a spot in God's house. We must first be judged according to our works done in the mortal body.

 

After we are resurrected, we will be brought before the judgement bar of God, to be judged. 

"...and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now...

"...and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father...to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil" (Alma 11: 43-44).

When we are brought before Christ and God, we will know and remember EVERYTHING  we did while on earth; good and bad. We will then be judged and placed in one of 3 places, also known as the Kingdoms of Heaven.

     I would like to testify that I truly believe and have faith in the resurrection. I testify that we will all one day be resurrected and receive a perfect immortal body of flesh and bones, becoming even more like our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that we will be judged according to our works and if we follow the Savior and His true Gospel, then we will be received into God's Kingdom to dwell with Him there.

The Spirit World

    Three days after the death of the Savior, His apostles and friends find the tomb He was buried in to be empty. As we read in the account of John Chapter 20 in the Bible, Mary Magdalene is found weeping at the tomb because she, and many others weren't sure what happened to Christ because they didn't know the reality of a resurrection yet. As Mary is crying by the tomb, Jesus comes and says to her in John 20: 15, "Woman, why weepest thou?" Mary then replies in the same verse, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." Mary doesn't know its Christ Himself talking to her, till in verse 16 He says, "Mary." Mary then turns and realizes it is in reality Jesus Himself says continuing in verse 16, "Rabboni; which is to say, Master."
     Mary realizes it is Jesus Christ alive again! As we can conclude from reading verse 17 of John 20, Mary must have reached out to Christ as to give Him a greeting with a hug or some sort, because Jesus stops her and says, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:..." If Jesus had not yet gone to His Father, where did He go in the meantime?...

 

     After Christ was resurrected, and just before He ascended to God the Father, He went to a place what's called the Spirit World. The Spirit World may be compared to what most people call, Heaven and Hell. The Spirit World is like a waiting room, where our spirits go, once we have gone out of this life. In the Spirit World are two places, Spirit Paradise, and Spirit Prison. There are a few verses in the Book of Mormon that explains who goes where in the Spirit World. The scripture comes from Alma Chapter 40, verses 11-14.

     " Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

  "And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

 "And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.

  "Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection."

     Now, what's great about the Spirit World is the gospel is being preached to those who are in "Prison". What a wonderful tender mercy of the Lord to give people a first (for those who never heard about Jesus Christ) and second chance to accept His gospel.

     The Bible tells us that those who have passed on will have the gospel of Jesus Christ taught to them. 1 Peter Chapter 4 verse 6 reads. "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."

     I can testify that there is in fact life after death. The Spirit World is the place where we will go after we pass on from this life. Those who accepted Jesus Christ and lived His gospel will live in a state of peace and happiness and they will teach those who are in Spirit Prison and give them an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ and His true gospel there. We will be in the Spirit World until the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, where we will all then be resurrected.



Death and the Atonement

     The next part in the Plan of Salvation is the most important and central to the whole plan. This part is the act of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This act is easily the most important thing that has ever occurred and will ever occur on earth. The suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ is probably one of most complex topics to discuss and to understand fully. Yet, it is the most rewarding if we understand the basics and apply it into our own lives. The Atonement makes the whole Plan of Salvation possible. There would be no plan if it wasn't for Christ, that is why He is central to the plan.
     "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son..." Our Father in Heaven was willing to let His Son be sacrificed "...that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  From the beginning, (Pre-earth life) Jesus was willing to step forward and fulfill the role of a Savior, as our Father in Heaven asked. When Jesus came to earth, He lived a perfect life, obeying ALL of the Father's commandments, so when it was time to take our sins upon Him, He was ready and willing.

     The Atonement of Jesus Christ three main parts. First, His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus suffered for all of our sins, and infirmities, where He prayed to the Father saying, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26: 39).  I love this quote by a church leader when talking about Christ's suffering.  "Jesus Christ entered a garden called Gethsemane, where He overcame sin for us. He took upon Himself our sins. He suffered the penalty of our wrongs. He paid the price of our education. I don't know how He did what He did. I only know that He did and that because He did, you and I may be forgiven of our sins that we may be endowed with His power. Everything depends on that" (Lawrence E. Corbridge, "The Way," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 35). What immense amount of love Christ had for all of us, to suffer so much incomprehensible pain, even to bleed at every pore!

 

       After Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was bound, and sentenced to be crucified by His own. He was beaten nearly to death and was hung on the cross to die. Again we see the amount of love Christ must have for each and every person when referring to the Roman soldiers He says, "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23: 34). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was beaten, spit upon, scourged, and crucified. As horrible as that sounds, good news is yet to come.

     The third and final part of the Atonement process, ended with Christ's glorious resurrection! On the third day, Christ rose again from the dead as He had promised. The words of our beloved Prophet, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, truly hit home with his comment regarding Christ's resurrection. He says,
"No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when, on the first day of the week, they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord. Spoke the angel: “Why seek ye the living among the dead? “He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:5–6).

Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed." 

Christ's body and spirit were reunited once again, only this time, to never be separated again! He is risen!

      Why is this important? Why did Jesus do this for us? He went through this process because He loves us! Christ knew God's plan was to enable us to return back to His presence.  Because of the fall of Adam He knew we couldn't make it there on our own, so He by going through the Atonement process, He can help us make it back to God's presence! Everyone in this life will all eventually die, that's is just the fact of life. But, because of Christ's resurrection, we will all be resurrected too! That is a free gift! Also, because Adam, transgressed, we will all sin and come short of the glory of God, however, because Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for our sins, He over came sin, and because He overcame sin, each and every one of us can over come our sins and mistakes, and we do that through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, or in short, by following the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can be saved through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

"And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall^ctake upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else" (Alma 11: 40).
     I know that the Atonement is real and that Christ suffered for me, so I can overcome my faults and weaknesses. I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for my Savior and His Atonement. I know He suffered for me, so He can comfort me in my times of trial and I can gain strength to overcome temptation through Him. I know that my sins can be forgiven through His atonement if I will humble myself and repent! I know Christ lives and I will live again someday too!

Up next in the Plan of Salvation:

The Spirit World

Earth Life: Why am I here?

     One of the blessings of Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is that all of us who are on the earth now, were able to come here. What a sweet blessing! I know I'm grateful that I was able to get my chance on earth because that was one of the main parts of God's Plan, for us to have to opportunity to come to earth and gain a physical body.

    Now that we are here and have our bodies, why are we here? What is the purpose of life?  That is a very good question which many people have. That question is one of the big questions of life! I am happy to say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the answer to that question. First, lets go to the Book of Mormon. There is a scripture in the Book of 2 Nephi, Chapter 2, verse 25, which reads. "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." Right there is tells us what the purpose of life is. Joy. Adam became mortal, so all other men could "be" or come to earth. Men are here on earth, to have "joy". Heavenly Father didn't call His Plan the Plan of Sadness or Plan of Misery. He calls it the Plan of Salvation, I don't know about you but isn't Salvation supposed to be happy? God also calls His plan the Plan of Happiness, therefore, His purpose for us being here is to ultimately have joy! Simple as that.

      See this priceless picture of this happy family. They look like they are having a good time and enjoying themselves. That is exactly how God wants each and every one of us to be. We are all a part of God's Family, and He has given us a family on earth to live in so we can learn and grow together and come closer to Him and our Savior Jesus Christ. God's whole plan is to enable us to reach it back to Him with our families because that is how He wanted it to be. I am so grateful to have a family so I could learn about my Heavenly Father and come to know His plan for me. Families are so important and they are central in fulfilling God's Plan of Happiness.

     

      

 

     As previously mentioned, the purpose of life is to have joy, personally and with our families. How do we find that joy in life? By making choices. We were all given our agency or ability to choose for ourselves. God has given us commandments to follow during this life, and if we do our part to follow them, we will be received into God's presence when we go out of this life. In other words, we need to learn and follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ during this life in order to find true happiness and qualify for eternal life in God's presence. Yes, we do have to do perform good works while here on earth, there is a purpose for being here or else why would God even allow us to come here? The book of Alma in the Book of Mormon says, "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors (Alma 34:32).  Clearly that scripture says that we are to prepare to meet God, NOW, and we do that by performing labors or good works while in this life. Let us choose the good path of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

     "Come follow me". That was the Savior's invitation to His Apostles and ultimately is His invitation to each and every one of us. All He requires of us is to believe in Him and have faith, repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by His proper authority, and then endure to the end. That's all. It may seem tough, but He has promised that He will help us along every step of the way. I know that God's purpose for us in this life is to have joy and prepare ourselves to meet Him by following His Beloved Son and His gospel. I hope we will all take the Savior's invitation to heart and choose to follow Him.

Agency and The Fall of Adam and Eve

     Most of us probably know the story of Adam and Eve but their story is very important to us because their story determined our mortal existence. After Jesus Christ and God the Father created the physical earth, they created man and woman. We learn from Genesis that the names of these humans are Adam and Eve. We also learn that we were created in the image of God. Therefore, each of us here on this earth have some attributes that our Father in Heaven possesses. I think that is pretty amazing! 

     God placed man in the most beautiful of Gardens; the Garden of Eden. Here, Adam and Eve lived in a perfect place where they could walk and talk with God and Jesus Christ. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were innocent, meaning they did not know right from wrong. They didn't have any opposition. This meant that they could not experience joy or pain because they didn't know which was which. They were just kind of there not progressing at all.

     

     One of the greatest gifts God has given us, is our agency. Agency is the right we have to choose and act for ourselves, whether we choose good or evil. God gave Adam and Eve their agency. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were commanded to take care of the garden and to multiply and replenish the earth. He also suggested them to not partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For so by doing, they would become mortal and would eventually die. If Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, then they would know the difference between good and evil. They could experience pain, but also, they could experience joy.

     Eventually as we all know, God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve and they used their agency and partook of the forbidden fruit and were therefore kicked out of the Garden of Eden. This was part of God's Plan. This event of Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden in called The Fall. Because of the Fall, we are all subject to disease, pain, sadness and suffering and we will all eventually die; so we are all subject to physical death. Also, we are all out of God's physical presence which is called spiritual death. When we sin and make mistakes, we distance ourselves from God even further. On the bright side, because Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, the rest of God's spirit children will have the opportunity to come to earth and gain a mortal body which is what we all wanted to gain in the Pre-Mortal council in Heaven. Also, we also can gain experience to learn and grow and progress to become more and more like our Father in Heaven. We can experience joy and happiness to lead us back Home. So there are some negatives that come from the effects of the Fall, but overall it was a good thing Adam and Eve fell so God's plan could continue.

 

After Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. They repented of their sins and received forgiveness and continued of the path of righteousness. They began to have children and taught them the ways of the Lord. I am so grateful for Adam and Eve and for what they did to allow each of us to come to earth so we could all gain a body and to gain experience that help us learn and grow. I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who has given each of us the gift of Agency to act for ourselves and to choose that which we desire. I hope and pray we will use our agency for good and choose to exercise good works! (That was a brief story of Adam and Eve there is more to it if you want to learn more visit LDS.org and search Adam and Eve.) Also some scripture references to look up that tell more about the story of Adam and Eve visit here:

Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 2

Bible: Genesis 3

Up next in the Plan of Salvation:

Our Earth Life: The Purpose of Life, Why are we here?

The Creation of the Earth

     After our counsel in heaven, Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, created the earth. If we, as God's children, were going to get a body and gain experiences that would help us become like and eventually have the opportunity to live with our Heavenly Father, we needed a place to go where we could accomplish those goals. Therefore, an Earth was created. 

     This whole earth was specifically created for all mankind to come and dwell upon and to have dominion over the inhabitants of it. There is a scripture I like that talks about the Lord creating the earth and one of the main reasons why. The verse is found in the Book of Mormon, in the book of 1 Nephi Chapter 17 verse 36 and it reads, "Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it." 

     I know that there is a Supreme Being who literally created this earth, specifically for us to come and dwell upon. When in the outdoors just looking all around at all the beauty of the earth, to me, there is just no way that there could NOT be a Creator of this earth. There is no way that everything just "magically" happened. This earth was in fact created by our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father. Just take a look around you and and ponder about all the mountains, trees, animals and all of earth's natures and you too will come to the realization that there is a Greater Being out there who lives and created this wonderful earth.

    

coming up next in the Great Plan of Salvation: "Agency and The Fall of Adam and Eve"

Who Am I?

     One of my favorite movies is the classic film, Zoolander. The hilarious, and yes, kind of pointless film about male models finding out there is more to life than being really ridiculously good looking. The main character, Derek Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller, finds himself lost after losing the number 1 spot for male model of the year by his fellow rival model, Hansel, played by Owen Wilson. This loss shattered Derek Zoolanders entire universe and he is depressed and throughout the film he, in a round about way, tries to find out who he is. A couple times during the movie, he asks his reflection in a puddle of water, and the heavens the question, "Who am I?". With that introduction, let me tell you something that everyone needs to know and should never forget; who YOU are.

 

     Many people in this world sincerely have the question "Who am I?" and really want to know. What glorious news the gospel of Jesus Christ has which tells us in fact, who each and every person is. The answer to that question is simple. You are a child of God! There is spiritual power that comes from that simple phrase and knowing that we are all children, sons and daughters of God.

     God is literally the Father of our spirits. He lives in Heaven, therefore, we as Latter-day Saints refer to God as our Heavenly Father. We are His children, and He loves us more than we can comprehend. He cares about us and He wants us to be happy in this life. He is happy when we are happy, and He is sad when we are sad. Our loving Father in Heaven loves us so much, that He provided a way for us to communicate with Him, and we do that through sincere prayer. Just as we have an earthly father who wants to talk to us, more importantly, we have a Father in Heaven who wants, and expects to hear from us. He wants us to talk to Him, so He can give us guidance and direction to our lives. Because God loves us so much, He answers our prayers, so we can feel His love in greater abundance in our lives. 

     No matter what circumstance we may be in this life, if we feel like we are forgotten, we must NEVER forget that we will NEVER be forgotten. Our Father in Heaven will never abandon us. We will always have Him love to us unconditionally and help us out in our times of sorrow and despair. We only have to be willing to turn to Him and trust in His constant care.

     I know that each and every one of us are literally children of God. I know He loves us because I have felt His love in my life on many occasions. I know that God knows us personally, inside and out and He is very aware of the situations we are in. He has a plan for each and every one of us in this life and we can know of His plan for us by doing what He has asked us to do (prayer, scripture study, keeping the commandments etc.). I am so grateful for the knowledge I have to know who I am; that is, a child of God.

Here is a song we sing and learn as children that tells us perfectly who we all are.

Enjoy.

 

Be Prepared

     The first weekend in August in Glasgow, our Church had an Emergency Preparedness Day Open House for the community to come and see. Some members of our church set up booths to show of ways that we can prepare for tough times and emergencies that may come upon us. Some of those ways include, 72 hour kits, emergency kits, financial, dry pack canning and recipe's to use from their commodities. 

     Most of us know that unexpected disasters or freak emergencies can happen at any time. Therefore, it is important that we armor ourselves with some, if not all of these necessities that will help us get through hard times that happen to us. Everyone is prone to emergencies and tough times in their lives, for that is a part of our mortal life. However, when we are prepared with these necessities, we are able to get by until times get better. 

     Looking at the world today, we obviously see many natural disasters that are causing emergency evacuations and heart aches to many people around the globe. Earthquakes, tsunami's, hurricanes, forest fires, and many other disasters are so prevalent in our world today. We never know when we are going to be hit with an emergency, that is why we always need to be prepared with these emergency kits so we won't be all chaotic and put at risk ours and our families lives. All of these recent disasters are most definitely signs of Jesus Christ's Second Coming. The scriptures say so themselves. "And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the seas heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion;...And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice...saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come..." (D&C 88:90-92). 

When speaking of the Second Coming and being prepared, I am reminded of the Parable of the Ten Virgins in the book of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 1-13 in the Bible. To say it short in writing, Jesus relates the kingdom of Heaven to ten virgins who were awaiting the time of the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ). Five of the virgins were prepared and wise with extra oil for their lamps in case they needed more. The other five virgins were foolish and did not have any oil with them. Of course when the cry that the Bridegroom was coming, the foolish virgins asked for some oil from the wise virgins but the wise virgins didn't have enough oil for both, so the foolish virgins went out to go buy some more oil and during that time the Bridegroom came and the wise virgins were ready to go to the wedding and when the foolish virgins came, they were too late and not allowed in. The Savior gives us some wise counsel and the end of the parable. He says, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:13).

We can learn a lot from this parable and all throughout the scriptures on how we need to always be ready for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. No man knows when He is going to come again, only our Father in Heaven knows. Therefore, we need to prepare ourselves so we can be ready to greet Him. I know that if we are doing what we are supposed to, observing to keep the commandments, saying our prayers and studying our scriptures daily, and doing all the little things that draw us closer to God, then we will be prepared and will be happy and ready to meet our Savior Jesus Christ.

Baseball, Carnivals and the Adversary

     Throughout my life I have learned many valuable life lessons from the awesome coaches I have had while playing sports. While serving my mission here in Montana I have learned some more valuable life lessons. Many of which came from my studies, attending District Meetings, Zone Conferences and trainings, and even when teaching people about the gospel. Who knew I would learn a valuable life lesson from an experience I had while attending a Carnival in Glasgow Montana?!

      The day was Monday August 8, 2011. The good ol county fair/carnival was in town for the weekend and my companion and I were meeting some people there for dinner. Before our dinner got there, we decided to look around a little bit to see what was going on and to be seen by people in the community. As we're walking around, I see a little game called "Break the Bottle". Yep it was a baseball throw. It was kinda like the milk bottle throw only four or five rows of beer bottles were waiting to be shattered by a baseball! Boy did I get get antsy inside, I love baseball and I haven't played for over a year and I REALLY wanted to play this game! So we stopped and looked at it and the Carnies (the people who try to get people to play) could tell I liked what I was seeing so they jumped all over me and kept telling me "You know you wanna play!" Did I ever! Finally I said 'what the heck lets do it!' I mean its was only 5 bucks and I play baseball, I could do it easily! So I pay my five bucks and take a look at the bottles and on the bottom row, right in the middle there is a big champagne bottle with a 20 dollar bill taped to it! WHAT?! Man that made me want to break it even more! 20 bucks to break a bottle, not bad. The Carnie said he wasn't gonna make it easy so you had to hit the bottle in the perfect spot to get it to break, and the spot was the size of Jefferson's head on the 20 dollar bill. No big deal, I'm getting 20 bucks! 5 baseballs later, no 20 bucks.

     Yep I failed and didn't break the bottle. Breaking the big bottle was a little harder than I thought, but I was convinced I could do it, after all the first five balls was just a warm up. Again the Carnies asked if I wanted to do it again, they said again "you know you want to" and all that to convince me to play again. Yes I wanted to and I played again. Five more bucks, five more baseballs, no 20 bucks. Darn.

     After that fail I decided to quit and it was about time for dinner so we left and met the people we were eating with and we went and had some dinner and looked around at other exhibits at the carnival. Instead of getting into too much detail, lets just say I ended up going back to play the game and I did not win the 20 bucks. I even borrowed money from a friend who trusted I could break the bottle, but I failed. Its not that I didn't hit the bottle, I hit the bottle plenty of times trust me. Either the game was rigged and I was tricked by those Carnies or I didn't hit the bottle in the right spot. It's all a mystery. Either way, the Carnies and my pride convinced me to keep playing the game when I should have quit 20 dollars earlier.

 

            Now to relate this whole experience to the gospel. The Devil and his temptations to get us to sin are exactly like the experience I had with the baseball throw. We have already established that I love baseball, so naturally, seeing the carnival game wanted me to play. Satan makes sinning appealing to us and makes us want to "have fun". Satan also has his own "Carnies" out there to convince us we "want to do it". Peer pressure is a huge factor Satan uses to try and get us to make a mistake. Just like the Carnies, Satan is persistent and will do all he can just to make that one little mistake. Satan is quite convincing too because he makes sinning look like fun! He tells you little white lies like "one time won't hurt" and "everyone's doing it". Satan is a sly, filthy snake and if we give in to his temptations once, we are more likely to give in again. Once I did the baseball throw for the first time, I was sucked in and very easily gave into the temptation another couple three or four times. Just like the Carnies, Satan is a great salesmen and he is happy when we give in and waste our "money" (or spirituality). Satan is just a big jerk and gets too many to fall into his traps, which we cannot afford to do.

 

     There is always hope though. Hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus knows how to help us during our times of difficulty with temptation. He has suffered for our temptations so He can help us overcome them. There is no temptation that we can't overcome (1 Corinthians 10: 13). If we have messed up and have fallen into Satan's trap, repentance is the only way we can get out of that trap. I know that if we build our lives on a solid foundation, which is our Savior Jesus Christ and His gospel, then we will be able to withstand all the winds and temptations of the Devil. I'm grateful for the experience I had at the Carnival which helped me learn a valuable lesson about resisting the wiles of the Devil. I hope and pray I won't give in to sin like I gave into the baseball throw. I know I won't as long as I build my foundation on Christ (Helaman 5:12).

Pre-Earth Life: Where We Came From

There are many people in today's world who have questions about well, just life in general. One of those questions being "Where did we come from?" Sure it does sound obvious or maybe even a little silly but that is a real concern that people have and there is an answer to that question. Which is why I have chosen to address this topic.

The Plan of Salvation: The Plan of Salvation is in a nutshell what the word implies. It is a plan that our Father in Heaven provided for us to follow so we could have the opportunity to live with Him again someday with Jesus Christ our families. The scriptures also call this the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Redemption. The Plan of Salvation answers the basic questions of life; "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" and "Where am I going after I die?" This plan was presented to all of us by our loving Father in Heaven before the world was even created.

Pre-Earth Life: The Council in Heaven

  So before we all came to this earth, we lived with God and Jesus Christ and with everyone who has come to this earth. We are all children of God, He is our Father in Heaven, literally. We dwelt with Him and our families as spirit bodies. We all noticed that God had a body of flesh and bones and He was perfect. We wanted to become like our Heavenly Father but we couldn't unless we received a physical body and experienced mortal or earthly life. So our loving Heavenly Father presented this Plan of Salvation to all of us. He said He would have a world created where we could experience joy, peace, pain, sorrows, afflictions that would all help us learn and grow and become like Him. But, God said He needed someone to be a Mediator to fulfill this plan. We needed a Mediator because God knew if we came to earth, we would sin and make mistakes which would not allow us to return to His presence. So He needed a Savior to come down and set an example for all of us to follow who would be willing to suffer and die for all of our sins so we could correct our mistakes and live worthy to make it back to Heavenly Father's presence. With that, Jesus Christ stepped up and said He would be the Mediator and Savior of the world. Jesus Christ loved His Father and His children so much that He was willing to offer Himself as a sacrifice so we all could have the opportunity to return to live with Heavenly Father again. Jesus Christ said He would do all this, and whatever glory that was given would go all to His Father and not to Himself.

On the other hand, Lucifer, stood up as well and said that everyone should be forced to do what's right so everyone would make it back to Heavenly Father. But Lucifer wanted all the glory instead of God having all the glory. Now, our Heavenly Father didn't want it to be that way because He wanted all of us to have our free agency or the right to choose whether we would follow His plan. He wanted us to prove we loved Him and wanted to make it back to live with Him. And so, that is how Lucifer became Satan and the Devil because He rebelled against Heavenly Father's plan and so he was kicked out of Heaven, unable to receive a body or the opportunity to experience life. Somehow, Lucifer was able to persuade one third of the hosts of Heaven to leave with him. That was a sad day when one third of all our brothers and sisters were cast out of Heaven, never to be able to receive any blessings our Heavenly Father bestows upon us when we obey. That time was what the scriptures refer to as the "War in Heaven". Not a battle of swords and shields, more so of words and debate. 

As we all know, God's plan succeeded and He and Jesus Christ created the world and all that are in it so we all could have the place to gain a body, experience life and make choices that will help us become closer to Heavenly Father and hopefully in the end to live and dwell with Him when that time comes. All of us who are on the earth now, who have ever lived on the earth, and who will ever live on the earth in the future all chose to follow Heavenly Father's plan. We just forgot it all when we were born so we could exercise our agency and choose the right path God has laid out before us. Thankfully we have the scriptures and words of modern prophets that teach us about this plan and where we came from so we can know what we need to do to make it back to our Heavenly Home. I know that we were all with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ before this world was created and that we all made the right choice in the beginning to come to earth. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has truths that were lost concerning this plan and if we read and pray about the Book of Mormon, we will know if the true Church of Jesus Christ is restored on the earth again.

For more information on the Plan of Salvation visit Mormon.org.

Receiving an Answer to Prayer

     I recently read the story of the Book of Mormon Prophet, Enos, who received an answer to his prayer and a forgiveness of his sins because of his faith in Jesus Christ. I love Enos's experience and it has helped me gain a stronger testimony of the power of prayer and also of the mercy of our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. 

     Enos begins his account telling us about a "wrestle" he had before God. Which wrestle was a struggle Enos had to explain his real deepest desires of his heart to God in prayer. Enos was out hunting wild beasts and he had remembered the teachings of his father Jacob, who was the previous prophet, and he prayed very hard and earnestly for his own soul. He struggled to express his feelings to God and he was seeking for a remission or forgiveness of his sins. Enos prayed all day and into the night when he heard a voice from heaven saying "Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed" (Enos 1:5).

     After Enos was told his sins were forgiven, he gives a inspiring response and question. He asks "how is it done? (Enos 1:6). Now that to me shows how sincere Enos was in calling upon God and truly wanting his sins to be forgiven because he wanted to know how. What a great example if I say so myself. The Lord goes on to tell him that it is because of his faith in Jesus Christ that has made him whole. What a blessing it is to know that if we have faith, we can receive answers to our prayers, even forgiveness of our sins.

     An Apostle of the Lord Elder Robert D. Hales explains the process Enos went through that helped him to have an increase of faith and prepared him to receive the answer to his prayer. This 5 step process Enos went through can also apply in our lives to help us prepare to receive an answer to our prayers.

     " First, Enos heard the gospel truths from his father, just as you are hearing them in your families.

     "Second, he let his father's teaching about 'eternal life, and the joy of the saints'[Enos 1:3] sink deep into his heart.

      "Third, he was filled with a desire to know for himself whether these teachings were true and where he himself stood before his Maker.

      "Fourth, Enos obeyed the commandments of God, which enabled him to be receptive to the Spirit of the Holy Ghost.

      "Fifth, Enos records, 'I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens' [Enos 1:4]. It wasn't easy. Faith did not come quickly. In fact, Enos characterized his experience in prayer as a 'wrestle which [he] had before God' [Enos 1:2]. But faith did come. By the power of the Holy Ghost, he did receive a witness for himself.

    "We cannot find Enos-like faith without our own wrestle before God in prayer. I testify that the reward is worth the effort....I promise that if you do these things sincerely and unceasingly, the words of Christ spoke to His disciples will be fulfilled in your life: 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' [Matthew 7:7]" (in Conference Report, Oct. 2004, 73-74; or Ensign, Nov. 2004, 72).

     I would like to add my personal witness that I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. He answers our prayers according to our faith and to our willingness to act upon the answer we receive. I know that if we follow the steps that Enos took in preparing himself to receive an answer, then God will grant us what we best need according to the desires of our hearts. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and the role it has played in my life. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have a Father in Heaven whom I could go to for strength and support and comfort. God hears and answers our prayers, we just need to be willing to do something about it and watch and listen for the answer.



   

Furnace of Affliction

    

There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that I have come to love and that has helped me get through life's trials and look forward with an eye of faith. The scripture come from the 1st Book Of Nephi, Chapter 20 verse 10 and it reads, "For behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." The term refine in the dictionary means, " to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities". A furnace is, as stated in the dictionary, "a place characterized by intense heat".
     If anyone know anything about metals, you know that it requires very intense heat to refine or to remove the impurities out of the metal to make them pure and next to perfect. The metals go through a process in the furnace where the intense heat cleanses and purifies each metal.
     In the gospel, each person goes through a process where the Lord refines us and makes become more pure. One of the ways He does that is by allowing us to have affliction and trials in our lives. These afflictions that come upon us are not there to punish us or to weaken our faith, rather to shape us into the best people we can become. An Apostle of the Lord, Elder Dallin H. Oaks observed that like intense heat refines metal and removes impurities, likewise affliction can refine and purify each of us, he says this, "Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call 'the furnace of affliction' (Isaiah 48:10; 1 Nephi 20:10). Some are submerged in service to a disadvantaged family member. Others suffer the death of a loved one or the loss or postponement of a righteous goal like marriage or childbearing. Still others struggle with personal impairments or with feelings of rejection, inadequacy, or depression. Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become."
     Along with Elder Oaks I believe that the troubles and trials we all face in life can help shape us into who God wants us to become.  I know its not easy to go through trials and difficulties and I don't think they are meant to be. But I do know that if we push through our trials with patience and faith, continue in scripture study and prayer, knowing that everything will turn out okay in the end, then we can truly become pure and sanctified. Our afflictions can truly refine and purify us.

Obedience

     The last Christlike attribute I would like to talk about is one that we've all heard countless time in our lives. This one is Obedience. I don't know about everyone else but I heard this one constantly growing up, mainly my parents telling me to be obedient. Which I needed to hear.  Today I still hear that term as a missionary and from the Lord through the scriptures which is talked about A LOT! But obedience must be something we need a constant reminder of or else it probably wouldn't be brought up so much.

      Obedience was preached from before the world was created. It is the first law of heaven. The Lord gave Adam and Eve commandments right from the beginning. After they were cast out of the Garden of Eden Adam offered sacrifices to the Lord. An angel came to Adam and asked him why he was offering sacrifices. Adam said that he didn't know why, he just knew that God commanded him to. We can apply this example to our lives. There are commandments out there that we may not understand the whole reason behind them. But we should be willing to obey those commandments because the did come from God and God knows all things so he obviously has a reason behind every commandment. God wouldn't give us commandments if they weren't for our good. So, its important to remember that although we may not understand all the reason for commandments, we just need to follow them and we will be blessed. I am reminded of a scripture in the Doctrine & Covenants section 82 verse 10 which says, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." When we keep the commandments, we are promised blessings no matter what, but when we don't obey, God can't promise us any blessings. What a wonderful thing to remember.
     Our Savior and Exemplar Jesus Christ was the most obedient person to ever walk this earth. He came and did all that His Father asked Him to do, even being baptized. Now, if we are baptized for the remission of sins, and Christ had no sins, why then was He baptized? Well, let me tell you, Jesus Christ was baptized, "to fulfill all righteousness", and to show "the children of men that according, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments" (see 2 Nephi 31:5,7 italics added). Christ didn't need to be baptized, but being baptized was a commandment to God and Christ wanted to keep all of God's commandments and so He got baptized, not just by anyone, by John the Baptist who had the proper priesthood authority to baptize. What a wonderful example Jesus Christ set for us in being obedient to the commandments.
      Now, I know being obedient can be difficult, especially when the norm is on the opposite end. But I do know that when we are obedient and choose the right even when it is hard, that God will bless us more that we can imagine. He loves us so much, and if we show our love for Him by being obedient to Hid commandments, He will see our actions and will reward us accordingly. I have seen this countless times in my life and the more we are obedient the easier it will become to resist those temptations our there our lives will be beyond happy!