CAN you open it?

Christmas time is here! So that means I am going to write a blog about something completely random, so here we go! 

   Can openers, they unlock the goodness of what has been stored in a can of your favorite soup or tuna or whatever you kids eat these days. The can opener really is one of the few things you can use to get past the can neatly and easily. And once you do, you are able to enjoy whatever awaits beneath the seal.

   In today's world, the true meaning of Christmas is on the downfall. Much of the world is seeing just the material part of Christmas and miss the real meaning of it. It is like we are taking our can of Campbell's® Chunky Baked Potato with Cheddar and Bacon Bits Soup, and just appreciating the outside of the can and not getting to the real meaning of having a can of soup. But when we allow Christ to be the can opener for our Christmas Season, we will begin to unlock the true meaning of Christmas, Christ himself!

My prayer is that we all remember to keep the Savior as the Center of out CHRISTmas. Don't just look at the material part of it, because without the soup, it is empty. Let this holiday season the most fulfilling you have had, with Christ in the center. 

CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE
http://mormon.org/christmas

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Probably one of the most used phrases and pieces of advice given to people, but do we always remember to do it? Sometimes the message can seem quite straightforward, but what about those small exceptions we sometimes make. One example is found in Mosiah Chapter 7  where Ammon and 15 others are traveling in the wilderness in search of the people of Lehi-Nephi to make sure they were still alive and well, having not heard from them in a very long time. Upon arriving in the land, instead of receiving a warm welcome as they were most likely expecting, they were immediately seized by the guards without any questioning and were cast into prison for two days. After being in prison for the two days, the king brought them before him and asked why they came into his land. Upon learning who they were and where they came from, the king rejoiced at the reunion! They were even able to help the king out a lot with various different things that wouldn't have been possible without them. 

So before we judge someone, make sure we understand who they are and why they do what they do before we begin to make assumptions. It is very easy to label someone by how they look, or what they do.

 Here is a little modern day example of this, I think you will be as shocked as I am to see what talents he has! 

Cleaning up

One thing I dislike just as much as the next person is cleaning up! I really don't care to make my room presentable, sanitary, or anything of that matter, I just want to live in it. But, As always, whether at home or in college, I am asked to clean up my room. Something I grew to be very good at through this has been hiding the mess. I find space under my bed, in my closet, or really anywhere that is not noticeable to the naked eye. I would make it look just nice enough that when my mom would come check she would be somewhat satisfied and stop getting on my case about it.

In most cases, my mess would accumulate to be so large that I no longer had anywhere to hide it and it would be overwhelming and not fun to handle. I would finally realize that my problem was so large, that I could not neglect it any longer and inevitably I always take the long, arduous process of cleaning, organizing, and folding.

The result though of my hard work, a sense of accomplishment. I, at that moment, did not want my room to get messy again, I wanted it to stay clean and spotless, especially after all the time and hard work I had put into making it look nice. These feelings didn't last more than a couple weeks at the best until the mess began to accumulate all over again. Now it may just be me being an inherently messy individual, because others are probably a lot cleaner than me, but that is a non germane tangent of my introspection of life. Now may we return to the aforementioned field of contemplation. But somehow at sometime, it gets messy again, hopefully I have learned my lesson by now to just clean as I go. That would make it a ton easier!

I am sure the real life application is basic and straightforward. As we go through life, we can accumulate a plethora of filth that keeps us from being clean in the eyes of God. Luckily, we have been given all of the necessary tools to make our lives as clean as we can make our rooms and even cleaner! 

Sick?

Doctors, I don't know too many people who like to go to the doctors, especially for checkups. Every time that I would go in, all he would want to do is stab me with a needle and tell me what I need to do to be healthier. I saw no purpose in making those trips and having those appointments. I never liked listening to his advice either unless I was sick or injured in some way.

I have recently come to reflect upon the reasons why we go to the Doctor in the first place. He is there to keep us healthy. Maybe if I wasn't poked so many times by those needles, who knows what kind of sicknesses might have befallen me! Who knows if it would have affected the quality of the life I live? Sure, I may have listened when I was sick or hurt, but I may have been able to prevent the future injury with a little bit of prior preventative measures.

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles stated in this past General conference, quoting C.S. Lewis, "C. S. Lewis, the striving, pragmatic Christian writer, poignantly framed the issue. He asserted that Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness; but until people know and feel they need forgiveness, Christianity does not speak to them. He stated, 'When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor.'"

This is so true. Most will only listen to the doctor when they are sick. likewise, most will look for forgiveness when they find they need it. But I would encourage you all to not wait until you need repentance to seek the Savior of the world. Study His words and ponder in your hearts His message. Christ and His teachings will help prevent sorrow, heartache, and regret with love, peace, and joy. Why wait when you are sick to get healthy? Why not get healthier and feel better than you ever have before? I promise that doing so will bring you added happiness and spiritual growth in your life and will help prevent you from the influence of the adversary. 

Take A Hike!

Here in Montana, one of the best activities to do in this gorgeous piece of the country is to go hiking. Many hikes out here are deep into the mountainous valleys with scenic overlooks awaiting at the end of the trail. I myself have been blessed enough to go on a few of these hikes. There is something about hiking that is different from everyday life. In life, if you have had enough of something, you can just quit doing it and move onto something else. You can stop a movie to go play outside, you can get up from dinner and go to a friends house. You are not just plain stuck there. 

Hiking is a little bit different! The longer you hike, the longer it takes to just leave if you have had enough of it. I was taking a hike over in the beautiful Bitteroot Mountains in Western Montana and we had traveled quite the distance in and one of the missionaries began to get quite tired, enough so that he would need to lay down periodically to catch his breathe. But he was determined to make it to the end of the hike to the lake. After a much longer time than expected we had all pushed through and made it! What a feeling it was to know that we made it all the way up. After a glorious break from walking at our destination, we soon had to make the hike back so we could get home. The hike was equally long and arduous with some slips and falls, but we all knew we just couldn't stop, we needed to press on. If we stopped, there would be nothing to do, nowhere to go. So we finished and all enjoyed relaxing our feet after a 6 and a half hour long trip.

Sometimes in life we are in very tough situations, Heavenly Father gives us mountains to climb to push us to become the people he needs us to be. And many times, I have found myself in a spot where I cannot stop continuing to push forward or else I will face severe consequences. But when I would pick myself up and push forward having faith that I would make it and the God would help me, it made the journey seem a lot easier. I know all who read this will in the future or maybe even are in this situation. My plea is to NEVER lose hope, NEVER give up! Keep pushing, no matter how far away the end of the trail is, it is worth it to make it there. I know from personal experience that lingering in one area is demoralizing and can even be dangerous. Christ is always there with His arms extended towards you to turn to him to ease your burdens as long as you are willing to do your part and push forward. 

Test Time

Test taking, some love it, some despise it, but it is an essential part in evaluating knowledge and progress in different settings but mainly in School. I truly enjoyed taking tests when I had studied, and understand the material I am being tested on. I love displaying the knowledge I have obtained through my hard work and effort in the classroom and at home. But, when I refuse to study and I slack off, I go into the test nervous and usually start with one sincere and distressed prayer to not fail! 

Did anyone else have that really super awesome teacher who would sometimes let you take a test with your textbook out? I know I had a few of those, and those were some of my favorite tests! I was just able to take a problem, look up the answer, and fill it in on the paper! What a sweet setup! But looking for the answer always took more time, so it was always helpful to have studied and know the answers beforehand. Well, Heavenly Father is just like that super awesome teacher! Life is one big test for each of us. We will be rewarded based on how well we do and how we deal with different problems we face. God loves each of us enough to bless us with all of the ways in which He wants us to face each problem. What is the textbook? Well you can probably guess it is the Scriptures! We can find the answer to all the problems we face in life within those inspired verses. We can also seek more answers through the words of our modern day Prophets by listening to General Conference.

I suggest following the same basic idea as the test. Study beforehand. KNOW the scriptures and the guidelines your Father in Heaven wants you to live. Be ready and aware of the different situations and problems you could face in life and know the correct way to handle it. If there ever comes a problem that you don't have the knowledge of what to do, look it up! Study it out in the scriptures and review past conference addresses. This, even though may take more time, is better than making a wrong and rushed decision, the consequences are just not worth it.

So enjoy your open book test! Study up and get all of the answers you will need. God is there to help, we were not sent here to fail, but to succeed gloriously! 

Can you see me?

Faith, for many people is a very hard concept to grasp. Why would people want me to believe in something that I cannot see? My question is, why do people base a their belief that it is not there upon the fact that they cannot see it! Take a look at this picture I took here in Billings. Do you see the sun in this picture? Do you know the sun is there? How?

Look at the sunbeams emerging out of the ominous, cloudy cover in the sky. The luminescent rays beautifully streak through the dismal space in a shining splendor. Could this be caused by anything but a massive, luminous sphere of plasma? I say NAY! 

Obviously we all know that the sun is indeed the cause of this, because we have witnessed the sun and seen similar events to this, so our knowledge is perfect in the existence of the sun. We are asked to exercise FAITH in Jesus Christ, namely that He is the son of a loving Heavenly Father, that He lives today and guides and directs us today. 

Skeptics may say, where is the proof, does God really exist? How are you to know? Well I will ask you, what would God's sunbeam look like? What hints would He give us to know He is there? Keep your eyes open, all you have to do is look.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Matthew 7:7

Also, check out Elder Bird's blog: Is There A God?

In Your Face

When I think back to the good ole football days, one of the main aspects of life on the practice field was the coaches. Football coaches, as many may know, are not known to be tranquil or quiet at all! In fact, they are often loud and in your face! Having a coach yell at you is probably one of the least desirable situations I can think of next to watching one of the Twilight movies! 

I used to think that when a coach was yelling at me that I was just making him angry because I couldn't do what I needed to correctly. This was largely demotivational to me and made me think that not only was I not a good player, but I had no potential compared to all of the other players that were doing so well and seemed to be far more experienced than myself. 

I was severely mistaken in my thoughts. After talking with one of the coaches, he told me that the reason they yelled at me and some other players so much is because they see the potential in us that we don't see. When we aren't doing things the way they know we can, they let us know it. One coach even told me when you aren't getting yelled at is when you need to worry. That basically happens when you do the wrong thing over and over basically showing the coach you aren't willing to listen.

This is similar to how our Heavenly Father interacts with us. He doesn't usually get up in our face and yell at us like coaches do (unless you are Mahonri Moriancumer). He will still show us in different but distinct ways that he does care. He sees our potential and puts us through trials and tribulations so that we can grow to that potential, to be like Him. So when tough times come, don't get discouraged, know it is because God loves you and wants you to grow. He is always there to help and will show you the way you need to go. He cares for you and loves you and only wants the best for you, and I know that to be true!

Crabby?

Have you ever heard about what happens if you put a few crabs in a bucket? The oddest thing happens! A crab by itself will be able to climb out of the bucket, but if you put more than one crab in the bucket, the other crabs will grab it and drag it down! 

The other crabs will keep one crab from breaking free and possibly escaping the steamy doom it has ahead of it. Now let us look at another critter, the ant. Ants are quite the opposite! Ants will work together as a team to get food for the colony. They are always on the same page as eachother and know that if they don't work together, they won't be able to accomplish the task ahead of them! 

Also note in the video how one of the ants goes and recruits others for help and more ants come urgently to the scene! So moral of the story? The crabs are holding each other back from escaping death. I can compare this to people who hold each other back from growing in the Gospel, there will be people who will keep you from repenting of sins and drag you back down into it. On the flip side, teamwork is used here to accomplish something for the common good of the colony. So instead of dragging other people down, give them work and purpose to help others and be in the service of those who need your help. This way you lift others rather than drag them down.

So don't be a crab! Be an ant!

ONE

If anyone knows me, they know I love the game of Rugby! I love to tackle people and I love the competition, but the main thing about it is I love how unified of a game it is. In order to compete at any level, you team needs to work together in harmony to accomplish the common goal, to win the match! When all the players are on the same page and work together, it is much more effective and can compete against teams that may have more skill or talent. As a team, you strive to be ONE, each player has his own purpose that he needs to fulfil. No single person can cover all positions, each person is left to rely fully on each other player to do what they are supposed to do. When people are careless, they can be penalized putting the team in a worse position to win. But when everyone does their job they really become ONE as a team.

The parrallels between this and Heavenly Fathers plan is striking! He has asked us to be ONE. John 17:21-22 states

"That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be ONE, even as we are ONE" (emphasis added)



Here, Christ is addressing His Father in Heaven concerning the apostles to become ONE even as He and the Father are ONE. We know that He is one with the Father in purpose, mindset, Spirit, Priesthood, the list goes on and on. He wished for His disciples to be that way and wishes for each of us today to be that way as well.

So how exactly are we to become ONE? We must remember our goal, Life Eternal. With that goal in mind, figure out where your role is in Heavenly Fathers plan. When we recieve callings, magnify them. When someone is in need, help them. Uplift, inspire and remove any hate or malice from your heart. Hate and contention will drive the Spirit away and in sports, when there is contention in the team, you don't trust eachother and don't play effectively. Everyone on the earth is on the SAME TEAM! President Uchtdorf said in a General Conference address "When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges or wanting to cause harm — please apply the following: Stop it!" When we can move past all of those negative feelings and work together against the REAL adversary, the world will be a better place and it will make it easier for all of us to reach our eternal goal! So let's win the game, work together, love one another, and become ONE.

What message are you getting?

Many of you who are reading this probably just checked your cell phone within the past few minutes or so. And if you didn't you probably just did because I made you think about it. There are many messages that come to us every day that try and catch our attention, things that try and persuade us one way or another. Commercials, text messages, billboards, facebook, salesmen, email, friends, politicians.... The list goes ON and ON!

Which message is most important to you? Well, many of these messages are here to distract us from the message our Heavenly Father wants us to pay more attention to. That is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! His message is UNIVERSAL and for everyone on this earth to enjoy. The message is study the scriptures, pray, learn more of the truth, and build your own relationship with your Savior. Live the Gospel and focus on the message that matters. Share the message too and help others realize what they might be missing out on!

Who is your Superhero?

As children, we all loved to dress up as our favorite superheros, some of us even like to dress up like them as we get older. Like me for instance, I made an appearance at a birthday party as CAPTAIN AMERICA!

When we see these Superheros, we want to be just like them, we want to fly, shoot lasers and webs, have super speed. Whatever it it is, we emulate them for it and want it. We are willing to do anything to be like them. 

So think to yourself you do you try to emulate most in your life? Who do you always try and become like? Is it Captain America? Spiderman? Who should we be emulating in our lives? 

You got it! Jesus Christ should be our Superhero! He lived an absolutely perfect life and set the perfect example for us to follow by word and action. He was baptized by John who held the Priesthood to perform it, He taught the Gospel to those in need. He healed served those around Him and gave everyone an opportunity to turn to Him and find the answers to salvation. 

We should take our lives and try and make our actions, words, and thoughts what the Savior would do, say and think if He were in our shoes. Doing so will sanctify us and help motivate us to be a little better every day and to reach our goal of Eternal Life!

Good Dog!

Dogs, a mans best friend! Being in Montana, I can safely assume that most people who read this will have a dog or at least know someone with a dog! And whoever knows the first thing about domestic dogs knows that they are first and foremost completely reliant on us humans for food, water, care, shelter, and love. They know that we control their life while they live in our homes. We can also train these dogs to do different tasks, such as sit, roll over, and even "fetch my slippers!" (That one is WAY COOL!!!) When these dogs are obedient to us and our commands, we reward them with treats and extra love, but when they are disobedient and destructive, we correct their actions and maybe even punish them so they know what they are doing is wrong.

This relationship is a lot like ours with our Heavenly Father! We are all reliant on Him to give us what we need to survive every day, to bless us when we are doing right and to correct us when we are wrong. We owe EVERYTHING to Him and if we remember this, we will be more willing to be obedient to His commandments which will in turn bring blessings into our lives which will be better than a treat!

King Benjamin puts it best:  "For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?" (Mosiah 4:19)

When we humble ourselves and put our faith in the Lord, we can reap all of the blessings He has in store for us and if we are obedient, He will teach us all the things that we need to do in order to return to Him!

Good enough?

Have you ever been at a point in life where you are just happy and everything is going well. I would guess that we have all been there at points. We have all been content with one thing or another in our lives. It is easy to get lazy when life is going well. I know that I am more willing to work to improve my situation when it is below my normal comfort level. But is this how life should be? Should we content?

Look at professional athletes of all kinds, do they settle for staying the same and continuing to maintain the level that they are playing at? Or do they continually practice and improve their already above average talents? Will a car manufacturer who just made one of the top cars on the market quit making cars and call it good since they are on top? Or will they continue to find ways to improve their product and make an even better one?

The world keeps pressing forward and improving, even if it is already in a good spot. We should have that same urgency to continually press forward and continue our spiritual progression. There is always room for improvement and growth, especially in the Gospel. Our only comparisons we should make in this life are comparing our current state to our past to see which direction we are going in, and comparing our lives to the life of our Savior to see how much farther we have to go.

We cannot be exactly like Christ in this life, but the whole goal is to try with every ounce of being that we posses to live a life as close as humanly possible to what Christ would do if he were in our very shoes. If we are content with where we are at, we are missing the opportunity to grow, learn, and progress towards our goal, ETERNAL LIFE.

Remember the words of Nephi when he said, "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 31:20 emphasis added)

Keep going, keep pushing, it will ALL be worth it.