Really a tough choice?

Who loves winning? I do!
Let's say you are a football player and you were asked to play in the biggest most monumental game in the history of sports. And even better, you get to pick which team to play for! So here are the profiles of the teams that you get to choose from:

Team 1:

We are the team that WILL win, there is no doubt about it, we will win the game. The players were diligent in preparing, everyone is suited up and ready to go at any time. The only way this team gives up points to the opponent is if they let the other team score. They are also very close knit and are great friends. No one talks down to a teammate after they make a dumb mistake, but rather pick them up and help them improve. They are the nicest people you have ever met, but come game time, they take every second seriously. They know how to win and are guaranteed a victory.

Team 2:
Man, you gotta join this team! We sure know how to have fun! Come on and join us, we aren't going to make you practice or anything, that's kinda hard and also pretty lame. Our plan is, make fun of the other guys for trying so hard, and then try and trick em to sneak in a couple scores or so. Oh yah, and we don't have a coach to yell at us too, so there is no need to worry about that either. So come chill with us, lay back and have some fun!

So, which team are you going to play for? Is it even a tough choice? Who wouldn't want to be a part of the team that is obviously going to win?

Well that is how life is today! We have the choice between joining God's team or Satans team. God's team WILL WIN in the end, there is no denying it. Satan knows that, but still tries to draw as many of us away from the winning team as possible. This "game" of life has much greater consequences than winning a football game. This is for our eternal happiness and salvation. Join the winning team and enjoy the winning celebration with your family and friends and teammates for the rest of eternity!

Just remember 2 Nephi 2:27: "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

Watch what you eat!

So, who likes Skittles? Snickers? Hershey bars? M&M's?

Now who likes Nature Valley Bars? Healthy fruit and nut mixes? Or really any snack that isn't 90% sugar 10% artificial coloring!

 VS.

I am sure that we all know that sweets are very tasty, but not very healthy! Yet, Health bars and other healthy snacks are not as naturally yummy as the sweets. But, which one is better for you?

Imagine a little kids dream diet of candy candy candy in between meals for a couple weeks. Yummy huh? But what are you going to look like? Probably not your good looking, fit, slim self! You might put on a few pounds, gain some circumference around the waist, you know what I mean! Now imagine how much you would continue to crave candy. You need more of it, even though you know the harm it is doing to your body!

Now, replace that candy with some healthier options. Apples, health bars, Nuts, etc. You will probably have more energy throughout all the day. In a couples weeks, you will have lost some weight, gotten healthier and feel better.

Now after that week where you ate only candy, how tough is it to get into a healthier habit? Fruits and nuts and health foods will taste nasty! But if you look at them the other way around, going from healthy food to sugary sweets is way easier! Who doesn't appreciate a bite out of a Snickers bar as a prize for a job well done?
Living a worthy life ALWAYS yields good results, even if it is not the most fun at the time. We must be willing to sacrifice what we know is wrong to do what is right! Bad decisions will lead us to nothing good in the long run. When we are able to choose the better (healthier) choice consistently and not just once a week or here and there, but diligently follow the commandments and guidelines found in the scriptures, our lives will be blessed. Our spiritual strength will grow slowly but surely and we will become the people the Lord knows we can!
Remember Alma 41:10
"Wickedness never was happiness."

Syrup or Syrup?

So, how do you say it? Syrup (seer-up) or Syrup (sur-up)? Now, this is a cause that I am very opinionated about. When people ask for the sur-rup, I refuse to pass them the sweet sugary goodness! Why? Because to me they said it wrong! I refuse them the right to what they think they asked for because in my mind, my way is better! Not just better, but the only real way of saying syrup!

But the real question shouldn't be: "Why doesn't he just pass me the syrup?"

It should really be "Why does he care so much that he denies me the syrup because I don't say it like him?"

So, are my actions just in denying someone, who clearly believes contrary to my beliefs on this topic, the blessing of having syrup on their french toast (or whatever this breakfast may be)? Not at all!

We can all be guilty of holding back the syrup in one way or another in life because someone thinks, acts, looks, talks, or IS different in any way. What right does anyone have to withhold anything from someone just because the way they are is different to how you know it is!

Christ taught us to love one another countless times in the scriptures, and we need to show our love for our Brothers and Sisters, our fellow man, by passing the syrup, even though they say it wrong! In the end, you are both happily eating your breakfast together rather than arguing! Take the win-win every time!

Don't get wrapped up

Imagine holding onto one link of a 30 foot long chain. Each link will represent a thing we are asked not to do. Now that link you hold onto is the one of those things that you are choosing hold onto and keep for yourself. as you continue to hold onto this link and go around doing whatever it is you are doing, hopefully trying to do good, the rest of the chain will slowly start to wrap around you. Eventually, you will be so tangled up in this chain until we are wrapped in all 30 feet of it making it impossible to move!

Imagine, if you dropped that chain link in the very beginning instead of holding onto it for so long! You wouldnt be dealing with all of the other sins that tag a long with holding onto one seemingly harmless thing! So before you get wrapped up, drop what you have and FREE  YOURSELF!

You can CHOOSE to drop that chain! Sterling W. Sill once stated “Satan has no power over us except as we give it to him. … God never forces us to do right, and Satan has no power to force us to do wrong”

We have agency, we have the choice to be free or to give Satan power over us! Let us all remember to drop the chain before it consumes us and BE FREE!