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?