Yesterday I went to the temple with my roommate Erick and my friend Crystal Champion.It was nice to be at the temple and feel the Spirit. Crystal and I were being sealed for some individuals when the sealer by accident called me, Brother Champion. That made me laugh.
Also I found out that sometimes having only two and half hours of sleep can be a tender mercy from the Lord. Yesterday I talked to another friend of mine and found out some news that under normal circumstances probably would have been rather disheartening but because of my lack of sleep, it just struck me as being really funny.
Saturday morning I was talking to one of my roommates about different things and I ended up sharing with him an experiment of mine. One day I few weeks ago, I was running and pondering on the things that I've learned and what other lessons I could draw on from the scriptures. As I was doing so, I ended up thinking about Nephi the son of Lehi because he is one of my heroes. I recalled that Nephi had been commanded by the Lord to go with his brothers to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates. After Nephi and his brothers had arrived, they then had to find a way to retrieve the brass plates from Laban. These four brothers came up with the idea to send a negotiator to Laban to try and persuade him to give up the plates. They then draw lots and Laman is sent in. Laman's negotiations failed and he fled for his life. Then these four brothers come up with the idea to trade some precious items for the plates. They try this and the bargaining fails and they all flee for their lives into a cave. The thought struck me, that at this point that it would be very easy to be frustrated and discouraged.
Nephi and his brethren had been commanded by the Lord to retrieve the plates. But why then had they failed not just once but twice?! Hadn't Nephi just said that the Lord will prepare a way? Where was it? After Nephi had been beaten and saved by an angel, he left for Jerusalem in faith. What I realized was that Nephi and his brethren had tried two very conventional ways of retrieving the plates and failed. When Nephi does retrieve the plates, it is entirely due to his following the promptings of the Spirit. A conclusion I've drawn is that the two prior 'failures' were failures so that Nephi and others could realize that his success came because he followed the Lord and not because of the wisdom of the world.
Having had two failures of my own, I decided that I would follow Nephi's example and follow the promptings of the Lord. In the mornings I sometimes pray to follow the guidance of the Spirit during the day. Sometimes if my mind is quite enough, I get promptings about things I need to do that day. I have found that my days are much more fulfilling to myself and others. While I have yet to see a full success in this particular area of my life, I know that when I do, it will not be because of any wisdom of my own but it will because I, like Nephi, followed the Lord's direction.
June 22, 2011
An High Priest Priest of Good Things to Come
Today has been a marvelous day despite a late start. I spent most of today reading talks. My day ended by going to a dance and getting a work and having tons of fun.
Here at BYU-Idaho we have a weekly devotional. A some prominent member comes and gives a talk about a gospel topic. The speaker Julie Merrill gave an amazing talk about being a child of God. She talked about following the Spirit and doing what the Lord wants you to do.
In my religion class just prior to that, we discussed talks by Elder Holland. My teacher showed a clip from one of my favorite talks by Elder Holland. The title is the same as the blog. The video name is just the last four words. I love that talk because he talks about hard times come to all of us, even him. He cites one of them and says that he remembers it vividly. He says that he wishes he could say to himself who was having such a hard time, "Don't worry, good times and good things are just around the corner. Don't give up!" This talk touched me because I read it at a time that I was feeling down about somethings. He said that we must have hope, knowing that Christ will fulfill all of his promises. He uses Paul's phrase of Christ being the "high priest of good things to come".
Between reading all the talks and devotional, I must say that it was something close to having Heavenly Father come down and give me a big hug.
So I'll conclude with a sum of feelings that I feel should help y'all. One remember that you ARE a child of God and that He loves you more than you can understand. Know that He has a plan for your life and that it's probably different from your own. As the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said "We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God." Don't give up your dreams and hopes. If you obey the commandments the Lord will lead you aright and nothing will ever go permanently wrong. May the Lord bless and guide you is my prayer.
Here at BYU-Idaho we have a weekly devotional. A some prominent member comes and gives a talk about a gospel topic. The speaker Julie Merrill gave an amazing talk about being a child of God. She talked about following the Spirit and doing what the Lord wants you to do.
In my religion class just prior to that, we discussed talks by Elder Holland. My teacher showed a clip from one of my favorite talks by Elder Holland. The title is the same as the blog. The video name is just the last four words. I love that talk because he talks about hard times come to all of us, even him. He cites one of them and says that he remembers it vividly. He says that he wishes he could say to himself who was having such a hard time, "Don't worry, good times and good things are just around the corner. Don't give up!" This talk touched me because I read it at a time that I was feeling down about somethings. He said that we must have hope, knowing that Christ will fulfill all of his promises. He uses Paul's phrase of Christ being the "high priest of good things to come".
Between reading all the talks and devotional, I must say that it was something close to having Heavenly Father come down and give me a big hug.
So I'll conclude with a sum of feelings that I feel should help y'all. One remember that you ARE a child of God and that He loves you more than you can understand. Know that He has a plan for your life and that it's probably different from your own. As the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said "We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God." Don't give up your dreams and hopes. If you obey the commandments the Lord will lead you aright and nothing will ever go permanently wrong. May the Lord bless and guide you is my prayer.
June 19, 2011
Righteous Examples
I know today is Father's Day and a day devoted to the celebration of the men who gave us life. My blog post today will reflect somewhat on that.
So this semester I took a marriage skills class which was very educational in understanding the mechanics of how a marriage should work. One of the things that we looked at was the impact that our family life has on our relationships. After we looked at this, I realized how good my family life is and has been due to the righteous example of my father.
For those of you've talked extensively may know that in order for me to love something or someone (with the exceptions being God the Father, and Jesus Christ) I have to know both the good and bad sides of it or them. So when I say that I love my dad, I hope everyone understands that he is NOT perfect but I know that he's sure working at it. Being the oldest of four, I've seen him grow and change from being a military man and being very strict in his younger years to being a kinder, loving and more understanding man in later years. He's a good man who works hard and gets little recognition because he's not a CEO. He loves my mom deeply and I honestly hope that I can be half as good at romancing my wife as he is at romancing my mom. I've seen him serve in many different church positions and serve faithfully in each. He's a good teacher and a fun person. I love him a lot because of the many things that he has taught me just through his example. Of all the men that I could have had as father I'm glad that I have been blessed to have him as righteous example of how a priesthood holder should live.
So this semester I took a marriage skills class which was very educational in understanding the mechanics of how a marriage should work. One of the things that we looked at was the impact that our family life has on our relationships. After we looked at this, I realized how good my family life is and has been due to the righteous example of my father.
For those of you've talked extensively may know that in order for me to love something or someone (with the exceptions being God the Father, and Jesus Christ) I have to know both the good and bad sides of it or them. So when I say that I love my dad, I hope everyone understands that he is NOT perfect but I know that he's sure working at it. Being the oldest of four, I've seen him grow and change from being a military man and being very strict in his younger years to being a kinder, loving and more understanding man in later years. He's a good man who works hard and gets little recognition because he's not a CEO. He loves my mom deeply and I honestly hope that I can be half as good at romancing my wife as he is at romancing my mom. I've seen him serve in many different church positions and serve faithfully in each. He's a good teacher and a fun person. I love him a lot because of the many things that he has taught me just through his example. Of all the men that I could have had as father I'm glad that I have been blessed to have him as righteous example of how a priesthood holder should live.
June 12, 2011
Retrospect Clarification
So yesterday I went on a date with a good friend of my mine who's been my friend since my first semester up here in 2006. We talked about the past and the things we'd learned from those experiences. I also had dinner with my cool sister Megan and my cousin Stephanie and her husband and we again talked a little about our pasts.
I've thought about that quiet a bit these last few days. I remember many experiences on my mission and after my mission that have been what I deemed at the time incredibly hard. Often times I felt like the currant bush from the BYU Devotional by Hugh B. Brown. I was bitter, hurt and confused as to what I'd done wrong. I've written a poem about my view as the currant bush. I wrote in my journal originally as a way to vent; later when I looked back at it, I found that it was a poem.
So back to my original thought... Sometimes we go through hard experiences and we don't understand WHY we have to go through some pain, suffering, or frustration. I remember one such experience on my mission when I went through a hard time with one of my companions. He was going through a very hard time and often vented to me. This was compounded by the fact that he was also ill some days and we unable to go out. So I became depressed, and discouraged. At the time I saw no reason for having to live this tortuous experience. Then about a year and a half later I was dating a girl and she had very difficult experience. I was inspired to remember how I had dealt with my companion and the things that I had learned from that experience; I told my then girlfriend what I had learned and she learned a lesson that was critical for her to learn at that time. I realized that day the WHY I had needed to go through that rough time on my mission; I needed it to help some else.
Sometimes we go through experiences to learn something from which we need to draw on later. I have found that from many of the experiences I have had.
One of my teachers once proposed an idea that I feel is true to some extent. He said that he believes that God has certain major points or events that He wants us to live through. I believe that this is true but I would add that I think the Lord wants us to live through these events in order for us learn something unique from them because we need it to develop our eternal character.
I hope that if you get time that you'll reflect on something from your past that may have or still does puzzle you. Ponder over it and pray over it. I believe that as you do so the Lord will open your understanding and help you see what unique lesson you can learn from that experience.
I've thought about that quiet a bit these last few days. I remember many experiences on my mission and after my mission that have been what I deemed at the time incredibly hard. Often times I felt like the currant bush from the BYU Devotional by Hugh B. Brown. I was bitter, hurt and confused as to what I'd done wrong. I've written a poem about my view as the currant bush. I wrote in my journal originally as a way to vent; later when I looked back at it, I found that it was a poem.
So back to my original thought... Sometimes we go through hard experiences and we don't understand WHY we have to go through some pain, suffering, or frustration. I remember one such experience on my mission when I went through a hard time with one of my companions. He was going through a very hard time and often vented to me. This was compounded by the fact that he was also ill some days and we unable to go out. So I became depressed, and discouraged. At the time I saw no reason for having to live this tortuous experience. Then about a year and a half later I was dating a girl and she had very difficult experience. I was inspired to remember how I had dealt with my companion and the things that I had learned from that experience; I told my then girlfriend what I had learned and she learned a lesson that was critical for her to learn at that time. I realized that day the WHY I had needed to go through that rough time on my mission; I needed it to help some else.
Sometimes we go through experiences to learn something from which we need to draw on later. I have found that from many of the experiences I have had.
One of my teachers once proposed an idea that I feel is true to some extent. He said that he believes that God has certain major points or events that He wants us to live through. I believe that this is true but I would add that I think the Lord wants us to live through these events in order for us learn something unique from them because we need it to develop our eternal character.
I hope that if you get time that you'll reflect on something from your past that may have or still does puzzle you. Ponder over it and pray over it. I believe that as you do so the Lord will open your understanding and help you see what unique lesson you can learn from that experience.
June 7, 2011
The Lord's Timing
So yesterday I read a devotional talk given at BYU by Elder Oaks and this has instantly become one of my favorite talks by Elder Oaks.
Yesterday was a good day because I only had two classes and I was able to relax. Two of my roommates wanted to speak with me and so we did. One of them recently got turned down by a girl and the other has been having a rough semester. I ended up talking to them about the Lord's Timing which is the principle mainly discussed by Elder Oaks. He talks about how having faith in the Lord is not only trusting in His will and His way of doing things but also trusting in His timing. He talked about how even something seems good and right, it may not be the right time. He said that people may feel prompted to do something but if it is the wrong time then they will often not succeed and then question whether or not what they were doing was truly inspired. He then notes that it is important not only to do the right thing but it's also important to do it at the right time. I really liked this because it helped me and some of my roommates.
I know from personal experience that it is not always easy to except the Lord's timing. It is something that has tested my faith. I hope and pray that we can do better to learn the Lord's timing for things in our lives. He knows what's best and He'll time things perfectly. I hope that y'all have a good day.
Yesterday was a good day because I only had two classes and I was able to relax. Two of my roommates wanted to speak with me and so we did. One of them recently got turned down by a girl and the other has been having a rough semester. I ended up talking to them about the Lord's Timing which is the principle mainly discussed by Elder Oaks. He talks about how having faith in the Lord is not only trusting in His will and His way of doing things but also trusting in His timing. He talked about how even something seems good and right, it may not be the right time. He said that people may feel prompted to do something but if it is the wrong time then they will often not succeed and then question whether or not what they were doing was truly inspired. He then notes that it is important not only to do the right thing but it's also important to do it at the right time. I really liked this because it helped me and some of my roommates.
I know from personal experience that it is not always easy to except the Lord's timing. It is something that has tested my faith. I hope and pray that we can do better to learn the Lord's timing for things in our lives. He knows what's best and He'll time things perfectly. I hope that y'all have a good day.
June 5, 2011
The Atonement
So this has been a long week and it is very likely that this upcoming week is going to be just as long if not longer.
To be honest I didn't have many ideas this week that weren't school related or about how the Lord's plans differ from our own.
So this Sunday has been pretty crazy and I'm writing this during a few free minutes I have. In my Elder's Quorum, we went over the Atonement of Christ and we read several scriptures about it. For some reason reading through them, I got deep sense of his suffering and heartbreak. One example of this that stuck out to me was when Christ was brought before the chief priests and scribes. These men were to be the most trained int the Mosaic law and the prophecies about the Messiah. Yet when Pilate presented Christ before them and asked what they would have him do to Christ; they answered "Crucify him!" "We have no king but Cæsar." (John 19:15) It clicked for me how heartbreaking this had to be to the Savior. There he was alone, His Apostles, disciples and friends were not there.
For me I realized how much the Savior can empathize with our pains, and loneliness because He has been there. The Lord loves you.
To be honest I didn't have many ideas this week that weren't school related or about how the Lord's plans differ from our own.
So this Sunday has been pretty crazy and I'm writing this during a few free minutes I have. In my Elder's Quorum, we went over the Atonement of Christ and we read several scriptures about it. For some reason reading through them, I got deep sense of his suffering and heartbreak. One example of this that stuck out to me was when Christ was brought before the chief priests and scribes. These men were to be the most trained int the Mosaic law and the prophecies about the Messiah. Yet when Pilate presented Christ before them and asked what they would have him do to Christ; they answered "Crucify him!" "We have no king but Cæsar." (John 19:15) It clicked for me how heartbreaking this had to be to the Savior. There he was alone, His Apostles, disciples and friends were not there.
For me I realized how much the Savior can empathize with our pains, and loneliness because He has been there. The Lord loves you.
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