Trust in the Lord and Be Not Afraid

Since the last post I have been united with my wonderful girlfriend and spent time with my family. After my girlfriend finally made it to my parents house we exchanged our Christmas gifts. Sadly, I got Barbara ANOTHER journal while she got me an awesome CD and the second season of Avatar: the Last Airbender which is my favorite TV series. I feel bad that my gift for her was not as good. The day after Barbara got in we went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. We talked to two different sets of sister missionaries. The first set of sisters talked to us about the gospel and the need to share it. The second set we talked to because I really wanted to speak French with someone and Barbara was kind enough to let me do so.

The next day Barbara and I went on a triple date with my sister Catherine and my brother-in-law Jesse, and Megan and Garret (Megan's boyfriend). It was a lot of fun even if I did a lot of ice cream, Garret was close to falling asleep (due to a super long delay), and we ended up talking more than playing games. On the first of January, my family, Barbara and Garret, and myself all went to church together. The next day, my parents left with my sister Megan, Garret, and a friend from North Carolina. Barbara was really kind and we traveled up to Rexburg later that same day.

I have now returned to apartment in Rexburg. Barabara celebrated her 23rd birthday on the first day of school which seems to me to be just a bit cruel. Luckily, I was able to take her out to dinner for birthday. We went to a local Thai restaurant which was really good. We also got to watch the second part of the seventh Harry Potter because Barbara hadn't seen it and she liked it. Well I've gone back to work and got myself settled and caught a cold. So I've been trying to fight it and get everything else done.

My spiritual thought this time comes from second Nephi chapter 22; here Nephi is quoting the 12th chapter of Isaiah, it reads "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid..." I like this part because, I know that sometimes fears can seem to overwhelm us. Fear of failing, fear of not knowing the future, fear of losing someone, can seem to block out all the hope that we have for our lives. But we have to remember to trust in the Lord and His promises, and we must do as Ether directs those who believe in God that they "might with surety hope for a better world." Once we have learned to trust the Lord and hope for a better world then we must move forward and do what we can. I know that the Lord's promises to us are true and that He will fulfill them in His own time. I hope that y'all have started your new year right. I hope y'all have a good week!

Faith in Sacrifice

So this last week I got back to Rexburg and got readjusted to being back with roommates. This week overall has been a good week. I've went to a couple of dances and made quite a few new friends. I also got to watch a funny movie with my sister and a good friend of ours.

This week I had a rather difficult but good experience. It reminded me a little of my mission; hence the picture below. One of my readers knows a bit about this experience because we had a couple of conversations about it. If any of my readers are curious as to the details they can ask me directly.

Due to this experience I've thought a lot about faith, hope, and sacrifice. I thought about how the Lord called upon Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. I thought about how hard this had to be for Abraham; he and Sarah had prayed many days and nights for Isaac. The Lord had promised Abraham that his seed would be as numerous as the sands upon the sea shore and that they would have the gospel. Through Isaac this promise would be realized along with many others. Most importantly Isaac was his son; while I’m not a father, I know that a good and righteous father deeply loves his son. I can only imagine how heartbreaking it must have been when the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Then Abraham had a few days with Isaac and two of the servants to travel to the land of Moriah. I can’t imagine how agonizing it must have been for Abraham.

I have learned that sometimes the Lord asks us to make a sacrifice, and sometimes, like Abraham, He accounts our desire and sincerity to us as righteousness. When we are called upon by the Lord to make a sacrifice, we must have faith. There are also times when like Abraham, we must hope against hope, and have faith that the Lord could fulfill the promises that He had made. This is a principle that is easy to understand but is harder to live. I have learned that we must grow our faith on a daily basis so that when we are called on to sacrifice that we may find that we have faith stronger than sight and a hope grounded in the promises of the Savior. One of my favorite talks is “But If Not” by Elder Simmons, you can read it here.

The point of the talk is that our faith should not depend on people or the consequences of our choices. One of my favorite characters Alvin Maker was described as a man who always does the right thing no matter what the consequences; I personally hope that one day that some can describe me that way.

After this difficult situation, I know that the Lord has promised me great blessings. I don’t think that I’ve seen most of them yet but I know they’re coming. If you are going through a rough time know that the Lord is aware of your situation and that He cares and to quote Elder Holland “He is your Heavenly Father, and surely He matches with His own the tears His children shed.” I believe that. Exercise faith and do the right thing. I promise you that you will be blessed. Have a good week!

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.