How I Learned Christmas

    When we remember our Savior at Christmas time the Christmas holiday takes a different meaning. Our minds seem to absorb ever minute. I learned what Christmas was about on Christmas Day 2001. We had just woken up and got done opening presents when my Dad asked us to go get our winter clothing on. He told us that we were going to go out and split some wood for someone who doesn't have any wood that she could burn. Earlier that week my Dad and I had gone over to my Grandma's shed and worked on getting a wood splitter back in operation. I figured that we wouldn't go until later in the week but my Dad decide to do it on Christmas Day. Like most children, I wasn't as excited to go. I wanted to now use the presents that had been given to me but eventually we set off in our purple van.
     We got to the house and went to work. We worked a good amount of time especially for a 10 year old boy. My Dad worked the hydraulics that would split the word while my brothers and I would bring the wood to the splitter and then carry the split wood away. I know I needed a coat on that day but I don't remember the cold. I remembered I dropped wood on my feet but I don't remember the pain. What I do remember is that I felt good. I felt that what we did was something more valuable than staying at home and watching Shrek. I will forever be grateful for my Dad teaching me in an unknown way the true meaning of Christmas.

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17

The Red Coat

     This video depicts a true story that happened in the life of Heber J. Grant who would become the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This quality is truly a Christ-like attribute in a child that would be noble for all of us to emulate.

     As we go through this wonderful holiday season let us remember the ones who are less fortunate. We live in a tough economy and it is going to be charity or the pure love of Christ that will help us see through it.

     Lets keep in mind what M. Russell Ballard an Apostle of the Savior Jesus Christ said recently. "It is my humble prayer, brothers and sisters, that we will ask in our daily prayers for the inspiration to find someone for whom we can provide some meaningful service, including the service of sharing the gospel truths and our testimonies. At the end of each day, may we be able to say yes to the questions: “Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?”

The Golden Gardner

     The Golden Gardener Contest is just like it implies the one who is the best at growing  practically anything under the sun. Last year it was sunflowers. This is the second year that my family has done it and it has been a hit. Some may wonder but this is what my family calls call wholesome family recreation.

      The first year I didn't know about it until it had already begun and catching up in a growing contest is piratically impossible so I was out. The first year my older brother took the trophy. This year was going to be different. I knew that the contest was going to happen again and so when the weather got warm I planted some seeds. I had an vision in my head that I would have to send a picture home holding the trophy.  Even thought I was miles away I still felt that I was having fun in a contest with my family.

     My plant did really go for the most part . I found some old potting soil on the roof and  a pot to put it in. It wasn't the best growing conditions but I am a missionary so I did the best with what I got. My plant grew for the next several months. I watered it ever day and tried to help it grow. I was ready to get a harvest.Well the time came around that I had to leave Cookeville and I had to say goodbye to my plant. I was sad ending because I hadn't gotten any fruit from my labor but I had a nice plant and so I knew it was going to give my family a run for their money. I send home a picture and waited for the results.

      Well the day came and I got the email from my mom. The end of the contest was on Labor Day. My family was at my Granada's house for the judging and this is what the results were:
                Grandma's prize was Tic Tac’s
                        She had the smallest onion weighing in at 2 grams.
(WAIT, HOLD ON A SECOND WE WERE GROWING ONIONS!?)
               Dad, Mom, and younger Sister's prize was Milk Duds
                        The word ‘dud’ pretty well describes what ours looked like.
(OH NO THEY ARE SERIOUS)
                Older Brother and his Wife - Sugar Babies
                        They had baby sized onions.
                Oldest Brother and his Wife - Whoppers
                        Theirs was getting to be pretty good size.
                Wayne and Jackie - Golden Gardener
                        They took the trophy home with a 75 gram onion!
(SO MUCH FOR WINNING)
                Elder Owen - What-cha-ma-call-it candy bar
                        That was because yours did not look like an onion

        I may have not won. I was probably the farthest one from winning but the prize of winning really wasn't the prize. The prize was just to be able to have fun. This is a pretty good example of what it really matters the most. God loves our families and he wants to bless them as much as he can and by whatever means. We need to go through life an instead of "seeking out the storms" we need to find the light in between the lines. Not only will we be happier but the lives around us will be happier too.

Reclaimed through Christ

     The atonement is AMAZING! Isn't it wonderful how through Jesus Christ and his atonement we can be saved from the low lands of sorrow and pain and brought to the wonderful high lands of joy and peace. In the October 2012 General Conference, President Thomas S Monson shared two experiences that exemplified the effects of the atonement in peoples lives.

"When I first became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, I had the opportunity to accompany President N. Eldon Tanner, a counselor to President David O. McKay, to a stake conference in Alberta, Canada. During the meeting, the stake president read the names of four brethren who had qualified to be ordained elders. These were men whom President Tanner knew, for at one time he had lived in that area. But President Tanner knew and remembered them as they once were and did not know that they had turned their lives around and had fully qualified to become elders.

"The stake president read the name of the first man and asked him to stand. President Tanner whispered to me, “Look at him. I never thought he would make it.” The stake president read the name of the second man, and he stood. President Tanner nudged me again and reported his astonishment. And so it was with all four of the brethren.

"After the meeting, President Tanner and I had the opportunity to congratulate these four brethren. They had demonstrated that men can change." 

He goes on, "During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!”

"Replied Warden Duffy, 'You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.'"

     Change is a wonderful thing! Anyone can change. Change is repentance in action and the power behind that change is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through His suffering we can be healed, we can be reclaimed. Then after we have been rescued from the the filth don't go back. Don't go back in your life and defiantly not in the life of others just to dig up old garbage.

"Why anyone would destroy something so beautiful and useful in an attempt to dig up old garbage"

Come Listen to Prophets

     God speaks through his prophets today. All are invited to come and listen. To feel the peace that comes from having direction in your life. There is no price and there is definitely no requirements to listen to a prophets voice. Find out more information at gc.lds.org/

Faith + Water = Giant Plant

Faith is like a little seed:

If planted, 

it will grow.

     Our Father in Heaven wants us to have faith in him. Before we live on earth we lived in Heaven as his spirit children. We did not need faith in Heavenly Father before this life because Heavenly Father was right in front of our faces. It was not faith we had before this life but a perfect knowledge. 

     

     To make sure that our faith was in our Heavenly Father, he sent us to earth. On earth we are to get and take care of our body and then have faith in our Heavenly Father and do all things that he asks of us. Very simple I would assume but some the times it is hard to have faith. Sometimes we question and second guess our faith. Just because don't have some marvelous experience we automatically think that there is something wrong with us but that is not the case. Sometimes our faith is like a gradual sun rise that come slowly. In due time, the sun illuminates an entire area almost un-noticeably. The same process works with our faith. Faith will slowly come into our life. Shining light on that matter which was confusing at first.

Always remember that in the Lords time 

our faith can go from a seed to a plant,

all in the blink of an eye.

Being a Family

     Some of the greatest memories in life come with the family. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ the belief is that "The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ." Who wouldn't want happiness with their family in this life. The blessing of the knowledge that families can be together for ever is monumental. It is a joyous knowledge to have but how much better would it be to have a promise from God that your own personal family can be tied together by the power of God forever as long as you live a Christ-like life. How amazing would that be?
     I don't know everything but I do know. There is a promise that is made in the last book of the Old Testament in Malachi and it is a promise that is miraculous.

 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming 

of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, 

and the heart of the children to their fathers, 

lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

     Elijah has came and the power to tie families together has been given to Thomas S Monson. "There is no man upon the face of this earth who has the right to go forth and administer in any of the ordinances of this gospel unless the President of the Church [Thomas S Monson], who holds the keys, allows it."  I have seen that promise come true in my own life. I have seen a new love towards each other as family members remember the promises they have made. It is an glorious gift from God. It is a gift that God wants everyone to have.

Lots of Rocks

     A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
     This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
     Noticing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. “You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These troubling thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. “Why kill myself over this?” I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.
     And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
     The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, When I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”
     “Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”

Author Unknown

     Most people who read this story focus on the aspect that the man pushing the rock prayed. Yes that is a good way to see it but a different to see it would be to focus on the almost last sentence. "Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities  now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock." 
     "For there must needs be opposition in all things. If not, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad." 2 Nephi 2:11 We sometimes may spend everyday pushing against rocks and seem to go no where. In doing the Lord's work I sometimes feel like I am that man pushing the giant rock. I there remember this is God's work. If I need to is push what seems to be an immovable rock then so be it.
     This work is amazing! Lives are being changed. Let the Gospel of Jesus Christ change your life. Read a Book of Mormon and then ask if it is true. Ask God if the man who translated it by the power of God is His prophet. Then once you get your answer act upon it. Do what the Lord tells you to do even if that means pushing on rocks.  

What are we waiting for?

     "This can be our experience if we move forward with faith and do not wait too long on the road to Damascus." Dieter F Uchtdorf

DREAM BIG

"And when you dream, dream big, As big as the ocean blue." 
Ryan Shoupe

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." 
Maya Angelou

"Life is short, live bold! Be heard, be you, dream big, take risks, don’t wait!" 
Misty Gibbs

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." 
Confucius

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, 
The saddest are these: 'It might have been!'" 
John Greenleaf Whittier

"Make no small plans: 
They have no magic
 to stir men's soul's Souls. 
This is the vision I have..."
President Spencer W Kimball

     Do not let yourself be the cause of being trapped under the imaginary ceiling of "I can't do this" or "I can't do that." We have been told many times in the words of the Prophets that anything is possible if we but have faith in Christ. "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me Ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." Moroni 7:33

With a Heavy Heart

     This last Sunday was a rough Sunday. The Clarksville 2nd and 3rd wards were split into three different wards. I am no longer in 3rd ward but I am in 5th ward yet I am still living around the same people when I was working in 3rd ward. When I heard the news that I would be moving it felt like someone had put duct tape on my leg, pulled it half way off and then proceed to slowly pull the rest of the tape off. That pain felt during the meeting was amplified as I made the wrong move of looking back to see faces of the people that I would not be seeing as often. Doing that just made me feel with discouragement.
     What happened next is the true moral of the story other than not putting duct tape on your unshaven legs. With a heavy heart I turned to God and asked for comfort. I didn't expect any out of the ordinary event. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know what I needed at the time but I came to find out that all I needed was word of encouragement. So I flipped open my scriptures and they fell open to Alma 4:3-4. "And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God... therefore they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty. And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God..." Now I don't believe that the ward splitting was a punishment from God but I do know that it brought me to a remembrance of my duty.
      I firmly believe that as we take questions to God they will be answered with the scriptures. Overall it is about four thousand years of recorded human history in a book. Someone is bound to have a similar problem like the one you are going through. Sometimes we need to take down the walls of ‘I can do this’ and take note of how the Lord wants it done. I know that the Book of Mormon answers questions of the souls. It gives guidance and direction in our day to every day challenges. I would challenge you to take questions to the Lord and see what you can find. "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matthew 7:8

Until You Get The Cops Called On You

     Elder Whitney and I were visiting a few people one day, like most missionaries do. Elder Whitney had had a rough night and so he asked if he could take a few minutes to nap. Well I readily agreed and so Elder Whitney reclined the passenger seat and caught a few Z's. I had nothing to do so I grabbed my Book of Mormon from my bag and started to read. I remember looking up and seeing these two girls walking pass the car. I didn't see any threat so I didn't even give a second thought of locking the doors.
     A few minutes went by and I woke Elder Whitney up.  I got out of the car thinking he will follow but that didn't exactly work out the way I had hoped. He still is in the car in that half awake groggy mode. I turn my head to have a moment to think and then this car appears out of nowhere and pulls up behind our car. I motion for him to pass but he just pulls a little closer. With the car behind me chewing at my bumper and Elder Whitney half awake I get back in the car a bit discombobulated with life. I press on the brakes and there goes the lights from the car behind... he's a cop.
       Well to cut a long story short, the cop gets out and tell us what is going on and how a lady called in and said that her daughters saw some strange people in a car when they got off the bus and wanted someone to come check it out. He goes on to ask us a few questions while at the same time using the wording "suspicious activity" many times in the questioning. Overall nothing happens to us. No ones goes to jail or anything but but a few valuable lessons were learned.
     One of  the most important lessons that I learned is that some people are afraid of what they don't know.A lot of people come up to us and tell us something like, "You Mormons worships Joseph Smith don't cha." or " Ya'll believe that you don't need the Bible because you got that Mormon book." Then when we try to explain they choose not to listen. Maybe it is preconceived notion that they don't want to let go but whatever the reason for not listening I don't know what it is. They seem to just not want to listen to us and that is OK. The person we do want them to listen to is the one who testifies the "truth of all things" and that is the Holy Ghost. It is only by the Holy Ghost can you known whether or not the Book of Mormon is true.n So I invite you to take the test and read and pray then ask if it is true and I know that the Holy Ghost will bear witness to you that it is true whether it is your first time or hundredth time. It has been the third time that I renewed my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and just the same as lat time I know that the Book of Mormon is true.

Temple Baptisms

     I was able to go with Cheyenne and the youth in our ward to do temple baptisms last Saturday. It was an amazing experience.  I was excited to see her get baptized a few months ago but it is even better to be able to see her in the temple doing work for those who can not do it for themselves. I will say that everyone who was in that temple had a smile that went from ear to ear.

     Temples are the greatest because they are a place were families are seal together for time and all eternity. In the temples, people who hold authority from God to be able to bind families on earth so they will be bound in heaven. The blessing that come from having a family who are ALL going in the same direction, together is like no other. I love my family and there is no one else I would rather be next to them my family.

    I would challenge you all to go find a temple that is close and then go and feel the spirit that is just around the temple. If you don't know much about the temples click on the picture and it will take you to the Latter Day Saint website that does a better job at explaining temple then I do.