STORM vs PRIESTHOOD

I was thinking the other day about a thunder and lightning storm, kind of an odd thing to think about I know. I love these storms. I love to just sit on the porch and watch and listen to its power. I don't know what it is but I could fall asleep listening to its power. I thought to myself, what is thunder? I honestly don't know but to hear its power and feel it is amazing.
Lightning... that is something else fascinating to me. It is so quick but can destroy a mighty oak tree in seconds. It is outstanding the power these two things have.

As I was pondering on my random thought, something else popped into my head, the priesthood. Heavenly Father has entrusted me with this power. This power can be as strong as a storm, if not more so.





The priesthood power Jesus Christ performed miracles with is the same power I have. Christ healed the sick, caused the blind to see, lame to walk and even raised the dead. The power that I have is the same power that the Lord gave to Nephi to be able to move mountains.

This priesthood power, I personally have seen work. I know this is a gift from our Heavenly Father entrusted to those worthy of it. This is the same power and authority given Joseph Smith to restore Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ church. This power gives us the ability to weather the storm no matter how strong. This priesthood power and authority has blessed my life and I have seen it bless the lives of many others. I am thankful our Heavenly Father has entrusted me with it to bless my life and especially the lives of all those I came in contact with in the past 2 years of my mission.

I love my mission. I love the gospel. I especially love our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

AMEN!

Overcoming Challenges

Look at this video... 

Never let yourself get down because something happens that doesn't go your way. This man never let himself get down because he lost his leg. He set his mind to something and told himself "I am going to do it."

We can't let things get us down. The Lord puts challenges in our way to see how we will handle it. If we rely on those around us to help and especially rely on our Heavenly Father, there is nothing that we will come across that we can't overcome. Challenges are there to test our abilities and our faith. If we stick to what we know and what we believe, we will overcome any challenge.

BAND-AIDS

I was sitting in my room the other night and saw a box of band-aids and it made me think of a couple of things. The first thing that came to mind was being a little kid and playing outside. While playing outside you scrape your knee and you come inside crying and mom puts a band-aid on it and holds you close telling you it's going to be okay. I dont know what it is about a mother's love and touch that makes everything okay and feel better.
The second thing that came to mind is the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it helps heal us and make things better.
My companion found this picture and showed it to me...

When I saw this, two things popped into mind.
1. Savior and His love for us...
2. All help and guidance can come from the scriptures.
In this picture we can see a map and a compass. The map standing for the path we travel and the compass keeping us on track. Now the second map and compass we see is the scriptures and the Savior. The scriptures being the map of things to do and places to be and the compass being the Savior. We are all human and take wrong turns or trip along the path and get scraped up but thanks to our Compass,  the Savior, we can be patched up with band-aids and truned around to try again. As little kids learning to ride a bike we all fell and got scraped up but because of the love of our parents we got band-aids put on our scrapes and were told "it's okay, keep trying." The Savior does the same thing, we trip and make mistakes and take wrong truns but he picks us up, puts band-aids on our scrapes, turns us around and tells us, "it's okay, keep trying."
The Savior's love and guidance is never out of reach, just like your mom is always there when you hurt your knee. They are both there to put band-aids on our scrapes and scrathced and to tell us, "it's okay, keep trying."

Hope on the Horizon...

I was at a member's house the other night and I saw the picture that is placed above. When I saw this picture and read the title of it, I couldn't help but get the feeling of overwhelming comfort. This picture struck me with great power. I pictured myself and all the ones I love walking on the horizon with Jesus Christ watching us. We are all taught the things we need to do to get back to our Heavenly Father. He hopes we will make the right choices to be able to get back to live with Him.

When I think of the word Hope, I think of Faith. Faith meaning a hope in that which is not seen which is true. These two words are very powerful. If we don't have faith or a hope for something, then we aren't doing things right. The Savior has hope and faith that we will do all we can to come back.



This picture is in our house and I love it. It shows the love that our Savior and our Heavenly Father has for us. This same love displayed here in this picture is what we should have for other. We should have such love that we are willing to be the "Hope on the Horizon" for others. I don't know how important it is to be willing to help. Family and friends are the biggest support we can have on earth. We never know when we can be the answer to some one's prayer, or the "Hope on the Horizon."





The Lord is Our Shepherd




"Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
St. John 10:16

The Lord is our shepherd. He quoted this scripture referring to the people in the Americas long ago. He will do anything to help bring "the one" back to the fold. Christ left the 99 sheep to go find "the one." This is the same today. Christ is willing to go to all lengths to bring us back. Joseph Smith quoted "The worth of every soul is great in the eyes of God." We should be willing to reach out and befriend those that may be going astray. The path in which we need to stay on is described as "the straight and narrow" but because the Lord gave us agency that "straight and narrow" path becomes very windy. Each or us is different. We have our own challenges. Some bigger that others, but we need to remember that no matter the challenge we go through we are loved. The worth of every soul is great... So if we have friends or family members that may be going astray, remember to befriend them. just love them. It has been quoted the "everyone who has gone astray will come back to the fold in time." We just need to show love for those people as they are. We cannot change them, but if we show appreciation and love for those people as they are and not shun them for going astray, in time they will come back.

Show the love the Savior has for "the one" to everyone because the Lord is our shepherd and every soul is great in the eyes of God!

"And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also."

Doctrine and Covenants 84:106

Standing Strong

I was lying in bed the other night when a thought popped into my head about Standing A Little Taller. I have a book with that title that is full of inspiration for each day of the year.

I was lying there thinking about how I can help people do exactly that, Stand A Little Taller. There are so many examples and experiences that just flood my mind, I don't know where to start.

Each of us have challenges that are different but we have the same answer for support, our Heavenly Father. Each of us have difficult times that are different because if they were the same we wouldn't get anywhere. One thing I have always remembered since the day I have heard it is this... "You can be disappointed but never get discouraged!" No matter how tough things get and how alone we feel, we are never alone. My sister wrote in my journal, "Keep you head up and when you feel alone, always remember you are never alone, Just a prayer away!" I have always remembered this. I have shared this in many instances. I love it! It always reminds me of who I can turn to.

Best Friends are always there too. I know I have friends that I can turn to for help and encouragement at any time. In my Stand A Little Taller book there is a page on Encouragement, it says...

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
-Matthew 25: 35-36

"All of us can become discouraged. It is important to know, when you feel down, that many others do also and that their circumstances are often much worse than ours. And it is important to know that when one of us is down, it becomes the obligation of his friends to give him a lift."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

Along with our friends to give us that lift is our Heavenly Father. His hand is ALWAYS stretched out just waiting for us to take it. When I think of this I think of the picture where Christ is standing at the door knocking with no handle.


It is up to us to open it or take his hand. It is up to us to help our friends in times of need, we never know when we could be the answer to a friend's prayer. Just a simple phone call saying, "I was thinking about you, How are you doing?" can mean a lot to someone, especially to a close friend. I have done this a lot to my friends and later I found out it is what they needed.

We need to Stand Strong and help those we love to Stand A Little Taller. We never know when we could be the answer to a friend's prayer.

Living A Dream!!!

We all have dreams. It is up to us to make those dreams come true. How we do that is up to us.

Stepping out of our comfort zone is a huge part. We are never going to succeed until we stretch our self to become better. We all have things we want to do but until we step up we are not going to reach it. The only thing holding us back is our own minds telling us we can't.

There are many ways of living a dream. Take a coach for example, He loves a sport but something happens to him to make it so he can't get there. So he coaches that sport and lives his dream through the team.

Take a dad or mom... they may have a dream but something hinders them from reaching it so they help their son or daughter accomplish their dream. So just like the coach living through the team, a dad or mom could love it through their children.

Our Heavenly Father is living his dream through us, his sons and daughters. His dream is to have everyone return to live with him. How does he accomplish or live his dream? Through Us! We are His Hands! We have to step out of our comfort zone and be the tools He needs us to be. We have a great responsibility to share the gospel to all we love. We need to have the love for others as our Heavenly Father does for us. Through us teaching and preaching the gospel and what we know to be true is how our Heavenly Father lives his dream.

Now with us being the tools, it blesses us in many ways. Not just us personally but everyone we come in contact with. This reminds me of the definition of a missionary...

"Someone who leaves their family for two years so that other can be with theirs for eternity!"

We bless the lives of everyone we come in contact with. Our families back home are watched over and blessed. We are blessed, and it is all because we are living a dream. Whether our own dream or through someone else, it doesn't matter. If you want it, step out and get it! If you believe it, reach out and grab it! Live Your Dream!!!

Angels and Best Friends!!!!

"Best Friends are like angels, you don't have to see them to know they are there!"


I love this quote because it is so true. I have heard many times people talking about their guardian angels watching over them.


My grandma sent me this following story and asked me one question... Do you suppose the other man as an angel in disguise?
We never know when we can make an impact on someones' life!


Here is the following story...


Early one Sunday morning in October 2005, Elder Laman Castellanos and Elder Jonathan Bowen, two missionaries serving in the Mexico City North Mission, were rushing to get to church on time. They were walking quickly when a man who appeared to be heavily intoxicated flagged them down. He was with another man who appeared to be a friend also intoxicated.
Although at first hesitant to respond, the missionaries decided to stop and speak with the men.
"My friend here is an alcoholic and needs you help,? the missionaries remember the man saying. "Will you share your message with him?"
The missionaries shared a brief lesson of the purpose of life and shared their testimony of the restoration of the church. One of the men, Hector Hernandez, liked the message so much that he wanted the missionaries to come to his home. The missionaries learned where he lived and planned to return to his home in a few days.
"when we arrived, we were surprised to be greeted by a well-dressed man and his wife," said Elder Bowen. "Hector looked entirely different. He was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt." His wife Maria Eugenia, was in a nice dress, and they welcomed the missionaries into their beautiful home. It was much different than the missionaries had anticipated. As they sat down before the lesson,  Hector shared with the missionaries that it had been a long day, mainly because he couldn't wait to hear their message. He had stayed sober so that when the missionaries came he would be able to comprehend the message they had to share.
At that time, Hector was a raging alcoholic, and doctors had warned him of the life-threatening condition he was in. He was very ill, he was in debt and his wife was on the verge of leaving him.
After hearing the message of two Mormon missionaries, Hector decided to change his life and turn to the Savior. Within four weeks he stopped drinking, he had a plan to get out of debt and he repaired his relationship with his wife.
"In my short 24 years, I have seen few examples of greater faith than that of Hector and his wife," Elder Bowen said. "They were both baptized on Nov. 27, 2005."
Over the next few years the Hernandez family had its ups and downs, but were able to overcome their challenges and are now an anchor of faith and commitment to the gospel in their ward," Elder Bowen Said. "On March 19, 2009, I had the opportunity to attend the sealing of Hector and Maria Eugenia in the Mexico City Temple."
The intoxicated man who flagged the missionaries down was never seen again. The address he gave them did not exist, and Hector had only met him minutes before talking with the missionaries.
But Hector and his family are eternally grateful he stopped the missionaries that day.


Was the intoxicated man an angel in disguise?

Your Best Self!

Do all things... that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

Philippians 2:14-15

" Keep faith with the best that is in you. Your own constant self-improvment will become as a polar start to those with whom you associate. They will remember longer what they saw in you than what they heard from you. Your attitude, your point of view can make such a tremendous difference."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Live by example!!! One of the most important things anyone can every do. We are all subject to challenges and complications but it is when we rely on our faith and what we have been taught, that we will be able to get through the tough times. We are the light for others around us. We are that light that needs to be brought to everyone. Christ is our light in our lives and if we follow him we are able to do all things.

FAITH... makes things possible, NOT easy! but with all things if we rely on those who love us we are able to overcome all!

The Miracle of Conversion

"And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart."


-Alma 5:12


There is no miracle like the miracle of conversion. It is the great process by which those with responsive hearts listen to the teachings and testimonies of missionaries and change their lives, leaving the past behind them, and moving forward into a new life. There is no miracle quite like it in all the world.


- Gordon B. Hinckley


We are the instruments He uses to help bring people back to him. We have no greater calling than this. We have no greater joy than to share in the joy with our Heavenly Father when we help someone come into the fold.