GPS Failure: Receiving Direction

My heart sank as my GPS displayed the message that the battery was low.

With a broken car charger and a major lack of sense of direction, the thought of not having a GPS worried me.

I was stuck in the middle of a city with no way of knowing how to get home.

After averting panicking, I pulled on the side of the road.

I knew the major roads to get home, however I didn't know how to find them.

The compass on the car pointed North and I knew that the street ran East and West.

No matter what, I knew that if I headed north, I would hit one of two major roads.

I took a deep breath, and continued on and eventually found my way home.

For those of you who know me, you know how bad my sense of direction is.

I had relied so heavily on the GPS that I hadn't learned the area.

When we are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost,

we are promised guidance as long as we are worthy of it.

However there are times when I have felt that direction hasn't come immediately.

What I didn't realize is that it did come, just not in the way I expected.

I felt as if the spiritual GPS had failed, I didn't know every step of the way!

However I was led home step by step.

We are given direction to make it back home to our Heavenly Father.

But day to day life we are required to constantly rely on him.

We know the destinations, but we need direction and strength from our Heavenly Father to get there safely.

I know God directs his children today.

He knows our goals and desires

He knows you personally.

And will bless and direct your life in ways that you didn't even know were possible!

Ask for direction.

It may not come in the way you expect,

But it will come as we honestly seek.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

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The Atonement

The experience of humankind's unity with God, exemplified by Jesus Christ. -Dictionary.com

The word atone means to reconcile, or to restore to harmony. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. -True to the Faith 

Because of the wrong choices we all make

We are no longer in harmony with our Heavenly Father.

However, through Jesus Christ, we can return to Him,

and once again be in Harmony with God.

Ever since I was little I was taught that through Jesus Christ we can have our sins washed away.

I remember a specific time when I was worried about death.

What if I didn't repent of everything I did right before I died?

I sure hoped God told me when I was going to die so I could repent of any sins I forgot of in the five minutes before I passed on to the next life.

Then the next thought hit me,

Never have I had the best memory,

How would I remember every sin I committed?

Kneeling down I asked to be forgiven of every sin that I have forgotten

A warm enveloping feeling covered me and I knew I had been forgiven.

Quickly, I learned that the Atonement forgives all of our shortcomings

As long as we are giving our best to God.

Not only does the Atonement forgive our shortcomings,

the Atonement makes them up.

He doesn't ask for perfection in this life, rather progression towards perfection.

We will never comprehend in this life exactly what the Atonement fully means and exactly how it works.

However we can continue to learn exactly what it means to us in times of sorrow

in times of hardships

and especially in times when feelings of unworthiness sweep over us.

Use our loving Savior's gift in your life.

Find out what the Atonement means to YOU.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

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Keeping Your Spirit Warm

With all the winter weather that's hitting Buffalo, it's no surprise that my thoughts have turned towards the dropping temperatures and white powder falling non-stop from the sky.

Whenever we do introductions with new people we meet, the weather is always compared to our hometown.

One of my companions, being from Arizona, would always get the, "Wow, then you must hate this weather!" or, "Wow! This is a whole new experience for you then?"

Then they ask where I'm from, and after my answer it usually goes like this,

"Okay, well you know then."

Yes, I do know.

However it's still crazy cold outside and miserable walking through it!

It doesn't matter whether you grew up in Buffalo or in the Bahamas, it's still -10 degrees outside!

It's all how you prepare.

Walking outside in pretty cold weather, I looked back and saw my companion from Arizona with his glove to his face.

After asking what he was doing he replied, "Did you know that when you hold your glove to your face your breath warms up your face?"

That was a lesson I learned many winters ago and I couldn't help but smile.

We all live through the same winters.

However those with gloves, coats, hats, and scarfs are much warmer than others!

Our spirits become cold, especially through those trials or winters that we go through.

We have prayer (Gloves and Coats), the scriptures (Hats and Scarfs) to keep our spirits warm.

Yes you may be able to make it through the winter without those pieces of clothing,

But anybody who has lived through a harsh winter knows that nothing is more inviting then a pair of gloves, a coat, and a hat.

Warm your spirits. "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning."

Allow it to burn inside of you.

With it you will be able to conquer any blizzard or harsh winter that will come your way.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

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The Work is Hastening... With iPads!

Just recently our mission got iPads.

How ridiculously cool is that?

I have been hearing of "digital devices" coming to our mission since I first came out. (11 Months ago)

Ever since I heard that they were coming I was pretty skeptical over why missionaries would need them.

Let me tell you, the reason is incredible.

It has been promised time and time again that the Lord would hasten his work in the last days.

iPads are just one of the many ways that he's doing it!

Technology has been made for a number of reasons, but the biggest reasons is exactly this,

Missionary work.

The Lord is behind all of these advances in technology.

Not only do missionaries have iPad's now but we're on facebook also!

Think of how many people one of our posts reaches?

Think how long it takes to write that post? Two minutes tops.

Now imagine how many people that post has the potential to reach.

Now think how many people will be reached in two minutes while tracting.

Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

It's AMAZING!

We can reach more people with the message of the restoration than has ever been possible before!

The Lord is behind facebook, iPads, the internet, etc.

He is hastening his work.

I am blessed to be called as one of his full time servants during this exciting time!

And guess what, YOU are called during this exciting time also.

Use the tools the Lord has put in your hands to build people up and to share that light you have!

Share your testimony!

I invite you to share a status right now expressing your own unique testimony.

Think of how much garbage is on the internet, let's lighten it up a bit!

And use it as the Lord intended.

Share it!

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To be a Hero...

There was an awakening when I got my mission call that I wasn't expecting.

Growing up I wanted to go to a country in Latin America on my mission!




I wanted to be fluent in Spanish and be able to talk with my Dad in Spanish!

When I opened the call and read Rochester, New York.

I was pumped!

I already had been to my mission before on vacation with my family and it had the same weather as Wisconsin.

There wasn't really anything drastically new!

As I pondered more on it I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't going to learn Spanish,

And get the opportunity to see the world from a different culture.

Then I realized I wanted to be just like my Dad was.

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I wanted to have the experiences that he had on  his mission.

I wanted to speak Spanish like he did.

I wanted to grow up and be just like my Dad.

I realized then, at 18 years old, that I was going to become a different person.

As ridiculous as it seems I realized at that moment that,

I was going to become Me.

Up to that point I tried my hardest to do everything like he did.

Talk to people like he did.

Love people like he did.

But I wasn't going to be able to go to a Spanish speaking mission like he did.

I was going to the best mission in the world, Rochester New York, and make the decision to work my hardest for the Lord!

I'm going to become who the Lord wants me to be!

I still find myself doing things that I remember making fun of my Dad for

and I can't help but smile.

How grateful am I for an example of someone I can truly look up to.

I may not be able to become him, but I can take what I have learned and hope to be as much of a hero for my son as he is for me.

Be a hero.

And always look to the best training to be a hero that has ever been given, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Because that is the biggest reason why my dad is the Hero he is to me, the time he has taken to study and implement the teachings of Jesus Christ.

In the name of my Savior and hero, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

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Listening on the Court

In middle school I signed up for a before school basketball intramural team.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings I would show up early in the morning with my basketball shorts and shoes on ready to play.

My Dad was always so willing and supportive to drive me, and all the rest of my siblings when they played, nearly every morning we played and then stayed and watched us play basketball.

I would try my hardest on the court and then at half time walk over to my Dad to hear what I could improve on and what I needed to do better.

I would get back on the court with a renewed sense of dedication.

One time my Dad asked me if I could even hear him when he would talk to me while I was on the court.

I honestly didn't even realize he was saying anything!

Focusing so hard on playing my hardest  I didn't know that there was more advice being given than just what I would receive off of the court.

Heavenly Father speaks to us when we are on our knees.

We take this counsel and try our hardest and then get on our knees at the end of the day and give a report on how we did.

However, He does not just speak to us while we are on our knees but throughout the day continually.

He does not just speak to us when we take that break off court, but rather while we are playing every step of the way.

Be in tune enough to hear that direction and advice that's given all the time and not just when you take those quiet moments in the morning and before bed.

As we hear the counsel we can take advantage of that inspiration minutely, instead of daily.

Seek for it!

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Is this Non-Fiction?

We were at a family's house watching the restoration DVD and their son (who is in kindergarten) was sitting right next to me.

It began to portray Joseph Smith seeking out answers to his questions in the Bible.

And then, making that decision that changed the world, knelt down in a grove of trees and asked his Heavenly Father what his soul pondered.

Their son turned to me and asked if the movie was non-fiction.

With a smile I told him that everything that was on the movie actually happened.

It truly was Non-Fiction!

How do I know this?

How do I know that as Joseph Smith knelt down in the grove of trees that he really did have his prayer answered by God and his son Jesus Christ

That They actually appeared to him in flesh and bone and spoke to him?

That he really was called as a prophet of God to restore Christ's true church on the earth once again?

Because I have knelt down and asked God myself.

As missionaries we don't want people to just listen to us and call it good,

No!

We want you to question it! We want you to honestly seek for the truth!

We want you to find out the same way we did, on your knees.

Talk to missionaries! Listen to what they teach!

But don't just leave it at that,

Get down on your knees and ask God, and listen to what your Heavenly Father teaches you through the Holy Ghost.

That is what we invite people to do, seek for themselves and ask the center of all truth, your Heavenly Father.

Imagine if this really was true,

It means that God speaks to his children today through a living Prophet

It means there is one true church on this earth

It means that the Priesthood power that Christ ordained his apostles with is once again found among members of his church on the earth today.

What we claim is miraculous.

How we ask you to find out is miraculous.

You Heavenly Father will answer your prayer.

Diligently seek and ask.

I say all of these things in the name of Him whose church is found once again on this earth, Jesus Christ, Amen.

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