A Warm Shower or Freezing Rain?

January and raining, never thought it would happen in New York!

It wasn't quite as wonderful as I thought it would be.

The temperature just above freezing it was raining

and cold. 

We spent the morning hauling logs outside 

and my companion quickly found out his jacket wasn't waterproof. 

The warm shower was more welcoming than ever before.

Sitting on the couch I was sad to say that neither of us

were very excited to get out in the rain again and knock on doors.

However knowing that we were on the Lord's time

we put our jackets on and headed out. 

Trying to look through the darkness and rain

we couldn't find the address we were looking for. 

A little discouraged and wanting to just talk to someone

I pulled the car over and parked in front of the nearest house.

We knocked on the door and lo and behold,

the man answering the door takes a Book of Mormon

and agrees to have us return to talk about it.

You know how grateful we were?

We got back in the car and started cheering and fist pumping!

Then of course we took the reverent moment

to give a prayer of thanks to Him who led us there.

Are you in that freezing rain?

It gets pretty cold.

Or are you singing and taking your time

in the warm steamy shower?

If we spend life in our comfort zone,

and not putting ourselves out there to help others

and to challenge ourselves,

we could very well turn into raisins under the warm water.

When you step out into that freezing rain

That miracle will come.

And as President Uchtdorf says,

"It will be glorious."

Think of a way you stay inside the warm shower

and make a change today to get out in that freezing rain!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Carbon to Diamonds

I reached a point a week ago,

Where I felt that I've finally figured out how to be happy and content

and to enjoy life with ease and LOVE what I do!

I remember having the distinct thought of,

The next challenge is coming.

Shortly after that another whilrwind hit me

and continues to blow!

Why when I was so happy would God allow the boat of my life to be rocked again?

The Holy Ghost brought to rememberance two things:

1. Christ calms the storms of life. 

The natural man in us relies on Christ less when we feel content.

True happiness comes when we rely on Christ every minute of the day

and treat his gospel as a lifestyle and not just a hospital.

I can testify that we come closer to Christ in the storms of life

than any other time.

It's those sacred moments that we spend pleading for his help and counsel,

and trust that He has suffered all pains and afflictions,

when we feel His divine embrace and love.



2. We go through trials to become who God wants us to be.

 My mom gave me this scripture marker when I was in High School.

It's always been with my Bible.

When we go through the pressures and trials of life,

God gives us experiences so we can grow to be celestial beings.

The key to this whole life is allowing Him to do so.

You have a Heavenly Father that is allowing you to grow and learn.

"Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, …
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand." -How Firm a Foundation

 
He is with us and always aware of us.

Seek his divine guidance and strength

and find calm amidst the storms of life.

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Right Time, Right Place

The Lord is always aware of where we are and what we need.

Driving home from playing ultimate frisbee

we hit traffic and slowly rolled passed an accident.

The accident had happened not too long before.

Passing the man who was directing traffic I hit the gas pedal and went on our way home.

Then a voice comes from the backseat saying that we know those people that were in that accident!

I turned into the next parking lot and flipped around.

We got out and walked over to the car.

They were fine physically but definitely shaken up.

Even though we were in t-shirt and gym shorts we asked if they needed a Priesthood blessing

and gladly gave them one.

Being blessed to be the one voicing the blessing,

I couldn't help but feel a strong feeling that God was very much aware of this person.

Closing the blessing, and making sure there was help coming,

we jumped back into our car and left just as the police arrived.

It was not by chance that we were there at that time.

God works miracles through us.

He has blessed us with the means to work miracles in other's lives.

Your Heavenly Father is aware of you.

He knows your needs, wants, desires, deepest sorrows, and your most joyful moments.

Your Father in Heaven knows you perfectly.

Just like he put us,

four imperfect young adults,

in the path to be his instrument and hands in blessing the lives of those in need,

He will always send someone at the right time, and at the right place.

Never doubt that His hand is in your life,

because through His Son, nothing is impossible to Him in this world.

Seek him out.

Feel His loving embrace pour into the seemingly empty voids of a sorrowful soul,

and amplify the powerful emotions felt in the Joyous soul. 

 

In the name of our Savior and Elder Brother, Jesus the Christ, Amen.

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Feeling the Spirit-Through the Priesthood

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have the blessing of holding the Priesthood.

What's the Priesthood?

Priesthood: the power and authority that God gives to man to act in all things necessary for the salvation of God’s children.

It is the power that God gives for us, his children, to do all things necessary for salvation.

Jamie (name has been changed) is somebody who hasn't heard of the Priesthood before.

She recently needed help painting her house.

She was blessed to get ahold of four missionaries to come help her.

Coincidence? of course not.

While painting she shared something with us.

She told us that she was starting new treatments soon in hope of improving her health.

The concern was very apparent as we were told what she would be going through.

We relayed to her the fact of the restoration of the priesthood,

the eternal truth of her divinity as a daughter of God,

knowledge of the awareness that Christ has in all of our lives,

and the profound non-coincidental event that brought us into her life right at this time.

Something stirred,

we could see her comforted as the Holy Ghost bore truth of what we taught.

The sister missionaries continued to teach her and we received a call that she wanted a Priesthood blessing.

Excited we hurried over to her house.

As I layed my hands upon her head and spoke the words that I knew Heavenly Father was putting there,

I couldn't help but feel the spirit stir inside of me.

Concluding, "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen,"

I took a step back and watched as tears streamed from her eyes.

She knew that the priesthood was working miracles in her.

She knew that her Father in Heaven loved her dearly.

She knew that He was reaching out to her once more.

Miracles happen every day.

Our Heavenly Father is a God of miracles.

Just like in time of old he continues to miraculously bless our lives.

He knows you.

and He works in your life daily.

I know this to be true.

Christ truly is your Savior, He is the only way to salvation.

And the only way back to our Heavenly Father's presence to live with Him for eternity.

Seek the  Priesthood in your life and I promise the Spirit will fill you abundantly,

and most importantly,

tell you of the simple truths that make life as Joyous as God meant it to be.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

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Vestibulitis

I couldn't help but cry in frustration as we drove away from yet another doctor's appointment with questions unanswered.

For nearly two months I had been nauseous and dizzy enough to keep me out of school and laying down with little to no energy.

I had become discouraged.

Missing school and being house ridden was taking it's toll.

Hopping from doctor to doctor, medication to medication, the problem continued and the questions remained unanswered.

Then the miracles began.

My dad happened to have a connection to a doctor that was willing to see me on such short notice.

The doctor worked in a pretty prestigious hospital and it was a miracle she had the time to see me.

We baked them a plate of cookies as a small token of our gratitude.

Within 10 minutes she diagnosed my problem.

Vestibulitis.

The treatment was to attend physical therapy sessions.

A physical therapist who happened to just get through schooling for treating vestibulitis, happened to live in my home town.

The exercises were simply looking at the ceiling, then at the floor, ceiling, floor.

At first my attitude was a bit skeptical, but I did what I was told.

I remember after my first session I went home and passed out from exhaustion.

Those simple movements were the beginning of my journey back to health.

Soon I was able to read the math board again without nausea occurring.

I was able to do the work that was missed and catch up well enough to pass that semester.

All throughout I was blessed with inspired teachers that were willing to work with me at home

and inspired people to lift my spirits.

I think back to that car ride leaving the doctors office and that feeling of despair.

When we go through trials that seem never ending it's hard to see the light that is illuminating our way.

However, after the trial, we often look back with joy and see we were led every step of the way.

Our Heavenly Father's hand is in every detail.


Every encouraging letter.

Every smile.

Every ray of sunlight.











He will not forget you,

If you will not forget him.

There is never an excuse to forget our Father in Heaven.

There is never any trial or mistake that we can make that causes us to not be worthy to get down on our knees and seek his comfort.

Seek for his love!

He is the perfect Father.

In the name of His son, who overcame all trials and sorrows, even 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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'Tis the Season (Christmas Post)

Christmas time!!!

This is my first Christmas away from my family.

As I put up a mini Christmas tree and put up lights I couldn't help but miss putting up the lights with my brother back at home.

Fun story,

We would put up the lights on the edge of the roof that had a big drop off if we were to slip.

Being the natural geniuses we are, we came up with this idea:

The way the house came to a point, the cord/trusting rope would have stopped me because of my brother on the other side (or at least we liked to think it would).

When I think of how much we rely on Christ, he really is our anchor and he has told us and showed us the way to get that extension cord bound to him and us.

We wont always be able to stay at the point of the roof, sometimes we have to walk down the roof towards the edge and trust Christ that that cord will hold.

And he's confident that it will, much more than my Brother and I were.

He has created the extension cord (Atonement) and is our loving  brother to get on the roof with us to be our anchor.

Take hold of the cord and know of a surety that as long as you are doing as he asks, you will always have him anchoring.

You will have him as your foundation!

Christ was born into this world for you and me.

How great of a blessing it is to know this!

This Christmas season, find those miracles in your lives, and share them!

Pray for inspiration

Act on inspiration

Share the miracles that come from acting on inspiration!

He is our rock and salvation!!!!

Have an absolutely wonderful Merry CHRISTmas!! :D

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Blessings through Others

One of my greatest joys on my mission is being a tool in the Lord's hands of blessing another's life and being an answer to prayers.

Time and time again we have been in the right place at the right time, very far from coincidence.

We were tracting at one point and knocked on someones door. She answered and didn't seem too interested in our message so we offered our help and she was taken back a bit.

She told us that she had huge stones she wanted to move and her neighbor who was going to do it for her hurt his back.

"But the problem is you are going to need a truck."

We smiled and pointed out the Chevy Colorado that we drive and she couldn't believe it. We set up a time and moved all the rocks for her.

The whole time she couldn't believe that two young men showed up on her door step offering to do this for free.

She kept pointing out how great God was to her.

How great is our Heavenly Father to all of us?

Especially when he provides us with the direction to be a blessing in the lives of others.

Seek the direction from the Holy Ghost.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Eternal Families

My second day in Canandaigua I met a recent convert and he touched me with his testimony. I leaned over to my companion and mentioned that we should really try to teach his mom.

6 months later:

And what even was more miraculous:

 

 

The recent convert, her son, baptized her.

 

The whole journey has been miracle after miracle and the many missionaries that brought them through the sites on tours and the many who met them in serving knows of the incredible miracles.

 

The joy they felt was overwhelming. Her son just kept telling her how proud he was of her.

 

There was an experience a few months ago when we were at their house teaching them a lesson when her son get's a guitar out and tells her she should play for us.

 

She began playing songs that she had sung to her son while he was growing up. His face lit up as he sung along with her.

 

Families are ordained of God.

 

The truth that Families are not only ordained of God but are also meant for eternity hit me harder than it ever had before.

 

They are the basic and most important unit.

 

They are so important that God has provided a way that we can live with them for eternity.

 

I have seen the miracles of a righteous family not only in this family but in my own too.

 

As my mission continues, it becomes more and more obvious that I would not be here if it wasn't for my family.

 

I know that we have a Heavenly Father and a Brother, Jesus Christ, who made the sacrifice for all of us.

 

Look towards your family and learn how to strengthen your own.

 

Pray to know what you can do to make your family more of what God meant it to be.

 

Have the influence on your children/spouse that will last into the eternities.

 

He will always strengthen us to serve his children, seek his love and grace.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 



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