Happiness: A Decision

Recently I had a quite an interesting day as a missionary!

We attended zone conference which is about a 25 mile drive and then we returned home. It wasn't until I walked in to the apartment that I realized we didn't have our phone, and that I left it under a tree back at zone conference. We drove all the way back and used 50 more miles just because I didn't remember the phone.

We helped a family with service that night in which I shattered a light bulb and then proceeded to sweep it all up.

Washed out the truck bed before we hauled things for a member in which we sprayed mud all over our white shirts and ties.

And finally we had clean checks the next morning so I had the opportunity to clean the toilet right before I called it a night.

Sounded like a pretty happy day, right?

Well let me tell you, It was an AWESOME day!

Looking back it made no sense why it was such a great day and as I thought of it more, I realized something.

The 3 hours we spent in the truck were some great times to talk to Elder Ipson and get to know each other just a little bit better! It also was a great opportunity to listen to uplifting music and really invite the spirit.

The family was very grateful for our help, even with the 10 cent broken light bulb.

We looked absolutely ridiculous at our meal appointment looking like Dalmatians from the mud and there was nothing I could do but laugh!

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves." (Doctrine & Covenants 58:28)

"We are agents to act, not objects to be acted upon." -Elder Bednar

YOU make the outcome. Choose to act, take charge of your life, and stop allowing excuses for your bad days. Bad days will come, but every bad day is given so we can grow. Don't complain, Grow.

All things are possible through our Savior Jesus Christ and his atonement.

In His name I close, Amen. 

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The Title of Liberty of Our Day...

"In Memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children."

I had a missionary give this lesson before I left. He read the line where Captain Moroni rents his clothing and the missionary then got up and tore his white shirt off (having another shirt and tag on under it.) Needless to say it was a pretty unforgettable lesson! At that moment in my life, as I was preparing to go on my mission, the adversary was really pushing my every weakness. I realized I needed exactly that, a Title of Liberty.

While preparing I didn't realize truly what my Title of Liberty was, however looking back it's very obvious. I was called as a temple worker and the temple became that Title of Liberty that made it possible to make it on a mission. 

There are several parallels: "People came running together... as a covenant that they should not forsake the Lord their God." "And it came to pass that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower." (Alma 47)

Temples are being built constantly and in very diverse places, they are truly being hoisted upon every tower.

While attending the temple once a week for a few months before my mission I felt stronger than I ever had before. As the temptations and trials increased, the blessings increased in turn also. I felt His love and I never felt overwhelmed by the temptations, or the fact that I was about to leave on a 2 year mission!

As we keep the Temple in our eyesight and "hoisted upon every tower" we will find that we will continually have an eternal perspective. As we truly treasure up in our minds Eternal life it will become very real. 

We read in the Bible Dictionary that, "the Lord gives us His Holy Spirit in this life as a foretaste of the joy of eternal life."

Seek an eternal perspective, and seek the spirit constantly in your lives. Make the temple your title of liberty and constantly be working towards it. As you do you will feel joy, a joy in which is just a "foretaste of the joy" that is awaiting us after this life.

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

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Perfection

"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." 3 Nephi 12:48

We are told to become perfect. The key word in what I just said is BECOME.

"The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can and must expect to BECOME better as long as we live." -Henry B. Eyring

We are saved through being perfect. How can we become perfect? Only through Christ's grace. 

How do we become worthy of Christ's grace? Through living his gospel. 

I get frustrated with myself every single day with the little things that I have trouble with. Why do I get mad at people? Why do I have a hard time talking with some people? Why do I not have enough courage to act on a prompting that I know is from God?

There are so many shortfalls in every day life that I am glad I can see, because even though they can become burdening, they always bring me back to relying on my Heavenly Father. 

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Ether 12:27

His grace is always sufficient. No matter how far we stray, how weak we are, how imperfect we are. That goal is achievable. It's not achievable in the next hour or next day, but in the next life. Don't expect to achieve it in this life because we are not meant to. We are to feel imperfect so we can turn to our Heavenly Father in humility. Turn to him, and he will make weak things become strong. 

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whom makes it all possible, Amen. 

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By Degrees...

Amalickiah is quite the evil man, in fact, he might even trump volde-- I mean he who must not be named.

His whole plan is to be king over the Lamanites so he can conquer the Nephites.

At one point he finds himself with a small army camping for the night at the bottom of a hill. (Alma 47:9)

He is preparing them to go to battle on the morrow but has another scheme in the background.

The whole time he is trying to meet with the leader of the other army, Lehonti. 

He tried to get him to come down and conference with him, and he refused.

He tried again only to get refused once more.

Refused on the third, once more.

On the fourth try he said that he would meet him and that Lehonti could "come down, and that he would bring his guards with him." (47:12)

Lehonti knew he shouldn't even mess with Amalickiah let alone meet with him, but Amalickiah made him feel safe and allowed him to come down from his stronghold with his guards.

Through trickery Amalickiah manipulates Lehonti into combining armies and putting him second in charge.

Amalickiah then poisons Lehonti "by degrees..." (47:18) and becomes leader over the Army.

We are in our strongholds as we read and pray. Satan does not necessarily attack our strong holds but makes us feel safe enough to leave them and meet him half way.

Never does Satan make it obvious his plans, and never are they easily detected.

He will poison us by degrees every time we leave our stronghold.

Do not leave your stronghold, continue to pray and read the words of God. They will always protect you. Never go down, never even give Satan the time of day, because when we do, that is when he can begin to administer the poison. 

With the Lord anything is possible, and he will always be our song and  our Joy as long as we come closer to him. "Great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." (2 Nephi 22)

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Never Stop Making Preparations...

"Yea... I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the powers of hell would have been shaken forever." (Alma 48:17)

Nobody can deny the awesomeness of Moroni. He is one of the greatest role models in the Book of Mormon and has some of the coolest stories!

He teaches us an invaluable lesson about how we can combat Satan.

Up to this point he just won a huge victory over the Lamanites, A.K.A. The Nephite's nemeses.

Instead of relaxing because of the great victory, this is what he does:

"And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people... he caused his armies should commence... in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities..."
(Alma 50:1)

Moroni NEVER stopped preparing.

When we finally win a victory over Satan, that is the time when we need to continue prayer, church attendance, and scripture study.

Too often do we forget to strengthen our borders when life gets easy, that's the time when we need to strengthen them the most.

Satan didn't win this time, but the minute we let our guard down, he will always come up with something bigger and better.

So read.

Pray.

Always build up your borders on the foundation of Christ

and the Lord has promised:

they will NEVER fail.

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It's the Little Things...

One of my favorite questions to ask people is how they became converted unto Christ!

Everybody has a unique way that God worked in their life to bring them unto him.

Reading this morning, I came across the conversion story of none other than Alma the younger himself! Alma Chapter 36.

Alma has quite the incredible conversion story filled with angels and miracles. However when we hear him tell his son his story we see what really converted him.

"While I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ..." (36:17)

The Angel reminded him and confounded him in his sins, amongst the suffering he remembered one of his father's teachings from the past.

As we read on we see this changed everything for him.

"Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me... I could remember my pains no more... And oh, what joy as exceeding as my pain!" (36:19-20)

His pain was turned into joy and he was converted unto Christ!

His conversion was purely based on his father's teachings in the past. Did his father think that his teaching helped his son when he shared it? His son sure didn't change at that time! However down the road it made all the difference.

As we come across people always be looking for times to help others and to go about doing good.

You may not see the affect of it now, but who knows what affect it will have on their lives in the future.

Let the light of Christ shine through you and the way you live!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Rejoicing in the Success of Others

I find it so interesting that sometimes we see someone else doing really good, and we get jealous and mad that it isn't us with that recognition.

When a football team scores a point the whole team isn't mad because they weren't the ones to run that ball across the line.

In basketball the person who gets an assist isn't mad because he wasn't able to score himself.

Volleyball, just because they aren't able to be the one to spike it over the net doesn't mean they are angry or jealous of the person that scored.

The reason why they rejoice in their team-mates success in scoring is because it took an effort from all of them to make it possible. It's exactly because that, they view the person getting recognition as a team-mate.

In life are we not all on the same team?

Life is a team effort. Success and recognition is never the result of one person's effort.

"But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren." (Alma 29:14)

When we see other's receiving recognition, remember that we are all on the same team! Rejoice with them! In all reality, i'm sure you helped them reach that goal sometime in their life.

Love everybody and rejoice with everybody, especially in times of success.

"My soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy." (29:16)

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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