Testimonies of God

In our lives, we very often pass by very beautiful things. Often, these things are considered ordinary or everyday. For instance, how often do you pause to truly appreciate how beautiful a flower is? It truly is a wonder. It is beautiful, complex, and vibrantly colored.

Everything in this world is organized perfectly. The world has many natural beauties that help to enjoy our lives more fully.

All of it points to God. He is the one that made this world and everything in it. Alma, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, put it best:

"...All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44)

God really does love us. All it takes to know that is to look around you. You will find Him everywhere.

Skyline

  Say "hello" to Skyline District! These are some wonderful missionaries that I've been very privileged to spend the last six weeks with. We've helped one another and supported one another in the work of the Lord.

  Missionary work is very organized so everybody knows where and what their responsibility is. A district is a basic group and is part of a zone. A few zones make a full mission.

  In the Book of Mormon, we learn that "the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls." (Moroni 6:5) Our district follows this pattern and meets together at least once a week in order to learn how to be better missionaries. We discuss problems that we have been having and hear advice from other missionaries. We do whatever we can to lift one another up and help each other out. That is what brothers and sisters in Christ do.

A Band of Christians (Pun Fully Intended)

  "...He bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—" (Alma 46:13, boldness added)

  A young girl in one of the wards we serve in made these for us today. We really like them, partly because they are designed after us. But also partly because its touching that she would spend her time to make them for us (and of us). A lot of people have been doing very kind things for us lately and it has helped me to see just how much our brothers and sisters in the Church really do care for us. There are many large acts of kindness, such as how members of the Church sign up to feed us dinner every night. But there are also many small and quiet acts of kindness, such as these little rubber-band missionaries being made for us.

  I have found that the more devoted somebody is to their testimony of Jesus Christ, the more like Him they become and the kinder and more charitable to others they become as part of that. Our Savior motivates us and encourages us to be good and to do good, especially as far as others are concerned.

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an enormous part of that. It helps us find opportunities to lift and help one another. It truly makes us brothers and sisters in our heavenly family. That is what it means to be a "band of Christians".

Luau!

  A few days ago, one of the wards (or congregations) that we serve in had a Luau! It was a great time full of great food. A couple of people tried to get my Tongan companion, Elder Moli, to do some Polynesian dancing but he didn't go for it. Which is a shame, because all of us would have loved to see him do some fire dancing. (He can't actually fire dance.)

  Activities like this are really meant to bring the ward closer together and help us show people that "those crazy Mormon people" really are good people. We are followers of Jesus Christ and we show that in our everyday living. We believe in living good, moral lives. We believe in helping those around us. We believe in looking after one another and this luau was one way of doing that. It helped us and the members of the ward have time to spend together and just talk and get to know one another. It was nice.

  I know that Jesus Christ knows every one of us. He loves us. He wants us to look after one another.

  That can be fun.

Holiness to the Lord

Two of my companions! I love them both!

  Today we got to go to the Mesa Temple again! We get to do this every six weeks and I always look forward to this trip. Honestly, I absolutely love going to the temple. It is very easy to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost at the temple, even just on the grounds outside. It is the house of the Lord, and He wants us to know its significance.

  Part of the reason I love the temple so much is because it helps me think eternally. Life has a lot of problems. Mine usually aren't so bad compared to others that I've come across, but they are still hard to deal with. But when I go to the temple, it helps me realize that those problems will fade with time. All of those problems are limited. All of them have an ending point. God is not limited. God does not have an ending point. He is infinite and eternal.

  In Matthew 16:19, Jesus Christ gives Peter this promise: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." That sealing power exists on Earth today. In the temples, families are sealed together for eternity and will live together with God forever. That is a blessing that never fades.

  I am very grateful for the temple. Problems will come and go, but the blessings of the temple are eternal.

Holiness to the Lord

The House of the Lord

A Wayward Child of God (Poem by Elder James Romney)

Weep, thou veiled heavens.
Rain down thy tears for me.
Come forth, thou wailing wind
And screech thy melody.

The elements themselves
Cry out with all their might,
Filled with dread and wonder
To see my shocking plight.

The very God of all
Shaped my immortal soul.
Yet I have turned from Him
And spurned His holy role.

The grace of Christ was mine,
As it had always been,
But I have turned my face
Toward the sins of men.

Wherefore does my heart shake
And quiver with such fright
At being brought to stand
Before Him in His light?

Oh, Christ, my Redeemer,
Whose hand I have refused,
Please stretch it forth once more
Before my soul I lose.

I need Thee evermore.
Hide not Thyself from me.
For now my broken heart
Is pulling me to Thee.

My hope in Thee is full,
Held firm by stable trust,
To know Christ, my Savior,
The King of all is just.


  The thought of rejecting our Savior's help is terrifying. He always invites us to come unto Him, and we should never delay following that invitation. We need His help, not only in our darkest hour but in our brightest day as well.

A Surprise Heart Attack

  We got a nice surprise on Valentine's Day. Some mysterious visitors came by and "heart attacked" our apartment door! They cut out a bunch of paper hearts (most of which you can't see in the picture) and some Valentine's candy and they taped it to our door to surprise us.

  It really is little moments like this that make life worth living. Those little moments where somebody goes out of their way to do something small for you, just to see you smile or even just to know you smiled. Sometimes people don't know how much those little acts of charity mean.

  And that's really what it is. "Charity". Charity is the pure love of Christ, a love for other people. Somebody with charity just wants to see somebody else be happy. It doesn't matter to them if they get recognition for it. They are not doing it for any selfish reason. They do it purely for the other person.

  We are so lucky that there are people like that, but most especially our Savior. He was the perfect example of true charity. He suffered, died, and was resurrected for each one of us. He is happy when we are happy. We should work to be like that. It comes in every day living. A smile for somebody that looks down, a phone call to a lonely friend, or a heart attack. The good kind of heart attack.

  I am grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it helps me to become a better person. It helps me develop charity. It helps me become closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. It is His Church.