What a Wonderful World

    A lot of people these days do not stop and smell the roses. I have always tried to. I have always been one of those people that, if walking outside at night, will look up in awe at the starry sky. I love camping, I love being outside, I love the simple pleasures in life. What do I think about as I marvel at the night sky, or at the tall cliffs on the shore of California's beaches? I think about their Creator. "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:" (Col 1:16).

    God has created all things. From humans, as complex and amazing as our own bodies are, to the simplest plant at the bottom of the rain forest floor in Brazil. This is such a beautiful world. And it is such a gift to live here. We need to have gratitude for the simple things in life that we have, that God has given us. How would you feel if you gave someone a gift and they never thanked you or even expressed joy for the gift? Like dirt, right? I always wonder how our Heavenly Father feels when we are ungrateful towards the wonderful gifts he has given us.
   My ability to walk was almost taken from me 6 years ago this month. I will forever be grateful for the simple ability to still be able to run across a basketball court without much effort, or throw a baseball. The old saying goes "you don't know what you have until you lose it." Too many times I have caught myself in that situation. We should thank God for all the things He has given us. We have so much to thank Him for, we must always show gratitude to the one who has given us everything.

Man's Best Friend

   No, I am not talking about the one that wags his tail when you get home and begs to play outside and chews up your couch. I am talking about a guide. This guide can be our best friend, if we let him...
   There are a lot of misconceptions about the Holy Ghost. What is it? Or who is it? What does he/it do? Why is he/it important? A lot of churches teach different things about his role. (Yes, I am going to refer to the Holy Ghost as "he").
   He is the 3rd member of the Godhead. Yes, they are separate beings: God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. They all are separate beings but work as "one" in purpose. The role of the Holy Ghost is to show us truth. John 14:26 says: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." He is there to guide us and teach us. But only if we let him. There are a few requirements on our part in order to receive this guide or "comforter." Peter in the book of Acts says "...repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38). In order to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we must be repent and be baptized. But that baptism must come by the proper authority, as does the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. We need the Holy Ghost in order to get through this life. He is like the flashlight that helps us see the path in front of us. We can avoid a lot of bumps and holes in the road by his guidance. He is that little voice that whispers "Don't do that" when you are about to do something wrong. He is also the feeling of joy and love when you are keeping the commandments and staying on the path. He testifies to us of truth. But here's the catch....
    We must always be worthy in order to receive his guidance and inspiration. He does not dwell in "unholy places" as the scriptures say. Elijah describes the Holy Ghost as a still small voice. If we are too busy or too preoccupied, we will miss it. In the Book of Ether, the Lord says "for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man." (Ether 2:15). The Spirit will not fight for our attention. If we don't pay heed to his whisperings, he will discontinue dwelling within us. He is like Jiminy Cricket from the movie "Pinocchio." He tries to guide Pinocchio to do the right things, but ultimately the choice is his whether or not to do it. Jiminy lets him do his own thing after a while because he was tired of Pinocchio not listening to him. Such it is with the Holy Ghost...It is also like a quarterback in football. His team is on the road, playing in the opponent's stadium. That crowd can get loud. If the crowd is too loud, the QB will not be able to call the play right, and the offense gets confused or it will result in a penalty. If our lives are too "loud" for the Holy Ghost, he can't call the play. He can't lead you to victory. Quiet the crowd a little and listen to him. You might want to listen to what he has to say. He is always guiding you in the direction your Heavenly Father wants you to go. He truly can be "man's best friend"...If you let him!

God Needs a Pinch Hitter, Will You Step Up to the Plate?

   If you have spent at least 5 minutes around me, you know I love sports. Especially baseball. I love them because there are so many parallels to life lessons in every sport. It's so easy to turn them into analogies about life. So here is my attempt to make one...
   The bases are loaded, in the the bottom of the 9th inning, you are down by 1. You have been sitting on the bench all game waiting for a chance to prove yourself and get in the game. The coach decides to put you in as a "pinch-hitter" which means he will substitute you in the game for whoever was supposed to bat at that time. So you will hit in the place of that person. But the person you are hitting for happened to be the best hitter on the team. The coach just wanted you to have a shot at success. So now it's up to you. You are up to bat, the bases are loaded in the 9th inning. The question is...can you deliver?
   God, our Heavenly Father, is our coach. He tells us what we need to do in this life to be successful and return to Him. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is our exemplar. He came to earth and established His church by His authority, the priesthood. This priesthood he also gave to his disciples to act in His name. As He gave them this authority, He told them "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" (Matthew 28:19). They were to act in His name as they preached the gospel and establish the church. He chose them to do it. Jesus Christ is the "best hitter on the team." God has restored that priesthood on the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That priesthood is given to every worthy man. This priesthood is the ability to act in the name of Jesus Christ to do such things as perform baptisms, heal the sick, give blessings, and preach the gospel. Since we are acting in the name  of Jesus Christ as holders of the priesthood, we are, in a sense, pinch-hitting for Christ as we minister to the sick, guide the Church, baptize, and preach the gospel.
   "Many are called, few are chosen" as the scriptures say. We could change that into "many are on the team, few are chosen to play." When we receive the priesthood, we are called into the game. We are the pinch-hitter in that tight spot. Acting in the name of Christ. He needs us to deliver. Will we be ready to step up to the plate? When the "coach" motions in our direction to go into the game, will we come through in the clutch? Or will we strike out? Anyone can play, so long as they are worthy. God has restored His priesthood, His Authority to the earth and given it to men once again. We must honor and cherish that privilege. We must do our duty: minister unto the sick and poor, bless our families, guide and lead the church as well as preach the gospel. That is our call. Let us all be ready to be called on when the game is on the line. Let's drive in that winning run instead of strike out. Let us all magnify our callings in the priesthood. God calls to us: "arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;" (2 Nephi 1:21). God needs a pinch-hitter, will you step up to the plate?

The Gift of Time

  Our Heavenly Father has given us many gifts. He has given us everything we have. One of the greatest assets is the gift of time.
 Do we use this gift wisely?
   Elder Ian S. Ardern of the Seventy said "time is never for sale. ("A Time to Prepare" Ian S. Ardern, Ensign Nov. 2011). There are many great ways to use this great gift of time that is so precious and priceless. How often do we pass the time doing useless things such as video games, watching TV sitcoms, sleeping too late, and many more unproductive activities? Time is precious.
   Today's world is a world of chaos, commotion and instant gratification. It may be hard at times to "stop and smell the roses" as they say. It can be pretty easy to be spread too thin. But from time to time, we need to check ourselves to make sure our priorities are in order. How often everyday are we giving ourselves time for scripture study? Personal prayer? I'm not talking about the prayer in the morning where you turn off the alarm and get on your knees and fall asleep again in the prayer position by your bed. I'm talking about a sincere conversation with our Heavenly Father. How often to we do that? He wants to here from us. He has given us everything, can't we give just a little time each day back to Him? The job that you commute to frantically...He gave you that. The kids you run around taking care of...He gave you those. The technology you always play around with...He blessed you with that. He has so richly blessed us. We must devote time to Him.
   Now, nobody is perfect and I ain't saying I am. We all do things that might need to be lowered on our priority list. At the same time, God wants us to be happy and not be so stressed. He is happy when we are happy. Even when it's a simple pleasure such as going to a baseball game. There's nothing wrong with that. But we must be careful with what consumes our time. There must be a balance to everything we do. Leave enough time for family, for work, physical exercise, relaxation, but most importantly the things pertaining to the gospel. We owe it to our Heavenly Father. He loves us so much and He wants us back. He wants us to be happy. I promise that we will find happiness as we devote more time to our Father in Heaven.

Let God Help

   I have been very blessed to see a lot of success in Ridgeland, SC. The miracles seem to pour in unceasingly. Every time I see someone get baptized, it strengthens my testimony of the reality of this gospel. This past Sunday, Melissa was baptized. She is a great example of faith. I have never seen anyone who wanted a remission of their sins as badly as she did. She left so much behind and left so much at the mercy of the Lord. She truly trusts in her Heavenly Father. I have never seen anything quite like it.
   Trusting in our Heavenly Father is something we can all do more. How much do we rely on ourselves? Nephi in the Book of Mormon teaches us that it's better to trust the Lord than the "arm of the flesh" (see 2 Nephi 4:34-35). We as humans are very prone to only trust ourselves and in our own  abilities. This is especially true in men. We tell ourselves "I don't need help. I'm fine. I can handle this on my own." Don't lie to yourself. Be humble enough to get on your knees and ask your Almighty Father for help. He will help us. He is so willing and ready to help us...but we need to ask Him.
    We need to trust in Him even when it seems all is working against us. Think of the story of Job. He lost his house, his family was killed, he was afflicted with all sorts of physical ailments, and he lost his property. Yet he said  "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." (Job 13:15). We can talk to Him about anything. Our prayers are supposed to be sincere and from the heart, not anything memorized or without feeling. Talk to Him as you would talk to your best friend about your problems. He will listen. He wants to help. All you have to do is let Him...
   Prayer is an amazing gift from our Heavenly Father. It is a direct communication with Him, there is no middle man, you don't have to wait to get signal. You always have signal with Heavenly Father. You are never roaming alone. All you have to do is ask the Father in the name of Christ in faith, and "whatsoever ye shall ask...it shall be given unto you." (3 Nephi 18:20). Let God help, ask Him in prayer for anything. He always answers, He never rejects or ignores your call. He listens. He knows you, He loves you, and He wants to help. Let Him.

Christ Runs This Team

   I would like to add on to my analogy I mentioned in my previous blog. I love sports, especially football because there are so many truths and lessons learned in sports that apply to everyday life.
So here goes round 2:
   Most football stadiums, including all college and professional stadiums, have what is called a "press box." It is a location on the side of the stadium mounted higher than the stands. This is where some of the teams' coaches sit during the games. Usually the offensive coordinator for both teams sit in this press box. They each sit in there with a headset on, enabling them to talk to the head coach on the field and give them advice and tell them what they see. This enables the head coach to then call a play and tell the players what they need to do to be successful during the game. What he tells the players is based on the advice and counsel given from the offensive coordinator sitting "upstairs" in the press box. The coordinator sitting in the press box can see all. He can see how the defense lines up, what the other coaches are doing, how his team is matching up with the opposing team. He relays information to the head coach to benefit the whole team.
   We remember from my previous post how the head coach is the prophet, the mouthpiece of God on earth. This is still true in this case. Who is the offensive coordinator? Jesus Christ himself. Why? He can see all. He tells the prophet what is coming, what He sees, what needs to be done to be successful in this life. He runs this church, this team. He is the one sitting "upstairs." Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of our Heavenly Father, guiding us. He doesn't need a headset to relay information, however. How does He relay information to the head coach, AKA our prophet? Modern revelation. He sees what the opposition, Satan, is throwing at us better than we do. With His view, He can tell us through the prophet what we need to do to be successful and overcome Satan. He knows what is ahead, He knows how to win this game, this game of life. All we have to do is heed the guidance given to our head coach, Thomas S. Monson. Because he is getting his guidance directly from "upstairs" in the press box called "heaven."