God loves us so much. He truly wants us to be happy in this life. That is why He gave us families. Families are ordained of God. (Meaning marriage between a man and woman is a divine principle, not just a nice suggestion). My family means so much to me. Being a missionary, you can't see your family for 2 years. And throughout my mission I have realized times when I took my family for granted. It's the old saying "You don't know what you have until you lose it." I had great parents who taught me the ways of our Lord. I am the oldest of 5 children in my family. I have so many great memories with my family.
The reason why I annoy people with how much I love sports is because I associate my passion for sports with my family. I grew up watching games on TV with my dad, going to Padres games with my family, and just spending quality time together watching a game or going to one. My dad was also my baseball coach in for 6 years. That really meant a lot to me as well. He took the time from work and his church obligations to teach me and my peers the game of baseball.That meant the world to me. He took the time to take road trips and take me to a BYU football game. I have so many great memories that tie in sports with my family. My family is everything.
God intended for all of us to grow in a loving, united family, an atmosphere conducive to the Spirit and to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not only the chief cornerstone of this church (Ephesians 2:20), but should also be the foundation of each household. God wants all of us to be in a home where a father and mother live together in harmony and love, raising their children together. There are so many broken homes nowadays. This may result from fornication, adultery, alcoholism, or other things. I do understand that there are some instances beyond the family's control, such as death and accidents, that make it impossible to have a father and mother in the home. But for most cases, it can be avoided and should be. The choices we make today effect our families, whether they be current or future families. What are you learning or doing today to better yourself as a father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister? Everyone needs to work together to make a family successful. It does not all lie on the parents...
Though my family is imperfect, I always feel loved and cared about in my home. Everyone (for the most part) gets along and at the end of the day, we all love each other. The home is the best place to learn about our Savior and God's plan for us. Much of the world uses their homes for yelling, fighting, abusing, and neglecting. We all will be accountable for how we treat our families, as a child and parent, at God's judgement. I know my parents love me, and they taught me so much about my Savior and about His church. I am grateful for them and their example to me. If I didn't have a home support, I do not know where I would be. Probably not wearing a shirt and tie in 92 degrees in North Florida....
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Friday, August 31, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Kickoff A New Life
God has given us so many gifts. I have mentioned several in my blogs thus far. One that has become more personal to me during my mission is the gift of repentance. We are so imperfect. Every single day it seems, we do something we regret. How come God loves us so much? Because we are His children. That is why. I may not be a parent yet but I can sure say that I have done a lot of stupid things in my life but my parents still love me. He is the same. Even more so, since He is perfect. Repentance truly is a gift:
"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved." (3 Nephi 9:22)
We can all be saved if we come unto Him asking for forgiveness. We must "confess and forsake" our sins. Confessing means to tell the Lord what we did and ask for forgiveness and also, if necessary, going to a church leader for more serious sins so they can help us repent fully. Forsake simply means to stop doing the sin. If we go back to the same sin, we really have not repented at all. Repenting means to turn back. To start a new life, in line with God's will...
In light of the football season about to start (No I cannot watch it but the clock installed in me senses it is time for football), we must remember that we must seek to change our lives to be more in line with God's. We must kickoff a new life, a life for God and His will. In football, a kickoff starts everything over again. New opportunities arise for your team. No matter what happened, who scored or how they scored, a kickoff starts it over (everything but the score that is). Repentance gives us that opportunity. We can start over. We can become better and improve on our past mistakes. Let us all kickoff a new life, repenting of our shortcomings and mistakes and seek to be better people. People that follow Christ closely. I know that as we repent, and align our lives with the will of our Father in Heaven's, we will see blessings. And those blessings will increase exponentially as we seek every day to get better, to be a little better than yesterday.
"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved." (3 Nephi 9:22)
We can all be saved if we come unto Him asking for forgiveness. We must "confess and forsake" our sins. Confessing means to tell the Lord what we did and ask for forgiveness and also, if necessary, going to a church leader for more serious sins so they can help us repent fully. Forsake simply means to stop doing the sin. If we go back to the same sin, we really have not repented at all. Repenting means to turn back. To start a new life, in line with God's will...
In light of the football season about to start (No I cannot watch it but the clock installed in me senses it is time for football), we must remember that we must seek to change our lives to be more in line with God's. We must kickoff a new life, a life for God and His will. In football, a kickoff starts everything over again. New opportunities arise for your team. No matter what happened, who scored or how they scored, a kickoff starts it over (everything but the score that is). Repentance gives us that opportunity. We can start over. We can become better and improve on our past mistakes. Let us all kickoff a new life, repenting of our shortcomings and mistakes and seek to be better people. People that follow Christ closely. I know that as we repent, and align our lives with the will of our Father in Heaven's, we will see blessings. And those blessings will increase exponentially as we seek every day to get better, to be a little better than yesterday.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
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."
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."
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Thomas S. Monson: Our Head Coach
What makes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints so unique?
The word "restoration" is defined in the dictionary as "the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment." Our message is that the church that Christ himself organized has been restored, or renewed, or it has been revived and reestablished. This church IS that very church that Christ organized.
Why was this restoration necessary?
Christ established His church while He was on the earth. He called 12 apostles to run His church (see Luke 6:13). As we all know, eventually Christ was rejected and crucified. Also, all of his apostles were eventually rejected and killed one by one, until no one was alive that could run the Church of Christ. The people had rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father took the Church off the earth, including all the prophets and authority, because of wickedness. This time period is called the Great Apostasy. Let's look at it from a football point of view:
A football team has a lot of key components that helps the team run and win games. Not one piece can do it all himself. Imagine a big time coach of an SEC football team. Let's take Steve Spurrier of the South Carolina Gamecocks football team for example. Let's say for one game, he decides to not show up for the game against Alabama. And none of his coaches on his coaching staff show up either. The Gamecocks are without an entire coaching staff for the big game with Alabama. South Carolina takes the field with just the players, absolutely no coaches. The players are still going to try and play the game. They have practiced and they feel they can go on without help from the coaches. Let's throw in another wrench. Every play must be ran as such: before each play, the team opens it up to the crowd and the fans to decide what play to run. They take suggestions from the crowd of 60,000+ people every single play. That would be confusing right? People would be shouting random, different things all over the place. The team would have a hard time deciding what play to run, much less running it successfully. They would try their best to execute the suggested play but against such a fierce team in Alabama, they would be destroyed.
Here's the translation:
During this time of the "Great Apostasy," there was no prophet, no apostles, no authority and no real church of Christ. The people in the world at this time were left without coaches. Without leaders ordained of God. They were forced to try and make it on their own. They tried their best,but the world told them many different things about the Bible. They heard hundreds of interpretations of the Bible and they could never agree or decide which one was the right one to go with. They didn't know what play to run. They were confused. They were going off of the wrong source, the world. Because they didn't have any coaches, or a head coach...a prophet with that authority from God. The head coach and the coaching staff have that authority on the sidelines to interpret the playbook ("scriptures" for an offense) on a football team. Without that authority, the team would be crushed. Without prophets and apostles and other leaders with that authority from God, the church would crumble and the ultimate opposition, Satan, would win. The head coach directs his players (which represents people in the world) on what play to run to overcome the opposition. If we take advice from the crowd (interpretations of man), we will be confused and eventually lose. We have a prophet on earth today. He is our head coach standing on the sidelines in mortal life. His name is Thomas S. Monson, and he is our head coach today. If we pay attention to him, and the playbook (scriptures), we will not lose. The authority has been restored to the earth to run the Church of Christ, which is, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The word "restoration" is defined in the dictionary as "the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment." Our message is that the church that Christ himself organized has been restored, or renewed, or it has been revived and reestablished. This church IS that very church that Christ organized.
Why was this restoration necessary?
Christ established His church while He was on the earth. He called 12 apostles to run His church (see Luke 6:13). As we all know, eventually Christ was rejected and crucified. Also, all of his apostles were eventually rejected and killed one by one, until no one was alive that could run the Church of Christ. The people had rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father took the Church off the earth, including all the prophets and authority, because of wickedness. This time period is called the Great Apostasy. Let's look at it from a football point of view:
A football team has a lot of key components that helps the team run and win games. Not one piece can do it all himself. Imagine a big time coach of an SEC football team. Let's take Steve Spurrier of the South Carolina Gamecocks football team for example. Let's say for one game, he decides to not show up for the game against Alabama. And none of his coaches on his coaching staff show up either. The Gamecocks are without an entire coaching staff for the big game with Alabama. South Carolina takes the field with just the players, absolutely no coaches. The players are still going to try and play the game. They have practiced and they feel they can go on without help from the coaches. Let's throw in another wrench. Every play must be ran as such: before each play, the team opens it up to the crowd and the fans to decide what play to run. They take suggestions from the crowd of 60,000+ people every single play. That would be confusing right? People would be shouting random, different things all over the place. The team would have a hard time deciding what play to run, much less running it successfully. They would try their best to execute the suggested play but against such a fierce team in Alabama, they would be destroyed.
Here's the translation:
During this time of the "Great Apostasy," there was no prophet, no apostles, no authority and no real church of Christ. The people in the world at this time were left without coaches. Without leaders ordained of God. They were forced to try and make it on their own. They tried their best,but the world told them many different things about the Bible. They heard hundreds of interpretations of the Bible and they could never agree or decide which one was the right one to go with. They didn't know what play to run. They were confused. They were going off of the wrong source, the world. Because they didn't have any coaches, or a head coach...a prophet with that authority from God. The head coach and the coaching staff have that authority on the sidelines to interpret the playbook ("scriptures" for an offense) on a football team. Without that authority, the team would be crushed. Without prophets and apostles and other leaders with that authority from God, the church would crumble and the ultimate opposition, Satan, would win. The head coach directs his players (which represents people in the world) on what play to run to overcome the opposition. If we take advice from the crowd (interpretations of man), we will be confused and eventually lose. We have a prophet on earth today. He is our head coach standing on the sidelines in mortal life. His name is Thomas S. Monson, and he is our head coach today. If we pay attention to him, and the playbook (scriptures), we will not lose. The authority has been restored to the earth to run the Church of Christ, which is, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Broken Necks and Strengthened Testimonies
A true blessing that we have from the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of the priesthood. It is what runs the Church. The prophet himself all the way down to the most humble of 12 year-old young men can hold this sacred power from God. Of course, there are a few prerequisites for such a privilege. God has given the priesthood power to men all throughout time. Moses, Adam, Abraham, and Noah all had it. This is the sacred power by which baptisms are performed. The sole purpose of the priesthood is to bless the lives of others.
My life was blessed by this very power...
In August of 2006, I was about to start my first ever season of high school football. My dad had played high school and college football and I grew up watching it all my life, I really wanted to play. I had no idea what to expect. A few days before I started "two-a day" practices for the first time, the dad of one of my good friends, who also was a highly respected leader of the Church in the area of Escondido, CA, suggested that I ask my dad for a priesthood blessing before I started practicing. I heeded his suggestion. My dad blessed me with safety and protection. I had a warm feeling in my heart and I knew everything would be OK.
The next day, practice started bright and early. We did 2 days of practice without hitting or tackling each other. That all changed that Thursday. We put on our gold helmets and shoulder pads for the first time and started to play "real" football. I was assigned to play the position of middle linebacker. So my main job was to hit anyone who was carrying the football as hard as I could. During a drill in which I was to try and tackle our quarterback, who was about 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than me. For this drill, we had to start off by laying on our backs until the whistle blew. I lay down on the prickly, sun-scorched grass staring up at the clear blue sky through my facemask. The quarterback was 10 yards away from me, also laying down. The whistle blows. I scramble to my feet as fast as I can and I stumble. I struggled to stand up in time, and right as I start to raise my head I see a gold blur right in front of me and I immediately feel as if a train had hit me head-on. A bright white light flashes as our helmets collide, his helmet making contact with the top of mine. I instantly feel a sharp, lightning quick pain shoot down my spine. I fall to the ground stunned, unable to talk or move. I close my eyes in sheer pain and open them again to see all my coaches and 2 members of the medical staff surrounding me with very concerned looks on their faces. My arms and legs feel tingly and unresponsive. The ambulance comes and immediately takes me to the emergency room. I am strapped to a metal neck brace and stretcher, with all my gear still on. I manage to ask the medic in the ambulance if I was going to be paralyzed. He gave me a disheartening shrug. I get examined and X-rays as I am still strapped to my stretcher. They move me to a room by myself as they wait for the results. My parents show up and I will never forget my mom's face as she walked into the room, seeing me still with full football gear on unable to move. A few hours pass and the results finally come in...
The doctor comes in and looks at me and says "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is you broke your neck. The good news is that you broke your neck in the best way possible." He then tells us how he doesn't know how I am not paralyzed. He is astonished at how forceful the impact was and how precise and perfect the fracture in my 7th cervical bone in my neck was. It was broken in place. If the bone would have moved a few millimeters out of place, I would have been a paraplegic and I would not be typing this right now. That is a miracle. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that, because I received a priesthood blessing, I was protected. The doctor told us I was so close to making headline news with a story about a high school football player breaking his neck and never walking again. But that was not the case. I was protected because of the priesthood and my faith in it. I recovered in 11 weeks and I was able to play the final 3 games of our season and I played football all 4 years of high school. I was blessed because of the faithfulness and worthiness of my dad giving me that blessing.
The priesthood is real. It has been restored with Christ's church. I am a witness that it works. The priesthood works. Faith works. God blessed me and protected me. I have seen many miracles come to pass because of the priesthood. But they all weren't of that great magnitude. The priesthood is involved in many of the little things we do in the church, not just for the miraculous healings. Every worthy man can hold the priesthood, and they all should work to get it and remain worthy to hold this sacred privilege.
My life was blessed by this very power...
In August of 2006, I was about to start my first ever season of high school football. My dad had played high school and college football and I grew up watching it all my life, I really wanted to play. I had no idea what to expect. A few days before I started "two-a day" practices for the first time, the dad of one of my good friends, who also was a highly respected leader of the Church in the area of Escondido, CA, suggested that I ask my dad for a priesthood blessing before I started practicing. I heeded his suggestion. My dad blessed me with safety and protection. I had a warm feeling in my heart and I knew everything would be OK.
The next day, practice started bright and early. We did 2 days of practice without hitting or tackling each other. That all changed that Thursday. We put on our gold helmets and shoulder pads for the first time and started to play "real" football. I was assigned to play the position of middle linebacker. So my main job was to hit anyone who was carrying the football as hard as I could. During a drill in which I was to try and tackle our quarterback, who was about 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than me. For this drill, we had to start off by laying on our backs until the whistle blew. I lay down on the prickly, sun-scorched grass staring up at the clear blue sky through my facemask. The quarterback was 10 yards away from me, also laying down. The whistle blows. I scramble to my feet as fast as I can and I stumble. I struggled to stand up in time, and right as I start to raise my head I see a gold blur right in front of me and I immediately feel as if a train had hit me head-on. A bright white light flashes as our helmets collide, his helmet making contact with the top of mine. I instantly feel a sharp, lightning quick pain shoot down my spine. I fall to the ground stunned, unable to talk or move. I close my eyes in sheer pain and open them again to see all my coaches and 2 members of the medical staff surrounding me with very concerned looks on their faces. My arms and legs feel tingly and unresponsive. The ambulance comes and immediately takes me to the emergency room. I am strapped to a metal neck brace and stretcher, with all my gear still on. I manage to ask the medic in the ambulance if I was going to be paralyzed. He gave me a disheartening shrug. I get examined and X-rays as I am still strapped to my stretcher. They move me to a room by myself as they wait for the results. My parents show up and I will never forget my mom's face as she walked into the room, seeing me still with full football gear on unable to move. A few hours pass and the results finally come in...The doctor comes in and looks at me and says "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is you broke your neck. The good news is that you broke your neck in the best way possible." He then tells us how he doesn't know how I am not paralyzed. He is astonished at how forceful the impact was and how precise and perfect the fracture in my 7th cervical bone in my neck was. It was broken in place. If the bone would have moved a few millimeters out of place, I would have been a paraplegic and I would not be typing this right now. That is a miracle. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that, because I received a priesthood blessing, I was protected. The doctor told us I was so close to making headline news with a story about a high school football player breaking his neck and never walking again. But that was not the case. I was protected because of the priesthood and my faith in it. I recovered in 11 weeks and I was able to play the final 3 games of our season and I played football all 4 years of high school. I was blessed because of the faithfulness and worthiness of my dad giving me that blessing.
The priesthood is real. It has been restored with Christ's church. I am a witness that it works. The priesthood works. Faith works. God blessed me and protected me. I have seen many miracles come to pass because of the priesthood. But they all weren't of that great magnitude. The priesthood is involved in many of the little things we do in the church, not just for the miraculous healings. Every worthy man can hold the priesthood, and they all should work to get it and remain worthy to hold this sacred privilege.
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