The Little Drummer Boy

With Christmas coming soon, I am very excited for many things! One major thing that we as missionaries get to do on Christmas is calling our families! As a missionary I only get to communicate with my family once a week through email, so getting to call home is a great opportunity that I am very thankful for! However, besides all the presents and candy and food, what is Christmas all about? It is about the birth of The Savior, who has brought us something even better than a phone call home! In about a year and a few months I will be heading home from my mission because my two year service will end. I will be returning home just because that is what happens after a period of missionaries service has ended. But  Jesus Christ, however has brought  us the opportunity to be able to return to live with God after our time on this earth is up! Being able to return to live with God is something that would not have been possible without Jesus Christ.

The Joseph Smith Experience

All people have a problem of some sort, each of these problems can be solved through the gospel of Jesus Christ. One must take the steps necessary to receive the help they are looking for. What is that step that we should take to find the solutions to our problems? The very first thing we must do to find the solution to our problems is to come to know that the gospel is true for ourselves.

How does one come to know that it is true? There are the simples answers that we always hear, like read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. This statement is true, and it is probably the most important thing that someone can do to know if the Gospel is true. But there are further steps that we can do to find an answer.

Confounding of False Doctrine

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different Christian churches? Have you ever wondered why they all teach so many different things? In the  Bible we read  that there is “ One Lord, One Faith, One baptism.” So the question that is left is which one is right? There is so many different  doctrines coming from one source—the Bible , how do we interpret the things it says to come to any sort of conclusion of what is right? These are question Joseph Smith had when he wanted to know the truth.

Cry unto the Lord

On Dictionary.com Prayer is defined as , “ …Spiritual communication with God”. I think this is a very good description of what prayer is. Through prayer we can communicate with God, We can talk with him, share the desires of our heart as Joseph Smith did when he had the experience in the Sacred Grove.  Prayer is not different than when we would talk to another person in the aspect that we are talking with someone, but that someone is our Father in Heaven.  We can talk to him as we would to someone else, however it is important to use pronouns that are respectful, such as those found in the scriptures like, Thee, Thou, and Thy.  When I pray and communicate with God I feel closer to him, and I can feel of his Spirit. It is very enlighting to my mind and I can feel a peace that I can not feel anywhere else.

The Bible and the Book of Mormon.

I have done a lot of studying lately about the Book of Mormon and the Bible, and how they support each other. I have learned a lot from my other missionaries which I serve with about this Subject. I have found that There is actually an abundance of evidence that  says that they support each other.  First and Foremost  they  Both Teach of Christ (2 Nephi 25:26, Acts 28:31). They Both teach the principles and Doctrines which he established and taught when he was  on the earth.

Summer Heat

Since Summer Began here in Utah it has been really hot!! It seems like there is nowhere to get out of the heat when I am outside. there are things which I do to resist the heat of the summer, one drink lots of water, two, when I can stay inside and out of the heat. however the Second choice is not always possible, sometimes I have to go outside for one reason or another. Though, both of these method work in staving off heat exhaustion they can be hard to do or remember. For Example, it is good to drink plenty of water on a hot day but sometimes it can be hard to remember to do it. In life we have things that are similar to heat exhaustion, but instead of Physical dangers we have Spiritual dangers. A lot of those spiritual dangers can come, and most often come in the form of peer pressure, or just being caught up in the things of the world. Just like drinking lots of water on a hot day we have other things that we can do for to keep us from being spiritually harmed, Such as reading our scriptures, praying, and going to church each Sunday.

The Language of the Spirit

I have grown up speaking English, I have learned some Spanish, although I am not fluent I can say somethings, such as prayers and share my testimony of Jesus Christ. I recently went to an American Sign Language class here in the MTC, I have learned that these languages are very different, however when it come to teaching the Gospel they have something in common. No matter what language the gospel is taught in we can feel the spirit, and know that what is being said is true. take for example this scripture:

Blessings of The Commandments

The Lord has declared that  “If ye love me, keep my commandments” ( John 14:15). There are many other scriptures that say the same thing. But why do we have Commandments from God? What is the Purpose?  Many would say that they are restrictive, or there are just too many.  Let’s take a look at why the Lord has set up commandments to follow, and how they are blessing to us.

Adversity

Why is there adversity in life? In  2 Nephi 2 we learn that there must be an opposition in all things, “ …it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. " God gave us the ability to choose right from wrong, however, we need two different options to choose from in order to practice that ability.  But why is it important for us to have that opposition, and the ability to choose?  Because these choices that we make through that ability to act for ourselves lets us see the good from the bad, and helps us understand that we want to make those good choices so we can be happy. In verse 23 of the same chapter in 2 Nephi we read, “…wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”

Eternal Families

The first few weeks in the MTC

I have been in the Referral Center Mission for about a week now, and it has been amazing! all the other missionaries are awesome!