Author Archives: Colby Alexander

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

18 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in General, Poems, Prophets

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01-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing

Almost 20 years ago, I was a brand new missionary fresh from the MTC and had just arrived in Salvador, Brazil. It was a lot different than Payson, Utah where I had grown up. The people were different, the climate was different, the language was different, the food was different, the everything was different. But I was excited about the one thing that, I had heard, was awesome in Brazil. The fruit.

I would soon get to experience the exotic, fresh, tropical fruit that I’d really only heard about. The kind of fruit that you could pluck from the vines while using a machete traveling through the thick rain forest jungle.

It took only a couple of days before I had my first experience with this famous Brazilian delicacy. On my second day in my new country, I was still in a small group with a few of the Elders in my MTC district and we had basically been relegated to wandering around with a babysitter Elder while we waited for all of our assigned companions to arrive by bus, and take us back to our individual areas. Our babysitter Elder was a native Brazilian guy who spoke no English, but was super excited to share his “Brazilian-ness”with us newbie Americans that morning.

Breakfast was all on him. He treated us to the most delicious meal imaginable. He went all out to impress us. We skipped the normal breakfast of bread and juice that morning as he prepared sliced, fresh papaya, and milk.

Now, the milk he made that morning wasn’t what we would normally imagine when we hear milk. Not the super cold, fresh white stuff that comes from a super fat cow in some Wisconsin dairy farm. Nope. This milk was made from warm water that had been boiled, and then sent through a clay filter, then mixed with the dehydrated milk powder your mom used to try and get you to drink when you were a kid. Not delicious. And we were just getting started.

The papaya slices, however, were fresh, I’m sure it had been on a tree up until the day before. The day had finally come for my fresh tropical fruit baptism, and I was excited! But, I had never had papaya before. And that was a problem, because I wasn’t prepared for what happened when I first brought that fruit toward my anxious watering mouth.

I knew that something was wrong when the fruit neared the 2 inches away from my mouth mark, because that is where my nose was able to pick up on the aroma that emanated from that freshly cut morsel. Warning bells, alarms, and sirens flooded my mind and ears. Red flashing lights, and stop signs suddenly flashed before my eyes. Something was definitely wrong! The unmistakably stench of vomit had just invaded my nose! How could that be? It was a just a beautiful tropical exotic fruit, it wasn’t making sense! Then, a fraction of a second later, it made perfect sense, because having been locked in the motion of putting that slice into my mouth I had passed the point of no return.

It hit my tastebuds and was disastrous. My tastebuds then verified and intensified the warning signals my nose had initiated. It tasted just like it smelled. It was as if I had willingly placed a slightly solid or at least congealed slice of warm, formed emesis, or vomit into my mouth. You’re welcome for that thought. Papaya was nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

I was at a loss. I didn’t know what to do. All I could do, was try and wash it down with some of the warm pretend milk. I looked up at the grinning face of the Elder who had nearly killed me, and smiled and gave him the thumbs up sign. What else could I do?

Needless to say, papaya is not on my list of delicious fruits. In fact, its on my list of apostate foods. Im sure papaya only came into being after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, along with the thorns, weeds, briers, and asparagus.

What did I learn that day? Not all fruit is good. Something that I really hadn’t imagined could even be possible. Tyson, also on his mission in Brazil, learned this same lesson. Besides, after eating an apple cobbler, or cherry hostess pie, how could you think that all fruit wasn’t delicious?

Fruit is a perfect analogy for spiritual effects. Is it any wonder that the Savior taught us how to recognize truth by comparing it to fruit?

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.…Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them¹.”

We can know the truth or recognize it when we taste it! It will either be sweet, and delicious, or it won’t be. Lehi and Nephi tasted the fruit in his dream about the tree of life. It was “sweet, and desirable above all other fruits²!”

The Lord also describes how it will taste or, in a spiritual sense, feel, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,  [and] temperance³…”

This is still very relevant today because there are a lot of artificial fruits out there. Some are purposefully meant to deceive. Many other doctrines, ideas, cultural norms, lifestyles, traditions, histories, or thoughts specifically target us. They are meant to pull us away from the real fruit that is delicious, by deceiving us with different fruit that looks great, but in reality, is nothing more than those fake, hollow, plastic things used for Thanksgiving decorations.

Earlier on this blog, Tyson described fruit as “a literal product of, or the end result of the growth process of [the] tree…”. If we look at each doctrine, or piece of information we read or come by in this sense, we can determine what type of tree it came from both by looking backward and then forward from the time the fruit was picked. What kind of tree did this particular fruit come from? Was it scripture? Words from the prophets? Or, was it found on a Wikipedia bush? If we look forward from the time we sink our teeth into it, we can spiritually “taste” if it is truly sweet.

Real fruit has a real sweetness that produces real happiness, joy, peace and love. False fruits or untruth has the opposite effect. Confusion, anger, bitterness, contention, and hatred. When we examine what kinds of effects the fruit we eat has on us, which of these two camps do we find ourselves in?

We can know truth when we see, hear, or read it by the power of the Holy Ghost. He will not deceive us. We can be protected from the wolf in sheep’s clothing. We just need to be able to recognize the taste as either something resembling a homemade fresh apple pie, or a rotten sliced papaya (in my case).

When we go through life and experience all sorts of different fruits, lets pay closer attention to the effects each bite has on us. Truth will bring happiness, love and contentment. Untruth will bring sadness, anger, and contention.

This life will be full of rocky patches and confusing roads. The better we are able to understand and trust our spiritual tastebuds, the real fruit will be able to guide us and keep us on the true path.

papaya

Most fruits, when from the trees are plucked,
And then consumed, or juiced, or sucked,
Produce a happy, yummy taste,
Unless, of course, you’ve sadly placed,
Papaya on your tasting buds,
Then, memories begin to flood,
of vomit bursting from your lips,
and finally, you’ll come to grips,
That not all fruits are good to eat,
Especially those that taste like feet.

  1. Mathew 7:15-20
  2. 1 Nephi 8:12
  3. Galatians 5:22,23

Be Content with Clark Kent

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Book of Mormon, Brothers, Example, General, Poems, Power, Strength, Superheroes, Trials, Weakness

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superman

Can I really be content to get Clark Kent?
When I really need a MIRACLE to burst these bands?
This guy who looks low rent- turns out, is Heaven sent!
And underneath that suit- IS SUPERMAN!

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School, our teacher shared a little tidbit that was awesome (Thanks again Gena). I want to try and pass on and summarize what I learned.

It was a perfect example that highlighted the difference between the realistic and unrealistic expectations in our minds when we pray for help. We seem to want, and expect the Hollywood movie version of real life. We want the dramatic flair and instantaneous resolution to our problems, but have a hard time when all we get are the seemingly plain regular answers.

The story was when Nephi and his brothers were headed back to the wilderness where their father, Lehi, was camped. This was after having returned to Jerusalem for the second time. This time, they had just convinced Ishmael and his family that it would be a sweet idea to head out into the desert for some unknown amount of time, and towards some as of yet unknown promised land.

However, somewhere along the way, Laman and Lemuel and their newly-formed merry band of misfits, did their thing, and got ticked off at some imaginary slight. They tied Nephi up, bound him with cords and left him out in the middle of nowhere in the desert, to be eaten by wild beasts. And I thought I fought with my brothers growing up…

If you were Nephi, how would you pray in this situation?

If I were a Hollywood producer, Nephi would pray, and then legions of fiery sword wielding angels would descend upon Laman and Lemuel and turn them into barbequed mincemeat, then cut his bands triumphantly and carry him on a chariot of clouds back to the desert while the Hallelujah chorus blared for everyone to hear. But, that’s not what happened.

Remember, Nephi had been down this road before. He had to deal with his bonehead brothers over and over and over again. He had also overcome all odds, and retrieved the brass plates from a wicked maniac (Laban). Nephi knew he could be delivered from the measly ropes he was tied down with. No problem. So, knowing all that, lets pay close attention to what he asks for is his pleadings with the Lord…

“But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may BURST these bands with which I am bound.¹”

Burst the bands? Thats what I’m talking about! Lets look at the definition of the word “burst” to see exactly what Nephi was asking for.

Burst = to issue forth suddenly and forcibly, break open, or fly apart with sudden violence:, to issue forth suddenly and forcibly.

Yes Please! How awesome would that be? Shards of severed ropes flying through the air as trumpet music blasts our ears and Nephi’s hands rise in clenched fists as he yells triumphantly….. Now, lets look at the actual result of that prayer…

“And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were LOOSED from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.²”

Not exactly Hollywood flair. For comparison, lets now look at the definition of “loosed” (what he received) as compared to the “Burst” definition from earlier.

Loosed = free from anything that binds or restrains.

Pretty vanilla huh? The Lord got the job done. His way.

How many of us pray like that? We pray for the dramatic hero on a white horse to come in and save the day. We pray for Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan to ride over a distant hill and strike fear into the hearts of the Orcs who are attacking us. We pray for sudden, forceable deliverance from hardship, pain, or struggle. We want deliverance from whatever is ailing us, we want resistance to go away, we want instant peace, and resolution.

When we pray like this, we want, and even expect results. Now. Or at least in the next few minutes, maybe a week at most. We want results, dramatic, perceptible, obvious results. We want Clark Kent ripping off his shirt revealing Superman results!

And, if they don’t come, we are disappointed that the Lord didn’t hear us, or help us, or deliver us.

Instead of Superman, ripping off his shirt, we get this…….

christopher-reeve-superman

We pray for “burst”, but get “loosen”.
We pray for Superman, but get Clark Kent.
We pray for Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan, but get 4 tiny hobbits with hairy feet.

Nephi had asked for enough strength to perform the Superman “burst”. What Nephi got was Clark Kent secretly unbuttoning his shirt in a phone booth, methodically, slowly, maybe even awkwardly.

But, this is the exact point, and heart of the lesson! His strength was increased! And it was enough to loosen the bands. Probably after much wriggling, struggling, pulling, twisting, pushing, and pulling. He did not sit idle and wait. He did receive strength to loosen the bands that held him captive. He was able to become stronger and overcome. It just wasn’t in the dramatic hollywood way.

Remember, this was the same Nephi that fashioned a wooden bow and arrow after his fancy steel one broke leaving his family without any means of obtaining food. This was the same Nephi that built a ship after never having built one before. This was the same Nephi that smote Laban after shrinking, having never before spilt the blood of man.

His actions were coupled with, and enabled by, the strength from the Lord. That is how He works! He just doesn’t swoop in and do it for us, He allows us to grow and be able to help ourselves!

When we think about it, that Clark Kent answer that Nephi received, just like in the movies, eventually did change into that same Superman.

His bands didn’t burst, but he also didn’t wait for that to happen. He didn’t wait for Superman, he was strengthened to become a superman.

Do we do the same thing? After we receive strength, do we attribute that help as coming from the Lord? Or do we think that it was us, ourselves? Do we give credit to the Lord when all we get is just what we need? Or do we get upset, impatient, and resentful that we seemingly have to do it all on our own? Do we embrace the struggle, wriggle, fight, and strain? Do we recognize the small changes that the Lord effects in us to alter the outcome?

If the change or added strength is slow, methodical, gradual, almost imperceptible do we STILL give the Lord the credit for fostering that change like Nephi did? The Lord is certainly capable of bringing about dramatic and immediate changes, but He gives us just what we need. Its much more likely that He will strengthen us just enough for us to grow, stretch, and overcome.

Lets remember that the Lord is perfectly in charge of every little aspect of our lives. He knows. He knows exactly what we need, when we need, how we need, and who we need. He already knows. Sometimes “My way” needs to take a big old back seat to “His way”.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths³.”

And for another final piece of humble pie….

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts 4.”

Lets try and trust him a little bit more, and never just stop and wait for the Hollywood version of real life. Lets continue fighting, wriggling, straining, pulling, tugging, and pressing forward. Lets be happy with Clark Kent, because he is Superman5! Lets be happy with the 4 hairy hobbits, because they are the secret heroes. Let’s be happy with loosened bands, because they still allow us to be free.

“Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him 6.”

 

 

1. 1 Nephi 7:17
2. 1 Nephi 7:18
3. Proverbs 3:5,6
4. Isaiah 55:9
5. Riley beat me to this Superman subject. His original post can be found here.
6. Psalms 28:6,7

Don’t be a Knuckleball

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by in General

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Knuckleball trajectory

One of the greatest pitchers of all time was Nolan Ryan. He pitched a record 7 no-hitters, and struck out a record 5,714 batters. He was famous for his fastball which he would throw 100 miles per hour.  Many a helpless batter had to stand at the plate and try to somehow avoid peeing their pants, and try to hit against him.

Another added complication for the batters was that he would grunt and scream when he reared back and launched one of these pitches. Even a good pitch usually passes within a couple of feet of the batters head. Im sure they could hear the hum of the ball as it cut through the air right before the violent smack into the catchers glove. Each and every pitch he would yell like an olympic weight lifter dead lifting 800 lbs. Imagine, a 6’2″ no-nonsense Texan standing with a scowl on the mound only 60 feet away, grunting while he hucks a potentially life-threatening or maiming projectile towards you. I’ll take the strikeout please.

Nolan Ryan was famous for his fastball. But he also had a nasty curve. It was completely unfair. No one should have to both fear for a 100 mph fastball that may or may not cause fatal head trauma if it was a bit off target, and a 70mph huge bending curve that could buckle your knees and make you look like a fool at the plate.

The interesting thing to me is how all of these pitches are so different, and how they can act so differently, but with the same ball. These variations are based only on differences in grip, speed, angle, and how the ball is delivered. Physics certainly plays a big part in how the trajectory of the pitch ends up. But this one simple rule always applies….

The ball will go in the direction of its spin.

When a fastball is released, the spin is straight up and down, no side to side. It minimizes the influence of the surrounding air, wind, and humidity on the pitch on its way towards its final destination.

A curveball is sent towards home plate with a very purposefully imposed spin, from left to right, or right to left. This spin, using the laws of physics (Magnus effect), creates less pressure on the side of the ball towards which it is spinning. This works by causing it to be sucked, or “curve” in that particular direction on its way to the plate.

However, there is an alternate pitch. A pitch that doesn’t really fit the mold of the fastballs, curves, sliders, or sinkers. It is unique and baffling. Its the knuckleball.

New York Mets v Arizona Diamondbacks

Knuckleball grip

The knuckleball is unique because it doesn’t spin. The pitcher uses fingernails along the seams of the ball instead of griping it with his fingers. Its meant to float, not spin, as it travels towards home plate. This action renders the ball completely at the mercy of the environmental influences at the moment. On a windy day, this pitch can look like a kite in a hurricane. Or a butterfly in a tornado. It dances, it floats, it sinks, it darts side to side, sometimes curving left, sometimes right, sometimes both. Everything and anything seems to influence its direction. Humidity, heat waves, cool breezes, the smell of hot dogs and nachos, the relative barometric pressure in Albuquerque, gravity from the moon, and psychic brain waves. Anything. Its a crazy pitch. When thrown with skill, it can be nearly un-hittable, simply because no one, including the pitcher, knows where the pitch will end up. Its a mystery every single pitch.

Each of us are different, just like these pitches. And, we will all be subjected to various environmental influences every single day. These come from media, celebrities, associates, work colleagues, friends, and even family. What is interesting, is that the same laws of physics seem to be at play with us. We are just like those baseballs headed towards home plate. We are either spinning one way, or another, straight forward, or sometimes we don’t spin at all, and we get pushed and pulled in every direction by those influences all around us.

So, it all depends on where we want to go. Do we want to travel on the straight line towards home? Or, do we want to go check out that sweet smell of mustard and relish over to the left a bit? Do we want to go take a detour for donuts towards third base somewhere on our way to the plate?

Who, or what, are we allowing to spin us, and influence our flight path?

If we want to get to our heavenly “home” as fast and as straight as we can, we need to consciously commit in our hearts, adjust to our fastball grip, and make sure that we are spinning straight ahead. If we do this, our momentum, our attention, our thoughts and minds, our hopes, and wishes will all be spinning straight ahead, and moving us towards where we want to go. And very little influence from the humidity, wind, nachos, or ice cream sundaes on our left, or right, will have any effect on us as we fly towards our destination.

However, If we choose to spin more in one direction or the other, we will soon find that the laws of physics are unalterable, and that the pressures that are sucking us away from home, and our final destination can be very difficult to overcome. Once we start to curve, our momentum, our thoughts, desires, and attention can pull us even further off target.

Worst of all is when we decide to be knuckleballs. This is when we don’t spin at all, and get pushed one way, or pulled the other, up, or down, never knowing where we are headed, because knuckleballs are always a mystery. If we float through life, and allow ourselves to be influenced by trends, fads, popularity, and the ever changing societal norms, who knows where we end up? The greater the winds, or humidity, or wafting aromatic waves of nacho cheese sauce become, the harder it is for us to stick to our flight path. Especially if a huge windgust powers in. If we aren’t moving forward, we set ourselves up to be continuously influenced by the many factors that are all around us competing for our time, energy, attention, thoughts, desires, and actions. .

The good news is this. Real life isn’t as unchangeable as a knuckleball after it leaves the pitchers hand. In real life, we can change our trajectory at any time, even when we think we are headed towards the dirt only 3 feet in front of the pitchers mound, or 18 rows up into the bleachers. It doesn’t even matter if we are rolling in the grass somewhere way out in left field. Our trajectory can change when we want it to change, but only with the help of our Savior.

“And although their influence shall cast thee into trouble,…thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever¹”.

Christ is the only one that can guide us to our final destination. Home. Its because of Him, that our imperfections that alter our trajectory  can be overcome. Its because of Him, that even though there will be strong headwinds, storms, stifling humidity, and a skilled batter waiting to take a swing at us, we can make it home. We simply need to move towards, and follow Jesus Christ.

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life….Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves².”

The direction we move, or spin, or walk, or crawl, or whatever, is the most important part of changing our life. No matter where we are at this moment, we can look up, turn our heads towards home, and start moving!

If we take that first step, our momentum will build, and if we keep up our positive thoughts, actions, hopes, and desires, we will make it home!

 

  1. D&C 122:4
  2. 3 Nephi 14:14,15

 

 

 

A Voice from Bountiful

23 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by in General

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friberg-christ-america

This world is crazy. If we look outside, especially now, we see a society that is full of anger, hate, despair, loneliness, greed, pride, and desperation. Unrest seems to be the new normal. Love, forgiveness, kindness, and peace seem to have vanished.

So, what does this all mean?

To me, it is an example of how history repeats itself. This has all happened before, many times. Society goes through these cycles of good and bad. From times of light and enlightenment, to times of darkness and isolation, and then back again.

It also can be a wakeup call. To wake up from our complacent spiritual slumber. The unrest should be able to cause us to pause, backup, and look up to the One who is running this whole show. To change ourselves, our families, and our societies and remember why we are here.

What can we do?

We should do exactly what has been done before! We can read about and emulate the righteous survivors in this repeating story of good versus evil. We can learn how to prepare ourselves for difficult times. We can learn all of this from the best history book ever written. The Book of Mormon.

One of the pinnacle moments of the Book of Mormon is in the chapters that describes the appearance of Jesus Christ here in America. The great author of love and peace had appeared right in the middle of one of the worst times of wickedness and unrest! How is that for irony? For those who were the bad guys, it was a horrible, awful, devastating event. Yet, for the righteous, it would be the exact opposite. Incredible peace, love, relief, and renewal.

I’ve tried to imagine myself in that place, and to envision the physical chaos it must have been. Absolute terror, confusion, anxiety, and despair. Think of earthquakes, lightening, and a tornado infested storm lasting 3 long hours. Only then to give way to complete and utter darkness lasting 3 even longer days.  Imagine the despair, the complete hopelessness, and helplessness that would have been overwhelming.

But, in that exact moment of horrific emptiness and loneliness, the Savior appeared. The hopelessness immediately gave way to hope. The darkness gave way to light, and was forgotten. It would have been beyond amazing.

Its no wonder that for generations after this event, those that experienced this moment were some of the happiest people to have ever lived.

We can also experience the beauty of that special moment through their words and testimonies. Their writings help us to prepare ourselves to experience that exact same feeling again! And that is incredibly exciting!

Its exciting, because He will come again!

And, if our eyes and ears and hearts are open, we will see, and feel, and experience that moment, and know again what it was like when he came amid those desperate conditions.

When we see Him again, we can be just like those righteous survivors who looked up and saw the Savior with their own eyes.We can also look up through whatever chaos we experience to see the brightest light through the darkest night.

rays-of-light-shining-throug-dark-c

A Voice from Bountiful

Prophetic storms, and tempests came,
In that first month, on that fourth day¹,
To shake, divide, with lightning fire,
Fulfilled the warnings of God’s ire².

The cities of the wicked burned³,
or sunk, beneath the earth o’erturned,
This righteous land- now sin depraved,
Lay drowned in seas of frothing waves4.

The face of all the earth was changed5,
The mountains flattened into plains,
Where traveled highways stood in place,
Now a churned and shattered waste6.

Continued mighty acts of power,
Displayed for three chaotic hours7,
Burning, sinking, rending stones,
Destroying all, the land o’erthrown.

The groaning earth sent deafening sounds,
From cracking, splitting, solid ground,
To fill the air and ears of all
survivors, to their knees did fall.

Then blinding mists of thickened haze,
Would smother light for three full days8,
While wailing, weeping, hopeless cries,
Were sent to God thru blackened skies.

Then, thru vapor thick and dark,
A Voice!9 A Voice! A piercing spark!
A hope began to swell! Arise!
A light again before their eyes!

The Father’s voice then filled the land10,
all open ears did understand11,
The introduction of His Son,
The Risen Christ, the Holy One!

Descending now from Heaven’s cloud,
His light began to part the shroud,
of darkness, sorrow, and despair,
and shine upon those gathered there!

With arms outstretched to all below12,
exposing hand and wrist to show,
The marks, that proved that it was He,
The Crucified, of Gallilee.

He spake with loving voice, “Behold!”
“I am Jesus Christ, The Lord,
Of whom the prophets have foretold,
Would come again into the world13“

“Come feel my hands, and feet, and side14,
I, for thee, was crucified,
I am the light, and life for all,
I drank the bitter cup of gall15.”

“And I have come to gather in,
Reedeem the world from death and sin,
Atoned, and suffered for thy sake,
It is my off’ring, Come! Partake!”

And all the gathered bent their knees,
And worshiped him with faith filled pleas,
And cried aloud with hope and awe,
Hosannah! Bless the name of God16!

The prophecy fulfilled at last,
The darkness from the land outcast,
Replaced by light, from Jesus Christ,
Who’d suffered all, and paid the price.

Our Savior now! He lives and reigns!
His mighty pow’r unbinds our chains!
He strengthens us, when light is dim,
If we look up, and turn to Him!

  1. 3 Nephi 8:5
  2. Helaman 13:5
  3. 3 Nephi 8:8
  4. 3 Nephi 8:9
  5. 3 Nephi 8:12
  6. 3 Nephi 8:13
  7. 3 Nephi 8:19
  8. 3 Nephi 8:23
  9. 3 Nephi 9:1
  10. 3 Nephi 11:3
  11. 3 Nephi 11:6
  12. 3 Nephi 11:9
  13. 3 Nephi 11:10
  14. 3 Nephi 11:14
  15. 3 Nephi 11:11
  16. 3 Nephi 11:17

Stealing Signs of the Times

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Book of Mormon, General, Jesus Christ

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I love baseball. Some people hate it, and think its the most boring game ever invented. But, if you have ever played it, you start to understand all the little intricacies and strategies that happen covertly just under the surface. Its like a game of chess or poker. Each at bat is a separate war between the pitcher and the batter, the runners and the infielders, the guessing game of the type and location of each pitch, and the placement of the outfielders. Every little thing counts. Even a little tiny detail can be used as an advantage.

Because of this, baseball is full of secret signs to communicate strategies between the managers and the players, or between the players themselves. At the same time, the other team spends the whole game trying to decipher those signals to gain the advantage. And it’s a worth while endeavor because some seemingly insignificant bit of intercepted information can mean the difference in the game.

When I was playing in high school, I had an at bat I won’t ever forget. I was up to bat with a runner on second base. I was facing a very good pitcher from American Fork. He was about 6’4″ and 240 lbs, and was throwing his fastball in the 90 mph range-which is not easy to hit, by the way.

We weren’t having much success against him needless to say. After he delivered his first pitch, a nasty curve ball, that I swung at and missed horribly, the catcher did something I had never seen or heard before. He complained loudly about how the pitcher had missed the sign. It was supposed to be a fastball, but a curve came.

Not only did he complain, but he lazily yelled out to the pitcher that it was the “second” one, meaning the second sign out of the 6 or 7 given. The catcher usually flashes these hand signals to the pitcher to hide, or disguise the pitch from any possible spies, like the one I had standing on 2nd base.

So, what did I do? I casually walked over to the 3rd base coach to pretend like I was confused about something, and let him know that I had just discovered the pitcher/catcher code. He then, in turn, casually called the runner on second, over to have a mini-conference. During this huddle, he told him to watch for the second sign given by the catcher, and pass that info on to me, the batter, through a previously designed secret sign of our own – open hands for a curve, and closed hands for a fastball.

It was a brilliant plan, a perfectly perfect clandestine operation was taking place. It was perfect because the second base runner stands almost directly behind the pitcher when he leads off, and is in the perfect spot to pass on the sign to the waiting batter as he crouches into his lead, and hangs his hands down. If this worked, I would soon know which pitch was coming. And, as we learn from GI Joe, knowing is half the battle.

So, I tapped my cleats, and stood into the box, and peered right behind the pitcher to my teammate leading off of second base. As the pitcher finally nodded his head and readied for the pitch, I saw his two hands hanging down in clenched fists. A fastball. I knew it 1 second before it left the pitcher’s hand. I knew what was coming. I had the advantage.

I took my step, and confidently swung at that pitch as it howled in towards the plate at 90 mph. Then, the pitcher’s head whiplashed back at about that same speed as the ball exploded off my bat, out of the infield, flew over the left fielder, and over the fence for a home run. It was hard not to smirk too much as I jogged around the bases. Mission accomplished.

By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Sometimes all you need to know, is what pitch is coming.

This principle is demonstrated over and over again in the Book of Mormon. If we read it, we soon realize that history has repeated itself. Over and over again. Mormon, by inspiration, compiled and abridged an almost perfect book to teach us all we need to know to be successful in our lives. Not only within our own families, but within our communities and countries.

The key to all of this success is Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon details over and over again the struggles of a people trying to survive in a difficult world. Sometimes they thrived, other times, not so much. But, through it all, we learn that happiness and prosperity come through faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ.

In Mormon chapter 7, the whole purpose of the Book of Mormon is summarized in a few verses. Think of this chapter as our secret signal from our runner on second base. It tells us in a few sentences, what is important. Mormon says….

“Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved.”

“Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that God shall command you.”

“Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.”

“…Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you…”

“For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe…”

“…And if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior,… it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.”

Mormon gave us the signs from second base. We know what is coming. We know how to prepare for the pitches from Satan. We know how he will deliver the pitch, and how to hit it. But, our success comes only if we pay attention to the small details, and ACT on them. Real success comes when we commit ourselves to follow Jesus Christ.

The Lord has given us the advantage to win the game against evil. This advantage is the Book of Mormon. It teaches us that the only way to win is to believe in Christ, and follow him. Thats it. Simple. By using this advantage, we can know whats coming, we can see clearly, and have confidence in our abilities to succeed. If we truly commit, and use this advantage the Lord has provided for us, we can, and will succeed.

The Fraudelent Falseness of the Flop

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by in Example, General, Honesty, Weakness

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Classic Giddianhi style flop.

Soccer and basketball are both non-contact sports. At least they are supposed to be. Fouls are called if excessive physical contact occurs during the normal flow of the game. These “fouls” are judged by referees that are there to keep a close eye on the game and determine where the line is between good defense, and excessive force. They are supposed to call the game fairly and truthfully.

Not all players are gifted super athletes that dominate the competition. I should know because I wasn’t a gifted super-athlete. I played basketball in high school, but no one ever accused me of being a superstar. But, I was a master at a niche skill that often times went unheralded. It was the skill of drawing fouls. I was also really good at fouling others. I fouled out in approximately 75% of the games I played in. I had 5 fouls to give, so why waste them, right?

One of my favorite things to do in basketball was taking charges. It usually consisted of me, a smaller player, positioning myself somewhere directly in the path of a much bigger, heavier player who was driving the ball with a full head of steam. The ensuing collision would usually, due to physics, consist of me flying uncontrollably backwards landing violently on the hardwood, with my arms flying, head whiplashing in a human explosion like manner. Sheer sympathy from the referees would almost certainly result in the call of an offensive foul on the bigger stronger guy. Mission accomplished. It didn’t take much skill, just a lot of courage and determination, and ibuprofen afterward.

It worked for me. But, just like a lot of things in this life, there are alter egos, or villains for each superhero. The opposite of a true “charge” or “offensive foul” is the flop. A flop is where the defender pretends, or acts like he took the charge or offensive foul when, in actuality,  no harm, or contact even remotely proportionate to the subsequent physical reaction actually occurred. This is where truth gets imitated and falsely represented.

Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

One of the best floppers of all time.

It happens all the time in soccer as well. Watch any soccer game, and you’ll see at least a dozen guys go down on the ground holding their legs, or head, sprawling around like someone just stabbed them 75 times, or that they just got run over by a train or swallowed a grenade, only to hop up, and run off just like nothing happened 4 seconds later when no foul was called. No one likes a flopper. No one.

Footballers-Faking-Injury

Rare photo of Laman, Lemuel, and Giddianhi all playing on the same soccer team.

A few days ago, I was reading and I realized something. The “flop” had its origins much earlier than I had realized. It came into existence even before John Naismith invented basketball, or whoever invented soccer was kicking some round rock through a fishing net somewhere. It may have started somewhere around 600 B.C., with two guys named Laman and Lemuel.

These guys were commanded by God to leave Jerusalem with their family in order to avoid utter destruction. Somehow, these two guys found a way to complain about it. And they continued to complain about it for the rest of their lives. Not only that, but they lied and claimed they had been robbed of their rightful place in the family hierarchy by their younger brother Nephi. They chose to leave out the fact that is was their own wickedness that had determined who the leader would be. These lies, or flops, weren’t called as offensive fouls. They were cowardly actors, just looking for a freebie from the ref. They also seemingly passed on the “flopping” skill to their children, because over the next 1000 years, this initial lie was repeated over, and over, and over again.

As the years went by, the art of the flop was passed on, and perfected until the true master of the flop was born. We learn about him in 3rd Nephi. His name was Giddianhi. He was the leader of the Gadianton robbers. He wrote a letter to Lachoneus, the governor of the Nephite lands, to demand his immediate surrender in the most epic “flop” of an epistle ever written.

First, he threatened Lachoneus with utter destruction, because of the robbers “hatred towards you because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them“. This was the bogus foul. He then continued to flop in dramatic flair by adding “I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the secret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know to be good” He didn’t even stop there. He then rolled around on the ground holding his head and demanded that Lachoneus give up his lands, “that this my people may recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness“, and with another final twitch, “I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi.”

Giddianhi was the master flopper. He had demanded a charge, when the Nephites hadn’t even touched him. They weren’t even in the same game. He didn’t get the call. Not even close. He soon fouled out, permanently, by being captured in battle, and hanged.

Coach Satan encourages this flopping. He’s a liar. He’s dishonest. He teaches it on the first day of practice. He taught it to Laman and Lemuel and to Giddianhi. He preaches the doctrine of victimhood, and false representations. The big problem with that mentality, is that is tends to be perpetuated to everyone else around. The lie is repeated until even the liar believes it.

Satan will take something that is good and worthy, and re-release it, repackaged as something that looks similar, but is exactly the opposite. This is the difference between taking a charge and a flop. It’s always easier to be a victim, not to work hard, and expect the world, But we have to be honest. We can’t allow ourselves to always take the easy way, or flop. We have to be willing to do things the right way, and stand in the way of the speeding opposition, and plant our feet. There will be collisions. But, if we work hard, stand tall, and have courage, we will get the call. Its not easy, and it may hurt, but it is worth it. Because, in the end, truth always wins.

Take the charge, but don’t flop.

Coming Home

21 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by in Home

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beach

This isn’t an actual picture of the beach we visited, but does look as cold as the beach we visited.

Recently my family took a few days and went on a little trip to California. We had always wanted to try staying at a beach house, so after looking into it, we found a really good deal on a little rental right next to the beach for a few days. The kids were super excited about staying there and maybe taking a day to hit up Disneyland as well.

When the day came to leave, everyone was anxious to get to the beach as soon as possible, so we left home, and hit the road. After a long 6 hours, we finally arrived, and it was amazing. We dropped off our things, grabbed some towels, and walked the 5 minutes to the sand and the beach.

The kids loved it. Even if we all had to take turns chasing the rogue, crazy 3 year old all over the place. The sand was sandy, and the beach was beachy. The water was only 59 degrees, which is life threatening arctic freezing if you are from Arizona. But the kids somehow still managed to have a good time. Myself and my wife opted to not die from frostbite and avoided the water as much as we could, after all, someone would have to still be alive to resuscitate the 4 frozen kids after retrieving them from the icy waters.

After a couple hours, and a lot of shivering, we headed back to the beach house. We went in and finally had a few minutes to look around. To put it kindly, it looked better in the pictures. It was old, worn out, and crammed into a space so small that even hobbits would start to get claustrophobic.

First things first, we needed to hit the shower to warm up the blue, stiff, shivering kids.  Thats when we learned that the hot water had conveniently run out. That was more than a bit unfortunate, as we felt like it was antarctica and not the beach we had just visited. But we survived. Barely. My wife described it as “camping”. Not exactly what we had in mind when we booked the trip.

Early the next morning, we got up early and drove into Anaheim to spend the day at Disneyland. After being herded like car cattle into the designated spot, we rode the shuttle to the park, shuffled in just after it opened and spent the next few hours running between rides, it was great, even with a crazy 3 year old who was scared of every ride.  It was quiet, calm, not that busy, and cool. Then, it wasn’t. The human floodgates were opened and the Super Bowl crowds funneled in, and made it crazy like normal. Everywhere you looked there was a line. We waited 30 minutes in line to get a corndog. It started to get hot, and ended up being the exact opposite of the awesome morning. And now with a tired, hot, and whining 3 year old.  So, we all looked at each other, and decided to escape the madness and go back to the beach.

But, after battling the crowds to leave, fighting traffic, and parking back in the craziness in Newport beach, we just wanted to get back home. Home as in, our own beds, our own space, the peaceful quiet that we missed over the last couple of days.

So, after another hour or so getting another beach visit in (most of which was spent again chasing the hyperactive 3 year old all over the place), we gave up on the last day we had reserved for our beach vacation and left a day early, and stuffed our things back in the car, and piled back in to head back home, and we couldn’t wait. We just wanted to go home.

As fun as the beach was, and Disneyland was, it wasn’t home. There is just something about being home, and being in our most familiar, and comfortable place, that makes us happy.

After the long (Even longer due to an exploding car that completely blocked the freeway) trip back, we stumbled through the door and were met with the quiet bliss of our home again. The feeling of finally getting home after being away is one of the best feelings in the world. That old saying is absolutely true, that says, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.

If you think about it, we are all just on some trip away from home right now. We are all just visiting this earth, which can be fun, exciting and new. But, also has its fair share of cold showers, disappointments and frustrations. We go through it, and experience it, but we know, that eventually we are going back home. Our real home. Our first home. With a loving Father and Mother.

We don’t remember exactly what that home was like for us, but, I think we get little glimpses every now and then of what it will feel like when we come through that door after being away for so long. I imagine that those memories will come flooding back, and we will remember growing and learning from our Heavenly parents, along with all of our brothers and sisters.

I imagine that all those feelings of coming back to our earthly homes, will be compounded and enhanced a thousand fold, as we enter again into our Heavenly home. I imagine our Heavenly Parents embracing us and telling us again and again how happy the are to see us. And how much They missed us while we were “away”.

The exact feelings of comfort and familiarity that make us love and miss our earthly home, can give us small glimpses of what our heavenly home is like. The more “comfortable” we are with the spirit, and the more “familiar” we are with our Father in Heaven will make that trip back home even more special.

I hope we can all enjoy our time here on our earthly “vacation”, taking cold showers, waiting in our long lines, and chasing our 3 year olds, because this all just makes the moment when we all get back home all the more meaningful!

“….the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.”

-Alma 40:11

 

Lessons From Donuts

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Food

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Donut

On this blog, we have learned a lot from many different real, or seemingly random, scenarios that have gospel lessons hidden inside them. Everything can be gospel related, especially here. We have 4 different authors, 4 different unique perspectives on the gospel which turns into 4 different ways in which we see it in our everyday.

The beauty of having 4 diverse voices, and experiences is that it flavors the soup. It isn’t just a one-note kraft mac and cheese dinner, its a gourmet flavorful version with gorgonzola cheese, lightly sprinkled with toasted bread crumbs, bacon, with a side of honey-glazed creole cornbread.

For example…

I learned that Rudolph the red-nosed-reindeer can be a type for Christ,
and spiritual promptings may, in fact, feel similar to taking off your ski boots.

I learned that devouring M&M’s can be compared to the virgins filling their lamps with oil,
and that Adamantium (the metal alloy in Wolverines bones) is like the armor of God.

And thats not all…

I learned that the separation of the wheat from the tares is a lot like walnuts in cookies, that multiple gospel lessons can be learned from Super-heroes,
and that gospel perspective can be seen through 6 foot northeastern snowdrifts.

Not too shabby. All these lessons are examples of how real life always seems to be able to circle around to some gospel principle, IF we look at real life through gospel eyes. God really does speak to us in the language we understand.

So, in keeping with that theme, today I’d like to talk about……donuts.

Not just any donut, but the sweetest donut, the most delicious donut, the donut of all donuts. The best ever made, or imagined. It is the buttermilk donut from Bosa donuts.

Something happens within your body when you consume a donut of this caliber. You become one with it. It becomes one with you, it becomes you, and fills you with a flood of happiness that is unquestioned and unparalleled.

Some scientists may say that it is pancreatic death spasms, compensating for the bazillion grams of pure sugar invading and flooding your bloodstream, but thats debatable, I’m saying its a rush of pure happiness.

This happiness then travels to your brain, heart, and the rest of your body. You are now hooked. It is an experience you will never forget, and the first thing you want to do is share this experience with everyone else. Not with the donuts you just purchased of course, that would be too much to ask, but to suggest that they, also, run to the store to purchase their own and partake in the bliss that is the buttermilk donut.

This happiness is almost the same as Father Lehi felt, when he partook of the fruit of the tree in his dream. It was pure happiness, like the most delicious happiness ever…

And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted.….And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit¹

Lehi’s “fruit” filled him with joy. The fruit he tasted was the love of God. Which is the single most valuable thing in the world. There isn’t a buttermilk donut on the face of the earth, or any hand-breaded chicken breast in a homemade biscuit smothered with black pepper tabasco gravy that could do that. Although, it is amazingly delicious.

food

Hand breaded chicken breast on a homemade biscuit with black pepper tabasco gravy from Serious Biscuit in Seattle, WA

Temporal happiness cannot compare with the eternal happiness, and joy of God’s love. The temporal rush of happiness from a donut inevitably sputters out, gets broken down, and just turns into unflattering adipose deposits we regret later.

So, every time you eat a donut, or fancy steak, or a Costco pumpkin pie, you can think about Lehi’s fruit. Its one little step in changing our perspective to seeing everything in a gospel sense. Putting on our gospel lenses to see what the Lord sees, how He sees it.

In one of our Sunday school lessons at the beginning of this year, we read a line in a talk by Ezra Taft Benson, he said, “Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon².” When we had the lesson, I read those words with my eyes, but the phrase that made it to my head was, flooding “my life” with the book of Mormon. So, since then, I have tried to flood my life with it, reading, or listening all through the day. The results? I see lessons, similarities, types, examples, and answers in everything around me. Even in donuts.

When we look at our lives through the lens of the gospel, we can see everything a little more clearly. We also start to see gospel similarities in just about every situation, and that perspective gives us clarity as to why we are really here on the earth, and changes the way we make everyday decisions. And the cumulative effect of all the good decisions we make gives us the happiness that lasts, the happiness that Lehi experienced, and not just the fleeting sugar rush of the best donut on the earth.

1. 1 Nephi 8:11,12

2. Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon

Laban Strikes Out

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Agency, Faith, General, Holy Ghost, Obedience, Pride, Prophets, Testimony

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casey

Remember that old poem “Casey at the bat”? It tells of the mighty Casey, the greatest hitter in baseball who famously, and heroically came to bat at the end of a game and had so much confidence, that he let the first two pitches go by without even a second thought to even swing. Then, on the dramatic third pitch in a cloud of dust, he whiffed on the third and final pitch, striking out, and ending the game. He had let two perfect opportunities go by, and when crunch time came, he blew it. The mighty Casey had struck out.

Amazingly, a very similar story took place in real life about 2600 years ago in a little town called Jerusalem. Instead of the mighty Casey, the man was Laban. Lets check out the drama that unfolded.

Laban was an important man in the community, and was known to be kind of a big deal among the Elders of the Jews. He was likely very wealthy, and had in his possession the plates of Brass, which included the Law of the Jews, as well as the record of his entire genealogy down from the first prophets, through Joseph, and all the way to him. These Brass plates would basically be the prize that would go to the winner in the epic “at bat” that took place all those years ago. The mighty Laban at the plate and the humble Lehi as the starter on the mound.

The first pitch from Lehi occurred after he was shown a vision of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. It would be destroyed if its people would not repent. He then went about the city preaching. This first pitch was not received well. The scriptures explain, “And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them¹”

Now, Laban and all his Jerusalem buddies, the Jews, had decided to mock Lehi, instead of listen. But that wasn’t all, the scripture continues, “And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away².” Well, the mighty Laban, as well as his friends, decided that they didn’t quite like that first pitch from Lehi, and decided to let that go, and instead opted for attempted murder and death threats. Lehi’s fastball right down the middle, his call to repent and be saved? The mighty Laban decided to pass. Strike 1.

For the second pitch, Nephi took over on the mound, with a fresh arm, and he and his brothers traveled back to Jerusalem from their wilderness hideout. They decided on an even more direct approach, to just go ahead and ask Laban for the plates. Besides, its not like he was actually reading the scriptures or following their teachings right? Worth a try. So, the next pitch was another straight fastball right down the middle. “Hey, Laban, can we just go ahead and have the brass plates?” How’d that go? “And it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee³.” So, after the second middle of the plate fastball, and perfect chance #2, Laban not only watched it go by, but also threw out a false accusation of robbery, and dished out death threats. Strike 2.

Now, the mighty Laban seemingly was oblivious to the dire situation he found himself in, he had not only rejected the words of the prophets, but he had also threatened to kill them, and falsely accused them of robbery. Both big no-no’s in Jewish law at the time. But, we will get into that later.

The third pitch delivered by Nephi was an even slower, perfectly straight softball floating beach ball pitch. Nephi and his brothers went back to their place, gathered up all their gold and silver in an effort to buy, or trade for the plates of brass. What a deal right? Lehi was likely a very wealthy man, and had a lot of precious things. So the 4 brothers headed in to see Laban again, this time loaded with their treasure, and what happened?… ”[Laban] did alust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property4” Nice. So another 4 counts of attempted murder, and armed robbery. Or, in other words, Strike 3.

Laban probably didn’t even realize he was up to bat. He didn’t even swing. The Lord handed him 3 perfect opportunities to do it the easy way, the way that would have left him alive with his head still attached, but he was blinded by lust. Lust for power, and for money.

The story and life of Laban ended a few hours later that night when Nephi was led by the spirit to the street where Laban was passed out drunk. Nephi was constrained to slay him. He shrunk, but eventually did slay Laban by cutting off his head with his own sword, disguised himself in his clothes, and obtained the brass plates for his posterity and fulfilled the commandments of the Lord.

Nephi was commanded to kill Laban. To some, this may seem strange. A righteous prophet commanded to slay another man while he lay drunk in the street? Was that necessary? Lets look at it through 2600 year old eyes.

In 600 B.C. Jerusalem, the laws were a bit different than they are here in the USA in 2015. The “Law” was the law of Moses as it was written in the old testament. And Laban over the months and especially the last few days of his life was certainly breaking many of those laws.

Laban’s first problem was that he was likely among the “Jews” who mocked Lehi, and sought to take away his life. Not exactly living up to “thou shalt not kill”

Laban’s second problem was that he had falsely accused Laman of robbery. Robbery at that time was a capitol offense, or punishable by death. Also, in Deuteronomy 19:18 the law regarding false testimony is spelled out. “And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother” Wow, so if you falsely accused someone of a capitol crime, guess what? Congratulations, you were guilty of a capitol crime!

Laban’s third problem was a combination of his 1st problem and his second problem. He actually had committed robbery, and actually had tried to kill Nephi and his brothers. Capitol offense, capitol offense. This is starting to be like OJ driving away in a white bronco.

So, in many ways, Nephi, who did not want to kill Laban, as was demonstrated by his entering into the city unarmed, and shrinking when the spirit constrained him to do it, was, in essence, carrying out the legal punishment for Laban’s crimes, even though he didn’t necessarily want to.

This story is a perfect example of how the Lord is in perfect control of every aspect of his plan for his children. He gave Laban plenty of chances to play nice, but he didnt. It also demonstrates how the Lord will always prepare a way for his children to succeed if they rely on him. The Lord provided the way for the brass plates to come into the possession of Lehi’s family, and did it in a perfectly planned out and fair way. God bless Nephi for following the promptings of the spirit even when it was very difficult to do.

I hope each of us can develop the amount of confidence in the Lord, and in ourselves to follow the spiritual promptings we are given. If we do, we never know what hidden blessings are in store for us or our family further down the line..

 

1 1 nephi 1:19

2 1 nephi 1:20

3 1 nephi 3:13

4 1 nephi 3:25

 

Lessons I Learned from Cactus

03 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in General, Opposition

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greystrapmosspony

XJ900 shoes (no photos of Stadia shoes were available, apparently they were so bad no photographic evidence of their existence has survived)

When I was a kid, one of the most important decisions in life was which pair of shoes would I wear. One such occasion, it was time again for new shoes.  I remember going to the mall with my Dad and looking for the best, sweetest, coolest shoes I could find.  This was about the same time as Michael Jordan was becoming the most famous guy on the planet, and the cool shoe revolution was just beginning. Shoes had gone through the dark age years of Converse chuck Taylors and had blossomed into the Nike, and Reebok world of athlete sponsored awesomeness. I was on point. I would find the best shoes on the planet, and I would use their inherent powers to catapult myself into the dreamworld of NBA stardom.

When I saw the pair I wanted, my Dad looked at them and said, “Um, those are cool, but what about those Michael Jordan shoes right there?” I had looked past the best shoes on the planet, the shoes that the man himself wore while dominating feeble opponents in the NBA, and chosen a slightly lessor known brand known as “Stadia”. That is not a typo. Stadia. I had chosen some shoes that looked awesome, that were flashy, and that caught my eye and had called to me in a voice saying, “I will jettison you into unimaginable realms of basketball greatness”. I then waved off my Dad’s concerned council to “make sure that’s what you want, because those are Michael Jordan’s shoes right there” and doubled down on the Stadias. Good move? Have you ever heard of Stadias? Didn’t think so.

Fast forward two and a half months. Im now on our annual deer hunting trip to the far east border of Utah by Colorado. Tyson and I, still under the requisite real hunting age of 14, are prowling around our camp with our vintage pellet gun hunting for anything that moved. We were basically a two-man Seal Team 6 in training protecting our trailer camp circle from grizzly bears, cougars, wolves, Yetis, and bloodthirsty terrorists.

cactus-blooms

Then the inevitable happened. My shoes, now a mere 10 weeks old, proved to be worth every penny that was spent on them. I accidentally stepped directly into a cactus, and the hole that had formed around my big toe in the preceding 10 week period of NBA prep didn’t even slow the cactus needles down. I immediately fell to the earth in pain, and hobbled back to camp with Tyson as the first casualty in the war, having been defeated by nature itself. My grandma then spent the next two hours trying to fish out the needles from my big toe all while cussing my dad out for not buying me good shoes.

So, it was then that I learned two lessons. One, you get exactly what you pay for, and two, Its easy to be deceived. Flashy looks don’t always equal quality.  I had been deceived and fallen for a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Stadia shoes were not as good as Jordans, they were actually only slightly better than wrapping toilet paper around my feet. Those shoes and the Stadia brand  then went the way of Milli Vanilli, and faded into the archives of knockoff failures, all while Michael Jordan was winning slam dunk contests and scoring titles.

For us, the principle stays the same. Its easy to be deceived. That is what Satan does. He creates a knockoff brand for just about every good product put out by our Savior. For every lds.org, there are thousands of sites with online filth. For every hymn there are scores of demeaning songs on the radio. For every delicious raspberry, there is a disgusting sprig of Asparagus. For every good influence there are a bazillion awful ones. He tries to get us to buy the Stadia brand shoes so that we will hobble off the playing field with a big toe full of cacti.

Just look at what is termed “acceptable” in our society today in relation to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We see Satan’s false products everywhere. Who has the “flashier” more popular definition of marriage? Who has the “coolest” lifestyle? Which type of music, movies, and all types of media receive all the awards from the critics? Who is labeled as the hero between the loving father and the man who decides to change his gender? We are all inundated with endless false products shoved at us from all sides.

We cant fall for his antics anymore. We have to realize that the real truth is the only thing that lasts. Sometimes the truth seems a little less flashy, or popular, or politically correct, but in the end, its the only thing that perseveres. Eventually, all of Satan’s faulty, false, showy, knockoff products will fall apart, and fade into the archives right next to Stadia shoes, Milli Vanilli records, and Asparagus.

The real lasting products that are right in front of us are the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon), prayer, our families, our spouses, our kids, and the gospel. These are built to last forever, and the sooner we realize that and change ourselves to be consumers of these lasting products, the sooner we will get to experience real happiness that lasts, and become more like the Savior, who is, after all, our real Hero.

D&C 46:8 Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;