And

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in General, Love, Patience

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bible-pictures-jesus-arrested-999346-print

A few weeks ago, the youth of our ward hosted a ‘sweethearts’ dinner for the empty nester couples in our ward (couples aged 55+ or whose children have all left the home).  This dinner was held the week of Valentine’s day, so naturally the theme was love.  I was asked by the organizer to say a few words following the dinner (as part of the actual program), which may or may not have been wise (depending on who you ask) on the topic of love.  So, I thought about the target audience (young men and young women aged 12-18, and seniors over 55 who – based on life experience – have very different ideas about what love is), and debated on what I could say to the primary audience – people who have been married longer than I have been alive – about love, since they all know more about it than I do.

I wasn’t really coming up with much on my own. But, then I had the best idea ever – to call my grandpa.  He’s 84, very wise, and has given me many lessons about love whether he meant to at the time or not.  He has also been married1 for longer than I’ve been alive – much longer.  I just knew he would know exactly what to say to this audience.

Prior to calling him, I thought about the millions of times my brothers and I were at his house doing yard work at my grandmothers rather unique bidding.  She was very particular, opinionated, a bit feisty, and she always got exactly what she wanted.  These traits appeared to my 16-year-old yard worker eyes to be torture (suffering) since I failed to see any rationale or sound reasoning for most of it.  There are many lessons that were shared by my grandfather’s extraordinary patience, calm words, and loving example, most of which I have yet to fully understand.2 But, when I was 16, It just seemed like non-stop torture because I didn’t quite understand what was happening and how someone could change their mind so many times and still be right every single time.  In all this thinking – I forgot (code for failed) to actually call my grandpa and ask him for his thoughts.

So, my speaking engagement arrived, and I was standing in front of this senior crowd, the first thing out of my mouth went something like this: “Those of you who have been married for a long time, will likely understand what I’m about to say much better I do, and certainly much better than the youth that are here eating dinner with you, but I am going to quote a scripture – one of the most famous scriptures – on pure love.  Please pay attention to the very first word used to describe the characteristics of this pure love…… ‘And charity suffereth long……’”  Then I paused, and then highlighted the fact that of all the words to describe love, the first one we get is that it ‘suffereth long’.3

While that got a chuckle out of the crowd, because I imagine they are all a bit like my grandpa, in the sense that the youth (who don’t understand quite yet what love really is) think that the longer you are married, the longer you suffer – especially if one of the partners tends to be a bit particular and/or vocal, feisty, or needy about a few things (which youth perceive as ‘torture’ or ‘suffering’) – and most of us can at least relate jokingly to that idea.

But, what comes next in that scripture is the most important – the word and (and is such an overlooked word – probably because of how often it is used), is very important – especially in this verse (Moroni 7:45) because of how it expands on the phrase and our understanding of ‘suffereth long’ and those other qualities that follow it.  Charity suffereth long and is kind. We all know plenty of people who ‘suffer’ (for any length of time) and immediately get crotchety and mean, but how many people who suffer can be kind to everyone else while they are suffering?  The fact is that most of us turn into raging maniacs just because we haven’t eaten in a few hours (basically as soon as we start to ‘suffer’ we cease to be kind).

When we are squeezed (tempted, tried, tested, etc.) or made to ‘suffer’ or even ‘suffer long’ are we kind (meaning at the same time)?  We should be.  Yet, Moroni and Paul didn’t just stop there (with kindness).  They both taught that in order to have real love, we need to be kind, and envy not, and be not puffed up, and4 seek not our own, and be not easily provoked, and think no evil, and rejoice not in iniquity (wickedness in the world, or other people’s failures), but (rather) rejoice in the truth, and bear all things, and believe all things, and hope all things, and endure all things – all simultaneously while suffering long (in good times and in bad).  That is love.  J-Biebs never sings about those things does he….

When you make cookies, if you forget to add flour, your cookies are not going to be cookies.  They might sort of look like cookies, but they won’t taste like cookies.  They might taste like love without kindness or love with a dash of envy – just a bit off (maybe a mirage of a cookie).  The same is true if you forget salt, baking soda, sugar, eggs, or any other of the necessary ingredients.  The recipe calls for all of the individual ingredients to work together to create a cookie – not just a ball of butter and sugar with a chocolate chip or two disguised as a cookie.  The closer you get to adding all of the ingredients in the dough, the closer you get to a real cookie.

Recently, our little community (ward/stake) was heartbroken over the tragic and sudden death of a young mother of 5 children that we all knew and loved.  AND, it presented an opportunity for pure love to be shown.  Her husband (a bishop, and someone who is filled to overflowing with this pure love), and his 5 kids began to suffer (and will continue to suffer ‘long’ because of their new and very different life without her) beyond what most of us will ever need to endure, AND they were kind.   And he (the husband) didn’t envy.  And he thinks no evil.  And he is bearing all things.  In responding to our thoughts, prayers, words, and love following her passing, he was only worried about us, our family, and how we were doing.  He is a Christ-like cookie – possessing all of the necessary ingredients for love. Their oldest son (age 15) spent the first few minutes of his talk during the funeral thanking other people who had showed him support and love and kindess during the past few days, and in coming to the funeral to show love for his mother.  He was a spitting image of his father, and a very tangible fruit of his parents’ love and intentional effort in parenting with love.

So, the next time we read a list of attributes or a list of ingredients for gospel living (the scriptures are full of them), let us notice the use of ‘and’ (or commas) and remember that the requirement is not to choose only the best or first item on the list, but to somehow multi-task and incorporate all of the items on the list.  Or the next time you feel like you are ‘suffering’ remember that part of the reason mortality is stuffed full of difficult circumstances, challenges, and hard times is so that we can learn to suffer and be kind – just like Jesus.

 

 

 

Notes

1 My grandmother passed away 4 years ago, but they are very much still married.

2 I probably won’t even understand until I am 84 just how amazing my grandfather really is, and what true love really is.  By then, the memories of what he taught me at such a young age, will finally dawn on me.

3 See Moroni 7:45, and to be sure we understand, the exact same phrase was used (first again) in 1 Cor. 13:4

4 Although a comma is used in this phrase (and others that follow) in the context of separating similar adjectives, the meaning of ‘and’ is implied in the use of those commas.

Part 3 of 3: Unleashing the Truth!

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by in General

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(Please read Part 2 of 3: “The Truth” before this one)

Part 3 of 3: Unleashing the Truth!

So let me start with the last questions I asked on the previous post: “Why? Why does the adversary make such an effort to bring you down, and stop you?! Why does he so relentlessly try to hold you down?”

I know exactly why…

Because he is utterly and completely terrified of you! Read that again if you need to. Am I saying that the self proclaimed “God of this world”, even the very source of all evil and all darkness is beyond nervous, beyond threatened, but absolutely terrified of you!? Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying! He knows he doesn’t stand a chance against you head on! His only option of stopping you is mind games and the exact opposite of the truth! He wants you to believe that you can’t take him on, stop him, resist him on or overpower him! He wants you to think and truly in your heart believe that you are weak, alone, helpless and incapable. He wants to hide the very truth about you, from you! His hope is to tell you often enough, and loud enough that you believe this lie. He knows that if he can change your own belief of your own self worth that you, not he, but you can become your own biggest obstacle. You will essentially stop your own progression through believing your not capable of it. How do I know this?… because I was there once, and it used to work on me! The fact is, his whole plot is based on a lie. The truth is he knows that you are capable of the same things as Moroni (in Alma 48:17)

“Yea, verily verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and every would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men”.

Doesn’t that make our situations the ultimate irony then? That despite our doubt, despite the fact that we may not even know of, or believe in ourselves or our potential, or even see our worth, that 3 others know it completely!? Who are those 3? They are God, Jesus Christ, and Satan. They know you even if you don’t know you. Sherri Dew once said: “the only thing the power of God and the power of Satan have in common is neither can influence us unless we allow them to”. So who’s power are we letting influence us? Who are we listening to?

So am I really saying you can not only overcome the adversary, but discover who you really are with Christ, and that you are someone incredibly capable, strong, powerful, and a force for good!? Am I saying that we are all capable of much more than we now realize? Am I saying that you, yes you, are a valued, loved, important, and cherished treasure of our Father in Heaven who loves you more deeply than words can explain?! Am I saying that we are all crucial parts of something much bigger?

Yes! Do you realize where you came from!? Every single one of us has already withstood the greatest battle between good and evil the history of the world has seen to this point! We have already fought and defeated not only the adversary but his army as well! We don’t come to this earth to gain our worth, we bring it with us! We’re here to PROVE to ourselves what our Father in Heaven already knows! We’re here to find that fire, that strength, that ability, those gifts and talents that are ALREADY within us and when we find them, USE THEM and LIVE THEM! Do you not realize that we are in the last hours even the last minutes and seconds of the last days! That alone is tribute to your strength! The mere fact that you exist, and are alive, and were chosen to come down to earth now in these times proves your worth! You were chosen now, because you are built for now! You are more than capable to not only withstand, but thrive in these last days! In the last seconds of a close game, does the coach put in the bench warmers or water boy?! NO! He puts in the best of the best, those who have the strength, determination, focus and endless resolve to see, achieve and insure victory! That is who you are!

The following are quotes from Ezra Taft Benson, March 4, 1979 in a talk called “In His Steps”

For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not….

God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God…

All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized…

Which makes it all the more important for us to wake up to who we really are and prepare ourselves and our children. This is who we are and what we are. This is what we can be with Christ! Sure the adversary is growing and recruiting soldiers every single day but guess what… SO ARE WE! The game changer is we know how this ends. The question is where will you be when the final buzzer sounds?

Regardless of what you believe or what you think. The truth is, the fact is, you are of infinite worth, and your individual potential is just as limitless! You are needed, and you are important! That is your worth! That is your potential! Your true worth doesn’t come from anyone else but from God and Christ. If you are looking for true and lasting happiness from the world, and gauging and determining your self-worth from facebook, Instagram, friends, family, your own perceptions or whether or not you have a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife, what your Church calling is or has been, or depending on how much wealth you have accumulated you will not find true joy and happiness. Why? Because it’s not the source of joy and happiness! I say that because I’ve tried it that way and it doesn’t work. I can also testify that I know who and where the source of true joy and happiness is… God and Jesus Christ. I think the first step to becoming truly happy and finding our true worth and purpose on earth is to first look in the right place for it.

With that understand that we that we are all unique! We are all individual with different likes and dislikes, gifts, talents, abilities, hobbies, interests, backgrounds, experiences, struggles, and stories and all these are for a very specific purpose. You are special and with your unique set of gifts and insight there are people that you, and you alone can influence. Maybe it’s a friend, family member, co-worker, an entire nation, or a complete stranger you will run into next Thursday at the grocery store… I don’t know, but what I do know is you are here because you have a job to do, we all do. You have people to help, lift and love. It may be an act of service, simply listening to someone, or something as simple as a smile. Never underestimate what God can do with a simple smile or act of love. I’ve been on both ends of something that simple and will testify they were moments I will never forget! God needs you and can and will use you if you let him.

You are unique for a purpose. We can’t compare ourselves and our life circumstances to anyone else, because we aren’t them! We’re not supposed to be them! We’re supposed to be us, and we need to be us! If we were all the same how effective would we be? Let me put that question into perspective: Can you build a house with only a hammer? How about only a nail? A Screwdriver? A tape measure? A saw? No! The hammer needs the nails just like the wood needs the saw. The screw needs the screwdriver and all the tools together need the contractor to make a home!

Do not let the adversary convince you to be ashamed or embarrassed of your differences or of who you are. Satan will try to downplay, or degrade the very tools and gifts, talents or traits that are unique to you. Satan will attempt to fool you into hiding the very gifts that our Heavenly Father gave us that make us special!

I  personally believe that if we had achieved everything our Father in Heaven had for us to achieve… if we had completed everything we had been sent here to this earth to accomplish we wouldn’t be here. But yet, here we are. What if every day when you wake up you ask yourself a simple question: “God has given me another day, why?” That’s not a question for me to answer for you… that’s a question for you to answer for yourself!

I want you to try one more thing for me. Insert your name in place of Moroni in the scripture mentioned prior and now again below. (Alma 48:17). Do this every single morning and see how that changes your day, then your week, then your month, then your life. Set it as your goal and what you strive toward.

“Yea, verily verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto (insert your name here), behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men”.

So my hope and prayer is that we can all wake up to our potential and worth. Let us work hard to get rid of the boundaries that we place on ourselves to become more and become better! Let us make a powerful choice to be the best of what we can be, no matter what that is! To see what power, faith, and potential we have for good! Let us rise up to our callings and blessings and start to view ourselves through God’s eyes… because when we do, we’ll find the truth.

 

Part 2 of 3: The Truth

17 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by in General

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Lion Quote

(Please read Part 1 of 3: “The Mirage” before this one)

Part 2 of 3: The Truth

When I say “self worth” is under attack like never before what do I even mean? I mean that Satan is ruthlessly and relentless trying to alter the way you feel about yourself and how you view yourself to ultimately steer what you believe about yourself in your heart. He is trying to slow you down, push you down, and keep you down because this can alter your inner relationship with who you really are, and who you think you are. This will change how you think, act, speak, serve, and the very life you live.

Is Satan being successful? Well… Unfortunately, yes he is, especially with our youth.

How many of us, or our youth at one point or another, or even this very second have felt or feel that we aren’t good enough. That we don’t measure or stack up. That we’re aren’t pretty enough, smart enough, talented enough, or good enough in some way, or even any way? How many of feel that we’re too short, to tall, to thin, or not thin enough? How many of us feel like everyone else has it all figured out or that they are more spiritual, more gifted, more talented, or a better parent or spouse, or more deserving of love than we are? How many of us have felt that we aren’t worth much… or even worth anything at all? How many of us have felt, or do feel, like we don’t even matter?

Let me tell you something… I have been there, I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to think that for years on end. I know what it feels like to feel that so often that you start to not only believe it, but also accept it. I know what it feels like to be scared to tell anyone because you fear they would know your weaknesses and faults, and wouldn’t like, love or even accept you because of them. I know what it feels like to think that isolation is safer, when in reality it’s not. I know exactly what it feels like to be incapable of accepting or feeling love for yourself, and also what it feels like to refuse love because you don’t feel like you deserve or are even worth it… not only from others but from, and especially from God. I know what it feels like to gather 100% of self worth from my own perception of how I thought others thought of me… when the kicker is I gathered that perception through the adversary’s eyes which skewed the truth! In a nutshell, I realized looking back now… I took the adversaries smear campaign of myself to myself hook line and sinker!

Now, let me tell you something else I learned that took me about a decade to figure out… That way of thinking and looking at life wrong. It’s untrue. In fact, it’s more than that, it’s complete and total bull crap. Why? Because it comes from Satan, and because it comes from him, it’s completely, totally, unarguably, undeniably, and inevitably false. In fact, it’s beyond simply “false”… it’s the exact opposite of the truth!

When you are told or feel that you are weak… it’s because you’re STRONG!

When you are told or feel that you are worthless… it’s because you’re PRICELESS!

When you are told or feel that you are defective… it’s because you’re UNIQUE & PERFECT!

When you are told or feel that you are not needed… It’s because you’re CRUCIAL!

If you feel like you can’t or won’t measure up… it’s because YOU CAN AND YOU WILL!

If you don’t feel you are worth much or anything at all, I want you to realize something. God himself sent his Son Jesus Christ to earth to not only provide the perfect example of how to live for YOU, but to perform the single greatest act this world has ever or will ever see, the atonement… FOR YOU! Christ himself who could have declined at any time, willingly went through humiliation, pain, agony and suffering beyond our mortal and physical comprehension even unto death just to have the opportunity to live with YOU again! YOU in the eyes of God himself and his Son Jesus Christ were and always will be worth it! That is how important, needed, loved and appreciated you are!

What if in the very moments of the most intense fear, agony, doubt, and panic, when Christ himself, even the alpha and omega himself was in doubt and even trembled, bled, and wanted to turn back… what if he thought of you and how much YOU meant to him? What if the mere thought of YOU gave him hope and peace? What if you, YES YOU, are who sustained him in those moments? What if you in the ultimate reversal of roles were who gave your God, even your Redeemer the strength to go on despite the monumental physical and emotional cost!? I wouldn’t doubt that for a second!

The world will try to tell you what matters most is what’s on the outside. The world will focus on the outward appearance and ignore the single most important thing about you… your heart!

Another thing I have learned from my experience is this: When we feel unworthy of love, or appreciation it’s because we refuse to forgive ourselves even though our Savior will or already has. With that in mind, I want to ask you 3 questions, and I want you to truly think about them. Read them a couple times if you need to!

1- Who are you to deny love to who God loves?

2- Who are you to deny forgiveness to one of God’s most prized creations?

3- Who are you to deny happiness and joy to one of God’s greatest and most precious masterpieces… yourself?!

The fact is we all sin. We have all sinned, and will sin again. Yet I fear that we hold ourselves to not only an unreachable, but unrealistic and impossible standard of perfection, and when we don’t achieve it because we sin, we refuse forgiveness to ourselves. This leads to not loving and even hating who and what we are.

What’s strange is often times the hardest person to forgive in this life is not someone else, it’s not your kids, your spouse, or ex-spouse… it’s ourselves.

Sometimes the hardest person to see quality traits in… is ourselves

Sometimes the hardest person to be patient with… is ourselves

And the hardest person to show love for is the person we see in the mirror every day. Ourselves!

I promise you though, if you truly repent and accept the atonement which has already been done for you, the most amazing thing will happen!…

You will feel complete joy! Beyond making you whole! It will make you more confident, happier, and at peace and you will find, feel and keep that joy for others and in life. I know this, because I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to finally accept and feel the love of Christ! It is a feeling beyond description and beyond what words can convey! It is a feeling so engulfing and complete that it’s goes beyond your physical body and beyond description! It literally changes you! It will change the way you think, act, and treat yourself and others! It will change your relationship with yourself and others and God. If you ask me, it’s the single greatest feeling you could ever feel and it comes from something as simple as LOVE. Love… that requires no money or special talent to give or receive yet is worth more than all the money in world!

So, having said all this. The question is why!? Why does the adversary make such an effort to bring you down, and stop you?! Why does he so relentlessly try to hold you down?

I know exactly why…

To be Continued in Part 3: Unleashing Who You Are!

Part 1 of 3: The Mirage

10 Thursday Mar 2016

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mcdonalds

Back in the day when I was a junk food loving kid, when not only colored TV’s but color itself was newly invented, before Netflix and even tivo, if you watched TV or sports you were forced against your will to endure commercials. No pausing, no skipping, or fast forward, it was awful. Among the most common of these commercials were McDonald’s. Of all the advertisers on TV at the time, their commercials were the worst! (or the best depending on how you look at it) Their “food” was advertised extremely well. Their burgers looked so big, juicy, and delicious you would willingly give up a kidney just to try a single bite knowing and really believing it would totally be worth it. It didn’t matter if you were eating dinner that very second, when you saw their commercials you instantly became hungrier than you ever remembered being in your entire life. Shortly after being compelled by your taste buds to drive to their “restaurant” you found yourself ordering exactly what you had just had the privilege of witnessing. You were preparing for heaven in food form. You were preparing to get exactly what you had just seen. Your taste buds were uttering their last words because they realized they were about self destruct due to the over stimulation from an overload of tastiness. You were prepared to slip into delicious food coma and you were prepared to embrace it.

One of the greasy acne faced teenager served up your meal and you were mere seconds away. You could see the light at the end of the tunnel and you were just about to experience pure joy in food form. Then it happened…

Reality hit you square in the face like when you walk into a glass door at the mall because you tried to “push” the door when it clearly says “pull”. Staring right back at you with just as much confusion is a paper thin piece of what you suppose is the hamburger portion of your hamburger although it looks more like a buffalo chip than a burger. It looks more like it’s fresh from the prairie than fresh from the grill. To add to your confusion, that buffalo chip is slapped between two buns that look like they were just wrung out from your great grandma’s clothes wringer and the entire burger looks thin enough you could fold it up in your wallet and not even notice it was there. 90% of the sauce was splattered on the box or wrapper as opposed to on the burger itself and the pickles you asked for? They aren’t even there, and a whopping 7% of the slice of cheese is actually on your burger with the rest melted on your wrapper. You tally this all together and a debate begins in your head as to whether or not the wrapper and box the burger came in would actually be more delicious because it surly looks that way. Then, you looked at the other side of your tray hoping for redemption but all you see is a side of mashed potatoes in a vertical box that you have to use your imagination just to wrap your head around the thought that at one point they may have actually been crispy french fries.

Then, at that moment you realize something. You just got worked. You were played like a fiddle and lied to. You were fooled into thinking the exact opposite of the truth was the truth. The commercial had you believing McDonald’s actually made quality food. They had you believing all the top athletes at the time really enjoyed McDonald’s and endorsed them because their food was good rather than because they were being paid an obscene amount of money to help perpetuate a lie. They had you believing that you were about to enjoy the best meal of your life. The bottom line is this: They had you believing their lies when in reality their commercials had more bullcrap in them than a Texas rodeo. Nothing they said was the truth. Down to their drink machine that was out of ice when you tried to fill your drink up. Wow… didn’t I just sum up way too much of what we see every single day on facebook and instagram? Did that not just sum up a vast majority of the world?

So what does this experience which I’m sure you can all relate to have to do with the Gospel? Well… actually quite a bit. Not only the Gospel but everyday life.

The adversary is serving up buffalo chip patties with sides of mashed potatoes cleverly disguised as juicy, and delicious Hamburgers and fries every single day to millions of people and guess what, people are eating it up like there’s no tomorrow. The funny thing is, most people eating this up every day don’t even realize or even care that they are doing it and some may not even realize it!

They don’t look for the truth or care to look into it themselves. They simply accept the “advertisement” for what it pretends to be not knowing or caring it’s not true. The adversary is a liar. He’s nothing more than a complete fraud. He’s got nothing more than your pure and utter destruction on his “to-do” list every single second of every single day and he’s not lazy nor is he complacent. He takes no days off, nor is he any respecter of persons. He has no morals, no guideline, no compass or conscious, and no line he won’t cross. He is going down and bringing everyone he possibly can with him. He knows his time is about up and he’s trying to disguise his nose dive with both engines on fire as a fun and harmless skydiving adrenaline rush and inviting all to join him. The reality is, he doesn’t even have a parachute, and neither do those who are with him.

The fact is we all know how this will end. The fact is, we’ve ALWAYS known how this will end. But yet, just like the McDonalds commercials which contain as much truth as the Sahara contains frostbite people always seem to lose sight of these truths and start to believe otherwise. Not only that… they are actually full heartedly convinced of untruth. They are convinced the exact opposite of truth is the real truth.

Think about it… Satan is not merely selling buffalo chips as hamburgers, oh no… he’s doing much more than that. He’s more than just bent, or slightly tweaked the truth like in advertisements today… he’s flat out warped, manipulated, hidden, disguised, disfigured and mutilated the truth and altered the very perception and reception of truth to the point he’s painted it as the exact opposite of what it is. Do you fully understand this!! He’s altered the world’s view on marriage, on justice, on mercy, on religion, on everything you can possibly imagine and he’s having tremendous success! He is selling black as white, up as down, and left as right. He’s not only doing but actually succeeding in selling evil as good, and good as evil, bond as free and free as bonded. He has manipulated it so well that the world and even some of us are actually confusing complete opposites with each other!

I am absolutely fed up with this because I can see how it’s working! I know how he’s working and it makes me angry because it used to work on me! In my opinion this single tactic of opposites and the specific direction he attacks with it is MORE effective than pornography, drugs, and alcohol COMBINED! I say that because it doesn’t only affect those who struggle or battle any of those things… it affects every single one of us every single day of our lives! From what I can see, he is combining his forces like NEVER BEFORE to go after the very heart of our army. He in his absolute fury is attacking the strongest part of us! He is attacking not only each of us, he is attacking our very future… he is attacking our YOUTH!

What am I talking about? What is he trying to confuse you about? He is going after your SELF WORTH.

(To be continued in Part 2 of 3: The Truth)

 

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

 

Are you interested?

02 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in General

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Every time I see someone playing the guitar or the piano skillfully I think to myself “I wish I could do that” – and I really do wish it.  I have a strong interest in playing the piano and the guitar (among many other things) as well as anyone in the world.  The problem is that I don’t have an interest in actually practicing.  I don’t have an interest in spending the time that is required in order to learn to play well or learn new songs.  It seems that I only have an interest in having a talent miraculously bestowed upon me – which could also mean that I really don’t have an interest in learning to play these instruments at all.  I only have an interest in wishing I could.1

This same idea could be said for anything that is difficult or that requires a lot of effort.  In fact, there are literally hundreds of things that I have an interest in doing well, but don’t have a strong enough interest to actually practice or spend time to develop them.  This seems to be a problem with my talent development.

In fairness, there are some things that I do actually work hard at, and I feel that I am even improving (even if I acknowledge that my improvement is modest).  Yet, with that same realization comes the understanding that for real and measured and sustainable improvement to continue, a lot of effort is required.  This process may also increase our respect for some individuals who in fact do that thing extremely well (i.e. professionals in the field or activity) which we are attempting to develop within ourselves.  This can foster motivation and emulation.

Last summer I decided that I had an interest in doing a triathlon.  After all, how hard could it be to swim (I’ve gone swimming a thousand times), ride a bike (we’ve all done that since we were 4), and run a little (I learned to walk/run when I was 1).  At first this interest was just a ‘wish’ – but then I started to actually let that interest work within me and signed up for a triathlon (sprint distance).  I felt confident in my ability as a “formerly decent high school athlete” and in my somewhat-active lifestyle as an “occasional church and friendly neighborhood pick up basketball game player” to somehow be able to perform each of these disciplines in succession with minimal effort.

Then I went swimming (for distance, not for fun) one time. That’s all it took.

The swim distance (for a sprint triathlon) is 800 meters.  For reference, that’s only 2 laps around a regular sized track.  That’s it.  How hard could it be?  With no formal swim training, a sufficient ego, and plenty of naiveté I went to the pool (6 weeks before race day) on day 1 of training with lofty goals.  I jumped in, fastened my swim goggles, and off I went.  By the time I was completely gassed, I stopped to assess the situation and measure my baseline effort and wonder why my entire body was hurting and I murmured internally about the non-stop difficulty of not sinking to the bottom of the pool.  Somehow it surprised me that the moment I stopped swimming I started sinking.  I had struggled mightily to swim 50 meters (that’s two measly laps in a standard 25-meter pool).  Suddenly I realized just how amazing Michael Phelps really is and I had to make a decision on just how ‘interested’ I was in actually completing a triathlon.

A similar situation that I can relate is my interest in earning an MBA (Masters of Business Administration).  I have always wanted an MBA to round out my business education, yet what continually prevents this from happening is the list of requirements to actually earn one.  I get hung up on actually taking the required pre-application GMAT or GRE test, applying to MBA schools, without even mentioning the commitment of actually paying the tuition, going to class, doing the homework, studying, completing the projects, (you know, actually earning the MBA).  Needless to say, I have not earned my MBA and my supposed interest is waning.  In all reality, we get to decide how interested we really are in things once reality (the list of requirements) is presented to us, and we get to decide all along the way if we are still ‘interested’ as we start the process and understand just what that reality means as we continue forward and struggle to improve.

Only those who have actually struggled through the process of repeated pain and effort (regardless of what talent or goal it is), or who have let their ‘interest’ in that thing to lead them to real and marked improvement can relate to those who are like minded.  The rest of us just think to ourselves “that would be nice if…” or maybe even “it’s probably not that hard – I could do it if I wanted” or “those guys are just weird.”  We likely think that being able to do something incredible is just ‘given’ to other people that we see – because that’s what we ‘wish’ would happen to us.

The more you struggle through and begin to overcome (see results) – your love for that thing increases, and your ‘interest’ is deepened.  Deepened to the point where we may be searching for ‘plans’ or ‘programs’ or ‘mentors’ to help guide us in our quest to become even better.  We start to look for additional routines and techniques, tips and tricks, and suddenly we find ourselves enveloped in the process of ‘becoming’ more and more.  Because when we are truly ‘interested’ in something, we are interested in actually practicing and thinking about and trying to improve that something – and find ourselves willing to go to whatever lengths are required while someone who isn’t comfortable giving 110% effort for that thing wouldn’t feel comfortable wanting to train with those who do, and would quickly realize that they are actually more interested in something or someone else.

What are we interested in?  Is our interest merely a wish, or do we let it guide us to repeated thought and action and to actively developing our talents and skills and love for that thing?  Or, are we too easily deterred by the list of entry requirements or our first effort at improving?

King Benjamin gave us the answer; one in which he had a bunch of people express their ‘interest’ in something.  After he had given them an amazing and promotional advertisement for salvation outlining the benefits of the “kingdom of God” they (his audience) all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.

In other words, they said “we have an interest in being part of the kingdom of God.  Apply the atonement to us.  We want to be saved.”

And king Benjamin again opened his mouth and began to speak unto them, saying: My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the remainder of my words which I shall speak unto you.

In other words, he said “okay, here is a list of the requirements for the thing which you desire.”

  1. Trust in the Lord, be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life
  2. Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
  3. Believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you;
  4. And now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
  5. Ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come
  6. Ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.
  7. Ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another…
  8. Ye will teach them (your children) to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
  9. Ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

Disclaimer:

Perhaps thou shalt say: The man (who is in need or is asking for succor) has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

In other words, he said “this is a list of things that bring salvation, and it includes a whole lot of ‘doing’.  You may even look to excuse yourself from actually doing some of the things on this list for seemingly rational reasons or because of other people’s actions or your assumptions of their situation.”

“But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this (stay his hand, a.k.a not complete and live and do the requirements on this list, a.k.a withhold your succor and/or your ministering effort)… the same hath no interest in the kingdom of God.2

 In other words, he says “if you don’t try and actually do these things, you really aren’t interested, you’re only wishing.”

 King Benjamin did not say that they couldn’t be saved, but he did say that they “hath no interest in the kingdom of God.”  I think this means they really won’t have an interest in it – and wouldn’t like participating in the activities there anyway.

Training for a triathlon (especially real ones – like an Ironman) is made up of a whole lot of swimming, biking, and running.  Mix in some nutrition plans, some strength training, and some brick workouts, proper sleeping habits and mental toughness exercises that will be never ending for as long as you want to be a triathlete – because that is what it means to be a triathlete or to belong to the kingdom of triathletes.  If you aren’t interested (in love with and finding joy in) the training regimen, you are in fact uninterested in becoming a triathlete.  As a note, the end result of all that training is actually a race that includes a lot of swimming, biking, and running.  Imagine this voice on race day: “Congratulations, all of your swim, bike, and run training has earned you the right to swim, bike, and run with other people who love it just like you.”

Training for the kingdom of God is made up of a whole lot of serving, ministering, succoring, teaching, sacrificing, feeling and caring for the sick and the needy, believing, hoping, praying, and loving.  These activities will be never ending for as long as you want to be part of the kingdom of God.  If you aren’t really interested in these activities, or if you cannot find joy in performing these duties, or if you think that by somehow completing enough of them to ‘earn’ your MBA in Christianity (or if you just want these talents to somehow be bestowed upon you) – you are in fact uninterested in belonging to the kingdom.  Heaven is made up of a bunch of people doing kingdom of God training exercises all the time. Imagine this voice on race day “Congratulations, all of your repeated succor, care, blessing, teaching, ministering, and sacrifice training has earned you the right to succor, care, bless, teach, and minister to people who love it just like you.”

The means really are the very ends that we so earnestly seek.  To learn to love the process is to understand what heaven is really like.

I am hoping for the kingdom of God.  I am wishing for the kingdom of God. But am I really interested in the kingdom of God?

 

 

 

Notes

1 This is a touchy subject for me.  Mostly because I feel like ‘wishing’ or ‘hoping’ that somehow a talent or gift could just be mine (without the struggle to develop and earn that talent) is in fact a strong talent of mine. I have given multiple lessons on ‘talents’ and have been free to disclose that one of my strengths is identifying desirable qualities in others and ‘wishing’ I had them.  In full honesty, I then also disclose that I am not willing to actually work for any of them, thus highlighting (with levity) the gap between the two ideas.

2 Mosiah 4:2-18

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

God is not the author of confusion, but of peace

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in General

≈ 2 Comments

boots

I love to ski. One of my favorite parts of skiing actually comes after you have ‘dominated’ the slopes – or repeatedly slammed your backside all over the mountain. It is after you limp back to the lodge and realize how sore your feet are. It happens when you sit down after a long, awesome day. It is taking off your ski boots.

It is feet nirvana. It is truly sweet relief.

So…

A couple days ago I accompanied the Elders to a couple appointments that they had made. One was to a less active member that went really well. We left feeling excited, uplifted, and happy. It was fantastic.

The second appointment was with a very good man. He had spent years studying the Bible and doing his best to follow Jesus Christ. Through the visit we felt that we were spinning our wheels and that we were just not going to accomplish much. It was not confrontation at all, but it was not at all like our first appointment.

I dropped off the Elders at their apartment for the night and started home. I felt disappointed, saddened, and even a bit confused while pondering the discussion we had. I pulled over, said a brief prayer, and turned the music on.1

I hit play, and no more than two notes into the song I felt an almost instant calm. It felt like I was taking off ski boots. It was a very perceptible relief and peace. My mind was able to slow down, and my testimony grew.

The spirit communicates to each of us differently and individually. When I feel the spirit it is usually a calm, peaceful feeling – like being wrapped up in a warm quilt. I have also, on occasion, felt a burning in my chest that I cannot deny. I can now say that the spirit made me feel an intense relief – like removing ski boots.2

Our Savior knows us individually. The Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.3 I don’t think this means English or Spanish or whatever other language you speak with your physical mouth and vocal cords. The spirit knows how we think, what motivates us, and how to prick our hearts and pierce our souls with stillness.4 During Christ’s ministry on this continent he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.5 The Lord can speak to us absolutely and in a way that is perfectly custom fit for our ears and hearts.

The hymn that ‘happened’ to be playing when I turned the music on?… Where Can I Turn for Peace. The tender mercies of the Lord are real. They are free. They are awesome. They are not random coincidence.6

‘Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish? Who, who can understand? He, only one.

He answers privately, reaches my reaching, In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.

Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching. Constant He is and kind, Love without end.’7

 

 

1 I am obsessed with Ben Howington and his guitar. His version of ‘We’ll Bring the World His Truth’ is amazing, but I hate to single out one song because I think that all of his stuff is lights out. I pretty much listen to him non-stop. Mormonguitar.com if you care.

2 There are many descriptions of how the spirit makes us feel. We find several in the scriptures. I heard a great description not too long ago in a testimony meeting though – the speaker explained that to him, the spirit feels like “liquid sunshine” is being poured over him. I thought that was so great.

3 2 Nephi 31:3

4 Jarom 1:12, 3 Nephi 17:3

5 3 Nephi 17:21

6 ‘The tender mercies of the Lord’ by David A. Bednar – In addition to an extremely relevant post by Colby.

7 Hymnbook #129 — Also referenced by Colby recently here.

Also, if you have not read the First Presidency Preface in the Hymn Book in a while, it’s worth a refresher. “Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns… We hope leaders, teachers, and members who are called on to speak will turn often to the hymnbook to find sermons presented powerfully and beautifully in verse.”

Sound familiar? You are probably remembering Tyson’s thoughts on the Spirit of Christmas. For Riley’s take on hymns.