Feel Lonely? God Loves You.

It's funny how often I need this reminder. With the busyness of life and everything that goes on around all of us, it's easy to feel lost and confused. You wonder if it'll ever get easier. And I'll tell you now, it doesn't. It does become more manageable when you recognize that you have a loving Heavenly Father. He, the Most Supreme Being in the universe, wants the best for YOU. He knows your name, and knows more about you than you do. He wants us to return to Him so that we can become like Him! He has sent us so many helpers along the way back too!

1. He Loves You - He gave His Only Begotten Son 

This scripture is seen during big sporting events, but think of the true meaning of it. Imagine that you are God, that you gave your only son up.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but shall have everlasting life.”

He did it for you. He gave up His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we all have the opportunity and choice to follow God. Without Christ, we would be forever cut off from His presence. Christ was perfect and an example that we strive to follow. We can pray to our Heavenly Father for the Chirstlike attributes of love, patience, humility, and forgiveness. We can become disciples of Christ and truly be an example of the believers (1 Timothy 4:12).

2. He Loves You - He gave us the Holy Ghost

We are also blessed with the third member of the Godhead, TWENTY FOUR SEVEN. That's pretty monumental when you realize what it really means. The Holy Ghost is awesome. He is always there if we are making the right decisions. He's the best friend that never leaves, the coach that pushes you to do your best, and your parental unit that makes you feel guilty when you know you shouldn't be doing something. It's pretty cool! He's our tour guide. We've been dropped in from a plane into Afghanistan and He knows how to safely get out of the battleground. That way is the Gospel. That way is Christ. Don't take for granted one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. If we recognize that we are being led by the Spirit, we will become more obedient, more loving, and will be filled with more light! In some of my toughest days, the Holy Ghost reminds me to read my scriptures, or ironically, write a blog post. And I feel like I can conquer any temptation after I do these things. It brings me an inner peace that is unmatched.  

"And I will send upon him the Comforter, which shall teach him the truth and the way whither he shall go;" (D&C 79:2)

3. He Loves You - He gave you a Family

Families are so great. My sister makes me laugh on an every day basis. My brothers are serving full-time missions and they couldn't be a greater example. My oldest sister has a 7-month old angel and she is an example to me in how families should be. My other brother (big family) served an honorable full-time mission and is always looking to have a good time. I wouldn't have my family any other way. I think that goes the same for all of us. He is the perfect match-maker! :) I love that families can be together forever and that I will be with mine for eternity. In a booklet for the youth of the church it states:

"Being part of a family is a great blessing. Your family can provide you with companionship and happiness, help you learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and help you prepare for eternal life." - For the Strength of Youth

I hope that we all go to our family if we are ever feeling down or alone. Ask for a father's blessing or just ask to talk to your parents. I'm 101% sure they will say yes! As you can see, there are so many sources of comfort that our Heavenly Father gave us. I'm not even close to naming them all! He does this because He Loves You.      

4. He Loves You - He gave us the Scriptures

"Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men." (D&C 11:21). He gave us the scriptures so that we can learn more of Him. He gave us the scriptures so that we can learn, understand, gain a sure testimony, and strengthen others through our own knowledge of the divine truths in it. The prophets of old and today are great examples of their love to others and to God. They understood that God loved them and they wanted/want to share that with the whole world! The scriptures hold the keys to spiritual protection. In 1 Nephi 15:24 we see that: "...whoso would hearken unto and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them to lead them away to destruction."

5. He Loves You - He gave you Friends

I have never met anyone who doesn't need friends. We all need people in our lives to laugh with, someone we can count on, and someone we can use as a shoulder to cry on. Life is hard, and friends ease that burden. In my experiences, friends have either gone through what you have and know what to say, or they just telepathically know what to say, and it kind of shocks you how cool they are. I have realized that as I have been growing up that my friend pool has diminished. My standards haven't. Those that weren't respecting for who I was and what I believe in were distracting me from what I really want for my future. To serve a full-time mission and marry in the temple with my beautiful bride-to-be (whoever that is). Friends are there to help you back up. Let's make the scriptures our friend. Let's make our famlies our close friends. Let's make the Holy Ghost our spirit friend. Let's make Christ our BEST friend. 

I know that this Church is true and that God loves YOU. He knows you by name. He knows you and me. We are one in billions but He loves us! Never forget that. And if you need anything, you can ALWAYS pray. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.   

It is The Last Days...

We're finally getting a good snow in Ohio! :D And it is definitely Christmas time! Make time for Christ. I loved listening to the Christmas Devotional this past weekend. President Thomas S. Monson said, "To catch the real meaning of the Spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the Spirit of Christ." So drop that syllable! :) 

Life is flying by so fast! I feel like just yesterday it was summer. This past month has been so uplifting and it has helped me a lot with all the chaos going on around me and all of us. You can't walk for 10 seconds and you don't hear something inappropriate. We need to keep our eyes focused on our ultimate goal of returning to Christ. Put God first. If you don't put the most important person in your life first, the adversary will have that many more chances to persuade you to sway on the path back to eternal life with our Heavenly Father. 

We need to remember who, what, and how. Who should we follow? Should we follow Our Brother who set the perfect example for us and who made it possible for us to return to heaven to live with our families together for all time and eternity? Or, should we be on cruise control, and follow what we feel like? Wrong. There is no gray area anymore. We must choose. Choose who you will serve. As for me, I'm serving God. Are you going to join? 

What: What are we going to do once we choose? We must become a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places. That is what we promised to do when we entered the waters of baptism. That we will keep His commandments. We chose to serve Him. "If you have not put the Kingdom of God first, it will make no difference what you have chosen instead." So what will you do?

How: How will you do this? There are many ways. Whenever you serve others, you are serving God. When you serve, you are filled with the light of Christ. You will choose wisely. So for me, I like to serve others. It keeps me focused because I know that that is what my Savior did for His whole time on this Earth. There are numerous ways. Find the one that helps you the most. 

The key in not getting lost along the way during the last days: TGIF. 

Today    God     Is     First

"The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their family in the midst of the gathering evil around us." (Spencer W. Kimball). If you're wondering, that time HAS COME. Raise your families in righteousness. Make your home a place of refuge for your children. Make it a home of order and of love. I know since I have read this that I will not marry my wife unless she is fully devoted to raising righteous children. I suggest to those of you that have not entered the temple to be sealed yet, to join me! Write down what your standards will be for your spouse and don't compromise. 

I know that we can make it. We were sent on this Earth because we were the strongest. He needed us for this time. Let's show Satan what we got! Make Christ your number one priority, and all else will be easy when you rely on Him. And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Never Give Up. :)

Missionary work is great! You get to see people change their lives to follow the Savior. It is an amazing experience to witness and makes us want to be even better. This past week I was chatting with a friend who I had prieviously talked to about our religions and she didn't really enjoy her church and didn't attend very often. I informed her of all the fun activities and opportunities that our Church offers for its members. She seemed pretty acceptive and wanted to come to a youth activity. There was a fall out for the one we planned and I told her when the next one came up I would tell her. Recently I had had an impression to invite her to church. Seeing that it was fast sunday coming up I thought that she would particularly enjoy it. I invited her and she reacted in a way that I did not entirely expect. She was offended that I asked her and was annoyed by it. I didn't even know what to say back to her. She apologized but I felt like she didn't really mean it.  

Since that experience I had been pretty down on myself and didn't know where to go from here. I had invited a lot of my friends already and they either weren't interested or got my hopes up and then it didn't work out. I want to spread this great message to all of my friends. Because I am a mormon, I live a great life. I know where I'll be going after I die, I know where I came from and why I am here. I know that whatever happens in my life, it is for the reason that my Heavenly Father loves me. And I want everyone I know to have that same knowledge. 

Today in Fast and Testimony meeting I bore my testimony and I knew that missionary work was a good thing. I knew at that point that I cannot give up. The Lord is calling us to the work. That doesn't mean that even more people will be interested than before. It means that we need to work harder, and involve the Spirit more with our teaching and finding people who are ready. Those people are out there. They don't know what to do and need that comfort that comes through the Gospel. I also found a quote by Elder Neil L. Andersen, and he states: "Whether or not the invitation is accepted as you invite others to come and see you will feel the approval of the Lord and, with that approval, an added measure of faith to share your beliefs again and again." (emphasis added). 

I love this work and I am so impressed and grateful for all of the hard work that the missionaries of the world put in every day to serve others to bring others unto Christ. I know that if we continue to share the Gospel, we will feel blessed and loved by our Heavenly Father because we are following His counsel. Never give up. And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Honesty is the BEST Policy!

Hello again! :) This time I would like to talk about Honesty. This principle is key to not only the LDS Church but to life itself! If you are not honest, you can lose your job or lose a life-long friend. In our Church, "^aWe believe in being ^bhonest, true, ^cchaste, ^dbenevolent, virtuous, and in doing ^egood to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we ^fhope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to^gendure all things. If there is anything ^hvirtuous, ⁱlovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (Articles of Faith -13) If we are honest with ourselves, others, and the Lord, he will be pleased and we will be blessed. To those who have started your school up, it is not good to cheat. Because even if no one sees you cheat, Christ knows you did. And whenever I think about it, it reminds me of a primary song, If the Savior Stood Beside Me. Here's the first verse:

"If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?
Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?
Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously 
if I could the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?"

I love the words to that song. I didn't realize it while singing it in Primary, but pondering on those words makes me want to make the right choices all the time. I hope that you think the same. We need to make this a part of our daily lives. Not just on Sundays or whenever we feel like it. Now is the time to live righteously. I would like to conclude with the words of Nephi: "I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell." (2 Nephi 33:6) 

May we always "glory in truth" and live righteous lives. I love talking about it and sharing it because it strengthens my testimony immensely! I love this Church and everything that it has done for me. The happiness it has brought into my life is beyond belief. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the true and living Prophet on this Earth today, and I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, Amen.

The Plan of Happiness! :)

Have you ever wondered, Where we came from? Why we're here? And what the point is to life? Well I have the answer for you! In our church, we believe that we lived in the presence of God before Earth, and that we will return to him one day. In the "premortal life" as we call it, we were all spirits and living with God. Our elder brother, had a plan for us (Jesus Christ). His plan for us was to come here on this Earth, not knowing where we came from, and having agency (the right and power to choose). We would be on Earth to be tested our willingness to follow our Savior. We could choose whatever we wanted. There was not just one plan though. Satan or Lucifer, suggested that we have no agency, that we would follow Christ no matter what. All of Satan's followers were cast out of heaven and sent to outer darkness. Those who chose to follow Christ's plan, came down to Earth to receive a body and continue on our path to come back to Him. That means all of you chose to follow Christ before! Isn't that great?!?!?! LDS.org explains our mortal life very weel so I'll just quote them: "We are now experiencing mortal life. Our spirits are united with our bodies, giving us opportunities to grow and develop in ways that were not possible in premortal life. This part of our existence is a time of learning in which we can prove ourselves, choose to come unto Christ, and prepare to be worthy of eternal life. It is also a time when we can help others find the truth and gain a testimony of the plan of salvation." So after we die, our bodies stay on Earth and our spirits go back to heaven. In Alma 40:11 it states: " Now, concerning the ^astate of the soul between ^bdeath and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that 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 ^ctaken ^dhome to that God who gave them life." This is one of my favorite scriptures of all time. It just gives me so much peace. I LOVE IT. We will at this point remember premortal life! We are either in two places, Paradise, or Spirit Prison. Now it isn't actually a prison, it is where those who have not had the opportunity to hear of the Gospel have the chance to accept it, or those who did not accept it on Earth, have a second chance. Those who followed Christ on Earth, are the teachers. We get to teach others in heaven! After this, we will all be resurrected. Because Christ took upon all the sins of the World through the Atonement we can become like Him. Our bodies will reunite with our spirits and the we will be judged. Our Savior will be judging us. Now our Savior is merciful and we will be judged fairly. We will see all of our wrongdoings, and be placed into 1 of 3 kingdoms: Celestial, Terrestial, and Telestial. Celestial is the one we are aiming for. If we are in this kingdom, we will live in the presence of God forever and ever. I think everyone would want that! In this kingdom, we also can live with our families and friends for time and all eternity! And even the telestial kingdom, the lowest of the three, is greater in glory than the Earth! I cannot even begin to imagine how great that will be and I look forward to it. Our Savior's Plan gives me comfort and I am happier every day having this knowledge. I hope that we all Come unto Him and endure to the end. Through the Atonement, we can be made perfect. I know that that is true. And I love this Gospel so much. And I say that in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

P.S. - Here is the website that explains The Plan of  Happiness much better than I do! http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=45af9daac5d98010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD