Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert. A huge sand box that seems to never end. Imagine being placed in the middle of the Sahara, having never been there in your life, with a limited amount of water. Now if I had my quad I would love it. But in this case we don't have it. Which way is the best to go? How much water can I drink a day to survive the travel to safety? I have no idea. I would need a map, compass, and guide to aid me in my journey. In life we encounter similar journeys that can be spiritually more difficult than the Sahara.

So we need a few things to help us get through the deserts of life.

1. The Map. The scriptures are maps that show us where others have traveled before. They can point out sources of water or spiritual nourishment. They can help us find a route that will lead us to where we want to go.

2. The Compass. A compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the Earth's magnetic poles. A prophet is Gods chosen servant that is there to help give us direction. The prophet receives revelation from God to give direction to the entire earth.

3. The Guide. The Holy Ghost can be like your own personal guide in this life. To employ the Holy Ghost as your guide you must first have faith, that will lead you to repentance, then follow Jesus Christ into the waters of baptism, now you are prepared to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and have him as your constant companion and guide.

 God has provided us with these tools that we may travel safely through life and the largest deserts that come before us. So next time you decide to go and get lost in the Sahara make sure you have these tools.

Soap in your mouth!

Who has had a bar of soap put in their mouth to wash it out for saying something bad? I have tasted soap before, its not very enjoyable. Although the soap probably didn't actually clean the bad words out of my mouth, I definitely thought twice about saying that word again.

Sometimes we make other mistakes that we don't have soap for. When we lie we might get soap in our mouths again, but how do we clean our hearts and minds that are effected by other mistakes? Let me tell you! With the Atonement of Jesus Christ. With the Atonement we can be cleansed and healed spiritually and emotionally. Soap leaves a bad taste in your mouth but repenting leaves a wonderful feeling of comfort and a sense of cleanliness that no soap can provide. The process of repentance and applying the Atonement in our lives may seem difficult but the end results will be far greater appreciated then the lessons we learned from getting soap in our mouths.

Heavy burdens? Click here.

Fathers Day

A father indeed. My dad is one of the greatest influences in my life, I will never be able to repay him for the guidance, love, care, and correction that he has given me. He has been an amazing example of how to work, how to work hard. I love my dad very much and appreciate all that he is and is becoming. Thanks Dad!

Rain rain go away!

Rain rain go away, come again another day!

Most of us have heard this little nursery rhyme. Today I was thinking about this rhyme because its raining, again. Here in the Kalispell area we are waiting for the rivers to flood, so more rain isn't really what we want. Its actually a little annoying. Thats why I was saying this rhyme, only I was thinking DON'T come again another day!


On the other hand, how often do we pray for rain to come to nurish our crops and to end a drought? Or how often do we pray for patience, and don't like the trial that comes. Some times I am not aware that God is blessing me with what I asked for, its just not in the way I wanted it. Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them, maybe not in our time or in our way, but he does. That is one of the greatest blessings that I have been given is knowing that God does listen, and answers. Our Father in Heaven desires to bless each of us with happiness, and has promised that "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." He will give us our righteous desires, and will give it freely without punishment. So ask away, but be willing to act on what you have asked for, and be grateful as well. And when you ask for rain be ready to receive rain, maybe more than what you thought sometimes.

Whoppers!

Whoppers! About a week ago I bought a carton of Whoppers similar to this one. I like Whoppers. I carry them in our car to snack on through out the day. Whoppers like most chocolate candies have a tendency to melt when exposed to warm temperatures. I wasn't expecting the temperatures here in Lakeside to get warm enough to melt my Whoppers, but like all Montana weather you can never predict what will happen. My Whoppers melted!

So, what do melted Whoppers have to do with anything? Why am I sharing such a random story? Well, the moral of the story is that we need to be like the Whoppers when life gets warm or a little stressful. The interesting thing that happened with my Whoppers was that when the had melted, they stuck together. In each of our lives we face those moments where the heat of the world can break us down and even cause some of us to melt down. In those very moments we need to stick together, and help each other through our individual trials. In the past general priesthood session President Uchtdorf  related a story of a struggle to move a piano. The struggle was resolved when the movers were instructed to "stand close together and lift where you stand."(Lift Where You Stand) As they stood close together and used their combined strength they were able to accomplish the difficult task. As we stand close together and help those around us, "God [will] grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son." (Alma 33:23)

Hey check out Job and some of his trials without friends.

Debra's Story

Recently I added a new friend on Facebook from London. She is currently meeting with the missionaries, and is planning to be baptized this saturday. Here is her story.

"Well Im Debra from London and I like to tell you how I came to the LDS church
I have a friend who lives in Bends, New York he lives there with his family and they have 3 children we got to meet through a penpal web site and we have talked for a while and sent messages and post then he sent me a package with the Book of Mormon I love it because I love to read as I was reading it I then emailed my friend and I asked where would I get to find a church near me and he said on the home page of LDS.org so I went on there and left a message to ask how I would find a church near me and few days later I got a call from an Elder of the church he said he would like to come round and he did bringing another Elder with him and also another member of the church we got to talk about the church and how I came to ask about it after they come to teach me about the Book of Mormon and other things we get on very well together and now Im being baptised in the church near where I live and also attend every sunday I really love the people in the church and I love God and his son Jesus Christ I know one day I will be going back to His Kingdom and be with him once again
so thats how I got to be with the church and I am so happy because it is a wonderful moment in my life to know that the Book of Mormon is true and Jesus Christ is our saviour and redeemer"

When I talked with Debra she told me that she read the Book of Mormon in two days. I was so surprised because I have never read the book in such a short amount of time. As I read this story I found a few important things. First a friend, one that cares enough to share the gospel to all his friends. The principles of salvation are found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is why its so important for all of us to do all we can to invite our friends and family to hear this wonderful message. Thanks to Debra's friend and Debra's desire to draw closer to God she has found the happiness that is coupled with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the blessings that have come to me as I have learned and lived the gospel, and I am happy for Debra and hope that she will continue to love God and follow Jesus Christ as she embarks on her journey to live with God once more.





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