The Enemy Inside Of Us

There is a destructive force very active in the world.  One that is the cause of so much heartache, chaos, and fear.  It is a force that we all have to deal with daily.  Found at its very core is the devil.  The force is anger!  The Savior put it best when He said, "For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."(3 Nephi 11: 29)  So if it is so prevalent and powerful, how can we overcome?

Justice and Mercy

Rules are great and terrible, depends on which side you are on.  They are important to keep us safe, and they allow us to grow.  What happens if rules are established that we can't possibly live up to?  We are all found in this predicament.  The rules are the rules of Heaven.  We all agreed to live them before we even came to earth, so that we could have a chance to progress.  The problem is that in order to succeed we have to be perfect.  If we can't do it, how can it be paid in full?  I was reading through some old Ensigns the other night, one talk really caught my attention.  I have included a quote from it.  The talk is from James E. Faust.  It's title is, The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope.  This part really stuck out to me:

Sick and Tired

For the past few days I have been sick.  It is no fun being sick.  I have a cold; the sore throat is not any fun.  I have been takeing medicine, but I still don't know what is wrong.  The weather has been really cold.  This isn't helping my cause.  I think I need to figure out something different to get rid of this.  Maybe I need to recoup.  On this same subject, I would like to address those of us who may be sick and tired, spiritually, who haven't been able to find help.  To get better takes medicine, it takes change, and it takes time.  Just like what I am going through with the cold, concoring spiritual sickness takes this too.

The Greatest Act Ever Done

I wish to write about the Atonement.  This is the single most important act in all human history.  There is so much I could say about this, but I will only write just a little.  With reverence I wish to address this topic.  First I would like to address why it is so important.  Jacob, a Prophet from the Book of Mormon, wrote,

"Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. " (2 Nephi 9:7-8)

The Search that yields great rewards

For a few weeks, my scripture study in the morning was centered around getting to know Jesus.  My mission president asked us as missionaries to study about our Savior as we were approaching the Christmas season.  I went through the scriptures and read as many scriptures about the Savior as I could for those few weeks.  Before this experience I knew about Jesus and definitely had a testimony about who he is and what he has done for me, but this experience helped me out a lot because I was able to learn a little bit more about the significance of who he is and what he did.  We can't learn too much about his life and who he is.  In 3 Nephi chapter nine in the Book of Mormon, Christ introduces himself and says:

13O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

14Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

15Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

16I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.

17And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.

18I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

One Wild Day

This is an interesting picture.  It is of course a stop sign, but it has a different way of saying it.  I really like this stop sign because it is different.  The day this picture was taken has an interesting story behind it.  As you can see looking at me, my tie is tucked away inside my suit pocket; this is because of the events that happened before this photo was taken.
Elder Thomas and I were teamed up doing missionary work this day.  We were on the way to some people we wanted to try.  Earlier this week, as you can see, it snowed.  It snowed quite a bit but that wasn't the worst part.  The wind here in Billings can get blowing good, so one thing we have to watch out for is drifts of snow that appear in the road, especially back roads.  Well, as we were headed to try some people we hit one of these drifts going pretty fast.   We hoped we would brake through it, but to our great disappointment, it was a very big drift and we got stuck.  Because of our momentum, we made it far into the drift and we were high centered and stuck. 
We tried to dig and push our way out, but we weren't going anywhere.

My Savior, Jesus Christ

For the past few weeks for about a half an hour a day, I have been looking up scriptures about the Savior.  I have really enjoyed doing this because I have come to know my Savior a little more.  One thing I have really come to realize is that without him and his sacrifice, all would be utterly lost.  He is the only one who could do what was asked.  He, though sinless and perfect, descended below ALL things and made it possible for me to change from my weaknesses.  He humbly submitted to the Father's will and went through persecution and mocking and even death in the most cruelest manner.  Why did he do this for me and us?  He did it because it was the only way, and he loves us.

The Season? Shopping ... Driving ... Family ... a Manger

Driving up the road, we saw lights on in a house we have been trying to get in, but nobody has been home when we have tried before.  Elder Wells and I knocked on the door, a lady invited us in.  We sat down and started talking; in our discussion, she was surprised to find out that we didn't go shopping yesterday, after all it was black Friday.  This time of the year is exciting.  Thanksgiving was awesome, and today I have found myself thinking about Christmas.  I know it is a ways away yet, but this is a big thing.  Yesterday all of the shoppers were out for the big deals getting things for Christmas.  As a missionary I didn't go shopping yesterday, instead I was out talking with people about our Savior Jesus Christ.