Ask of God

James 1: 5 reads, "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."

To upbraid is to reproach or censure.  When it says "upbraideth not", it means that God will not get upset with us for asking.  It is actually quite the opposite, God wants us to ask Him!  He wants to help us!  What a great invitation!  Who wouldn't want to ask God, who knows everything and has the ability to help them personally? 

The Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Has Been Restored

The fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth.  The exact same church that Christ set up while He was on the earth is here.  It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Jesus Christ stands at the head of the church.  He leads and directs the church through a true and living prophet today.  I know that this is true.  My invitation to you is to consider the evidence and pray and ask God yourself if this is true.

The Book of Mormon

I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon!  I have read it, and I have felt the Spirit testify to me.  I know that it is God's word.  It contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel.  I know that by the gift and power of God, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.  It is another testament of Jesus Christ.  The only way to know if it is true is to read it and pray about it.  If you want to know if it is true, find out yourself!  

"Peace, be still."

"Peace, be still."  This is a simple phrase that the Savior used to calm the storm in Mark 4: 39.  He was awoken from his sleep in the middle of a great storm(verse38), "and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?"  He calmed the storm, and in verse 40 "said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"  The Lord of all is willing to help us through our storms of life if we but ask Him. 

The Message of the Book of Mormon

As I was listening to a talk given by Jeffery R. Holland, something great was brought to my attention.  He said something to the effect that, the message of the Book of Mormon is that Christ does not fail us.  He taught that this is the truth that is talked about clear throughout the Book of Mormon.  This is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is the message of the Book of Mormon.

Are we Alone?

How can we face challenges?  How can we find peace in a world of war?  How can we rise above addictions that have a strong grip?  How can we live when all seems lost?  How is it possible?  Perhaps it isn't on our own.  To be honest, we can't on our own.  Then how is it done?

Elisha, a Prophet in the Old Testament, had a very big obstacle to face.  It was a army of soldiers, horses, and chariots.  He was surrounded, outnumbered, and yet, not afraid.  What did Elisha know, when facing a Syrian army, that we need to know?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do bad things happen to good people?   He didn't do anything wrong; why did that happen to him?  These are a couple of examples of questions that some of us have.  I have heard these a few times on my mission.  I have also heard with these the connection between problems happening to good people and the drastic assumption of there not being a God.  This is a bold and not true claim.  I will write about an example of bad things happening to good people, and how they used God to overcome.  My purpose in writing this is to help others more understand the purpose of trials in life, and that how we react to them affects the outcome of the whole experience.

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.

How can we find stability in a world of trouble?

I can't begin to count how many times on my mission I have heard, many times in many ways, people express a voice of concern because of all the bad in the world.  This is a topic that weighs on a lot of our minds.  I feel like there is a push to find stability and safety.  In the world there is much concern and confusion.  In this quest to find safety physically and spiritually, we must turn to God. 

When we turn to God we seek His Spirit and His words.  We can receive council from God as we study the scriptures.  The scriptures are God's word given to man through His Prophets.  Nephi, a Prophet in the Book of Mormon, said this about the scriptures, "And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would  hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction."  This is found in 1 Nephi 15:24.  If we desire to be safe and have peace, we must study the scriptures.

An act that can change a life

I have a lot to be grateful for.  I have had an experiance I would like to share.  To be honest, this is an experiance that happens quite frequently.  This morning I had a lot weighing on my mind.  Everyday all of us have lots of things that we know needs to be done or stress or whatever it is.  This morning I was kneeling down and praying to my Heavenly Father.  I just told him what was on my mind and asked for help.  What happened next is something I am grateful for.  I felt at peace.  This is something money cannot buy.  I am amazed how Heavenly Father, God, will listen to the needs and concerns of somebody imperfect and almost insignificant as I.  The cool thing is that he always does.  I can testify of the power of prayer and the love of a Father in Heaven.  He is very mindful of us and he wants to help us.  This is something I know of a surety for myself.  If we ever have troubles or are just haveing a rough start to a day, pray.  It works!

A Blessing from God

Elder Wells and I walk up to the door.  We knock and wait.  This door doesn't look any different that really any other than we have been knocking on.  The dogs inside the house are barking and going crazy.  A lady opens the door.  We talk.  We tell her that God has again reached out to us, his children, in love and has called another Prophet. 
This is something we do as missionaries.  Our purpose is not to convince, it is to invite others to experiment on what we tell them and they themselves ask God if it is true. 
The great message I, we, share is that the same God, our Heavenly Father, who called men to be Prophets in the past has done the same thing today in sending another Prophet.

Got Questions?

Elder Wells and I talked with a lady yesterday.  While we were talking she talked about how there are so many different ideas there are.  Different ideas on religion, political views, and everything.  We asked her how she knows if an idea is right? 
The world is a big place filled with lots of people with a lot of different views.  I am just here in Montana and I get to talk with a lot of people with a lot of different ideas.  The cool thing about life is that we can all have our own opinions and think for ourselves.  This is great, but sometimes we depend to much on ourselves and forget to rely on our Heavenly Father.

Thanksgiving or Pre-Christmas?

Yesterday was Thanksgiving.  I had a ton of fun eating lots of food like I always do at Thanksgiving.  Yesterday morning before all of the food and fun, Elder Wells and I went to Walmart for a few last minute things.  It was funny to walk around Walmart on Thanksgiving with all of the Christmas things out and Christmas music playing.  Also as we drove around  town, people already have put up their Christmas lights.  It was amazing to see people already getting into Christmas before Thanksgiving was even past.

Mail?

Yesterday afternoon, just like most other days, I walked to the mailbox with excitement.  I was excited to see if I was lucky enough to get a letter this day.  I unlocked the box and pulled it open, but to my disappointment it was empty, again.  With disappointment, I walked back up to the apartment.