His Grace is Sufficient

 

 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;

 Mosiah 4:9

Trust Him

Come What May

"Come what may and love it."
                            Joseph B. Wirthlin



"Look not behind thee" 
                           Genesis 19:17

Even More Powerful Than Them!

"And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." -- Moroni 7:33

Tough Stuff

"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" -- Ephesians 6:13-18

Because It's True, Isn't It?

Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?

 To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth. D&C 50:13-14

Be Happy

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." --C. S. Lewis

 

 

 

 

"Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness."

--Alma 41:10

 

Setting Sail

"The winds of God are always blowing, but we must set the sails."

-- Author Unknown

"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." alma 37:37

Christlike

"Begin to be now what you will be hereafter."  William James

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?" -- Alma 5:14-16,27

He is the Way

"We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle

 

 "what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." -- 3nephi27:27

Become Legendary

Not easy, but worth it. BECOME LEGENDARY.

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall ENDURE TO THE END, the same shall be saved." -- Matthew 24:9-13

 

The Power of Prayer

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go" 
 -- Abraham Lincoln

"Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers." -- D&C 112:10

Strengthen Thy Brethren

"I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy. "

--C.S. Lewis

 

"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." -- Luke 22:31-32

 

 

 

Book of Mormon and Biggie Smalls

"Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on, just keep on pressin on.
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have what you want, be what you want."

-- Notorious B.I.G.

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;" -- 2 Nephi 2:27-28

Nothing To Do With Hermione Granger

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation." -2 Nephi 2:22

 

#TRUTH- Where It's Found

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

-C.S. Lewis

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." -Moroni 10:4-5

 

The Power of Perserverance

"On occasion we need to make a second effort - and a third effort, and a fourth effort, and as many degrees of effort as may be required to accomplish what we strive to achieve."
-Thomas S. Monson

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." 2 Nephi 31:20

Real Wealth

"Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith"

-Gordon B. Hinckley

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God"

Ether 12:4



 

How The Fray Strengthened My Testimony

The following excerpt is an observation made of Abraham Lincoln from the book The Integrity Advantage:

“The heritage of our American nation includes a profound reverence for integrity. . . . In one speech, characteristic of others he would make, Abraham Lincoln took a position that would end up costing him his race for U.S. Senate vs. Stephen A. Douglas. [He said boldly that] the country could not survive . . . as a house divided, ‘half-slave and half-free.’ He knew [what the] consequences of his words [on such an emotional issue might be, but he said]: ‘I would rather be defeated with [that declaration in my] speech . . . than to be victorious without it.’ [And he was defeated.]

“[But] the integrity that cost him the senate seat [later] won him the presidency [of the nation]. It . . . also inspired the nation to prevail in [its most brutal war] and [ultimately it freed those slaves about whom he spoke. In great measure] Lincoln’s integrity shaped our young nation’s values [at that crucial time and still defines] what it means to be American.”

"Thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

You can never go wrong if you're doing what's right. A line from one of my favorite songs says "sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" and more often than not that seems to be the case.

But..... Because God is real, because he loves us, and because all He wants for us is happiness, we can rest assured that all of our losses will be made up, all of our pain will amount to greater strength, and all of our afflictions will be consecrated for our gain. What a promise!

So next time keeping integrity means a little embarrassment, discomfort or losing out on the race for US Presidency, remember the cost of sacrificing our integrity is much greater.

Faith Points to the Future

So I've been slacking big time as of late when it comes to posting new blogs. I should have a new one up later on this week. In the meantime check out this Mormon Message. This short clip is one of my favorites! Enjoy!

Hot Sauce That's Hotter Than Your Girlfriend

So I think I'll begin today's blog with a riddle..... Good luck!

A young man walks into a public restroom. Realizing he's alone, and wanting to preserve his privacy should another enter, he decides it wise to step up to the furthest most urinal in the restroom. Standing there between those sea foam green dividers he looks down in preparation for the unzipping. In doing so he catches a view of the stall floor next to him. Expecting to see nothing more than a set of ankles with pants bunched up around them, he's suddenly startled. There, lying on the cold tile of that stall floor, face down, eyes closed, mouth bleeding and motionless.... is a teenage boy.

What happened?......... Any ideas? Give up?

Okay, so here's the story. A few weeks back my companion and I decided we'd head out to Buffalo and spend our preparation day with the elders out there. Prior to this trip I'd heard some buzz about this "special" hot sauce all the missionaries out there had been eating and that upon our arrival we'd have the opportunity of trying it as well. So that morning we show up at the Buffalo chapel and sure enough, first thing we're invited to do is try the hot sauce.

Deity, Devils and Donkey Kong: The Blog

How could this situation become any more distracting? We're 10 minutes into this class, the kid next to me is snoring, the girl in front of me is far more interested in studying her crush's "summer 2010" Facebook album than biology, I just can't seem to quit staring at the giant booger dangling from the professor's nose, and I'm still wondering why on earth there's a kid in the back row wearing a banana suit and a giant cardboard box, the letters DK written across it, sitting in the front corner.

When you're a 19 year, old attention defunct student, preparing for an upcoming final is nearly impossible in an environment such as this. And when that mystery DK box suddenly starts rumbling you can just about kiss learning goodbye. Next thing i know my once slumbering neighbor is wide awake, the Facebook stalker on the front row is screaming and that dangling booger is hanging on for its dear life as my professor whips his head around to see what all the commotion is.

Sprinting up one aisle I see a giant, tie clad gorilla and down the other runs the screaming banana from the back row. Laughter echoes throughout the room and for most, the remainder of that class time is spent texting, tweeting and status updating over the hilarious prank we had just witnessed. Along with DK's exit went the focus and opportunity for preparation of 100+ students....

I left on a mission at age 23, a bit later than the expected departure of a typical LDS missionary. Growing up the plan was always to serve a mission at 19, but when the time came, so did more and more distractions. For years I allowed the metaphorical Facebooking blondes, dangling boogers and sprinting apes distract me from this amazing opportunity of eternal preparation. Most of those distractions weren't even things that were sinful or wrong, but all the same kept me from where my Father in Heaven wanted me to be.

What opportunities of spiritual growth and preparation have the Donkey Kongs in our lives kept us from? Preparation is our purpose! "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God!" The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan and the time is now! "The day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." Eliminate the distractions, study the plan, and prepare!

Deity, Devils and Donkey Kong

Funny, right? Well what does it teach us about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ? New post coming soon.....

American Idol Rejects and the Atonement of Jesus Christ

Which of the following doesn't belong?

A. Kelly Clarkson

B. David Archuleta

C. Carrie Underwood
D. Adam Lambert
E. Chris Nicholes

Well if you have eyes, ears, a television set, a sliver of pop culture knowledge and half a brain then I'm sure option E looked a little off at first glance. I'll admit, tickets for "Chris Nicholes Nationwide Tour: Coming to a Shower Near You" haven't been in very high demand as of late. However, there is one thing that I do have in common with each of the above named superstars.... We've all participated in an American Idol audition.

Stop, Drop and Roll Won't Work in Hell

"He's on fire!" A phrase you love to hear while witting on that comfy chair in the living room, watching Jimmer drop point after point on the opponent.

"He's on fire!" A phrase you hope to never hear while watching a friend frantically roll from side to side on the kitchen floor, while screaming at the top of his lungs.

So what's the story here and what's it got to do with the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Is Your Cat Low on Fuel?

A few years back I was outside doing some yard work with my Dad. The weed eater had been giving us some trouble and in an attempt to get it back in working order my Dad decided we should clean off the spark plug. In order to clean all the grime off, it would need to spend some time soaking in gasoline. To do this, I went and grabbed an empty tuna can from the trash, filled it with gasoline and placed the spark plug inside. I guess even an empty tuna can will get a curious feline's attention.

As we continued working, the neighbors cat made its way over to our driveway to check things out. Next thing I know I'm no longer working, but staring in amazement at this house cat lapping gasoline from this empty can into its mouth. I found myself even more curious than the cat and decided to wait and see what would happen.

Feeling the Spirit in a Jail Cell

As a missionary teaching takes place anywhere and everywhere! You might find yourself teaching in a coffee shop, ice skating rink, restaurant, salon, post office, gas station, mall, in a Sacred Grove or even inside a chapel in Palmyra, NY in front of 100+ missionaries, 2 mission presidents, 1 temple president, 2 members of the quorom of the 70 and 1 apostle! And now, as of yesterday the county jail can be added to this list. It was another unique experience, and while the message my companion and I shared was the same, the message I received was a bit different.

Perfect Brightness of Hope

Whether it's a girl tearing up your heart, your screaming children tearing up your once clean house, or something as devastating as a tornado tearing up the small town that you call home. One fact always remains the same, LIFE IS HARD! It's a reality of mortality! We're all going to have bumps along the way, at some point we're all going to struggle, and every one of us is going to face his or her fair share of trials and difficulties. So how do we make it through? How do we continue on with optimism and enthusiasm for tomorrow? How can we triumph over discouragement and conquer pain?