Glenn Beck - Someone who changed his life

My favorite part is when he says that he needs to cry out and reach out to the extended hand given by Christ

Mitch Hedberg

So I have been out on my mission for less than a year, and it has become very clear to me that many people have lots of false ideas about mormons. I always think its funny when people pull out "information" off the internet about mormons from sources other than mormon.org or lds.org. They get all these false ideas about what we believe and what goes on in the church.

So yesterday I was thinking about that and I had this quote come to me from Mitch Hedberg. I think it can relate to that situation, going to a non-mormon source for mormon information. It would be like someone going to a farmer to get a chicken recipe... Ha ha..

"As a comedian, I always get into situations where I'm auditioning for movies and sitcoms, you know? As a comedian, they want you to do other things besides comedy. They say "alright you're a comedian, can you write? Write us a script. Act in this sitcom." They want me to do stuff that's related to comedy, but it's not comedy, man. It's not fair, you know? It's as though if I was a cook, and I worked my butt off to become a really good cook, and they said "alright you're a cook... can you farm?"

The Church of Jesus Christ is restored. There is a prophet on the earth today. Come check it out for yourself. http://mormon.org/values/

Reliant K

I have a pretty good missionary friend who told me about this Reliant K song and I thought I would check  it out and see why he liked it. So i read some of the lyrics and they really stood out to me.

Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.
Stop right there. Well I never should have said
That it's the very moment that
I wish that I could take back.

Have you ever done something in your life and thought to yourself "I immediately regret this decision". And maybe not only that but a few days, weeks, months, or even years thought the same thing? This is something that I personally have experienced in my life. I have made a ton of dumb choices. I've hurt people that I really care about, and worst of all I have hurt the most important person in my life.... Me. I don't know how many people are going to read this, but I want to take the chance i have now to apologize and try and seek forgiveness for my wrongs. I have been the cause of so much pain that I wish I could erase.

But you know there is hope. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can be cleansed from sin, and along with that we can be healed of the hurt that has happened in our lives. When Jesus performed the  ^catonement, he took not only our sins upon him, but all the hurt, pain and anguish that had or ever would come upon mankind(Alma 7).

I'm sorry for the person I became.
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.

And this is where we need to get to. We can be cleansed from the sin and hurt only if we seek it. We need to repent for our wrong doings. And its more than some cheap go tell someone about what you did, and leave, its more than that. If you want to experience something great you need to put in the effort. You should admit that you've done something wrong. Then you should be sorry about it. And if you're sorry about it, you'll seek to make up for it. To try and correct the wrong. And lastly, and for most people (including me) we need to not do it again. Those are the steps of repentance. And if we do repent, turn to our Lord Jesus Christ he has promised us that he will heal us. He is known as the great Physician, and he was sent so that we could be healed.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Redeemer. He was sent out of love, and His whole life was spent in the service of His people. I know that He was Resurrected and that He lives and guides us through His servants.

PS: I want to make my blog really cool, so im open to suggestions. Please feel free to leave a comment or two

Coaches

I've learned a few things from my dad. And one of those things is when you are talking about gospel principles, you should relate it to you so it makes sense to you. And i figure thats what i should do more of. Plus its prob way more interesting for you to read...

So all throughout my football experiences I have had coaches. I've never been on a team that had only 1 coach. I have always had a linebacker coach, a defensive coordinator, and a head coach. They all had different roles in what happened with me as an individual. When we were at practice, I always had my linebacker coach with me. He would give specific instruction for me to become better. He would see my habits and abilities on the practice field, then the next day when we would watch film he could either tell me good job or he could instruct me on how i could be better. He was always right in the middle of things with me. He would be there to yell at me for good or bad.

Next I had my defensive coordinator. He was much more of an authority figure in my experiences. He was in charge of the defense as a whole and would spend most of his time coaching the defense as a whole. We would sit in the film room and he would explain what the opposing offense would try and do. What the plays they were working on were and how we were going to defeat them. He would give us more of a BIG PICTURE view of the game. Sometimes he would come to our meetings and help instruct us with our linebacker coach, but most of the time he was working with the whole defense.

And lastly I had my head coach. He was the one who ended up having the final say in who plays and what we were going to do. In practices I rarely saw him, and i never got any instruction from him, other than a "good job" or and explecitive of his choice during practice. He gave the defensive coordinator authority to run the defence how he wanted him to. My head coach trusted my defensive coordinator to not do anything that he wouldn't do. And I could go to my head coach if I had any personal concerns or anything that was troubling to me.

And now how does this relate to the gospel? Well we are all players in this game of life. We have a head coach, God. He seems to keep his distance from us and has His servants here on earth to do the coaching. Our defensive coordinator is the prophet. We have him here to give us direction as to the whole scheme of things. He warns us about dangers just as my defensive coordinator warned us about trick plays and the tendencies of the opponent. During practices he would seldom come by and specifically instruct me, but he would teach my linebacker coach how to do things so that my linebacker coach could teach me. And lucky for us, in life we have several linebacker coaches. We have our stake presidents, our bishops, our boy scout leaders, or young womens leaders. Lots of coaches out there for us. And we even have two linebacker coaches who have played in the game before, who have been in our shoes before, and who want nothing but the best for us. Those two are our parents.

In this life of football there are going to be setbacks. We're gonna take some cheap shots and its gonna hurt. But if we listen to our coaches. If we make the choice to do what they've asked, if we work at being the best person we can (by practicing), then we will find success. And just like on the football field, we have teammates. We have our friends and our family members to strengthen us. And just like you wouldn't choose the worst people to be on your football team, you should choose the spiritually strong to be on your team. Thats the great thing about it, YOU get to choose who is on your team. YOU get to decide to follow your coaches. And YOU get to decide with your choices what kind of player you're gonna be.

Modern day Moses

The world is an ever changing place. There is a consistant change in technology, science and morals to name a few. But God has promised us that He is "a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever". So if God is the same yesterday, today and forever, then why wouldn't He have a prophet on the earth today? Well we do.
Through Joseph Smith, the true and living gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth(Resoration). And what I mean by living gospel is the priesthood. The authority to act and do in Christ's name. That authority was given to Joseph Smith by the "laying on of hands"(1 Tim 4:14) by heavenly messengers. And since that time there have been Prophets on the earth, leading, guiding, and directing all those who will listen to their counsel.
One specific thing that has been given to us since the "Restoration" is the "Word of Wisdom". In the revelation given to Joseph Smith was promised that if we refrained from tobacco, alcohol, tea, coffee and other illegal drugs, we "^ashall receive ^bhealth in their navel and marrow to their bones... And shall ^arun and not be ^bweary, and shall walk and not faint." And this was given in the 1830s. Before modern technology and before we knew about the health benefits of avoiding those substances. Heres a website that i pulled up, check out the first two things they talk about(http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/prevention/086.html)

Anyways, my point is that we need Prophets. We need someone called and ordained (1 Tim 2:7) to give us guidance in the last days. Because Satan has such a powerful grip on the world, we need one to help us follow the narrow path that leads to eternal life (2 Nephi 31:18). "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat". Because the path to destruction is wide, we need to be very cautious to walk the narrow path. And because the world has changed so much in the last 15 years, let alone 2000, isn't there a great need for a prophet? There is, and he is here. His name is Thomas S Monson and he leads us through these perilous times. Follow his counsel and you will experience greater joy than you have ever known. I know that God loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us that we might live. I know that Thomas S Monson is called of God to be His instrument in these days. And these things i know through study and much prayer. And you can too. Just ask God if what you've read today is true, and He will answer because you are His child and He loves you.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice has been a part of the gospel from the begining. From the begining we all knew that Jesus Christ would be sacrificed for our sins. And from the begining of the world starting with Adam we know that God required man to make sacrifices.
And not just a sacrifice of our leftovers, but a sacrifice of the best. (Back in the day) They were required to sacrifice the best of their crops and herds. And that is the same sacrifice that God our Eternal Father made for us. He sacrificed His perfect son. The one "without blemish".
In Alma chapter 34 he talks about sacrifice and why we are to sacrifice, "Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice... then shall the ^claw of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away. And behold, this is the whole ^ameaning of the ^blaw, every whit ^cpointing to that great and last ^dsacrifice; and that great and last ^esacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, ^finfinite and eternal". So everything that we are supposed to sacrifice as a member of Christ's Church is to point us to Christ. We're asked to do some hard things. We're supposed to pay tithing, go to church every Sunday, hold a calling, and mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. And by doing all these, by living the principles of the gospel, it points us to Christ.
And as young men, we are asked to serve a full time mission. To dedicate our lives to His service. And think about it, we pay 1/10 in tithing. Then we go on missions for 2 years when we are about 20... And also think about the physical condition of your body at that time. Are you coming into the prime of your life? Are you giving the Lord "the best 2 years" of your life? You are.
In the church hymn "Praise to the Man", there is a line that strikes me, especially at this time, "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven". I have definitely seen that prophetic phrase come true in my life. From the time i embarked on my mission until even today the Lord has blessed the lives of me and my family. My older brother has made huge steps and is preparing for the blessings of the Temple. My sister in law has joined the fold of God and has been baptized. My sister and brother in law have been sealed to their family for eternity in the House of God.
God is real. He blesses us for sacrifice. It will be hard. There will be challenges. Life won't be easy, but in the end it will all be worth it.

Finish Strong

I chose to talk today about "Finishing Strong". This has been something that has really stuck out to me because it can apply in so many different ways into our lives. While i was at Davis, our coach told us that we would play great. We would do really well, but we would come up short. We couldnt finish the game. And that motto has stuck with me. Even Shawn Merriman has it tatooed on his neck. In football, as well as in life it is important to finish strong.

We all know that Satan is real. We know that he is good at what he does. And just like any foe, he will attack us when we are the weakest. He will go after us when we are tired, when we are down, when we are most vulnerable. This is when we need to finish strong.

In high school, at the end of every football game we had a signal to remind us to finish strong. At the begining of the 4th quarter everyone on our team would hold up 4 fingers. That reminded us that it was now that we would win the game. It was then that we would play our best to finish the game strong and defeat the opponent.

Just like we did for our football games, we can do for our lives. We all have weaknesses and we know where they are. We can set up reminders to help us finish strong. Whether that is a picture of the Savior in our wallet. Or having an escape route to avoid sin, we need those things to help us because we are weak. We must rely on the Savior to help us with those temptations. But we must first help ourselves by having a reminder to finish strong, then the Savior will help us when we are in need. I know God loves us. He loves us so much that he sent His son Jesus Christ to pay the debt that we owe. All they ask of us is to obey the commandments and to reach to them because their arms are always outstreached towards us.

Our Rock

In a world of uncertainties and ever changing values, we have been blessed with the rock that can and will hold firm amongst these whirlwinds. The rock being of course our Savior Jesus Christ.

Anyone can see the work that Satan is doing in this world. He has and is working very hard to deceive us. The world is growing darker and darker as we approach the Millennium when Christ will come and reign again, which is exactly why we need to look to the light. That light being Christ and His gospel. The gospel sheds light upon everything in the world. And as we learn to use the light to choose good over evil, it provides safety for our souls. The peace, comfort and joy we feel is the reward for our efforts. The following is an excerpt from a testimony given by a good friend, she says 

"During this time I was also dealing with much adversity -  and I couldn’t have been more at ease.  This is the first time I remember the comfort of the Spirit.  The only way I can explain it is this.  Ill use a hurricane because I know what that’s like.  Imagine you are sitting on a rock.  You are in the eye of the hurricane.  The hurricane is spinning around you.  You cant see anything from all the stuff flying around you…the darkness, you cant see through it.  But if you look up, you see the light and the  blue sky.  I was sitting on that rock and I had no fear.  I couldn’t see anything but I knew I was okay.  That rock was my heavenly Father, or the Savior or the gospel.  And knowing that I can be on something solid such as the gospel, brought comfort and peace.  I had no fear of the unknown.  Nothing could replace that".

And she is completely right. There is nothing in this world that can compensate for the peace we feel through the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is so much pain and anguish over the loss of loved ones, but that pain and anguish is turned into peace and comfort when we know the Plan of Salvation. The gospel of Jesus Christ answers the greatest questions of this life. And that is why it is so good to preach and spread the gospel, because when someone accepts it, it changes their lives for the better. The prophet Helaman says it best when he is talking to his sons Nephi and Lehi, he says "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall".

May we all build on that foundation and know to where we can go when life seems too much to handle.

Strength

Before my mission I would lift weights. I like lifting weights because I can see the growth that I have. But in lifting, if I go in and do the same workout over and over again, I will not grow or develop. I will stay the same. But if I push myself, if I have someone that I’m lifting with, they can help me and push me to lift more and become stronger.  Along with the weight lifting, I can also take supplements that will help my body grow bigger, faster, and stronger.

In our lives we will all have struggles, burdens, or “weights”. We will all have obstacles to overcome. We are given these struggles for a specific purpose. In 1Nephi 20:10 he quotes the words of Isaiah, “I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction”. God has chosen the trials that we are to go through. He has given us these opportunities to stretch ourselves and to become better than we were.

 Just like in lifting we can have someone there to help us, people in our lives who influence us for good. People who give us added strength when we feel like we’re about to fail while we’re under the weights of our trials.

And if we are doing the little things like reading the scriptures, saying our prayers, going to church, that is just like us taking those supplements. They will strengthen us even more and help us become bigger, faster, and stronger spiritually.

I know that God is here and He loves each one of us. We can pray and He will hear our prayers. He sent us here so that we can experience happiness. I hope you can find joy in the journey of life!

Trust

Our Heavenly Father loves us. He trusts us far more than we could ever imagine. He has given us the chance to learn, to grow, to develop ourselves and our personalities into who we want to become. He trusts that we will make the choice to become like Him. To act and do as He would, so that we can become like Him. But He didn't just send us here, take our memory of our life before this earth life, and say go and do what I want you to. No, He loves us and has given us the tools to mold ourselves in His image. Not physically, but spiritually. He has given us scriptures. This tool gives us how people have acted in the past. He has given us prophets who give us council and guidance these days. And lastly and most importantly He has given us an example. He loved us so much that He gave us the perfect exemplar, Jesus Christ, to show us how we should act and what we should do. There has not been a greater gift given to man. John 3:16 says "For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonly begotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife."
With these gifts given to us, Heavenly Father trusts us to use them. If we will follow the example of Jesus Christ and do our Heavenly Father's will, we will receive the greatest gift avalible to man, Eternal Life.