Wise Men Still Seek Him

I wanted to share with you a wonderful video of how we can give back to Christ for all he has given us. This video talks of modern day wise men who saw an opportunity to serve, to love others who were in need of the pure love of Christ, which is charity.
In Moroni chapter 7 in the Book of Mormon it says "Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."
It also says that "charity never faileth".
you can read it here on the link below. In Moroni chapter 7: verses 45-48
http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng


I pray with all my heart that we can find those who are in need and may feel alone, unloved or neglected so that we may lift up their weary spirits. This is the way we serve God, by serving others. You will feel the love of those you serve and of your Heavenly Father also as you reach out to relay the love that Christ has given you to others. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Putting on the Armor

This blog is about a realization I had of the parallels of "Sleeping Beauty" and the gospel.

In the movie "Sleeping Beauty" there is a scene in which the three good fairies come and free Prince Phillip out of the dungeon of the evil Maleficent. They give him some tools after he gets out. The first tool he gets from them is a Sword of Truth, and then he receives the Shield of Virtue.

In this picture Phillip uses the

sword of truth to kill Maleficent.



If you watched the movie you remember that as Prince Phillip is escaping the castle, Maleficent spots him and they get into a final battle. She puts a curse around Stefan's castle with a huge thicket of thorns. Prince Phillip cuts all the thorns out of the way with his sword. Eventually Maleficent turns into a humongous dragon and tries to kill him herself. He blocks her flames with his shield many times and gets backed up to a wall of stone where a fairy tells him to climb up the wall. Its really awesome because he is totally untouched when she breathes her flames at him. He throws the sword at her and she dies.

       As I was thinking about this story and applying it to life I saw some interesting parallels.

Phillip is a prince, he got ambushed and was taken prisoner by Maleficent the evil witch. He was rescued by the three good fairies who give him these tools (the sword and the shield), that are more powerful than Maleficent's attacks.

       Today we have been given armor and weapons to fight the battle against the devil or Satan.

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

14 Stand therefore, having your 1loins girt about with truth, and having on the 2breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet 3shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the 4shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the 5helmet of salvation, and the 6sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Take the armor of God and fight the good fight with all your might. With His help you can conquer all. He will deliver you out of every temptation and danger. The only power Satan has over you is the power you give him. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10.

You are a child of God, a prince or princess of the most high King! In His strength you can do all things! As Lehi has said in the Book of Mormon "Awake! and arise from the dust.... Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust." As you awake from your slumber may you put on the Armor of God and go forth fighting against every buffeting of Satan that comes your way. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Know by Heart, Play by Ear.

In the world of music, the phrases "know by heart" and "play by ear" are pretty peculiar. I would like to offer you some insight on these phrases, being a singer and a piano player myself.

To Know by Heart is to know something perfectly or to have memorized something perfectly.

To say "I know it by heart" usually means it's been way more than memorized, it's been internalized. "This song is personal to me," the performer is saying, "I have no problem recalling it. I know it." A performer has probably toiled countless hours practicing and perfecting this song to play and express it the best he can.

We can compare this to getting a testimony of The Book of Mormon. When we read the Book of Mormon with an open heart we can gain knowlege that is ingrained in us.

2 Nephi 33:1 "And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men."

The Holy Ghost carries the truth of what we read to our heart. The prophets in the Book of Mormon wrote such things when they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, just as prophets of old in the Bible. So the Holy Ghost verifies the words they speak to be true. Notice that the Holy Ghost does not carry it into our heart but unto our heart. This takes us to the next phrase.

To Play by Ear is to try to learn a song by listening to the song itself and not having any sheet music to use.

You really have to listen closely to a song and to its very intricate details in order to get the exact same sound. The only way you can get a song to the express uniqueness by which it was written is to find the right combinations of chords and melody. As we listen very closely to the Holy Ghost we can know if the Book of Mormon is true or not. All we need to do is listen and turn down the noise of life so we can actually hear the Holy Ghost testify to our hearts of truth.

1st Kings 19:  The Lord speaks to Elijah in a still, small voice.
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."

Moroni 10:3-5
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 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.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I encourage you to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder the message it contains. If you read it enough and are prayerful in understanding the teachings, you will come to know for yourself that they testify of Jesus Christ. If you listen to the feelings in your heart and the impressions on your mind and perhaps  "read by ear", then you can "know by heart" because the Holy Ghost testified to you the truth.
The Book of Mormon is the Keystone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true restored church of Jesus Christ with all my heart and soul. If you want to know for yourself, I exhort you to read The Book of Mormon and ask God, with Faith in Christ if it is true believing that God will give you an answer. Be honest in your heart and believing, I believe you will get an answer. God loves all his children and wants to show them the truth of all things if they just ask.

Life, Death, and Sunsets

I really love sunsets, so I thought I'd write about them on my blog. I'm from Arizona, and we get a ton of really beautiful sunsets in our valley. I can't remember a time when I didn't love and admire amazing sunsets. I have probably taken over 1,000 pictures of sunsets. The reason for that is because a sunset is always changing. The clouds are moving, the sun is setting, so it is a process. I take so many pictures of just one sunset to see if I can get the best shot, the most beautiful picture of one. From what I've seen, it takes only about 30 seconds or about a minute for you to get a different looking sunset. It's slightly different but it could make a big difference. Time is intensified when trying to capture the grandeur of a setting sun. I run to my camera whenever I see what could be a great picture.



“When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon,

my soul expands in worship of the Creator”

 Mahatma Gandhi

Sunsets really give you a simple joy of the beauty of the earth. A sunset is the most magnificent display of clouds and light and colors I can imagine. It seems to be a small glimpse of what it will look like when Jesus comes again. Sunsets could also be compared to the end of life, as sunrises to the beginning of new life.

"Doors of Death" Russell M. Nelson, April 1992 General Conference Address
"Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. Prior to our birth, we dwelled as spirit children with our Father in Heaven. There we eagerly anticipated the possibility of coming to earth and obtaining a physical body. Knowingly we wanted the risks of mortality, which would allow the exercise of agency and accountability. “This life [was to become] a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God.” (Alma 12:24.) But we regarded the returning home as the best part of that long-awaited trip, just as we do now. Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket. Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. (See 2 Cor. 6:9.) As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven."

“How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.”

George MacDonald

There's nothing to fear of something as death. If we have an eternal perspective on life we would have a hope from the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I feel like a beautiful sunset could be a reminder to us of God's plan for us. It is inspiring to me, and also gives me a sense of how fast life goes. One minute the sunset will be there and the next it's gone, you have to cherish it while you have it.
Life can be the same way. If we don't take advantage of the opportunities right Here in front of us, life might pass us up and move right on. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it. Doesn't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till its gone? Don't let life be that way, cherish what you have. Make a change you need to, and take the courage to be who you need to be TODAY. Pray to Heavenly Father for the strength to be your best self. Don't let yourself be held captive by the things of the past. Don't forget the reason for our life on Earth is to prepare to meet God.

“The Lord has turned all our sunsets into sunrise.”

Clement of Alexandria

“There is nothing more musical than a sunset.

 He who feels what he sees will find no more beautiful example of development

 in all that book which, alas, musicians read but too little-the book of Nature.”

Claude Debussy (French composer)

The More Excellent Way

I'd like to share an experience I had while hiking the "M" in Bozeman MT.

We decided to hike the "M" as one of our activities for a Preparation day. So we drove to the side of the "M" and all walked up to the beginning of a trail. The trail we picked was marked "difficult" on a sign. We soon found out it was true to its word, as we huffed and wheezed up the trail slowly. I was very eager to get to the top so I ran ahead of others even though I was tired already and it was pretty steep. I wanted to see the beautiful view and have time to appreciate it and take pictures without being left behind. I became very exhausted and I decided I had seen a lot and was gonna wait for the others to catch up. So we took a little while but eventually we got to the top. It was very taxing of your energy, it took it all out of you to do this hike. When we got to the "M" we took pictures and all of us were beat.

This view was well worth the hike though:

So we walked back down the trail after taking many pictures of the "M" and ourselves on the mountainside. We ended up taking different trails down the mountain. I got down to the more flat part of the trail near the end and came across this sign and it really struck me spiritually. I had to take a picture of it.

The most popular way to the "M"..... I definately saw this negatively. If we compare this hike to life, and these trails to the way you get to heaven (the "M" being heaven) we can gain a lot from this. So the trail we took to get to the M was very steep and very hard. It was extremely challenging, it was relatively straight though. The other trails, shortcuts, were very very winding and if you weren't careful you could get hurt. The thing that really hit me was that we gave our all in the trail we took. It took Everything we could give to get up that trail. I think the Lord expects us to give everything and to take His path in life. You don't need to take the most popular way or worldly way, it doesn't need to be the fastest. A direct route is more beneficial to you, Heavenly Father is waiting to show us the better way, the more excellent way(Ether 12:11). Lets not take a shortcut, which will lead us into winding paths, or a cutoff that is very dangerous. Let us take the more excellent way, or you might say the most excellent way. One way to do this is to ask Heavenly Father in prayer how to best live the way He wants you to. Ask him to guide you in your paths, and remember you can lean on His son whenever you fall down in this path of life. May we all strive to remember these things and follow the example of Jesus Christ and his teachings.

Elder Baer