Praise To the Man!

Praise to his memory he died as a martyr; honored and blest be his ever great name! Long shall his blood , which was shed by assassins, Plead unto heav'n while the earth lauds his fame! 
Joseph Smith is the man who restored the church. He gave his life for this cause. His own blood and sweat to restore this church that our father in heaven has established. He will never be forgotten because of the impact that he made on the earth. Millions shall know "Brother Joseph" again. His name will be known among the World before the end of the world comes. The verse that I have written on here describes just how important he was in the use of the Lords great plan. He sacrificed everything to do the Lords will. Is it hard for us to sacrifice the small things to do the same? I look forward to the chance I will have to meet and shake his hand in the next life. I know he was called of God to restore the church. I know that he saw The Father and The Son. That everything he went through was for this cause of the church. I know his name will ever be praised! Blessed be his ever great name!

Planting the Seeds!

This is a picture of a newly planted grain field. As one looks at it, it clearly portrays how the little grain seed has sprouted underneath the soil and has started to grow up out of the soil. The result is a field filled with the light green aurora of the little blades of grain starting to grow up from the soil. Below the surface a vast system of roots are being to spread wide to retrieve the water and nutrients in the soil to provide its growth. In the next few weeks the plant will grow taller, and its roots will expound under the ground.





  Now the Wheat is "in the boot." Which means it is starting to head out. The plant has reached its potential height and the beards of grain are forming and are starting to show themselves. Now where does this all come into play as members of the church? We are the ones who are planting the seeds in the hearts of our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, and our families. We have to be the ones who shares our thoughts, and beliefs of the gospel with them. Ask them questions that makes them reflect on the things that they believe. Or ask questions that gets them curious about the gospel. Then you have to keep watering them and give them fertilizer to help them grow better. Just like you have to do to the wheat. They then have to take time on their own to study what they have learned about for themselves. They have to pray to our loving Heavenly Father to know for themselves. But we have to continue to help them and to keep contact with them so they don't quit and die. We have to prepare them to mature.





This is the wheat in its ripe stage! See how the beards are formed. They contain the hard seed that is the kernel of the grain, the wheat kernel. That is where we have to get our investigators to. They have to get to that stage where they are ripe and hard and ready to be harvested. They need to be in that golden stage! That's when they are all ready. They have done the research on their own that has been needed to be done. They have received the personal revelation that is required of them to know for the truths themselves.



This is the end result. The grain is being harvested. All of the little grain kernels are being collected. As missionaries that's what we do. We go out and harvest and collect the kernels. We do that by baptizing by the immersion of water. That is how we collect the seeds. Now at first things might seem smaller but in time they add up. Look at how many members of the church there are. Over 14 million members. Thats a lot of kernels collected. May we be more diligent in preparing our friends, neighbors, and co-workers for the gospel so that the missionaries out there in the world can do the harvest that they have been called to do.

Son of Man

"On this journey that you're making, there will be answers that you'll seek, and its you who'll climb the mountain, its you who'll reach the peak." This life is a journey that we are all making as an individual person. Heavenly Father has put us here to be tested. We have to climb the mountain. We are the ones who will make it to the peak. Wheres the peak though? I feel that the peak is actually back in the presence of our Heavenly Father who resides in heaven.
       "But with faith and understanding, you'll journey from boy to man." Faith is the first principle of the gospel. We have to have faith in Jesus Christ. He is the one who has made it possable for us to return to our loving Heavenly Father. We couldn't do it without him.
      "In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn. You'll find your place beside the Ones you love.
      " What a great phrase. As we are children being taught by our parents we learn to do the things that we are to be doing as members of the church. They teach the things that we need to know about Jesus Christ and the gospel. But as we teach the kids that we have we continue to learn ourselves. Its a never ending chain of learning!
        "The time is drawing near now Its yours to claim it all." The time is drawing near. We are in the last days that have been prophesied of. Its our time to claim it all. We can have it all if we are baptized by water and by the Holy Ghost. Then we have to remain worthy by keeping the commandments of the Lord. If we do this then we can remain worthy of all our Father has to offer us. I know that this is true.

A Wonderful World!!

This song is such an amazing peice of inspiration to me. Really take the time to reflect on the words that it says. "I see skies of blue...clouds of white...bright blessed days...dark sacred nights... and i think to myself what a wonderful world." Heavenly Father blessed us with this wonderful world. I think to often our society takes this wonderful world for granted. I walked out the door today and just couldn't help but think what a beautiful area that Nashville area is. It is so green and has lots of rolling hills. It makes me realize the beauty of the area I have been put into. I wish ya'll could be here right now to see it. It is such a pretty place. Im so blessed to be in this area. It truely is one step closer to heaven. I sure am enjoying it here.

Mothers Day!!!

Its finally here! Mothers Day! Now I get to share with you my thoughts about the wondrful Mothers out there. So I was raised by a wonderful mother who I love very much. Sadly I did not share that with her very much. Since I know she will be reading this I leave these words. "I love you very much mom! Happy Mothers Day! Your the greatest person in the world!" I want you to know that. 
 So why do we need mothers? First, mothers are the most amazing creatures in the world. They go through they pain of bringing us into the world, or so Im told. I really dont see how they can have pain if they are full of drugs that numbs them. Anyway beside the point. They then got the wonderful privilage to raise us up. The mothers job is to nurture. She spends her days raising us up and caring for us. Personally they get the crappy job if you get what im saying. They get to change dirty bums and all that fun jazz. But their job is to teach us while we are young to be good citizens and members of the church. They teach us to be obedient and to listen. Not to steal. How to respect others and help others out when someone is in need.
Sometimes being a mother isn't easy though. I would like to share an example that I have seen out here recently with  a new convert that we have teached. Jennifer is a mother of two little boys. Jordan who is four and Jace who is one and a half. She isn't married. Her ex whatever he is doesn't pay his child support. She has no job. Has nobody to watch her kids so she can go find a job. She has faced eviction from her apartment. Has had her water turned off. Barely has any food for herself, let alone her two little boys. It is very heart breaking to see. She has to do all of the parenting skills now. But she has been blessed and is being blessed. Things are looking up for her.
 Mothering isn't always going to be easy. But women are blessed with that calling and I see why. They help prepare us and shape us into what we can become in the future. Just kind of like how a potter shapes clay into a design. Our mothers do the same. Lets take some time this Mothers Day and really thank them for the things they do for us. Because we really would be in trouble without them to guide and teach us.  Mothers are a fine commodity. Happy Mothers Day Mom. I love you!

The Family

The Family seems to be being attacked lately. As our society speeds up and moves toward the future many of us are just running around. Here is an example. Sometimes a father or mother is running sons or daughters from school to some sport practice then to some club or organization meeting, then to another meeting or a friends house. It seems like there is no family time anymore. Everybody is always coming and going, rushing from one event to another. The result ends with familys sometimes being broken up by the result of divorce. The parents are so busy running each kid to from different activities that they loose track of there spouses interests and feelings. It is sad to see yet it seems to be happening more and more frequently. Families need to spend time together. I see Family Home Evening as a good way to strengthen each others relationships. It helps everyone in the family. It is also a good way to teach children what we want them to know. We teach them how they should act and the things that we should not do. We teach them while they are young. But it shouldn't stop there. We need to have it all the time. Even if it is just sitting down and watching a movie together. Family time is important. Elder L. Tom Perry made this statement: "In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. Families lie at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan." We need to make sure that we place our families first then the rest of the things later like sports and other extra things after. We have time for extra things then do them but make sure we are making our familys first. Being out here has helped me see how important families are. I am surprized at how many broken up families there are. But not only will families be strengthened sibblings will learn to get along better with each other. They wont fight as much and will learn to become great friends with each other even as they develop their own lives. Im blessed to have the wonderful family that I do. They are just awesome