"Heavenly Father, Are You Really There...?"

The words of a children's hymn often stick with my heart.  "Heavenly Father, are you really there?  And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?"  ("A Child's Prayer").  I have felt His love often.  In the dark when I was afraid as a child, in my heart as I prayed for comfort during a time of trial, or in the middle of the day when I see hundreds of other people and wonder if I really matter to him.  It comes as a quiet and gentle reassurance, He is there.  He does answer our prayers.  Just as a young boy, Joseph Smith, prayed to find God, we too can.  We are His children and "everyone that asks, receives; everyone that seeks, finds, (3 Nephi 14:7-8), that is His promise.

Just Like Playing Ball...




  Today's blog is coming to you from the best Canadian I know, my brother from another mother...Elder Bohnet! (That will also explain why he chose Steve Nash as the basketball player).  Have you ever been watching a basketball game and been like, man that guy is such a good shooter. I have played basketball a little and I think I'm a... decent shooter, and I know the work that goes into becoming a good shooter. When we are watching the game we only see the what that person has become, we don't always see how they got there. It takes a long time practicing, a lot of frustration, at times, and some excel quicker than others. Those who push through the rough days and keep going are the ones who become something great.

This is true in our own spirituality. I often look at others and think wow, that person is really spiritual. They didn't become like that overnight. I'm sure that it took hours of study and prayer. I'm sure sometimes they felt hopeless and that there prayers were not being answered. If we push through those hard times and diligently seek out our Father in Heaven the answers will come. A Book of Mormon prophet said, "And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst," (Alma 32:42). The key is to be patient, diligent, and have faith. If we do, we can come to know spiritual truths and feel the joy and satisfaction that comes from living the Gospel.

Power to Heal

Let The Children Come

Elder Bohnet and I just got done teaching one of our friends about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we have reflected upon what that consists of; faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and enduring to the end, we thought of why we love talking about this so much.  We both decided it is because of Jesus Christ, and how he makes us feel!  

As I have come to know my Savior and older Brother, Jesus Christ, one thing I always marvel at is the power that he has to heal us.  I think of the mistakes that overwhelm our past, the worries that cloud our future, and the burdening guilt that once weighed down our hearts.  I think of that only for a moment.  I have come to accept, apply, and appreciate the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life.  I have felt the power he has to lift burdens and heavy hearts, diminish worries, and replace doubts with a bright hope.  He has all power to heal us physically, but there is a healing that takes a perfect love and patience, and that healing is spiritual healing.  I think of a scripture in the Book of Mormon, when the Savior appears to the people and tells them, "come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal [you]..."(3 Nephi 18:32).

I know that the Lord will heal all who come unto Him, with full purpose of heart.  I know that is because he has an unconditional and an everlasting love for us.  He can heal us. He can make us whole.

What Do We Give To God?

Thursday we had a baptism! It was a great day, and a great time to feel of the spirit.  Baptism is an essential step that we all must take to return to the presence of God.  In the time leading up to the baptism, I have been thinking a lot about the changes that this young man has made to bring his life in line with the will of God.  I have thought about who he has become, and who he can eventually become.  I encourage you to think about who you want to become and what you should do to become the person the Lord would have you be. 

A Book of Mormon prophet, King Benjamin, taught, "For the natual man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth of the natrual man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord..." (Mosiah 3:19).  Another righteous group of people spoken of in the Book of Mormon, "did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God. (Helaman 3:35).

Through Jesus Christ, we can change and become more like him.  We must put aside our own passions and appetites and be subject to the will of God.  We must choose to be humble and teachable.  It may be hard, but the Savior will help us.  If we are willing to obey, we will "become saints through the atonement of Christ."