Past Progression

Led to this wonderful place by design, I spent the past 6 months in the heart of our California Mission, beautiful Santa Rosa.  As you read from Elder Menasco and Sister Nestman, this place has truly changed our lives.  In the next few moments, I hope your heart will be touched with experiences that have strengthened my faith and helped me to have a greater desire to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is true that the people bring the change in our lives. 

Ever action has a consequence.  Every choice we make has an affect on our life and on the lives of others.  I reflect upon a family that has gently reminded me of this reality.  It was my privilege to come to know them and to share experiences with them, filling my heart with gratitude and love.  Two young men in this family I grew a particular love and respect for.  Despite their past decisions and the adversity that they have had to face, some as a result of their own bad decisions, they have shown me how to endure and be patient.  Their trials have not ceased even though they have made the decision to change their lives and seek for the better, in fact, it has increased in difficulty in many ways.  Every day they make the efforts to move their lives in a direction which pleases God.

Another young man touched my life in a way that he may not completely understand.  Brought to the knowledge of God though a dear friend of his, he was always willing to live the gospel that we taught.  It made me think back to the times that I struggled to follow the counsel Church leaders had given, how I tried to justify just small actions that may have not weighed eternal consequences.  However, I saw blessings come and saw blessings go.  Ben however, was always more than willing and happy to accept the invitation to follow the counsel the Lord gives us.  After his testing period of these changes in his life, he has come to live them.  Living the gospel is the greatest example that he has set for me and others.  It is in his smile, his family, and it is his life.

These people are just a few of the blessings that have come to my life.  It started with a call to serve in this beautiful place and ends with the hearts of these people.  They bring the spirit into my life, to bring a change and a desire to live better.  These people are what make the difference.  My heart is changed.  My perspective anew.  My life is the Lord's.  Why?  Because these are his children, I am his Son, and He is the way.  I have experienced and seen others share the same change as we have made progress to move closer to Christ.  Our past does not weigh us down, we arise each day with a bright hope.  With a willing heart, we find the blessings of heaven.  I have been touched.  Check out Elder Dane Jones post on Saturday! He will update us on the blessings he has seen here!

A Choice of Life or Death...




  I have been thinking a lot lately about the reasons why people change their lives.  What stirs within a person to drive them to change their life?  As I have come to understand more fully the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have seen that we need the Savior's help to create a lasting change in our lives.  I believe that we change because we feel something inside our hearts pressing at our souls, desiring something greater.  There is a choice that we must ultimately face: Are we willing to follow Christ for the rest of our lives, to make the changes necessary so that we may return to our Heavenly Father to live in happiness or not?  "I would that [you] should look to the Great Mediator, and [obey] his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life" (2 Nephi 2:28).

Our Faith Can Make Us Grow

I remember back when I was a boy, I would often go to the store with my mom and keep her company while she shopped.  I would always ask for a hundred things that we never needed, but for some reason she was always willing to let me get just a little something.  I used to love to get the magic grow animals.  These little toys just intrigued me; you just drop them in water and they would grow to be huge!  Although I lacked the patience to sit and watch them grow, I would find myself coming back to the glass to observe them and see how they grew.  I was always astonished at how long it would take for these animals to grow, but I knew that by the end they would reach their full potential. 

We, in many ways, are like these little animals.  Often times we may feel small or inadequate or as if we cannot measure up to the tasks that we sometimes face in life.  However, just like placing us these animals in water, we too must build up our faith and immerse our lives around that.  As we do so, we begin to see not only our faith, but we ourselves grow.  Our faith begins to become manifest in our daily lives (Alma 32:41).  Although we may not notice this growth over night, as we look back on our lives we will see that change has occurred, despite the slow process.  Like these animals, however hard things may get, we must not be removed from our reservoirs of faith, or we will ultimately shrink noticing our insecurities and inadequacies once again.  We must continue to grow, and we will if we but continue to immerse ourselves completely in our faith in Christ.

Stepping Stones

Lately, I have been thinking about how we overcome our struggles and change.  I have thought back on sports and how there was so much change for me, before I was really any good.  I swam for many years and enjoyed it, but it became very frustrating when I was not performing to the ability I felt I could.  As I struggled, practice after practice, trying to find out why I could not do better, I finally turned to coach, and asked him for help, because simply pushing through on my own was not doing the trick.  After having countless hours of stroke technique and changing the habitiual ways, I soon found myself slowing down and doing worse.  Discouragement set in and I thought it wasn't going to work.  But with the help of my coach, I learned that persistance in the change would bring the greatest outcome, and though it felt uncomfortable, it would not be long, until it became natural. 

This is a lot like living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We come to believe in Christ and try to change our lives to live how God wants us to.  But no matter how hard we try, we cannot make that change alone.  We cannot rely on our own strengths, or will power to get us through, we need the help of Jesus Christ.  Then, just like coach, He will shape us into who we need to be to return to Him, and achieve peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.  And though the way may be hard, it is not impossible, though the habits we must break seem too difficult, it can be done, and He will be there to help us every step of the way.  I know that change may take time, but it will become natrual and it will become who we are.

The Island Chill

Bula Vinaka! (Hello in the Islands of Fiji).  Just the other day, I was serving with my good friend and Fijian warrior, Elder Volavola.  As we were going through our day, we shared experiences on how the Gospel has brought peace to our lives and shaped us into who we are today.  We talked about some of the attributes the Savior has and has perfected; purity being one that our focus fell on.  There is an attraction and a joy that comes from being pure and seeing purity in others.  After all this, of course we found ourselves talking about Fiji water, which is the best and most pure water!

There is an island in Fiji that is surrounded by tropical forests.  Upon such, sits a waterfall that flows from the mountains, whose environment remains uninhabited by people.  This environment that is created has allowed for these waters to flow purely and remain perfectly untainted by unnatural and other unclean things.  Because of this, we get one of the best tasting waters in the world!  (If you don't believe us, try it.)  Just like the water that flows so freely and unaltered by man's hand, so too must our lives remain free from the tainted hands of the world.  We must keep our hearts and minds pure, so that the love of God can flow as freely and purely from us, as these waters do from the falls in Fiji. As we seek to become pure, even as the Savior, we will feel our lives drawing closer to His, (Moroni 7:47-48).

"We are the children of God"

Worth of a Soul

Someone close to me expressed something that she fears, as she is changing her life and trying to come closer to the Savior.  As my companion and I shared with her our desire for her to come to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ more fully, I found myself pondering upon my life and how change had brought up some of my worst fears.  As we listened closer, I have come to feel that this fear was more internal; the question of self worth. 

There is a worry that comes to us when we change our lives, when we come to wonder if we must truly move past the places where we once felt most comfortable.  Will we be good enough for the new group of people that we will associate with, or will these new set of values that we will live really make me free?  I have pondered about this for a few days and a certain hymn comes to mind, which touched my heart and awakened my spirit to a sense of healing that Christ offers to us all, as we change and become something new.

"Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.

Here bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish.
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal."

"Come Ye Disconsolate"

There are fears, doubts and pains that trouble our souls, but as we go though these experiences a feeling of hope and joy may flood our souls as we read the words of prophets of old, Romans 8:16-17.  We are all God's children, and he loves each of us.  Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 13.  We are of worth to Him.