Thank You!

Laura, for listening to me when I am just being weird. Thank you for clearing off my car this week. Thank you for being my friend and not casting judgement.

Dallin, for helping me to become a better person but at the same time accepting me for me.

Uncle Tony, for just calling to check up on me and see how I am doing. Thank you for being that wonderful example of what a priesthood holder can do for a family.

Savannah, for wanting to talk to me on Skype and being so excited to do so.

Mom, for always being there for me and caring about me so much. Words really can't describe how much I am thankful for you.

Dad, for showing me that people can change. Thank you for constantly loving me and looking out for me.

Irina, Brenda, Jordynn, thank you for showing me the love of God and how much the Gospel and the gift of the Atonement can change lives.  

Lately I have been feeling very grateful for the people that God put into my path. I know that I don't always express my gratitude as well as I should and I feel awful about that. There is so much for me to be thankful for. Mostly I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and my loving Heavenly Father. They help me become that person that I am meant to be. They help me change, they help me stay strong, they help me feel important. They make it possible for me to be with all those that I love for eternity. One way to give back to them it to show my gratitude.

This week I am starting a new goal. My goal is to make sure that I express my gratitude more frequently. I am not going to be stingy with the words "thank you". I really feel that by simply doing that, by expressing my thanks, I will feel even more blessed.

I encourage all those who are down or just need a pick me up to start this challenge with me as well. I think it will be just what we need. 

Homeless

Where is home to you? I have thought about this question a lot. While being here in Montana a lot of people ask me where is home. It was interesting when I answered because if I said Idaho people would ask me if I was excited to go back there. But I wasn't going back there because my family had moved to St. George. If I said St. George they would ask me if I knew this person or this place which I didn't because I had only lived there for maybe 1 1/2 years.

Shoshone, Idaho

Some might say that home is where your family lives. I have troubles with that because I do not consider St. George to be my home. But then if that isn't my home where is?
Could I claim the place that I grew up? Oh Shoshone, Idaho how I miss you! Well I am sure I could but I haven't been then in almost 4 years. So it kind of seems weird claiming that to be my home. I could claim it as a place I grew up but probably not my home.

So here I have a dilemma. I am homeless. I have no home.... or do I?

St. George, Utah

We all know the phrase, "Home is where your heart is." I think that this is 100% true. Home is where our heart is. So I have decided that my home is.... everywhere. It is everywhere because my heart is in Jesus Christ, my heart is in His Restored Gospel, my heart is in Heavenly Father and they are everywhere.

So while I don't have a "home" in the sense that I call one town or area my home I do have a home with Heavenly Father. Everywhere I go there will always be kind members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reaching out to make me feel welcome and make me feel at home.

If you feel that maybe you are homeless, that you don't feel like you have a home anywhere, reach out to Christ, reach out to His Gospel and see yourself find a home once more. The neatest thing is that no matter where you are at in the world you can find that group of people that will love you the same way that Christ loves you. Here is a site to find the nearest church building near you. So please check it out and see how you can feel the love of God for you more and see that you aren't homeless you already have a home waiting for you.

Walk With Jesus



Boise, Idaho



If

By Carma Salvesen

If I could go to Galilee

And walk where Jesus walked

And sit in tender grasses

On the hillside where He taught.

If I could sit and ponder

On a rock that knew His hand,

Or walk along the seashore

Where His feet had touched the sand.

My spirit yearns within me,

But it doesn’t seem my fate.

I’ll never walk where Jesus walked.

I’ll never see … but wait.

I worship in His temple



Where I know He’s walked before.

Have His feet been down this hallway?

Have His fingers touched this door?

Has He stood here in this very room

And looked at what I see?

Rexburg, Idaho

In the beauty of His temple

I can feel His love for me.

I close my eyes and picture Him,

My worries melt away.

I don’t need to go to Galilee

Or travel far away.

For my tender heart is filled

With what He wants me to be taught



And my testimony burns within—

I’ve walked where Jesus walked!



I can truly testify that this is true. I, most likely, am never going to be able to afford going to Galilee and so as of right now I can't walk there. But I do know that when I go to the temple I feel the presense of the Lord. There is just a special feeling that you get when you enter into the house of the Lord.

So if you want to have the opportunity to walk where Jesus walked and walks but can't afford to go to Israel then work on going to the temple. There are many different ways to go to the temple. If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and older than 12 you can go and participate in ordinances for yourself and for others who didn't have the opportunity to participate in those ordinances in this life. 



St. George, Utah



If you aren't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but would still like the opportunity to go to a temple there is still the chance for you. Before any of the temples are dedicated they are open to the public to go through and see what they are like. The soonest temple open house is in Kansas City Missouri. Here is the link for more information on that (Kansas City Missouri starting March 12, 2012 http://www.lds.org/church/temples/reservations?lang=eng)

But if you don't want to go inside a temple at least go and see where the nearest one to you is and just go and walk around the grounds. You can have a very special experience with walking on holy temple ground. Here is a link to see where the nearest temple to you is http://www.lds.org/church/temples/find-a-temple?lang=eng.

In any case that you can I stronly encourage and ask you just to go to the temple. You will find that it will change your life. You will find peace and joy by being able to walk where Jesus walked.

Fall in Love with Jesus...Again

It is never to late for us to rekindle our relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here are some movies that go over His life. They are great for personal reflection as well as getting your family to get to know the life of Christ a little bit better. New videos are constantly being put up and they are great because they quote directly  from the Bible (the King James Version). So I encourage everyone to check them out and I promise that you will feel uplifted. Remember everyday to fall in love with our Savior!

Living Water

John 4:5-29

Widows Mite

Mark 12:41-44

Mary and Angel Gabriel

Luke 1:26-38

Mary and Elizabeth

Luke 1:39-55

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem

Luke 2:4-7

Shepherds and the Angel

Luke 2:8-18

Jesus being presented at the Temple

Luke 2:22-38

Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-2, 11-15

Tires and Charity

Flat tire. I really don't like flat tires. On cars they are fine, I feel confident enough that I could change a tire on a car. Now I am not so confident on a truck, they are just to big. Well we got one. Yep a flat tire on our truck. Yuck. Our options were to try to change it ourselves or call someone for help. We called someone for help. Then it turned out that our windshield whipper was broken as well. Through the kindness of people I have learned what really makes someone a true christian.

1st person: We called him to help us with our tire and he came right away. It was pretty cold that day and he could have came up with excuses to not come but he didn't. Then he took care of the whole thing himself and paid to get our tire fixed. When we tried to pay him back he wouldn't let us.

2nd person: After we got our tire fixed we went to the nearest automotive store. We explained that our windshield whipper was broken and we needed to replace them. The employee there was wonderful. He found the right sizes and then changed them for us. When we went to pay he said that it was on him. Again another kind act.

As I think of these two people I am awed by their kindness and charity. Not once did they think, "What is in this for me?" They served out of love. They are true Christians. They did exactly what the Savior would do, the reached out to people in need. When we serve others we are also serving God. Mosiah 2:17 "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

So my challenge to you this week is be a Christian. Look for opportunities to help others and then do it. I guarantee that it will make your week 100% better

Songs of Christmas

With Christmas season here what is your favorite Christmas song?

Oh I have a couple:

• Oh Holy Night 

• With Wondering Awe 

• Christmas Bells

 Last year I acquired a new favorite Christmas song: Christ the Lord is Risen Today

You may be wondering why one of my favorite Christmas songs is a traditional Easter song. Well I will tell you why. Last year I was watching the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional (check it out here). Anyways the idea was presented that it is important to celebrate Jesus' birth but if it wasn't for His Atonement, suffering for our sins, dying on the cross, and resurrection, there would be no need to celebrate His birth. So in my own way I show that Christmas is much more than celebrating a birth it is celebrating a life.

How do you know?

The other day a man asked me a very interesting question.

"How do you know that Jesus is your Savior?"

I thought a lot about that and then applied that questions to other things. Like how do I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church on the earth again. How do I know that the Book of Mormon is true? How do I know that there is a prophet on the earth again? How do I know?

Well let me answer by first asking another question. How do you know that the floor is there in the morning when you are lying in bed? I mean I always trust that the floor is there every morning but I still have to try it out and put my feet down. I have to act and do my part. If I lay in bed and just say that the floor is there doesn't really help to know if the floor is there.

Nephi also teaches us how we can know certain things of God. Here is a converstaion that he had with his brothers.
"And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?

Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."

So to answer the question of how do I know. I know because I have acted. I know that Jesus is my Savior because I have accepted Him and then I have followed Him. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church on the earth, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that we have a prophet on the earth today because I have prayed and asked God and then I followed my answer that I have received.

One last thing, I know that you can come to know these truths for yourself. All you have to do is ask God with a open heart and then be willing to act. Be willing to take that step on the floor. I know it will change your life and make it better than better.

Holes

When I was about 9 years old we went down to St. George Utah to visit my Grandmother and Grandpa Phil. They always liked to have activities for us kids so that we weren't bored to death and we enjoyed going down there. This one visit when we got to their home they told us that Grandpa Phil had dug a hole and we were to guess the dimensions for this hole. Once we had all guessed and it was a little coolier in the day they drove us out to this hole. I don't remember who was closest, pretty sure it wasn't me. I remember though that it was a very long hole and me feeling bad that Grandpa Phil dug that hole it the ridiculous heat of Southern Utah. I have no idea of how long it took him to dig that hole but I imagine that it took him quite a while.

Sometimes we too end up digging holes for no apparent reason. We dig and we dig and we dig. It can be quite exhausting. Our holes can be of saying wrong things, spending too much time from home and family, bad habits, technology,

As we get deeper and deeper in our holes it becomes our norm and we are often afraid to leave and face the real world. Even if we do want to leave we often feel we are to deep to get out by ourselves. Luckily the Savior understands that we put ourselves in these holes and He is constantly walking to the edge of each of our holes and asking us if we want help out. If we are afraid to leave we may yell at Him and curse at Him. The interesting thing is He just says, "Ok, I'll be back in 5 minutes in case you change you mind," and He always comes back. He will keep visiting our hole until we are ready to accept His help to get out. Then He lowers a ladder a helps us out. We just got to climb up the ladder.

Best Gift Ever

 When you think of gifts what do you think of? Do you think of gifts that you have been given or gifts that you have given? Honestly, I think of what I have been given. Though after a tiny bit I start to think of the gifts that I have given which in the long run make me so much happier than the ones I have received.
I remember this one time I wanted to get my mom an amazing gift. Well I saw that a nativity set that she had been wanting was on sale. I pulled all my money together and I had enough. So I bought it feeling extremely giddy. The only problem was that Christmas was the previous week and my mom's birthday wasn't for another couple of months. Just waiting to give her the gift was almost too much for me and I almost gave it to her earlier. Finally her birthday arrived. As she opened the present I was filled with so much happiness. Just seeing her face of shock made up for having to wait all those months to give it to her. It was then that I truly understood that when you give to others you get more than you give.

Now these last couple of months I have been able to share an even greater gift to those I love. It is the gift of the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel. I was given this gift myself and it truly fills all my soul with so much happiness that I want to share it with others. Knowing my purpose of being here on earth and what I can do to be even happier really is the best gift I could ever receive or give. I want to bear testimony that I know that it is only through Jesus Christ that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father; that through His love He willingly came down here to earth for each one of us to save us, to redeem us. This is the best gift we have or will ever have.

If you have received this gift, go share it with others. It will make you so happy and help you feel fulfilled. If you haven't received this gift or don't understand how Jesus Christ can make you have greater happiness I strongly encourage you to go to mormon.org, explore, and then request missionaries that can and will share this gift with you.

With the Christmas season coming up let us all try to remember always what the best gift ever was: Jesus Christ.

Friends



"Choose your friends carefully. They will greatly influence how you think and act, and even help determine the person you will become. Choose friends who share your values so you can strengthen and encourage each other in living high standards. A true friend will encourage you to be your best self." For the Strength of the Youth

We have so many people that pass through our lives and they all influence us. We need to make sure that we are surrounded by people that really do help us to become better. Never forget the one person who will be by you through thick and thin. Who will be that best friend that you could ever ask for. Jesus Christ

Clean That Window

The last semester of college that I took before I came on the mission I took up an early morning custodial job. The hours were from 4-7 in the morning and I woke up at 3:30 5 days a week to get there in time. It wasn't a horrible job once you got used to the not so great hours. Really it was pretty easy. I did the same thing every single day. I vacuumed the entry ways and washed all the glass doors. I really didn't mind the vacuuming part it was my favorite. The doors on the other hand were a little annoying. No matter how clean you washed them the day before there were always new, fresh hand prints for me to clean. Just because I cleaned the day before did not guarantee that they would stay perfectly clean for the next day. If one day was missed, for example we didn't clean on Sunday, then the doors were just filthy and it took a little bit longer to clean them. Even though it seemed like a small task, maybe 5 minutes for each door, it was something that needed to be done each and every single day.

In our own lives there are things that we need to do each day to make sure that our souls stay clean. They seem so easy that we might forget them or we might not think that they are important; reading our scriptures, saying our prayers, repenting daily, being kind to those around us, remember Jesus Christ. It only took me 5 minutes for each door but if I made sure that I cleaned them each day then the next day it was just as easy. If we get in the habit of reading our scriptures and saying our prayers then next day it is just as easy to do them. But if we forget then it does seem hard to get back on the path even if we didn't do it one day. So lets all take the time and do the simple each day. Everytime we do we really do draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ which is our purpose of being here on earth.

Love Without End

Have you ever had one of those days where it just seems like the world is getting you down? I sure know that I have. It is on those days where I just want to crawl into my bed, wrap up in my favorite blanket, and lose myself either in a good book or a movie. Sometimes if I am feeling real bad I will actually go to someone to hug or to cry on their shoulder. This doesn't really happen a lot because I am not really that touchy feely person. Now the other day I read an amazing scripture Jeremiah 31:3,"The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Christ will always love us and is just dying to let us know that He loves us. I really like that it says that we have His everlasting love. I don't know that I have anything else that is everlasting in my life. On those hard days He really does want to give us a giant bear hug. I think that He is one of the people that I am ok with doing that.

So when you are having a hard day and you are just dying to be hugged or to feel comfort turn to Christ because He is always there for you and just waiting to give you that hug you rightly deserve.

Families, Love Them Don't Hate Them

I love my family! I mean I really love them. Just look at them. How could you not love them? Each one brings a special spirit to our home. The greatest thing is that I know that they will always be there for me. Now my family isn't perfect but it sure is great. They are the ones that I can fully be myself with. My favorite times of the year always have to do on whether I am around my family or not. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday simply because that is usually when we all get together.

The greatest thing is that no matter what our family situation is like the Gospel of Jesus Christ can strengthen our relationships. "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." The Family: A Proclamation to the World 

How very true this is. If we just take the time to be with each other, to build each other up, to share the Gospel with each other, and to love each other then our families will start to be on the path of where we would like them to be.  We can start now. We can mend bridges or we can keep our ties strong as we follow the example of our Savior and love our families.

I am super excited to help my family grow closer together and to be with them for eternity. If you would like your family life to be a little better read the rest of The Family: A Proclamation to the World and try out the different things it suggest. I know it will bless you. 

2+2=350

Just this past week a member from one of our wards passed away. He was a very liked person and well known throughout the community. I had only met him once before he died but anytime anyone talked about him I could feel the goodness of his character. I don't think that there was one person that he didn't touch personally while he was alive. So, needless to say that at his funeral there wasn't a spare room. The chapel, the overflow, the gym, and the stage were all full and many people were standing. Those that had prepared the food for the meal were a little anxious. They were told only to prepare food enough for about 180 people. Well they started to express their doubts after the funeral service and were told that most people won't go to the grave side and most won't stay for the meal.

Break for a second. Remember in the Bible the story of Christ feeding the multitudes? A multitude had joined together to listen to Jesus Christ preach. The time had gotten away from everyone and the Apostles saw that the time was growing late and started to feel a little anxious for the people because they didn't have food for them. But Jesus, in His love, sends the Apostles out to find food and a miracle occurs. In Mark chapter 6 we follow the rest of the story.

"He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men."

This is where the miracle occured just like it had with Jesus Christ. More than the 180 people that they had prepared came to the meal. They said a prayer over the food that it would multiply just like it had when Christ blessed the loaves and the fishes. People were pilling food upon their plates thinking there would be enough. The women that were serving were constantly saying a prayer that there would be enough food and there was. Over 350 people were fed on the food that should have fed only 180. What a modern day miracle! The wonderful thing to notice is that all they had to do was to ask and then have faith that the food would multiply.

This is true in our lives as well. Miracles can and will happen we just have to have the faith  and believe and they will happen.  "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him." (1 Nephi 7:12)

Christmas in July

"Merry Christmas!"
"Uhh, I think you are confused, it is July not December."
"I know it is July."
"Ok well Christmas is in December not July."
"Haven't you heard of Christmas in July?"

One tradition that my family has that I love is celebrating Christmas in July. It all started with my Grandmother who saw a tree on the side of the road that looked like a Christmas tree and she wanted to decorate it even though it was July. I can imagine her thinking why limit yourself to celebrating Christ's birth only once a year. So started Christmas in July.

In the last Christmas Devotional President Dieter F Uchtdorf said, "Christmas is a time for remembering the Son of God and renewing our determination to take upon us His name. It is a time to reassess our lives and examine our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Let this be a time of remembrance, of gratitude, and a time of forgiveness. Let it be a time to ponder the Atonement of Jesus Christ and its meaning for each of us personally. Let it especially be a time of renewal and recommitment to live by the word of God and to obey His commandments. By doing this, we honor Him far more than we ever could with lights, gifts, or parties."

When we celebrate Christ, when we remember Him, when we take the time to try to give back to Him we are celebrating Christmas. So why not celebrate Christmas in July and take the time to celebrate that our Savior Jesus Christ lives. That He came down here to Earth for us and fulfilled the Atonement. Let us celebrate Him all year round, even in July.

Superba

Learned a new word this weekend from a very interesting man. The word; superba.

One Sunday afternoon we decided to go tract a town that we had never been to before. As we were out we ran into an elderly man that was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but because he lived about 30 miles away from the nearest church building and didn't have transportation he doesn't really attend.

As we knocked on his door and he opened it, he just looked so happy and grateful that we were there. At the time neither I nor my companion knew that he was a member. From that visit we learned a lot about him and his history. One thing stood out to me was that he kept asking us if we were from the ward and when we would say yes he would clap his hands and say, "Superba!" He was just so happy to have the Spirit in his home again.

I think that we all go through times in our lives when we have drawn away from God and Jesus Christ. That because of one reason or another our relationship with them weakens and it isn't as strong as it once was. The wonderful thing is that Jesus Christ is always on the other side of the door knocking waiting for us to answer and let him in. Just like this fella answering the door and exclaiming, "superba" because we were there we to should open the door to Jesus Christ and shout, "superba" because he is in our lives.

Brands and Trust

This past week we went and helped a member in one of our wards brand his calves. We were pretty excited to do it because I feel like that is a Montanan experience that you can't pass up. It was a very interesting experience and something that wouldn't bother me again.

One thing that I thought was interesting was the different ways the calves responded to being poked, prodded, and branded. Most would squirm and cry out and let us all know they didn't appreciate what we were doing to them. Some would try to get out of the contraption; most didn't succeed. One calf did though and I would say that I was pretty shocked and kind of happy for him. Then there were a couple of calves that didn't even move or cry out.

As Sister Williams and I were observing these different reactions we tried to decide what kind of calf we would be. Would I be normal and squirm and cry, would I try my hardest to get out of it, would I get out of it, or would I not do anything at all and just lay there? For a while I was saying that I would be like the one calf who broke his way out of the calving table and got loose. I don't know now if I would want to be that calf because he just was dragging it out even longer because he had to go back through the whole process again.

Now I don't want to be one that just tries to go around trials or just avoid them because they don't go away they just get bigger. I think of us as those calves here on earth and God and Jesus as those men that branded the calves. Sometimes we go through hard things but they won't give us anything that we can't handle. Those calves that put their trust in the men had the branding go by so much faster than those who kicked and fought against it. The same works with God. The prophet Alma teaches his son Helaman this exact concept and he says to him,"that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."(Alma 36:3) 

Life isn't easy nor was it meant to be easy but I do know that as we put our trust in the Lord, especially during in our trials, life is so much better.