The Headless Chicken Named Sin

We all have heard the stories about chickens running around after their heads are chopped off. Well, I'm here to tell you that these stories are true. I lived on my grandpa's farm for 5 years where I had the privilege to assist in the process of getting the chicken from the yard to the dinner table. Before my family lived out there, though, an incident occurred during this process to my cousin. (He shall remain nameless because I'm not sure how happy he'd be with me sharing this story.) When he was five years old he wandered a little too close to where they were chopping off the heads and a headless chicken ran right towards him. He began to back pedal very quickly but tripped on a board and fell flat on his back. The chicken then proceeded to run up onto his chest where it finally gave up the ghost. On his chest, a headless chicken. Needless to say, he is still afraid of chickens to this day, and he is now a full-grown adult.

In the Book of Mormon, in Alma 13:12, it states: "Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God."

 Once we have "been sanctified by the Holy Ghost" or essentially once we have repented and been cleansed of our sin, we must have this same attitude towards sin, that of abhorrence. If we stay close to our past sins, they will still have the ability to chase us down and overcome us, as this headless livestock did to my cousin. This experience has effected his whole life, and his attitude toward chickens. Returning to previous sins can also affect our whole lives for the ill. But, if we remember to leave behind all previous sins and mistakes and turn to our Savior, we will never be dragged down again.

I know that Jesus Christ knows and loves each and every one of us, and that through His Atonement we can all be raised up and move away from past mistakes. What a glorious, hopeful message that is! I bear that testimony of our loving Savior in His name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

I Stand All Amazed

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

 I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

 I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

I would like to add my testimony to that of this hymn (Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 193). I am SO AMAZED at the love my Savior continually offers me. I KNOW that He died for us and that He lives for us today. I am so grateful for His love and strength and support that I receive every single day. I know that as we turn to the Savior we can all experience that comfort that comes from knowing the love He has for you and from knowing all He has done for you.  

Healed

When I was 15 years old I was riding bikes with a friend on a warm sunny day after school. We were riding downhill pretty fast and I lost control of the bike and crashed head first into a pile of rocks. This is what I’m told anyway. I don’t actually have any memory of the day due to the force in which I hit my head . I was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries to my face and head and lacerations on my arms and legs. Upon arrival it was discovered that I needed stitches in four different places on my face and I had a broken my cheek bone. After having a CAT scan it was discovered that I would need plastic surgery to put my cheek bone back into alignment so it could properly heal. They told my parents that my face would carry come pretty heavy scars following the surgery and would always look a little deformed. They were also told it would be a very long healing process and that I would probably be out of school for quite a while.

 Somewhere among all the trauma my uncle came to the hospital from his work. When he arrived he immediately gave me a priesthood blessing. In the blessing I was blessed that I would recover fully and quickly, and I was blessed that I would not need surgery in order for that healing to occur. The next day when the doctors sent me to get another CAT scan they were dumbfounded at what they saw. My cheek bone was in perfect alignment. No surgery was necessary. I was released from the hospital later that day and my face was fully healed in two weeks. The scarring went from bright red to being hardly noticeable in just a few more weeks. When I returned to school people didn’t even believe I had been through the experience I had been because there were no outward signs.   

This is just one of the ways the power of the priesthood has affected my life. Priesthood Power is simply the power to act in God's name. Worthy male members of the LDS church can hold this Priesthood and use it to bless lives as our Savior would if He were on the earth. "In my name they shall do many wonderful works; In my name they shall cast out devils; In my name they shall heal

Christ bestowing the priesthood on the 12 apostles

the sick; In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf ;" (Doctrine and Covenants 84:66-69) This is a real and everlasting blessing given from our Heavenly Father. I know I was healed because of the power of the priesthood and the faith my parents and I had in that eternal power. I am so grateful for the priesthood in my life and that it has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. (See http://mormon.org/restoration)

Be the Lesser Part

I was reading in the Book of Mormon the other day and this verse really hit me: "And thus ended also the eighty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, the more part of the people remaining in their pride and wickedness, and the lesser part walking more circumspectly before God." (Helaman 16:10) You may wonder why this verse of all verses affected me but my immediate thought was: "Be the lesser part!"

 It is fairly easy to live a righteous, honest life if all those around you are also living in this way, but how much harder is it to live righteously when you are in the minority or "the lesser part"? Our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, gave a talk discussing this topic entitled "Dare to Stand Alone." In this address he states:

"As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone?"

That question really makes me think: "Do I have the moral courage to stand alone?" "Do I have the strength?" When I have pondered more on this topic the thought that has occurred to me over and over is that even when I feel like I am standing alone, I am never, ever alone. My Savior is always standing next to me, strengthening and uplifting me. This makes it possible for me to stand up for my beliefs even when I may appear to be standing alone. President Monson continues in his talk to give us ways that we can gain the courage necessary to stand alone: 

"In order for us to be strong and to withstand all the forces pulling us in the wrong direction or all the voices encouraging us to take the wrong path, we must have our own testimony. Whether you are 12 or 112—or anywhere in between—you can know for yourself that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Read the Book of Mormon. Ponder its teachings. Ask Heavenly Father if it is true. We have the promise that '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.' "

In order to stand alone we must know and believe in what we are standing for. I know that as we each take the time to develop our own testimony in the Savior and His Gospel we will develop that strength and moral courage to be "the lesser part" and stand tall WITH our Savior for what we know to be true.

"Come, follow me"

One year when I was about 14 years old and my older sister, Kaylin, was about 17, her, I, and my parents were on a hike. Kaylin and I, being teenagers, had no desire to hike with our parents so we pulled back a little ways behind them so we could have our own conversation. As we were walking we noticed we were following almost exactly in our parents footprints. We began to laugh as we pointed out that we could just hear some old church leader using that experience as a way to teach a gospel principle. We joked about how some of those leaders always seemed to find gospel principles and thoughts using the smallest things in everyday life, and we then proceeded to figure out what they might say to share this thought on following exactly in your parents footprints. I don't remember exactly what we planned out for this dynamic talk but I'm sure it was very spiritual. But, as I can't remember what Kaylin and I came up with, I thought I'd share some thoughts I've had on my own about this gospel application and hope she'll forgive my memory and the fact that I'm turning into one of those old church leaders myself..not in age or leadership role but in applying the gospel to obscure situations.

Whose footprints do you follow in? Whose footprints would you like to follow in?

I would like to focus on the second question: "Whose footprints would you like to follow in?" There are many great answers to this question. The example of the parents footprints that originally spurred this idea can be a very good one. If you have good, faithful parents who love and teach gospel principles then following in their footprints is an excellent idea. Also, following in the footprints of older siblings, or church leaders (yes, even old ones) can be very uplifting. But I'd venture to say the very BEST footprints we could follow in are our Savior, Jesus Christ's. "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12) We are promised as we follow the Savior that we will have the light of life. Because the Savior lead a perfect life, as we do our very best to follow in His footsteps we will be able to free ourselves from sin and worldly sorrow. No, we will not be perfect. Yes, we will make mistakes. But as we strive more and more every day to follow in His footsteps we WILL find more joy and strength. We will be kept from much heartache and we will be able to move forward with faith.

 Come Follow Me

(vs.1)
"Come, Follow me," The Savior said.
Then let us in his footsteps tread,
For thus alone can we be one
With God's own loved, begotten son
(vs. 2)
"Come, follow me," a simple phrase,
Yet truths sublime effulgent rays
Are in these simple words combined
To urge, inspire the human mind.
(vs. 5)
We must the onward path pursue
As wider fields expand the view,
And follow him unceasingly,
Whate'er our lot or sphere may be
(vs. 6)
For thrones, dominions, kingdoms, pow'rs,
And glory great and bliss are ours,
If we, throughout eternity,
Obey his words, "Come, follow me."

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart"

Before coming out on my mission my mother made me a beautiful quilt with messages and scriptures from many of the people that are most important to me. It took months to get all the messages gathered and the quilt put together. I received the quilt one Sunday afternoon after I spoke in church. I had a week and a half before I left on my mission and I decided to bring the quilt with me to visit friends so I could catch the few of them that hadn't signed it yet. My mother put the quilt in a big, black garbage bag and set it by the front door, among many other items she wanted my dad to carry out to the car. I then followed my parents into St. George where we attended the temple and did some shopping. When it was time for us to part ways I went to get the quilt out of their car and couldn't find it anywhere. My mother and I pulled out practically everything that was in the trunk to no avail. When we asked my dad about it, and explained that it was in a garbage bag, he responded calmly: "Oh! I threw that away" ... "You, WHAT?!" Yes, mistaking the bag for garbage my father had done the dutiful thing and taken it out to the dumpster. Something else worthy of noting is that this so happened to be garbage day (of course). My mother and I were speechless. Then and there I gave up hope. I thought "Well, it's gone. Can't do anything about it". I was heartbroken. This quilt that had been months in the making, that had special messages just for me written on the fabric, was gone. With nothing else to do I climbed in my car and drove away, feeling forlorn.

My mother, however, did not give up hope. She immediately started making phone calls as her and my father drove back towards home. She found out that yes, in fact, the garbage man had come. She contacted the garbage company who told her that they were welcome to search the dump but the likelyhood of finding the quilt was slim to none. They expressed to her that there is no rhyme or reason for how they bring in garbage and dump it so it could be anywhere. And still, my mother did not give up hope. Instead she did the one thing I should've done immediately. She prayed. She prayed and she prayed and she prayed. All the way home (2 hours) she told me she was saying silent prayers. When her and my father arrived back in town they immediately headed to the dump. Upon seeing the mess they had to sort out they headed home and changed into grubby clothes, grabbed shovels and rakes and gloves and prepared to dig through trash. On the way to the dump my dad came up with a game plan for how to find this quilt. He assigned my mother and area to start and himself an area to start. He figured they could begin at the outer edges and work their way in to the middle. When they arrived, he began unloading the tools, and my mom started heading straight for the middle of all the garbage. He, of course, asked what in the world she was doing. "I had a plan!", he expressed, "we start at the edges then work toward the middle". My mom simply waved him off and told him to just wait a minute. She then proceeded to walk directly to the middle, move one item out of the way, and pick up my quilt, still in it's deceitful garbage bag. 

She expressed to me that she was guided by the Spirit on exactly where she needed to go to find that blanket.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."-Proverbs 3:5-6 

This is the perfect example of what occured on this day. My mother put her trust in the Lord, not wavering, and her path was lead directly to that quilt. I, on the other hand, leaned unto my own understanding. I thought there was no way we were ever going to find it, it wasn't logical. If it had been up to just me, I'd be without that precious quilt today. But because of my mom's complete trust and faith in the Lord, He answered her prayers and lead her exactly where she needed to go. In the long run losing that quilt wouldn't have been a huge deal. Lives wouldn't have been lost and I would've still served my mission, but because it was important to myself and my mother it was important to Heavenly Father. He loves each and everyone of us so much that he cares about those things that are important to us. That is a true Father's love and I am so grateful for that and so grateful for the faith of my earthly mother, who was able to be lead by the Spirit. Because of that, I get to sleep under that quilt every night here in Montana and get to receive constant reminders of the love my family and friends, as well as my Father in Heaven, has for me :)

Trying to be like Esther

Whenever I hear the word "courage" I automatically think of the biblical heroine, Esther. But as I have studied the story of Esther more in depth I have come to realize that she emulates a lot more than just courage. She is also a beautiful example of faith, humility, love, and wisdom-to name just a few.

To sum up the story of Esther, she risked her life to save the lives of all her people, the Jews. An evil man named Haman asked the king to sign a decree saying that all the Jews would be killed. Unbeknownst to the king, his wife, Esther, was a Jew. Mordecai, Esther's uncle, asked Esther to go in to the king and let him know who she truly was and ask him to spare the Jews. This wasn't such an easy task though, because in this kingdom anyone who requested an audience with the king without being invited could be put to death if the king desired, even if it was his own wife. Esther tells this dreadful fact to Mordecai who responds by saying: "Think not with thyself...more than all the Jews...who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14) In other words, Don't think of yourself more than all of your people, who knows if saving the Jews isn't the very reason that you were chosen to marry the king? Esther then responds by asking him to have all the Jews fast and pray for her and concludes by saying "If I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16) Esther's response of having everyone pray for her is one of the things that show me of her great humility. It isn't easy to admit that you need help, both from those around you and from Heavenly Father. But Esther did just that. She knew she could not do this task on her own. Her great faith shows when she states: "If I perish, I perish". She was putting her life into Heavenly Father's hands and accepted whatever He had in store for her, and her courage is also very apparent in this statement. Esther then requested an audience with the King and thankfully, the King permits her to live and asks what her request is. Instead of just jumping in and asking him to save the Jews, she requests his attendance at a banquet that she had prepared for the following day. This, to me, shows Esther's wisdom. She took the time to plan and prepare. She thought it out, and created the best possible situation for the King to grant her request. And of course, Esther's love shows throughout this story. She loved her people, her uncle, and her God more than her own life. This causes me to think of the verse in John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Fortunately, Esther did not need to lay down her life for the people. The King realized Haman's true colors and instead of all the Jews being killed, Haman was killed. Esther was able to accomplish the mission set forth for her in becoming queen.

The motivating thought that Mordecai shares with Esther: "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" causes me to think of the "kingdoms" that each one of us are in. I know that where we are, and the people that we are with, are there for a purpose. God has specific missions that he would like each of us to accomplish in the situations he puts us in. Lives we can touch, situations we can change, people to touch us. As we strive to develop these divine attributes that Esther possessed, we will be better prepared to accomplish those things our wise Heavenly Father has in mind for us, and we have the ability to save lives as Esther did.

Good Morning!

The alarm goes off at 6:30 on the dot every single morning, and every single morning immediately following I hear "good morning!" with an impressive amount of enthusiasm considering the hour. This comes from my companion, Sister Green. She is such an example of having a positive attitude and a general enthusiasm for life. When she first became my companion, I'd mutter "morning" back while stumbling out of bed. Now, however, I've taken this as a new challenge and I try to say "good morning!" before she can. Sometimes I win, sometimes she does. But now if you were to over hear us in the morning you would hear two very enthusiastic greetings coming from a dark room, and probably worry about our sanity.
We hear the phrase "attitude is everything" all the time, and I hate to repeat what has already been said, but the realization that attitude truly is everything has really caused me to reflect. What if everyone in the world attempted to be bright and cheery the second they opened their eyes in the morning? Can you imagine how different your day would go? Think of the difference between the rude cashier and the happy one. Think of the difference between the friend who is negative all the time and the friend who is positive. Can you see what an effect small things can have? William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." I echo William James in saying that our outer aspects truly can change as we change our attitude.
 Waking up with a bright "good morning!" contest seems small but the simple fact that we attempt to wake-up with an excitement for the new day has really affected me. Days that I have woken up with a bright attitude seem to just go better. I may still face challenges and hard work, but if I approach those with a smile, somehow, they don't have as much of a power over me. Let's all try to wake up with a "good morning!" tomorrow and attempt to change the outcome of an entire day.

Choose The Light

A few weeks ago I was reading a talk entitled "The Fourth Missionary" by Lawrence E. Corbridge. In the talk he states: "As you consider what kind of person you want to become, what choices do you have? The choices are more limited than what you might think...overall they are a choice between the qualities of light or the qualities of darkness." So I immediately thought: "I'm going to choose the light!", this then gave me the idea to change the commonly used phrase in the LDS church from CTR (Choose the right) to CTL (Choose the light). I have since discovered a few other significant meanings behind "Choose the light".

First: As our choices reflect the qualities of light we will become a better person. We will become the person we want to be as we continually strive to choose the light.
Second: Who is the Light? I'd like to answer that question with a verse from the bible:

 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12). Jesus Christ is our light. As we choose the light we are choosing Jesus Christ. Choosing to follow him, to look to him, to trust in him. Who better to choose?
Third: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16) By choosing the light we are choosing to be an example. We are choosing to let that light shine so that they may see who we are and follow after that example.

As we make the decision to choose the light we will better ourselves as a person, become more christlike, we will find a greater love for him and for the people around us, and we will become the kind of examples others would like to follow. So I invite you all to CTL :)


As I've been studying my scriptures I've come across many more verses that discuss light: Micah 7:78, John 12:46,  Romans 2:19, Romans 13:12, 1 John 1:7,Mosiah 16:9, 3 Nephi 15: 9-12, 3 Nephi 18:24, D&C 6:21, D&C 10:58, D&C 10:70

Be of Good Cheer

"Lift up your head and be of good cheer..." 3 Nephi 1:13
"Be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you..." D&C 68:6
"...In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" John 16:33
"...be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matthew 9:2


"Be of Good Cheer". What a beautiful phrase of comfort, hope, peace, forgiveness and love! This gospel truly is about being of good cheer. In 2 Nephi 2:25 it tells us: "men are that they might have joy". Our Heavenly Father created us and sent us here to earth so that we could have joy! This shows me how loving He truly is. That joy and love is exactly why I decided to serve a mission. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought so much joy into my life. Everyone deserves that opportunity! Everyone should "taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste" (Alma 36:24) by realizing that they do have a Heavenly Father who loves them and a Savior who atoned for their sins. By realizing that true happiness CAN be achieved through Them. This message that I have to share is a message of JOY and of good CHEER and I want all the world to hear it. In this blog I would like to share this good cheer with all that I can, and cause you to realize the good cheer in your own life.

Additional "Be of Good Cheer" verses: Matthew 14:27, Acts 27:25, 2 Nephi 10:23, D&C 61:36, D&C 78:18, D&C 112: 4