The Sermon on The Monument

alright, I can't take any credit for this post! about five years ago I got a letter in the mail from, who was at that time, my Missionary Brother, Garth! the other day I was looking for some paper work and came across it again! when I read it again it made just as much impact on me as it did the first time!

my brother Garth served his mission in Colorado, and at the time he wrote the letter was close to the famous monument valley thus he entitled his letter to me the Sermon on the Monument!

The Sermon on the Monument

Dear Little Brother
How is your personal scripture study going? That is really the most important thing you can be doing right now. I will be honest and tell you that during the beginning of high school I didn't read my scriptures enough or barely at all. Instead I was at basketball or football practice or having fun with my friends. Now don't get me wrong, there isn't anything bad with playing basketball or other sports that take up time and keep you busy and fit but looking back I see that the best thing I could have been doing was reading the book of Mormon time and time again,  taking time to pray throughout the day and attending all my church activities. So I guess my advice is don't get stuck being too busy to do the most important thing. What is the most important thing? Well when I was in high school it was making the football, basketball or rugby team and putting all my energy into it so that I would be the top of the team and an asset to the team and make my family proud. But was that really the most important thing? Of course not! I had lost sight of what would really make me an asset to others, what would really benefit me by putting all my energy into it and what would make my family even more proud and happy than anything else could, Preparing to serve a mission! I can tell you that mom and dad and brothers will love to watch you play sports but they would much rather watch you go forth into a different place and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Let's look at it this way, when I played basketball there was three important parts that made me a better and more prepared player the first was practicing studying and living the sport. During basketball season I would practice two or three hours a day, look through the plays and game plans my coach had given me and keep them in my mind all day and all night. I found that when It was game time I would be more focused because I had kept the plays and skills in my mind all week. the second was asking my coach for advice or heeding his criticism. When I needed help with my shot or my left hand dribble I could always ask my coach for help and he would direct me on how I could improve and be stronger. Once again I saw a huge improvement when it was game day because those things that had been weaknesses had become strengths. the third was attending the games, Obviously! It wouldn't make much sense, or any sense at all, to practice and ask coach for advice if I never went to the games, and so is with the gospel.

There are three main things that we can do to be a more prepared son or daughter of God. They are as follows First, practice or study. Studying the book of Mormon is so important. As we study it we not only get a better understanding of the stories found in the book of Mormon but we gain a greater knowledge of its truth and divinity. When we know the book of Mormon is true we realize; Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God because he translated it. We learn that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's one and living organized church on the earth, we also come to know that Christ is the son of God and our Savior and that he lives and loves us! Will you read the book of Mormon 30 minutes each and every day

 Second, Ask our coach for help or pray. We have a loving and caring Heavenly Father who wants us to succeed and be happy. We need to pray always and if we don't feel like praying then it means we need to pray until we do feel like praying. Make sense? Will you pray morning and night each and everyday?

Third, attend the big game or go to church! Just like we wouldn't practice and not go to the game the same goes for life we will obviously attend church. Church is just like the big game in sports. It is the most important time of the week. The sacrament is the whole reason we attend church. The blessing and honor it is to partake of the emblems of Christ's atonement each week easily outweighs any football game on TV, any school play practice or even sleeping in a few more hours. Christ is our savior and as we partake of the sacrament we can have the same cleansing effect as we did at baptism. Will you continue to attend church, seminary, Young men's and other church activities each and every week?

Be wise and learned from my youthful folly, the most important thing is Jesus Christ. Living our life in constant remembrance of him and always doing what he asks will bring us happiness, real happiness! Happiness that we can't find in basketball season, watching TV or even sleeping. Once again I wish to reiterate that there is nothing inherently wrong with sports or television or rest but when they come between us and Jesus Christ they present a problem.

With Love, your older Brother

W.M.I.? Read scriptures daily, Pray multi-daily, and partake of the sacrament weekly!

Mountains and Mayhem

I grew up not far from Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada! I love it there! all the wildlife, the fresh air and, the lakes, but most of all I loved the mountains! For centuries people have climbed to the highest peak of the tallest mountain to feel a closeness with a higher power! I can promise you I have felt a closeness with God in the tops of those mountains! I have learned many lessons from them. I will discuss one such lesson I learned from hiking here in this post!

when I was 11 I hiked Mount Blakiston with my family! it is the tallest peak in park and a hike I won't soon forget! it was the hottest day of the summer and not a single cloud in the sky! the first little bit of the hike was relativity flat and shady..... but once you got on that mountain there was no protection from the sun, and you were hiking straight up towards it! going almost vertical. each step you took you slid back 1/2 a step! it was a long hard hike! it seemed there was no end to this mountain! I remember wishing I had never started up this path, I was hot, I was sticky, I was stinky, I was tired, I wanted a drink, and I wanted to go home! thanks to some encouragement from dad and a few of my brothers I got to the Top! upon arrival and slapping the cairn formed at the peak I remember screaming at the top of my lungs! "I BEAT YOU MOUNTAIN!!!!!" I felt so accomplished, and the view from the top of that mountain was incredible! seemed like there was no end to it! we saw over the mountain tops until the horizon fell of the curvature of the earth! I felt so happy that I made the decision to make that hike! on our way down the side of the mountain we were able to enjoy our descent and the scenery around us! by the time we got back to the cars I was glad I had done the hard things on that hike for the wonderful and beautiful day I had had!

on another occasion I was hiking with my family in the Grand Canyon! this experience much different! overall still enjoyable and I am glad for the experience but..... probably won't do it again! this time, as the Grand Canyon is a giant chasm in the Earths surface instead of a big ole' triangle in the sky, we started with our descent! it was much easier and an enjoyable start! We kept on going downward, into this giant gorge God carved out of the Earth! eventually it got to a point where all I saw was rocks and a strip of blue sky above us! it was again hot but the rocks reflected the heat like and oven making it hotter and hotter! still a simple descent we got further into the colossal canyon! we eventually reached a point where we realized we were not going to reach the bottom and we needed to have lunch! My family was ooo-ing and ahh-ing over the majestic colours and contrasts in the rock! how beautiful the suns rays looked on the canyon walls...... I am colour blind! I saw a whole bunch of brown rock..... none of these oranges and reds... JUST BROWN! plain and simple! well after that we decided to head on back up.... I hadn't realized how far down we had gotten until we were trying to get back out! up until this point I was pretty content with the hike... now I had to get myself out of this huge hole! I climbed up, Now I was hot, I was sweaty, I was stinky and I was not having very much fun! we hiked up... but like I said I had no idea how far down we were until I was climbing up that same way! I was still hot, sweaty and stinky but not even close to being done! we continued to climb up and eventually, after a hike that took much much longer than we had originally thought it would, we got out of the canyon!

what lesson did I learn from these two experiences? when thinking of both of these examples I thought of a comparison in life! the choices we make now determine the paths we must take later! I learned that making the right choice made things easier on later in life even if it seems hard right now! I also learned however as we make poor choices we have to work much harder to work your way out of them! Our Heavenly Father loves us so much he has given us the right to choose or, in other words, has given us the gift of agency! each day we gain experiences and learn how to appropriately use our agency and get closer to God! Making correct choices may be hard at times but will always lift us higher and give us a greater view of our Heavenly Fathers plan! and  much like my journey up Blakiston!

Like I said earlier in the blog it was not that I hated my journey in the Grand Canyon, I was grateful for the experience.... I would just rather not have to do it again! so it is in life! we will all make poor choices that, may limit our view and can be hard to come out of! we may not even know how far in we have gotten until we are trying to get out, however there is a way out! it is not always easy but it is always possible! through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can climb out of any hole and be renewed! and then we can learn from our experiences and avoid them in the future!

W.M.I.? The choices we make now determine the paths we must travel later!

Thankful-tude!

This is a lesson I have had to learn on many occasions! (I tend to have to re-learn certain lessons over and over.) this one stands out in my mind as I recently had to re-learn it in the same way as the first time, however that will be addressed latter on in my ramblings.

I remember the first time I learned a lesson on gratitude. I was about 5 or 6 or somewhere else in that general area. I remember it being Christmas morning, and going through my families Christmas Morning routine, wake up at 4 and watch info-mmercials on TV while waiting for 7:00am to roll around so we could wake up Mom and Dad, 7:01 came around and we were finally aloud to go down stairs and look at presents. look not touch! (Christmas is hectic as it is, but when you add 8 kids some in-laws and grand-kids it surpassed crazy, so to counter the insanity we took extra time to enjoy taking turns to open gifts (I am not aware if this is common practice or not, but it is all I have been exposed to!)) well about the 3rd or fourth rotation I opened a gift from my older brother, Garth. upon opening it I found a tackle box for organizing my legos. (pay attention this is the part where I learn my first lesson in gratitude) I remember opening it up and saying something along the lines of "ahh man! I wanted to use it for my K'nex not my lego." (yes, yes I do realize both lego and K'nex are way out of date however, for the record, they are still the best toys around) well that didn't impress my older brother, Jace (stay with me here I have 5 older brothers so it may get confusing) at all! He picked me up and ran me upstairs into my bed room! he told me very simply "That was the wrong thing to say, you need to learn to be grateful for what you have!"

that memory is still very vivid in my mind. perhaps not the words spoken as much as the lesson learned! from this experience I learned the importance of being grateful for all you do have and saying thank-you for those things! I learned to express gratitude often even for the little things (which usually turn out to be the big things) 

well I mentioned earlier I learned this same lesson recently! I received a package the other day (a rarity in day to day life, a miracle in the life of a missionary) upon opening the box I found written upon the wrapping a reference to a scripture, Luke 17:11-19! (I will give you time to read it.................the link here will take you to the scripture!) before opening the package I looked up this scripture, thinking it was some sort of guessing game and some sort of clue as to the contents of the package was to be provided in the verses! The clue didn't inform me what was in the package itself, however it did show me what was and what was NOT in my heart! this package was sent to me by my older brother..... Jace! (fitting isn't it?) (by the way, I did write a letter in response expressing how much the package meant)

well, it is easy to look at this scripture and say "well if something like that ever happened to me I would be grateful!" or "well who on earth wouldn't say thank you for such a miracle?"

I had to look in side myself and ask "how many miraculous gifts do I receive every day that I may forget to say Thank you for?" I see miracles in my life every day, things that I have no control over just go my way for some reason, and I often find my self forgetting to tell my Father in Heaven thank you for the many blessings I receive! (for example the letter of thanks I wrote back took me a couple weeks (and another reminder to be grateful from my daily scripture study!)!) I plan on developing a true attitude of gratitude, it takes effort but I believe it is worth it! saying thank you tends to be a good way to put a smile on someones face and I am a firm believer in more smiling faces!

I have so many things to be grateful for. A loving family. Wonderful friends. people reading my blog. The Scriptures. The chance to pray and speak with my Heavenly Father. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which brings so much joy into my life. the opportunity I have to serve as a missionary for my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. most importantly for the atonement of Jesus Christ, which provides a way back to live with Him again!

W.M.I.? loose the attitude. gain some gratitude. this has been my platitude!

P.S. Thanks for reading!

W.M.I.?

I have decided to join the world of bloggers and put my insights on the interwebs. first there are some things you should know about me and this blog. first and foremost, I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints and as such these post will have a strong religious overtone however, all are free to glean from them what they may! My objective is not to convert the reader (not that I would be disappointed if that were to happen!) but more so to provide a means for enhancing lives of those who stumble across this blog, and inform them of my way of thinking! second, you mill probably notice in my writings that I am truly one of a kind, at least I like to think so, as such I make no promises that any posts will make complete and total sense to anyone but myself. if any questions are aroused in your mind please just ask, I will do my best to satisfy your curiosity! and if all else fails take what you will have a laugh and try to enjoy the ride. 

with that out of the way I will proceed with this introductory blog! W.M.I.? what does it mean! What Most Important! Growing up my mother had a quote on her door and on the mirror in our living room that has made a profound impact on my life. the quote read, "The most important thing is that the most important thing is the most important thing!" I have often pondered on these words and their meaning. what is most important! I find focusing on the most important aspects in life gives us freedom! brush of the little things and focus on the best things in life, the most important ones!

Now we know W.M.I, lets look at why I have included the "lessons I've learned" part of the title! I love my life. I will talk about anything I have been through and everything I have experienced, ask any one who knows me! during my years on this earth, though they may be few' I like to think I have learned some important life lessons! I will most likely write a long over detailed story and then the lessons I have learned from said stories for most of these blog posts, we will see what happens, I make no promises!

now we know the purpose of this blog and how I have plan (well kinda) on doing so I will close this introduction to my future blog!

W.M.I.? I started a blog and it will be legit!