Brightly Beams

Many have stated that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requires too much of their members. They state being a member of the church is too hard and not worth it. Let's take a look at what is required of us by the church. "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Deuteronomy 10:12 Just this past April, the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke to the whole world in General Conference. Let's read over some of the requirements which were spoken about in this conference by members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: President Nelson: “'Does everyone need to repent?' The answer is yes." "We need to do better and be better." "The Lord needs selfless men who put the welfare of others ahead of their own." "M...

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like, unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." All Christians have heard these verse of scriptures, but how many actually follow these two commandments? We should all know that Christ has said that "If ye love me, keep my commandments." So we should know how to follow the first great commandment, but how do we follow the second one? How do we love our neighbor? How do we love our neighbor when our neighbor doesn't love us? How do we love our neighbor when they believe in something we don't? I say in order for us to love our neighbor we must learn how to follow the second part of the second greatest commandment. Let's look at it another time, "Tho...

The other night I was honored to see an advanced screening of the movie Christopher Robin . First I would like to express how well it was made. Watching this movie brought back memories of when I was 4 or 5 and had a Winnie the Pooh themed birthday party. If I remember right, my mom made me some Winnie the Pooh pajamas that year! While watching this movie you see just how much someone can change once they grow up. Christopher Robin has indeed changed quite a bit from the little boy he once was. I don't want to focus on the movie plot and storyline. I want to focus on each character in the movie. It seems that each character represents a mental disorder of some kind. Winnie the Pooh has the attributes of someone with Impulsivity with obsessive fixations, ADHD and OCD. You see this with the great lengths he goes to get himself some honey. He tends to get himself into trouble, like eating so much honey he gets stuck in his doorway.  Piglet has Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Pigl...

Growing up in and being raised by goodly parents I was taught to say no. I was told to say no to drugs, to alcohol, and many other unwise actions. When I asked my parents for things I often heard the response of no. Can I stay up late tonight? Can I sluff school today? Can I get a supersized happy meal? Now that I am older I still hear the answer no. Can I buy an 85 inch TV? Bank account says no. Can I get the new Tesla Model 3? Again my bank account says no. Can I speed down the highway? The officer who pulled me over says no. On my mission, I was told no many times. Can we come in and share a message with you? No. Can we baptize your daughter? No. Can we get extra miles in our car this month? No. Growing up in the church I was taught to always try your best to say yes to a calling. When I was a youth I never heard of people saying no to a calling. Now that I am older I hear it all the time. My parents are in a ward which seems to be doubling by size each week, yet they struggle ...

On this journey we call life, we have many choices to make. With these choices, we choose how we react to the consequences of those choices. We tend to be happy when things go as planned, mad when things go wrong, and sad when the unexpected happens. The way we react has a great influence on those around us. If you want to be the greatest motivation for others you must be positive. All throughout time, there have been some amazingly influential leaders who have motivated others to do some great and amazing things. George Washington led his troops to victory for freedom, Abraham Lincoln stood up for the freedoms of everyone while Rosa Parks sat down for them. Similarly, there were powerful voices who have led to horrible things. Adolf Hitler led his troops to try and annihilate an entire race. Fidel Castro stood to block people's freedom. Mary I of England had many people be burned at the stake. Who would you rather follow? Who would you rather be?   One of the greatest leader...

I love the word love. Love is such a powerful word. You love your friends, you love your family and you love your dreams. Love has been the inspiration for many great things. Many things have been done in the name of love. That is why I believe love is the most powerful force on earth. Jesus Christ talks about how we need to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves. I feel that when we love ourselves and others, we get a glimpse of heaven. The word “love” is in the bible 310 times, so it seems like it is a pretty important word. Just think what would happen when we follow the following advice: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” One of my favorite songs says the following, “Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel, my heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel.” Love can get us to do some crazy stuff. Another one of my favori...