Brightly Beams

Since I have been having to drive in early to school, I have been blessed with the amazing opportunity to watch the many beautiful rising of the sun. I am so grateful for these wonderful gifts from God. This world is just full of them. I have been privileged to travel to a few different places here in the states, and just in this country alone there are many beautiful canvas the Lord has used to paint such magnificent landscapes. With this earth being filled with such wonderful creations, how do we ever forget who made them? In this recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Elder Robbins spoke about which way you face. Where do you put your attention to? On you drive to work or school, what do you look forward to seeing? As you are walking down the street, what are you focused on? As you live through your life, what is your ultimate goal? While on my mission I met a young man at the ward's Christmas party, I can't remember his name, and I c

This world seems to be getting darker and filled with more gloom. God is not a person of dark, but of Light. He wants us all to be happy and filled with joy. I served my mission in the beautiful state of Oregon. The state is filled with wonderful hiking trails, beautiful scenery, and the most spectacular flowers I have ever seen. But this state can also be very gloomy to some. It seems to always be rainy, with grey or dark skies most of the year. As a missionary, my mission president and his wife encouraged me to take vitamin d, because there wasn't a lot of sunlight, we needed to get our boost from something else. There have been many times in my life where I focus so much on the dark skies, but forget to see the beautiful flower near my feet. There are days where I worry about things of this world, and don't worry about my standings with God. The Lord wants us all to be happy, what brings happiness to your life? What causes you to have a smile on your face? What makes you f

"There are only two ways to live your life, one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle!" -Albert Einstein As we read the Bible we see these mighty miracles being performed. Moses parting the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho falling down, Jesus walking on water, a girl being raised from the dead, and the greatest miracle of all, Jesus Christ performing the atonement. I have always heard people ask, "Why aren't there any miracles these days?" Has God stopped the work of miracles in these days? No, He has not! We have become blind to the higher things in life, we see these amazing acts performed by God, and we see them as naught. The rising of the sun, the sound of laughter, the smile on a child's face, and the feeling of being loved. How are these not miracles? "Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracle!" That is probably my favorite line from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof." I feel we are expecting

Lately I have been thinking about a book, my favorite childhood book. This book has helped me a lot over the years, if I am ever feeling down and blue, I read this book, and it helps me to remember how much I have been given. This book especially reminds me of my mom! I know she enjoys my company, and she has given me so much, and has made so many sacrifices not just me, but all my siblings and many others. From this book I have learned that the activities which we do with those we love don’t matter too much, but the time we spend with them do. So now I want to thank my mom for all the great time we have spent together! Started about 22 years ago. I spent about 9 months with her, nagging her here and there when I was hungry. Giving her a “gentle” kick when I was excited for no reason. After those 9 months of darkness for me, she went through the greatest pain known to man for many hours for me! I grew up, learned to walk, to talk, and to eat! During all this she was continually

Here on this earth we all get to experience experiences! Some of these experiences come out as blessings and wonderful times of joy. While the others are are trials and times where we want to just go and cry into our pillows. God blesses us all with different kinds of experiences for our benefit. Sometimes we are blessed with a reindeer who likes to eat our carrots, other times we are blessed with magical powers where everything we touch turns to snow or ice and everyone is scared to even look at you. Sometimes we are blessed with a bishop who doesn't have the same views as us. Or maybe we get chased by wolves and our nice new sled ends up going over a cliff. Or maybe a loved one passed away. Or maybe we are a snowman in the summer. We all have these trials, but it is how deal with them that counts. While on my mission I ran into my people who has stopped going to church because someone said a stupid thing about how their hair was a bit unkempt. Also there were many people who st

My experience on my mission was a wonderful time of needed growth, spiritually and physically. While I was on a mission there are many ups and downs. There were many fun times filled with laughter and smiles! There also were times where I felt down and just wanted to find the nearest corner in the room and just cry. There were many adventures of going and exploring the sites, and also times of boredom. I knew that going on a mission would have been hard, but I didn't think it would have been that hard. But I am still glad that I went. Have you ever wondered why these young "punk" kids go on missions to tell people about Jesus? Well let me tell you why I went. I grew up in a wonderful family(wonderful means normal, crazy, siblings fighting, fun times). I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I always enjoyed going to church, mostly to hear the cool stories from the scriptures, and getting the occasional snacks! Once I got into my older teenage y

Today while in priesthood the hymn "The Spirit of God" was running through my mind. In the beginning of the fourth verse it says the following: "How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion shall lie down together without any ire." This line has always been a powerful line for me, always making my eyes feel like some dust got in them. Also that would be an awesome scene to see. I also sometimes feel like I am a poor helpless lamb, trying to feed on some grass, and there is a ferocious lion about to jump on me. And I am waiting for that moment of peace when I can just talk things out with this lion. After priesthood we went to Sunday school where I got the privilege to teach the lesson about when Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brothers. He could have felt like he was a helpless lamb about to be torn up by a lion. But instead he kept going, and never forgot the Lord. He didn't see others as lions, but he saw them as lambs. He probably imagined himself as the

There have been many times in my life where I have been privileged to see the Lord's hand guiding me and others to those in need. I also have no idea of many things which I do or others do that have made great changes in others lives. Just a few weeks ago I was prompted to answer the question of a random guy on a street, that one answer led to a 15 minute conversation, where I learned this man and his friend were less active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was able to bear a simple testimony to them. I will probably never get to see them ever again and I don't know what difference I made in their lives, but in the next life I will get to see them again and give them a high five!  I remember as a youth going to the majestic redwood forest with my family. My parents ended up buying a small simple souvenir, a few seeds to grow my own redwood tree. These seeds were tiny, so tiny I ended up losing them before the end of our trip. But those small

This day in age I hear about many people who say that we don't need to read or follow the teachings in the Bible anymore. These writings are old and dusty, and what benefit can we get from it? But I know that if we take the time to read and study this great book, we will gain a greater knowledge of what is required of us in this life, the joy of eternal life, and will be prepared for things which are to come. There are three main religions which take root from the Bible. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. These three religions cover more then half of the world's population. If the Bible influences more then half of all people, shouldn't we use it more? Here is a list of benefits of reading/studying the Bible: 1.   The testimony of the existence of God. 2.   The history of the beginnings of mankind as a divine race placed on the earth for eternal, divine purposes. 3.   The importance of establishing a covenant relationship with God. 4.   The history and purpo

We hear and see many famous people in the world. Many times we wish we could be placed where they are, with wealth, many people looking up to us, getting everything we want. We envy those who have more than us. Even if we don't want to be like the celebrities, but want to be like people from the scriptures. Like Nephi, being brave to stand against Laban. Ester showing us her faith to do the unthinkable. Peter being able to see and feel the scars of Christ. Paul hearing the voice of Christ. Alma being converted by the joy of repentance. There are many more stories of great people, and there are many times where we as "normal" people long to be like them and to have these amazing experiences, when we forget to look are our own story. What is your story? This past weekend I was privileged to go to a conference that was about Social Media and developing your online brand. The phrase "fake it till you make it" came up, and the astounding pianist, Jon Schmidt, sai

There were many people on my mission who would tell us that we don't believe in grace, that our works will save us. They would say that no matter what God or Christ did for us, we would still have to get 100% on the test of life so that we could make it into Heaven. It always made me laugh to see what others thought that we believe in. Yesterday in church we sung the Hymn "I Believe in Christ." The words of this amazing hymn express our beliefs is such a powerful way. It was written by Bruce R. McConkie, and here are the words: I believe in Christ; he is my King! With all my heart to him I'll sing; I'll raise my voice in praise and joy, In grand amens my tongue employ. I believe in Christ; he is God's Son. On earth to dwell his soul did come. He healed the sick; the dead he raised. Good works were his; his name be praised. 2. I believe in Christ; oh blessed name! As Mary's Son he came to reign 'Mid mortal men, his earthly kin, To save them fro

Today in institute the topic was Adam and Eve. It reminded me of a story on my mission. There was about 4 of us missionaries sitting at a Wendy's, enjoying our food, when one of the workers there came over to us, and started telling us how we are wrong about Eve, saying her church taught that Eve is one of the most evil people ever. She listened to the devil, she followed his words, and then in turn tempted Adam, and made him partake of the fruit as well. And Adam did no wrong in this incident. There are many different points of view on this topic, and the Bible doesn't have every single detail. I am grateful that we have been blessed with additional scripture to help us better understand God's ways, and the lives of those who lived before us. Once Adam and Eve were created by God, God gave them 2 main commandments, multiply and replenish the earth, and do not partake of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. We don't know how long they were in the garden of E

We live in a world where we are told that we need to take advantage of others, use the government for as much as we can squeeze out of it. It is all about me, and not about others. Lie, steal, cheat, and take advantage of our neighbors. Why is it like this? Why do we follow the "natural man?" Yesterday at church we sang my favorite hymn, "Have I done any Good in the World Today?" This hymn teaches us not to be self centered. It also teaches us that there is much that we can and must to help ourselves, and also help others. Here are the lyrics for them: Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed indeed. Has anyone's burden been lighter today Because I was willing to share? Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way? When they needed my help was I there? Then wake up and do something more Than dream of your mansion above. Do