Brightly Beams

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 an...

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...