Brightly Beams

Proclaiming the gospel can be a difficult thing to do, but with the advancements in technology, we are better able to share our beliefs with almost anyone in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has set up a website in which helps us share our testimonies on social media. The #ShareGoodness site teaches us and shows us how we can simply share the gospel and how it is important to us. Sharing our testimonies doesn’t have to be a complicated task. When we take a look at lds.org , we are able to find much great content to share. There are photos available to use, videos to share, great articles, and of course, there are the conference talks. The list of things to share from lds.org is countless! The church also has a wonderful daily subscription service which you can get Daily Messages. Here there are 5 different channels which you can subscribe to Email , Twitter , RSS Feed , Facebook , and Google+ . As humans, we are very forgetful, and getting these daily

Steve Dalton and his wife Recently my swim coach from high school announced his retirement. After 48 years of coaching, he has decided to throw in the towel. This man had a great influence on me, helped me shape who I am today. It has really gotten me thinking, how many people have I influenced? There are some people which we know we have influenced because they have told us, but what about the people who we have but haven't told us? I would like to tell you about an amazing man, a man who passed away this last year. Steve Dalton was a mighty man in the faith. I was on my mission, I was still in my first area, and having a really rough time. Steve Dalton was the stake president of the district I was in. Every month he would have all of us missionaries over for breakfast, this breakfast was amazing! But it wasn't the breakfast which had the biggest impact on me, it was what he did for me the very last time I was in his home. After breakfast, we would have a gospel discussio

One of my favorite stories is of Alma the younger and the Sons of Mosiah. They were the vilest of sinners, put became some of the best missionaries to ever serve the Lord. Their story truly shows us that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, the sinner, the righteous and everyone in between. They, like Saul, were confronted by an angel who told them they need to change their ways. They were told to stop destroying the church, but to help build it up. Would you change your life if you were visited by an angel? I feel all of us would say yes to this question, but would we really change? Let's take a look at Laman and Lemuel. These two men were visited by angels a handful of times, did they change? Maybe for a day or two, but then they went back to their evil ways. They, like Lucifer, chose to rebel against their father because they wanted all the glory, they wanted to be the hero, but since they chose to rebel they instead were made the loser. But they saw an angel, they hea

Christ said the following: “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;” this seems to be something that is easier said than done. But I do know it is possible since I have seen it happen in my life. While serving my mission in the Oregon Portland Mission, I had been placed with a great companion, a hard worker, who knew how to get things done. I enjoyed every minute with him. Then the dreadful day came transfer day. I stayed in the area, but my companion was transferred. From the first time, I saw my new companion I felt like I wasn’t going to like him. And I was right, I wasn’t a big fan of him, he didn’t like to work and it was hard to connect with him. I was filled with hatred towards him. How could I love my enemy when I couldn’t even love my companion. This went on for weeks, and then months, no work was getting done and it seemed to me that no one wanted to even listen to us. It

The stories told to us in the book of Exodus are some very interesting ones. One of them has always been a curious one to me, the one of the golden calf. The Israelites had traveled many miles, witnessed many miracles. They were being taught how to trust in God again. Moses had a lot on his plate before him, to take a people living in slavery, and bring them to a land of freedom, and a land flowing with milk and honey . I always wondered how someone, after seeing so many wonders and miracles, could forget their God, the one who spared their lives, and brought them to freedom. Yet they forgot Him, they built a golden calf to replace the One True God. They said that His rules were hard to do and follow, some thought His ways were cruel. I always wondered how people could think so, how they could just forget and give up on their God. But I see it so much today, people trusting in their own knowledge and strength, and not His word given through His servants. They have put the ways of t

What is on your horizon? When you look at the horizon, no matter which direction, you are always looking forward. For many years the term “vision” has been mentioned a lot to me. When I was a kid I was taught to make goals, and work to achieve those goals. When I started school my vision was to finish school, and it seems like that will never end. When I came near the end of my high school years, my vision became to go on a mission. Once I was out on my mission I was reminded almost every day, which we all need to have a vision. My mission president told me that our investigators need to have a vision of eternal life, they need to catch hold of that vision, and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t progress. With my mission president drilling this idea into my head, I thought if my investigators need this vision, I probably do too. So I worked to see this vision, and with my lovely memory, I had to come up with reminders to help me remember the vision. What better reminder, than the temple?

This past Sunday I was privileged to teach the Sunday School lesson on the miracles Christ performed. Reading and pondering these tales of miracles always gets me excited and wanting to see them in person. And I have also heard many people ask, "Why has such miracles ceased to be performed?" But have they really stopped? Christ performed many miracles. He cast out unclean spirits, gave sight to the blind, healed the lepers, raised people from the dead, and most importantly He was able to survive the the trial and sacrifice of the atonement, which began in the garden of Gethsemane and went through His resurrection. This miracles have inspired many to follow Christ. But are miracles still happening? I would say that miracles are happening everyday, and all around us. Many of them are those moments we term as being luck or a coincident. Some are a baby taking his first breath, the rising and setting of the sun, the peace that comes during dark times, someone smiling at you at