That We Lived After The Manner Of Happiness.

 The Cut..

Good, Bad, and Ugly.

..Wait!

You are probably thinking,

"How can a cut like that be good??"

That is what I thought too when it happened!!

It was a little scary..

It didn't hurt too bad..

It made me pretty pale for a little bit..

And it came to pass that I do not like stitches!!

It happened one Saturday afternoon about 4:00 o'clock.

Went to the ER.

Cleaned it up.

Numbed me up.

Stitched me up.

I went on my way!

That still doesn't sound too fun right?..

I agree!

The Lord always has something planned!!

After the ER fiasco,
We had to run to good ole' Walmart to fill a prescription of antibiotics! (Don't want to get infected) As we were waiting in line at the pharmacy, a woman started talking to us! She had been taught by missionaries before in Little Rock about 2 years ago! She had no idea that there was an LDS congregation in Paducah. It was the coolest thing!

It turned out that we were even standing in the wrong line for 10 minutes! 
But, the Lord had put us there for a reason!
He knows best!!

I have definitely seen and been through a lot on my mission.
Some Great, Beautiful, and Amazing things!
Others painful, hard, and difficult.. I have grown so much from these experiences! If we have faith in our Father in Heaven, He will shape us into the person we need to become!


We all experience Joy and Trials. 

We wouldn't know the sweet with out the bitter.



EVERYONE HAS! Even prophets of old!
-Wandering in deserts for 40 years.
-Floods.
-Angry mobs.
-Doing what was RIGHT, Not always what was cool.

Nephi is a great example!
I love what he says in 2 Nephi 5:27

"And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness."

We are supposed to have joy and happiness in this life.

I know that we achieve them by learning and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I Need A Hero.

What do y'all look for in a Hero?

...

..

...

Most Heroes are linked with certain powers:

- Invisibility - Super Strength - Lightning Speed - Flight - Invincibility -  

And most Heroes are linked with certain attributes:

- Fast - Patient - Handsome - Brave - Loyal - Trustworthy - Smart - Courageous 

So what if I told you..

That there were a couple books..

About some super awesome Heroes..

Given to us from God??

Well you BEST believe it!

Because its the TRUTH!

That is right!
The Book of Mormon
and The Bible contain some pretty amazing Heroes!

Probably the best Heroes ever!

They may not have shnazzy uniforms...

----------------->>>>>

They don't need them!

Give them a robe and a staff,

And they are happy with that!

They are:

-Humble - Meek - Submissive - Patient -Long Suffering - Gentle - Temperate - Diligent - Thankful - Kind - Faithful - Charitable  - Hopeful 

Most importantly..

Christ-Like! 



Did they get that way over night?

No way!

It takes time.

It take practice.

It takes work!    ---------------->>>

Do you instantly get HUGE the first time you go to the gym?

- I wish!!!

But..

It's not that simple.

Good thing we have been given a brand new year to work on these things!!

I have a challenge for y'all!

Will you sit down,
Take your scriptures,

Pick a Hero!

Read about him or her,

Write down their qualities you admire.

And strive to become more like them this year?

As we do this,

We will become more like our Savior.
And we can share His love with others!

Try it!

Don't Give Up!

A Bird And A French Fry

Tornadoes are no good..

Everything can be fine one minute.

Maybe just some rain and wind.

The next minute..

Everything can be gone..

All worldly possessions. 

In a blink of an eye.

We can be left with just what we have on our backs.

That is why I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Without it, I would have nothing. 

Imagine receiving one million dollars.

• What would you do with it?
• How long would it last you? 

- You may think quite awhile right?

Especially, if  you spend it wisely and invest!

...But can you take it with you after this life?

The scriptures teach:

            "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 

                                     and all these things shall be added unto you."
                                                                     -Matthew 6:33

The Gospel does not expire. 

I can testify to you that it is true!

I have never been happier than I am now.

Putting the Lord first in our lives shows our faith and love that we have for Him. 

But..

It is a choice.

We have to decide!

Choose to be happier than a bird 

with a french fry! --->

You can do it! 

We have to choose to be happy! To be obedient! To show our love for our Father in Heaven and for our Savior Jesus Christ.

Choose to be Faithful!

I can promise you,

That these things are true.

Biscuits & Gravy!

Like biscuits and gravy,
Sometimes they're great!
Sometimes not so good...

Have you ever felt like this?? 

      
                            //
                          //
                        //

 

I can promise you, that I have felt like that before! And many more have experienced the same exact feeling.              

                                           

Even our Heroes in the Scriptures have had times of trial and tribulation.

One example is Nephi!
He and his family did all that they were commanded, but even then Nephi and his family struggled at times.

-Nephi's brothers complained and murmured all the time.
-His brothers tried to kill him a few times!
-Nephi had his own struggles at times; His bow broke, build a boat.
-His dad even doubted him at times.
-He was tied to a mast of a ship for three days!



One of my favorite Nephi quotes is from 1 Nephi 4:3

"wherefore can ye doubt?"

 "Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard."

  "Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorrowethbecause of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities."

 "I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me."

 "And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted."

 "My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep."

-Nephi (2 Nephi chapter 4, Sometimes known as "Nephi's Psalm")

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Luckily, 

In the picture at the top

I had arm protection!

Thanks for reading,

Share it up!

"Love ya more than biscuits and gravy!"

----->

Become Like Unto A Pumpkin..

Well sort of.. 

           You may think to yourself,

"What do I have in common with a Pumpkin??"

              

My little sister sent me this story

In my recent Halloween package!

It goes like this:

"Coming to Christ

Is a lot like being a pumpkin..

God picks you from the patch,

Brings you in and washes all of the dirt off of you.

Then He cuts off the top 

and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves a smiling face

And puts His Light inside of you

To shine for all the world to see!"

This one is just 

short and sweet for you!

Like a nice piece of pumpkin pie!

Remember!

God loves you, He knows who you are, and He knows what you stand in need of. He is there for you and wants to help you become your best you!

"Be assured that the Savior loves you so much that He made it possible for you to change and to repent if you make a mistake. Satan does not want you to think you can change. He will try to convince you that all is lost. That is a lie. You can return. You can repent. You can be pure and holy because of the Savior's infinite Atonement." 

—Elaine S. Dalton

A Special Day: Saturday..

What all goes on throughout one of your normal weeks?

Think for a minute..

For me a lot of things can happen. Sometimes good things, others can be bad things.

In the world we live in today it seems like of the stuff attacks the faith we have!

Our daily life "erodes" our personal faith. 

God knew that we would have to go through seemingly long and difficult weeks.

That is why we have been given the Sabbath! 

It is a great blessing!

The sole purpose of keeping the Sabbath Day Holy 

is to rebuild our faith each and every week! 

It is here to sanctify and make us holy!

It is like turning night to day!

When I have had a bad week, I always feel

So much better after attending a church service!

7 reasons!

1. To know God.
2. To feed our spirit. (Just like a growing boy, your spirit needs to be fed often!)
3. Provides service to others.
4. We are able to renew our covenants or promises that we have made with God.
5. Renewal of our body and spirit (After church I feel like I can take on whatever is thrown at me!)
6. The building of Faith.
7. Association with other believers!  ("For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." -Matthew 18:20)

"Saturday is a special day.

It's the day we get ready for Sunday:

We clean the house, and we shop at the store,

So we won't have to work until Monday.

We brush our clothes, and we shine our shoes,

And we call it our get-the-work-done day.

Then we trim our nails, and we shampoo our hair,

So we can be ready for Sunday!"

Will you physically, mentally, and spiritually prepare yourself every Saturday for the Sundays in your life?

I know that as you do, you will be blessed! 

You will enjoy attending church so much more. 

You will also gain more knowledge of God and Jesus Christ!

Time To Ammon-ize..

Alright Y'all... 

Sorry about missing last week, 
We were super busy up here in Paducah, KY.
But! I have a treat for you this week!


Look here, 
this is what we have going on today.. 

Are you ready??

3..

2..

1!!

I don't know what it really is.. 
But I have seen a few out here in Tennessee and Kentucky.
What ever they are.. They are pretty creepy!
They can jump like a cricket,
And walk like a spider,
So we named them Spider-Crickets!

Good name right?

As a missionary,

we get a lot of opportunities to serve our friends in the communities where we serve!

I absolutely LOVE it!

The scriptures teach us

"..when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.."

How does that make you feel about when you serve others?

Service is a great way to show others that I believe in Christ! 

It gives me the chance to do as He would do.

Jesus Christ was always serving others when he walked the earth 2,000 years ago. The people that He loved always came first (which is everyone!) no matter what he was doing.

Throughout the scriptures there are many great examples of people showing their love for Christ by helping others. 

One of my favorites is...

AMMON!

He is a missionary in the Book of Mormon.

One story about him and his service starts in Alma chapter 17.

He shows great character in how we should treat people and offer the help we can.

I have a commitment for y'all.

Will you

Seek out an opportunity to serve at least one person each day this coming week?

Feel free to continue this pattern throughout your life!

It will make the world a better place!! 

Steel Sharpens Steel.

Celestial.


Choices..

What do you think when you

hear the word "Celestial"?

Paul tells of varying glories in the scriptures.

"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies 

terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory."

So we can relate this to the different choices we can make.

-Best/Celestial/Sun
-Better/ Terrestrial/Moon
-Good/ Telestial/Stars

All of the time in the Scriptures it is usually talking about normal people that made the RIGHT choice to follow God while going through adversity. 

Sometimes the adversity they were facing was a HUGE problem,

other times it was a small problem.

But they made the right choice; a Celestial Choice!

In life we face many different things..

-Trials- Ex: sickness, death, broken bones

-Troubles- Ex: can come from decisions we make. Maybe not immediate, could come later on in life.

-Afflictions- Ex: Trials and troubles that come to us from other's choices that they make.

God is always there for us, He is our loving Heavenly Father. He loves us perfectly. He doesn't want us to suffer. He is here to help, guide, and strengthen us. 

            -If you are a parent, think of how much you love your children.

The things we go through and experience in our lives are there to help us grow and to become more like our Father in Heaven.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

-Helaman 5:12