An Easter Message From a Prophet

Happy Easter everyone!

Random Thursday post!

I was listening to a talk by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Bruce R. McConkie today, and it led me to finding this slideshow about our Savior. The talk I listened to is called "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane". It is a powerful witness by a SPECIAL witness of Christ. I would highly recommend it for anybody who wants to know just a little more about the story of Christ's last 24 hours in mortality. For now, here is the slideshow. Comment and give YOUR testimony of Jesus Christ!

Movie Monday- Continuing our Savior Jesus Christ

As I was making my blog post yesterday I thought of this short video that condenses a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. It's one of my favorites about the Savior.

Merry Christmas from Charlie Brown!

I decided to post one of my favorite monologues of all-time about the Nativity story. :) I hope everyone enjoys their holidays!

Movie Monday- Christmas time is here again!

In honor of the holiday season I thought I would start off with one man's musical tribute to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Handel was a composer who lived in the 1700s. He was a talented musician who was able to master the violin and organ at a young age. He started writing operas in Italy and later moved to England where he enjoyed early success. However, as he grew older his audience became less and less interested in his works. For the majority of his life he spent his time fighting off creditors. It was only after he suffered, and recovered from, a stroke that left his right arm temporarily paralyzed that he wrote a piece that is world renowned today and one of the best pieces of music ever written. Handel's Messiah.



May we all remember this holiday season the wonderful gift of having Christ live on this earth, and may we also use Handel as an example of perseverance that we might also be able to glorify God in our own individual ways as we strive to follow Him.

Scripture Sunday- I believe in Christ 2.0

For anyone who didn't read my first Scripture Sunday post about my testimony of Jesus Christ you can look Here. In it I talk about a prophet named Nephi, from the Book of Mormon, who preaches and testifies of Christ. One of my other very favorite prophets from the Book of Mormon named Alma also talks about Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made for each of us.

Alma says, " And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."- Alma 7: 11-12

I testify that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. That through His sacrifice we all can be saved and return to live with our Heavenly Father again. That IS the central and most important message that any LDS missionary could share.

Here is one more video testimony from The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Friday Free Day- I'm finally back!

So many people are wondering, I'm sure, where the posts have gone! I'm very sorry that I haven't posted lately. But here we are again and I promise not to be so irresponsible in the future. I was thinking about our Thanksgiving season as the holiday is soon approaching and it came to mind just how much I have to be grateful for to my Heavenly Father. I like the verse from the Book of Mormon... From Alma chapter 37, verse37..." Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let they heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." I hope we can all remember to be grateful for all of our many blessings that we receive from our Heavenly Father, especially in this season!

Movie Monday- Practice makes Perfect!

When I was in high school I was into music. Well... I've always been into music, but in high school I had an organized outlet for my interests. I was in a couple of choirs in jr. high and enjoyed it so much that I decided to join some choirs while I was in high school! My senior year I had the opportunity to be in the large A Capella choir, as well as the chamber choir which sang the most difficult pieces that our teacher taught her students. It was a really wonderful experience and I learned a lot of things that I have taken away from it and incorporated into my life. One of those things is diligence and patience as we learn.

During my Junior year when I was in the large A Capella class we sang a song titled, "The Battle of Jericho". At first when we practiced it we sang it really, really slow. I wondered as we did it why we were practicing it that way. Having never heard the song before I wasn't quite prepared for the complexity and the difficulty of keeping everything exactly at the right tempo. Fortunately for me and the other people in my choir who complained about the tedious practicing, we had an excellent teacher who understood the importance of learning the basics with diligence and patience. When we finally did put the whole thing together it sounded like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiz54OHyCAg

Our Gospel understanding is much like this. We sometimes don't realize the importance of the little things like saying our prayers or attending church. We rationalize by saying, "one time missing church will be okay." But I can promise when we are diligent and patient with the "little things", that we will be practicing and learning principles that will help us when the difficult things in life come. We'll be able to do such things as, recognize the Holy Ghost speaking to us, or be able to take comfort in our prayers during those difficult times. God will always be there to bless and help us. May the Lord bless us all that we might be diligent and patient as we follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Testimony Tuesday- Slow and steady...

Recently Elder Baird and I have taken up running as part of our daily exercise. Since we don't get much physical activity during most of our day we have the chance to spend time at the end of the day doing something active. Anybody who has been to our part of Provo, Utah knows that we live on the side of a mountain. It doesn't really matter the direction we go when we run because we are inevitably going to run into a hill at some point along the way. The first few times we ran, those hills terrified and discouraged me. I was not a good runner at first. This was not because I was unhealthy or out of shape, but because I did not think positively about the path ahead of me. I would think to myself, "How am I ever going to make it up that last large hill?? I've already run for several miles, and I am tired!" Always, this pattern of thought was crippling once I did reach that hill.

Testimony Tuesday- A prophet of God

I had the opportunity last weekend to be part of an MTC Choir that sang in the Priesthood Session of General Conference. It was a really special experience for me, and probably something I won't get the chance to do many more times in my life. The sweetest part of that trip though was the chance I had to hear President Thomas S. Monson speak. I can tell you that watching him on TV is a great experience, and that you can feel the Spirit as you watch. But there is also something special and powerful about seeing him in person. I testify that He is a prophet. He is the 16th prophet since the reorganization of Christ's Church to the earth in 1830. Find out for yourself! :) Go watch him speak. Pray about it. I know he is a prophet. You can know it too. Just in case you can't find one of his conference addresses for yourself, here is the one from Priesthood Session that impressed me. :)

Movie Monday- General Conference!

So of course all my posts today and yesterday are going to have something to do with General Conference which occurred this last weekend. However, I believe that there are prophets and apostles on the earth once more. They have very important things to share with us, and to teach us. In order to be able to learn many of the things they want us to know, we have to listen to General Conference. So hopefully a little exposure will help each of you to come to a similar appreciation of the special witnesses of Jesus Christ to the one I have.

Scripture Sunday- I Believe in Christ

One of my favorite prophets is from the Book of Mormon. His name is Nephi. He is one of my favorite prophets because of his powerful testimony and the wonderful language he uses to help us understand things that are important. The most important thing that he talks about is regarding our Savior, Jesus Christ...

2 Nephi 25:26
- And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. That through Him we may receive a remission of our sins and be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father. Here is one of my favorite hymns sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Movie Monday- Our belief in Jesus Christ

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. The only way by which men and women can return to live with God again. It is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that this is made possible.

So strong is our belief, and faith in Jesus Christ that the prophet Joseph Smith said, " The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it" (History of the Church, 3:30).

This is a video produced by the LDS Church that chronicles part of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. That His Atonement makes it possible for me and everybody who has ever lived on this earth to return to live with their Heavenly Father once more. If you have any other questions or would like to speak with missionaries about more of our beliefs just message me.

Scripture Sunday- Blessings of church attendance

Being as today is Sunday you'll probably find that most of your friends who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spent a portion of their day at church. But have you ever wondered why??

In the Book of Mormon, in the book of Moroni, it talks about the ancient church and the important things that the believers in Jesus Christ did when they gathered together to worship...


Moro. 6: 5-6, 9
  5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.
  6 And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.
      •  •  •
  9 And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.


So now we know about the important things that members of Christ's ancient church did... But have you ever wondered what happens in an LDS Church meeting today? Watch this!

Friday Free Day- Mormons Made Simple

Today I found something that is exciting for me as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! There's a new video on the website mormonsmadesimple.com. This is a website dedicated to making short cartoon videos that help explain the basic beliefs of the LDS Church and also explain a little more about us. From missionaries, to what goes on in a church service. Today there is a new one though!!

It's the story of the Restoration through the prophet Joseph Smith. For anyone who doesn't know we believe that the church that Christ originally organized on the earth was lost over a long period of time after His death and the death of His Apostles. Because of this there was a need for it to be brought back in its fullness to the earth once more, so that we could enjoy all the blessings of being members of Christ's Church! This was brought about by the prophet Joseph Smith. Here's the video that explains briefly what happened.

Movie Monday- The Book of Mormon

Everybody likes a good movie from time to time. So I've decided to set a whole day apart to have one! This first week I think it fitting to have a movie that talks about the Book of Mormon. Especially because we claim the Book of Mormon to be the keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A modern Apostle of Jesus Christ, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland recently spoke in a general church meeting called General Conference about the Book of Mormon. I find it to be a very powerful and personal testimony about the Book of Mormon.

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and is a companion to the Bible. Contained in it is the Gospel and testimony of Jesus Christ. That He is our Savior and Redeemer. And that through Him we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

Testimony Tuesday- Let the choir do the talking

So for my first testimony Tuesday, I figured I would incorporate someone else's testimony instead of my own. This is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Along with being THE choir inside the church they are also world renowned and considered by many professional musicians to be in a league all their own.



For an in depth view of one of the members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Click here.