Why I'm a Mormon missionary

Well, I'd probably rather just answer the question in person but seeing as I may not have the opportunity to speak with everyone right away, or because you may not be so curious that you'd ask, here it goes.

Anyone who knew me in high school or especially in my first couple years out of high school might be shocked to hear that I believe in God. I certainly didn't back then. I thought that any religion could be good. Something you believe in and encourages you to do good can't hurt you too much right? But I also saw religion as more of a type of wishful thinking. A way to see reality in a different light than it actually is, just to make you feel better about your existence. It's funny to think back at how much I used to laugh at the thought that anyone could believe in God. And now I am so certain He is there and He is our Father in Heaven who actually loves us.

It all started with a conversation I had with my brother, Gary. It was Summertime and I had moved back in with my parents for a bit and I was bored. I was working a dead-end job, I was living at home, I had dropped my classes at school because I worked to many hours and lived too far from school. I was in a bit of a rut. Gary encouraged me to move in with him in Provo, Utah. I of course was thinking that was the most ridiculous idea I had ever heard of. Utah! Do you know how many Mormons are in Utah?!? That's the last place I wanted to be. It had taken me long enough to distance myself from those weird people that actually live their religion and seem to try to make people feel guilty if they don't have high standards. Well... I ended up going. He lured me in by pointing out the friends and family that I love being around who all happen to go to school in Provo. He told me of the many fun things to do there. And he reminded me of how I had just been complaining that I was bored of being around home and that I need to do something new.

So out in Provo I really enjoyed myself. I learned to snowboard, I made lots of friends, and I got back into school. I occasionally attended church with my roommates so that I could socialize and meet more people. I fully intended on never being a "Mormon." One day I was talking to a bishop and he simply asked me if I had ever read the Book of Mormon. I hadn't. He invited me to read it before I wrote it off as false. I figured, "I read all the time, why not read this little book? That way when people ask me why I don't believe in the religion of many of my family members I can at least have the backing of the fact that I've read their book." So I read it. I didn't really give it justice though. I spent about 10 months to get through it because I didn't read it too often. I then had a very good conversation with one of my cousins. She helped me to see the importance of having the right attitude about all of this. So I decided to really give it a chance and put some attention to it. I read the book over the course of two weeks (which is more like my time-frame for reading a book) and it's crazy what happened. It's about as hard to describe as trying to describe the taste of salt to someone who's never had it before. But I felt a feeling, and somehow I knew God was there. It's funny because I know that if someone shared a similar experience with me just a few years ago I would've shrugged it off. I can say though that it's not something to just be shrugged off. Since that time I've read a lot from the scriptures (the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible) and I pray all the time. I just know that they are true accounts. But what's even more powerful and important to me, is the way God will answer questions we ask him in prayer. He has led me to do and say many things. And I have also done many other good things based on what I have learned from the scriptures. There is a hymn that says "Be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answers to thy prayers." It's true. The only way anyone can know that it's true is if they will put the promise to the test: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"(Matthew 7:7) I put it to the test. I am a changed man. And I love it!

The High Jump

So it is the high jump right? Not the low jump? Just checking.

Elder Davis read was telling me this morning about an experience L. Tom Perry had with his son Lee. Lee was practicing jumping over the minimum qualifying height for the high jump and never missed it. Of course his dad encouraged him to jump higher than what was easy for him. Anyone involved in sports knows you should never be satisfied with the minimum requirements. So he was pushed and became even better.

I'm not the best at living this principle. In school I always barely scraped by, and in work it was often the same. I never really had any solid goals for my life. Even now it's difficult to set meaningful and real goals. I've spent a lot of time just trying to get by. I did enough work to keep people off my back. I had no vision of the future.

When you look forward to the future and can visualize something you want, it's much easier to accomplish everything it takes to get there. Will you sacrifice what you want now, so that you can have something better in the future? In my opinion it comes down to whether or not you can really visualize that future and believe it is a possibility.

I know that if we apply these principles to our spiritual well-being we will have a much more fulfilling life. As we do what we know we should we will naturally want to do more good, because we will see the blessings that come. Some people see religion as a set of rules restricting us. I see that every single commandment God has given us has a blessing attached to it. God wants us to obey his rules, not because he's power hungry, but because he wants us to be happy.

Picture this: Limbo bar going up each time instead of down =D. Yeah right... what's the fun in that?

Progression or Regression, which do you choose?

Yesterday I was reading something that reminded me of a poorly organized, but fascinating, chain of scriptures I had connected with the help of Elder Kyle Rusick back in June. The start of my findings was this verse in 2 Nephi 18:30 "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." I'm amazed at how many related scriptures there are to this.
I thought I had a pretty good understanding of this, but yesterday I realized that I really had no clue what precept meant. Good thing I had a dictionary nearby! Precept: A rule or principle prescribing a specific course of action or conduct. This man not be earth-shattering to you, but it was to me. I'm sure I must have learned the basic principle back in June and many times before that, but it struck me as I considered it. To be able to learn/progress to the next step we must be living up to what we've been given!
What we have been given varies from one person to another. Every single one of us is unique and has been given different trials and blessing, great and small. The beautiful thing is that for each of us, the best place to start from is right where we are at. We don't need to have miraculous changes in our circumstances in order to begin our progression. The important thing is that we have a moment of decision, and we act. As we do the things we know we should do, we will be given another line/precept. Whether that first step is some great feat of courage or simply getting out of bed when we know we should, we are blessed for doing what we know is right.
Every single one of us has some level on conscience so that we know between good and bad. As we do good, we are able to do more good. As we do evil, our ability to recognize the evil and it's drastic effects are dulled. I'm sure that most people in prison (physically or spiritually) did not start with some terrible deed. They almost certainly started out with little acts of evil, or even just ignoring the desire to do good things. On the other hand, spiritual giants - or any great people - are not usually born that way. They grow into it through small and simple things.
I'm nowhere close to perfect, and I doubt too many of us are, but the best place to start progressing from is always right where we are at. And now is always a good time. So If you've been making poor decisions, stop it! Today is a great day to choose to do good. =D

My Faith

My faith is not perfect, but it is centered on someone who is perfect. Jesus Christ.

Faith is more than merely believing. Faith is trust and confidence in something or someone. I have not always had faith in Jesus Christ. It is hard to have confidence in someone you don't know, and due to my understanding of religion I had little desire to get to know Him. Even when I turned again to reading from the scriptures I had no clue that I could feel like I actually know Christ and He knows me. Thankfully I did begin to give it a chance though. I read through the Book of Mormon and the New Testament and felt like I was beginning to understand who Christ is, and when I added daily prayer to daily scripture study I began to feel His love for me. I really didn't understand what faith was, but it was growing in me. I now know much more about faith. The Bible Dictionary has helped me to understand better what faith is, but mainly I've learned about faith by the increased faith that I have.

I've had the awesome experience of seeing many people put faith into action, and I've seen miraculous results. If anyone wants to better understand what faith is or how anyone could possibly have faith in an unseen thing, understanding begins by seeking it. On lds.org you can read the scriptures, and on mormon.org you can get to know some of my basic beliefs. Also, I'd be more than happy to chat with anyone who is seeking understanding or who is simply curious.

God will answer us

I've learned that casual curiosity simply does not cut it. When I really want to know the truth and am searching for it and asking for it, the answer will come. God will not give you revelation simply to satisfy your curiosity, but he will always answer the prayers of those you faithfully seek His will.

I haven't always believed that God would answer prayers or that he even existed, but I am now certain that He does live and He loves us. I have been given answers to many of my questions and I hope to never give up on God. Jesus has "graven [me] upon the palms of [His] hands"(1 Ne 21:16). The least I can do is trust Him.