Answering a couple questions!

     Recently I was asked about my newest post, feeling the witness rather than seeing it. For some reason my account will not let me post comments so I have had trouble answering their question, so I decided I would answer it through another post.

     The question that was asked, was if there is scripture that she could compare to biblical scripture, as well any bblical scripture of prophets who felt the Holy Ghost so strongly. I am so grateful for the person, forasking such great questions!

     First, on of the most famous scriptures in the Book of Mormon, is all about the Holy Ghost testifying of truth and answering our questions. Moroni 10: 3-5

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

The prophet Moroni is telling us to ask God and let him answer our questions, through the power of the Holy Ghost! I love this scripture!

As far as scriptures in the Bible, i did find a few!

John 14:26    

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

John 15:26

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me"

And finally: 1 Corinthians 2: 9-16

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

I hope these scriptures answered this persons questions, I feel bad that I could not comment back, so hopefully they will read this! And everyone else who reads this enjoy!

A witness more convincing than sight!

     So we hear about the Holy Ghost a lot in our lives right? He is something we cannot see however we can feel of his love when he testifies of truth. I often find myself getting that feeling in my heart when I know I am doing something righteous, something that I know would please my Savior and my Heavenly Father. He also gives me that feeling when I have questions about things.  In the Doctrine and Covenants, we hear about Heavnly Father answering our questions throught the Holy Ghost.

"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."

- Doctrine and Covenants 9:8

     That is what we ask people to do as missionaries, to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and let God tell you if it is true or not, through the power of the Holy Ghost. We would never ask anyone to take our word for it, we want them to know for themselves. However, for some reason people in the world today do not think they can trust their feelings or trust their heart, but rather the only thing they can trust is hard evidence that they can see in front of their face.

      We recently had a meeting with all the missionaries and our mission president and this very question arose. How can a witness from the spirit be stronger or more convincing than something we can see or hold in our hands? The answer he gave made it all too clear for me.

     Imagine this. Your about to do some branding, and you have your branding iron just come out of the flames. You are standing there looking at it... What does it look like? Probably really red correct? Looks pretty hot and the knowledge that we have which tells us metal conducts heat really well is another clue that it is really hot.

     Now imagine this. Instead of standing there looking at the red iron, you are blind folded while someone else is holding the iron. All of the sudden that person presses the tool into your chest. Now you can't see it, but what is a stronger witness that the iron is hot, when you can see? Or when you can feel it? Now, the witness of the Holy Ghost is not as hot as a branding iron don't worry! But the concept is the same! We know these things to be true even when we haven't seen them, because of the things we have felt in our hearts! I know my Heavenly Father would not lie to me! And we are all entitled to this feeling. Our Heavenly Father wants us to ask questions and find out for ourselves if things are true. I promise he will do that for you!

MMMM DONUTS!

     So Homer Simpson.  A pretty interesting character am I right? He is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he does still have a good heart and when it comes down to it he always shows how much he truly loves his wife and family.
     One of the funniest aspect about Homer, is his love for DONUTS! He loves them with an unconditional love, and when he sees them he loses all control. The famous phrase " mmmmmmmmm.... Donuts! " Haha cracks me up every single time.

    However, the other day I was pondering life, as missionaries often do, and I was thinking about Homer Simpson's addicion to donuts, and how he loses complete control when he is around them. He cannot think straight and does everything he can to obtain the delicious treat. At this moment I realized something. Homer is not in control at all, it is as if the donut is in control of him! A lifeless object has so much power over him! It is insane!!





     Now, I understand it is just funny cartoon meant to amuse even the most easily entertained audiences such as myself. However! Let us learn from Homer! How many of us in our lives have vices that seem to have more control over us than we do over them? That is why we have the Word of Wisdom!

Word of Wisdom :
The Word of Wisdom is a law of health revealed by the Lord On February 27, 1833,for the physical and spiritual benefit of His children. It was counseled that we should stay away from harmful and ADDICTIVE substances,  mainly coffee, tea, tobacco, alchohol, and any type of illegal drugs.  All the things can grab hold of you to where you feel as though you have no control, and that isnt good. Our Father in Heaven loves us and wants to take care of us and keep us safe. That is why the Word of Wisdom is so important and I am so grateful and so blessed to have it in my life!

Follow the Leader!

     Have you ever noticed that all great sports teams have something in common? Take the past dynasty's in recent years. The Indianapolis Colts, or the Chicago Bulls back in the 90's. Why were they so successful? Its been my experience in sports and just in life really, is that people have the most success in what they do, when they have a great leader to rally behind to accomplish their goal.

A great leader is someone who makes everyone else better. He understands that you are only as good as your weakest player or weakest aspect of your team. They constantly set the example for others to follow, and has a determination that is not matched by anyone.

     The Colts have been lead by Quarterback Peyton Manning for over a decade now and have been one of the most successful franchizes since then. Most people will attribute it to Manning's leadership skills that he brought to the program. He is great leader who makes his entire team better. He brings them up to his level, leaving none behind.

     Michael Jordan may be the best example of this. Winning 6 NBA championships, and not playing with a group of guys who were known for being all stars. But because of Jordan, the level of play was raised as they rallied around him. He was that mediating factor between the Bulls just being ok and achieving greatness, and he did it for his whole entire team, leaving none behind.

     How do we liken this to ourselves personally?  Who is my leader that I rally behind, that I follow his example, and I let him make me better day in and day out? Who do I let be the mediator to take me from being good, to great? Well of course that would have to be Jesus Christ! He is the mediator for all of us! Without him we can only do so much on our own, without him, we will never achieve our goal. Without him, we can never live with our Heavenly Father again.
Its become apparent to me that my only shot is to rally around my Savior, and do all the he asks, and follow his example. Ill leave you with one of my Favorite scriptures that I am dedicating to always apply to my life.

Joshua 24 :15 ".... as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"