Sirius black knows whats up!

     So who is a little Harry Potter crazy right now? It seems like everyone has a bit of the wizard fever with the last movie coming out and everything! I was thinking about all the good parts of the Harry Potter series, and I soon realized there is much that can be learned from this! One of the most memorable lessons that I took away from it was something that Sirius Black said in the 4th book.

     Harry, Ron and Hermione have snuck off during a Hogsmeade visit, to go see Sirius, who is of course, disguised as the big black shaggy dog until they are back into the mountains in the cave he has been hiding out in. During their visit, they discuss Bary Crouch and who he is and what kind of character he has as a person.

     In their conversation, Hermione mentions how poorly Mr. Crouch treats his House elf, Winky. House elves are considered to be lower class in the magical world. Ron, points this out and tries to shrug it off like it wasn't a big deal, however, Sirius Black replies with some excellent insight on people's character.  He says
" If you want to know the character of a man, look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

     So let's disect how true this statement really is. We know that all men are created equal, and I don't believe that is what Sirius is saying. When he says inferiors, he is talking about those who may not have as many blessings as we do, or those who are looked down upon by society, such as a house elf. I believe Sirius hit the nail on the head with this one! Look at Jesus Christ! He spent his time with the poor and the sinners. Clearly they did not reach his level, him being the Son of God. But he set the example of how we need to treat them.

     So let us ask ourselves. How do we treat those who are less fortunate than ourselves? When we see a home less person on the side of the road what is our first reaction? Do we automatically judge and say it was their own fault? Or do we follow the Savior's example, and show them love and evaluate how we can help them? I know that if we all try our best to treat everyone with love and kindness, the world will be a much better place!

The Tasty cookie v.s. The Burnt cookie

     Soooooo who loves cookies raise your hand! If you currently have your hand in the air then this is the post for you, because you are about to like cookies even more! Last night, my companion and I were teaching a lesson about overcoming temptaion and choosing the right. We were describing how Satan desguises temptaion and makes it look desirable, and makes it look delicious.

     So imagine this! You have a mean older brother, or mean older sibling ( which some of you won't have to imagine too hard ) Well your sweet mother has just finished baking an amazing batch of chocolate chip cookies. All of them look so yummy, however a few of them got burnt in the process, which we know can happen sometimes. But there are still a bunch of warm soft ones that did not get burnt. Well as your mother pulls them out, she councils you to wait and let them cool off before taking one. So, as a good child you listen and find something to occupy yourself with for 15 minutes while they cool down. After 15 minutes it is finally time! The amazing cookies are ready to be devoured! And how nice your older brother is approaching you with a cookie in hand, letting you have the first one. He even covered it in some chocolate frosting to enjoy even more! You are so excited, you close your eyes and bite into the seemingly fresh cookie. And then you find out it is not good at all! You didn't just eat a good soft cookie, but a burnt one! How could this be!? Well i'll tell you. Your brother tricked you. He took a burnt cookie and covered it in frosting and sprinkles making it look like a tasty treat. Which is exactly what he wanted you to think!

   
      Just like the older brother, Satan does the same thing with temptation. Clearly we know right from wrong, we know what our Savior wants us to do. However, Satan tempts us, and disguises sin to make it look fun and delicious. He makes it seem like something that we really want, until we bite into it, and realize it isn't at all what we thought it was going to be. It is something we need to watch out for and be careful of! Remember what the Savior taught and the commandments he laid out for us to be happy! I promise if we follow his teachings and keep the commandments we will be so happy in this life! Stay away from the burnt cookie covered in chocolate frosting!

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"

Life is all about how we handle Plan B!

     It has been my experience, since being on my mission, that things are not always going to go your way. In fact, it feels like things rarely ever go the way we would have them go, in our perfect world. We always seem to need a Plan B. I came across a quote the other day that I think sums up how life is in a nut shell.

"Life is All About How you Handle Plan B
Plan A is always my first choice.
You know, the one where
Everything works out to be
Happily ever-after.
But more often than not,
I find myself dealing with
The upside-down, inside-out version --
Where nothing goes as it should.
It's at this point that the real
Test of my character comes in..
Do I sink, or do I swim?
Do I wallow in self pity and play the victim,
Or simply shift gears
And make the best of the situation?
The choice is all mine...
Life is all about how you handle Plan B."
— Suzy Toronto



     In my opinion, she hit the nail on the head, that it does test our character when we have a change in plans. It really says a lot about who we are when we can just take it in stride, and keep a positive attitude. Because attitude really does make all of the difference. We as human beings, tend to forget that so much of our happiness depends on us.

"Happiness is an attitude.  We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same." 
-Francesca Reigler

      I think we all can agree however, that it is much easier said then done. While we all would love to constantly have a good attitude about life, it gets difficult without something to hold on to or a little motivation behind us.
     For me in my life and through the course of my mission I have come to realize the reason we always read our scriptures and pray everyday, as well as go to church every sunday, is to invite the spirit into our lives. When we have the spirit in our life, we are happier, and have that motivation to keep a good attitude. We find that strength to press forward in the work of the Lord, with a smile on our face and joy in our hearts.

     I promise that as we all do the little things, our attitudes will be positive and we will be able to deal with the woes of life, especially when plan A falls through, and plan B is placed before us.