Tribute to Our Loved Ones

Every Monday I get to email my family. Other than two calls per year at Mother's Day and Christmas and handwritten letters every so often, it is the only communication we have for the two years that I am serving as a full-time missionary. Normally our weekly emails are full of great news: what wonderful things I am up to and what wonderful things they are up to.

This past week was different.

My momma informed me yesterday that our dog, Roxy, had to be put to sleep last Friday. I would be lying if I said that I didn't cry. Roxy was a part of me. She had been our beloved dog and family member for something like ten years. Maybe more. We always said that where other dogs might be the cutest, funnest, goofiest, or whatever dogs in the world, Roxy was definitely the sweetest. She had a heart of whatever on this Earth is of better quality than gold. She had this habit of walking up to you while you were sitting down on a chair or the couch and sitting down right in between your legs with her back to you and then looking back and up at you as if to say, "Well! Come on! Show me some love! I'm here aren't I?" She would sometimes be so keen on getting love from someone that she would sit on their feet or sit so close as to invade their personal space a little. But it didn't matter; EVERYONE loved her. It wasn't obnoxious, annoying, or frustrating. It was sweet, heart melting, and wonderful. I loved her like a member of my family, because that's what she was.

It's hard to think that she's gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye for reals. I hugged her the day I left on my mission, but at the time it was a "see-you-later" and not a "goodbye" hug. I was fully expecting to see her after a little time away. Now I can't. She has gone from this life. I remain. Without her. I feel kind of empty.

And then I remember the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I remember what He did for us so that we could be with our families for eternity. I remember that with His sacrifice He made it possible to break the bands of death in order to reunite with our loved ones in the Resurrection. I remember that the pain and sorrow that I feel is swallowed up in the joy and comfort that comes with that knowledge. I remember that I will see Roxy (as well as all those whom I love that have gone from this life) again. I remember this, and I am filled up with Light and Hope and a spirit of gratitude. I am whole again. No longer empty.

The promises of the Atonement aren't extended solely to me my friends. They are extended to each and every one of us. I invite you to ponder your losses. Think on those that you have lost that you once loved and talked with and held in your arms. Now ponder the joy you will feel when you are reunited with them again because of what your Savior did. Ponder what it will be like to embrace them in His Light and Radiance on that wonderful day when He returns. I testify that it will happen, and that the Atonement is real. I testify that He lives, and made all of this possible. I do so in His Sacred Name. Amen.

See you soon Roxy. Love ya.

Waging War With Weeds Part 2: Warnings

So we know what we can learn from the good examples weeds can give us. Y'all must have thought that I was a little off when I wrote about all the GOOD things I think about weeds. Well now y'all can read about what y'all have been waiting for: all of the BAD things I have to say about weeds. I mentioned how much I hate them; how I hate that they always come creeping back into my life no matter how hard I try to eradicate them. I hate how they look and cut and slice when you touch them - they aren't very soft or inviting plants. I hate how they have this uncanny ability to grow in the most hard to mow places. I hate them. Period. So let me discuss the things that I have learned from them that are to be considered warnings.

NOTE: In this post, let us consider weeds as sins, temptations, vices, and addictions. Let us consider mowing comparable to the process of repentance.

Warning #1: Don't let them get out of hand. Eradicate and annihilate them as soon as you see them. Don't put things off. A little while ago, because of a busy day, I was unable to mow the lawn. The lawn was left un-mowed for an additional week. The day that I chose to skip mowing, I looked out to make sure it wasn't so bad that I was truly required to mow. I said to myself, "The lawn doesn't look so bad. There are only a few weeds growing around the edges. No worries. Next week I got it taken care of." How wrong I was. In that extra week more weeds grew than at any other time previous. When I returned for my routine mowing, the task was immensely daunting. I had let them go crazy on their own.
Now apply this principle to our sins. When we put off repenting of them, they grow out of hand almost without us noticing by the time we have "appointed" for our repentance process. They come back stronger than we thought. We underestimate them, and they threaten overrunning everything. They add up. We are left with the problem of all those sins and mistakes and errors to fix. Don't let that happen to YOU. When there is something in your life that needs repenting of, take care of it immediately.

Warning #2: Last post I mentioned how deeply they plant their roots and how that can be a desirable trait in our own lives. Conversely, it can be a bad thing. The roots of our sins and mistakes must be removed completely if we are to rid ourselves of the problem. Dig deep. Pull them out all the way and don't spare an inch, lest they grow back just as badly. Repent completely and fully so as to unburden yourself of all regret, shame, guilt, and fault. Why not be free? Why not be whole? Why not be liberated of your sins? Exactly. Dumb questions right? Then why don't we pull out the entire root sometimes? I say we should. Every time we repent we should do so fully and thereby enjoy the fullest measure of joy that comes from being healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Warning #3: Keep trying, and rely on the Great Gardener. Keep cutting down the weeds. Keep repenting. True repentance is a daily process. Don't give up because it seems hard. Turn to your greatest source of help and strength in the face of so many weeds and sins. Turn to Christ. Let Him help you cut them down. Let Christ work through you in order to remove all of the weeds completely. It is only through Him that it is possible. We can't do it alone, and we can't stop trying. Never give up in the War on Weeds, because Christ never gave up on you.

So there you have it. A few Do's and Don't's, Good's and Bad's, that we can learn from weeds. All of it relevant to our spiritual well being. All of it meant to help us in our journey here on this Earth back to our Heavenly Father. I know these little lessons didn't pop into my head by accident. They have taught me so much and helped me immensely in the past couple of weeks. I understand so much more now about the repentance process, and enduring to the end faithfully. My thoughts have been turned to my Savior, and I am so grateful for that. I invite you to ponder these things, and to take them even further. If there is something spiritual you have learned from weeds lately, I invite you to apply it to your life. Turn to Christ. Turn to that Great Gardener who stands ready to receive you. Such is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Waging War With Weeds (That's a LOT of W's Isn't it?) Part 1

My last two posts have been a little serious. My mind was in a "serious" funk for a little while (not bad every so often). But right about now I feel like y'all need to get to know me a little better. Of course, I can't sit down and have a conversation with all of you at this time (much as I'd love to); so this post will have to do.

My topic for our one-sided discussion today is obvious. WEEDS. I hate them. I want them all to die. I've always wished that I had supahpowers (yes, I say it like that), and usually I want something cool like supah strength or flight. But recently all I've wanted is Weed Extermination Beams to come out of my eyes or Weed Killer Lightning to come out of my finger tips. Why? Lemme 'splain. No. Too much. Lemme sum up.

My missionary companion and I live with a lady named Georgia. She is a sweetheart. I love her to death. I would do anything for her. That's why I mow her lawn every Monday. Now, by way of information, I think over the past few weeks that I have been mowing her lawn I have become acquainted with every type of weed known to man. I make no joke here folks. Georgia's backyard might be the place where our Heavenly Father decided to start growing noxious weeds, thistles, briars, and thorns when He cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. And so, since having become so familiar with weeds, they have of course done their job impeccably well: they are back for another round every Monday no matter how well I have mowed and cut and whacked and sprayed the week previous. They also seem to have figured out how to weed their way into my brain and my thoughts. OBNOXIOUS RIGHT?!

Wrong. I have learned so much from these little buggers. Examples that they set in today's post. Warnings that they give in my next post. Tell your friends.

Example #1: Perseverance. No matter how much cutting down and pesticide spraying and mowing happens, they stand strong. They spring back up. They face adversity (and lawn mower blades) head on without so much as flinching. If we are to weather the weekly mowings of life, I think we should demonstrate such perseverance as well.

Example #2: They plant their roots deep. Have you ever tried to pull out those spindly weeds that are really thin and seem to spider all over the place and about every inch or so they clamp down to the ground? Once you get to the real root and not the little clamps you find, you gotta pull hard. The other day I pulled one that had a root the length of my forearm. That's long! So too must we plant our roots deep in the Gospel soil where our Father in Heaven desires to plant us, and there we will flourish.

Example #3: There is strength in numbers. They gather in groups of similar weeds. They wrap themselves around each other and mingle their roots and stems to forge a seemingly insurmountable wall of weedy-ness. There have been times when I look out at an especially large congregation of crabgrass and I think, "This is IMPOSSIBLE!" Likewise, how easy is it to withstand  tribulation when we surround ourselves with those who are equally uplifting, faithful, and dependent on the Gospel of Jesus Christ? One might say that the Adversary will look at us and say "This is IMPOSSIBLE!".

These are just a few of the many lessons I have learned from my longtime enemies, sometimes friends the Weeds. As I have pondered these things, I have been strengthened and lifted up by what they mean. I invite you to do the same. Persevere, plant your roots deep, surround yourself with those of similar belief and faith, and you shall prevail against the Lawn Mower of Life just as well as the weeds seem to do against me every week.

Bringing in the Light: A Remedy for the Overshadowed Soul Part 2

Okay. So last time I wrote about how it can be so easy for us to fill our hearts with Darkness. Satan has found a way to sneak in when we let our guards down or be stagnant in our progression. He has placed deceptive lures in our paths that we might mistakenly use as replacements for what we truly desire: God's presence. Satan does not want us to experience joy when we are close to God and filled with the Light of His Son Jesus Christ.  As I mentioned before, it can be a daunting task to have to be constantly striving to fill our "rooms" with Light when we have so much stacked against us. But as I said before, and as our Heavenly Father has promised us, there is cause for great hope. Jesus Christ is the foundation of that hope, and in the Doctrine & Covenants, He provides us with some things that we can do in this life to constantly be feeding ourselves with the Light that He is.

Now, the Doctrine & Covenants is a collection of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these modern times while he was restoring the Church of Jesus Christ according to the dictates of our Heavenly Father. The times in which Joseph Smith was receiving these revelations were difficult; persecution was raging and the forces of Darkness were assailing the fledgling Restord Gospel with all of their might. But! The Lord Himself stated 3 things that would lift us up, banish the Darkness, and bring in the Light (Jesus Christ) more fully into our lives and more importantly, our hearts. I call them the 3 L's: Look, Learn, Listen. The first is found in the first reference and the second and third are found in the second reference.

Doctrine & Covenants 6:36 - " Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

Doctrine & Covenants 19:23 - " Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me."

Here is very simple language from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ telling us exactly how it is that we can fill ourselves - our hearts, minds, souls, and lives - with the Everlasting Light that He is. This process of Looking, Learning of, and Listening to our Savior has helped me so much throughout my own life. Whenever I feel Darkness threatening or creeping into my life, I can go through this process and come out on top. I can Look to my Savior and think of Him when in any moment; doubt and fear (a couple of Darkness' greatest tools to attack our ability to have Light in our lives) melt away and hope and faith replace them. Learning of my Savior from the Holy Scriptures, the Prophets, and through prayer has helped me to know what He would do in any given situation so that I can follow His example and use it to influence who I am and what I become as my life moves forward. And finally, Listening to Him and His words gives me the comfort, strength, and support that I need to continue doing what is right and keeping my life as close to His as I can. These three things - all from the Savior Himself as counsel to us in order to be able to constantly fill ourselves with Light and banish the Darkness - are true principles of eternal happiness and peace.

I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He loves us, and desires nothing more for us than happiness, joy, peace, and most importantly to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father after this life. To help us on our way, He suffered and died for us and then rose the third day. I know that He lives. I know that we must fill our lives with His Light in order to fully overcome the Darkness that so often besets us in this mortal state. I know that if we choose Light over Darkness, if we Look, Learn, and Listen, we can and will return to our Heavenly Father. I know this with all of my heart. I invite you to do as I have done and feel His Light chase away the Darkness, no matter how overshadowed your soul may be. In His Sacred Name, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

Chasing Away Darkness: A Remedy for the Overshadowed Soul Part 1

Everyone in this life is missing something. We all have a hole, or as I like to call it a "void", to fill . Our souls and our hearts yearn for something that we don't have. There is a longing for and a calling out to that something. As taught to us in the scriptures, the thing that we are missing is the presence of our Heavenly Father. Because of the Fall of Adam we are cut off from His presence. We have been sent here to this probationary state in order to prove ourselves worthy of returning to God's presence. But not everyone knows this or understands this. Not everyone realizes that the puzzle piece that fits perfectly in the hole of their hearts is the presence of God; they go looking for something else to fill it in. They search the world over for that one thing that will ease the aching and the yearning. As I have observed this process in my own life and in the lives of many, many others, I have come to the conclusion that the things we as Children of God choose to fill that void with can be classified under two different categories: the first is Light, and the second is Darkness. We all have the ability to choose for ourselves at any and all times what we want to fill ourselves up with.

But here is the interesting thing: when we are complacent, lazy, neutral, or stagnant in our search for things to fill that void, darkness creeps in. The adversary fills those holes with the things of the dark - sadness, agony, loneliness, anger, bitterness. And then there are a myriad number of things in this world that the adversary places in our paths so that if we are earnestly seeking for something to fill our souls with, we might mistakenly take one of his deceptions. Things such as immorality, drugs, alcohol, inappropriate music, and other such distractions.

It's like a room in a house. This room has a single solitary lightbulb in it: God's presence. It is a lightbulb that if turned on by constantly feeding it with electricity, it will envelop the entire room in sweet, breathtaking, powerful Light. All shadows are chased away. The Darkness is banished. If we choose not to feed the Light with fuel or do anything at all in order to maintain that Light, the Darkness overcomes the room. And then, there are those things that Satan places in our path to pick up and bring into our lives because to us they seem like they will suffice in fueling that need. When we choose these things, we are effectively placing a cover over the Light. A cover so dark and heavy and impenatrable that the Light has no chance of escaping. And so the Darkness fills the room again. Only one of the two can exist in the room at the same time.

So it seems that the odds are stacked against us; whether we do something or do nothing, it seems that Darkness will always creep in! But THERE IS HOPE. The odds ARE NOT stacked against us. Our Heavenly Father did something to make sure of that. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to Atone for our sins. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to lead the way and provide a means for us to ALWAYS banish the Darkness with His Light so long as we follow Him and trust in Him. This Light and Gift that is Jesus Christ always satisfies our need. It always fills us up. It is more than enough to fill our hearts as we need it.

ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS USE IT. Find out how to do so in Part 2.