Service is Really Neat!

The past few days I've been thinking a lot about service. I recently received an assignment as a missionary that has got me, and will have me serving a lot of other missionaries in the area. I think of the Savior, who said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). It's so easy to get caught up in ourselves and to worry about our own problems. Life is really hard! There are a lot of worthwhile things that all fight for our attention. And if we are not careful, they can become a distraction from the needs of others, and we forget about loving and serving our fellow man. Service is a really funny thing. A lot of times its really hard, and its things that we don't want to do. It often requires sacrifice, mainly of our time. But it's when we are able to forget about ourselves and our own time and interest, and "lose our lives," in the service of others, we are able to develop true charity. We are then able to comply with the Savior's command to "love one another" (John 13:34).

I have definitely seen the effects of that as I have served a mission. The times when I have been happiest are when I am not thinking about myself, and I am worry about the needs of others, both physical and spiritual. As I stop thinking of myself, and stop thinking more about others, I am happier. The Savior's seeming paradox is true! When we "lose our lives" by forgetting about ourselves, we find a much happier and more peaceful life. On the other hand, the most miserable times and days of my mission have been when I am focused on my own needs and concerns. There is never enough time to do all the things that I want, or to have everything that I want to have. And when I am focusing on those selfish desires, I feel disappointed and angry because I just want more and more and more. But when we are able to forget about ourselves and the things that we want, we are happy, because we realize that we do have all the things that we need, we do have a good life, and that in comparison, the problems we face aren't as bad as they could be. I know that service develops charity, a Christ-like love for the sons and daughters of God. It leads us to happiness, and it is for that reason that it is a commandment. Service truly is pretty darn neat!

"If Ye Love Me"

I recently had an experience where my companion, myself, and a local member were teaching a man about God, and how He teaches us the Gospel so that we can be happy. As were teaching, however, I felt that I was the one learning. It was a really cool experience. We all love our families. It's a basic. And there are many ways that we show our love for them, especially for our parents. Our parents love us unconditionally, and only want the best for us. Sometimes we don't always see it that way, and we feel like they are limiting or restricting us. Still being fairly young, I can say that I know the feeling. But one of the greatest ways that we show our parents that we love them, is when we are faced with the hardships and trials of this life, those situations where we just have no clue what to do, and we turn to them, and ask them for their help and guidance. It shows the love and trust that we have for them, and that we value their thoughts and opinions. But then comes the true test of love: do we actually do it. Our parents are wiser than us; they have more experience. And if we really love them, we even make sacrifices to show that love and accept their counsel. And when we do, the relationship that we have with that parent grows, because we have, in a sense, shared that experience together. And more often than not, the advice our parents give is good advice.

So let's put that into a different setting. God is our Heavenly Father, the Father of our spirits. Like our earthly parents, He wants to bless us. He wants us to be happy. And he wants us to be successful. He also wants us to be safe from dangers, both physical and spiritual. His love for us is infinite and unconditional. He asks that we, in turn, love him. It is "the first and great commandment" (Matthew 22:36-40). We can show our love for God in the same way that we show love for our earthly parents. In the chaos that is this life, we can turn to our Heavenly Father in humble and heartfelt prayer and seek His guidance. Then the true test of our love: do we do what He directs. Because God is a perfect being, we can have full and complete trust in Him. We can follow His counsel with a perfect knowledge that doing so will be for our own spiritual well-being, and that it will bring blessings. His counsel, in one way or another, always has been, and always will be to live the Gospel; or in other words to live what His Son taught. In His earthly ministry, the Savior clearly taught, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Living the Gospel, which includes the obedience to the commandments, is the way that we show our love for God and for the Savior. It shows the trust that we have that God's ways are better than man's (Isaiah 55:8-9). And when we do choose to obey, we are blessed, and we draw closer to God. We see that His direction will truly lead us to happiness (See John 7:17), and we are better able to more completely trust Him in the future.


I know that sometimes it's really hard to be humble enough to accept the counsel that God has for us. It is not always what we want to do. But I know that doing the will of God instead of our own, especially when we do not want to, is how we grow the most. It follows the divine example of our Savior, who's timeless words were: "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). I have seen so many blessings from trying to follow the example of Jesus Christ and keep the commandments. More than anything, I have found happiness and peace. When we trust in God and live the Gospel, we are able to free ourselves from the guilt, shame and burden of past mistakes. I love my God, and I love my Savior. I am imperfect, but every day I am trying to trust more fully in them, and do the things that they would have me do. I know that God live, that Jesus Christ is His Son, and that through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel, all mankind may be saved (See Articles of Faith 1:3).

He Lives!

Today I wanted to take a few minutes just to give my testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He came to this world to pay the price for our sins. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He gives us the opportunity to improve ourselves, to repent, and to receive peace and happiness.

He showed us the perfect example. He taught us His Gospel. If we have faith in Him, repent, are baptized, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end, we will be received into Heaven. Following His teachings has brought me so much happiness and joy in this life. I know that I am not perfect, but I do know that my personal progress is only possible because of the Savior, the Lamb of God.

Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of the world, died for us, and was resurrected on the third day. Only through Him can we one day return and live with our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the Savior, and everything that He does for me. I love Him, and I want to serve Him. And I know that that is the source of happiness and Eternal Life.

Faith and Testimony

When I try new things, I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a wimp. I spend a lot of time trying to think everything out in my mind, and plan how I'm going to do things. I want to fully understand the concept before I get started. I took a springboard diving class one semester at school, and sometimes this desire to understand before I would try a new dive would cause me to spend a few minutes standing by the pool thinking in stead of just going for it and actually learning. I've learned that there is a fine line that divides conceptual understanding from real learning, and that more times than not, that line comes from experience. We have to experience something to really be able to learn it. That's why this life is so great, because we have so many different experiences that we can learn from, that will eventually prepare us for the eternities.

The same principle is true for Gospel doctrines. Naturally, as humans, we don't understand them, and it doesn't make sense why we would believe in something that we can't see, or keep a commandment we can't see the immediate benefit of. And sometimes we want to fully understand a Gospel principle or doctrine, and have a testimony of its truthfulness before we begin to act on it. Unfortunately, that's not how God works. God wants us to show our faith in Him. And it's only then that the testimony comes. The Savior taught in the Bible, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" (John 7:17). The trick, here, is that we are required to act, to experience the doctrine, before we will know whether or not it comes from the Father.

So that puts me in a little bind, because I like to understand things before I act. But that's where faith comes in. I've learned that sometimes, I need to just show some faith and act. In my diving class, I eventually got over my thoughts, and just got on the board and jumped and tried new things. And I learned. I wasn't perfect at first, but my ability improved as I tried it, and I learned as I went. With God, we trust in him, go out and get on the figurative board of life, and jump. He will catch us. He will sustain us. And He will bless us for our faith, our obedience, and our effort to follow Him. He will let us know that our efforts are pleasing to Him, and that the principles we are learning and applying truly are His.

Put on Your Happy Ties!

These past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about being happy. Isn't life better when we're happy? It is. And a lot of times we get caught up in the things that the world tells us will make us happy. We know that money doesn't buy happiness, but we somehow still rationalize our relentless pursuit of it. Even more so, living the teachings of the Savior bring happiness, but sometimes we are able to rationalize out of doing those as well. And we're left feeling empty. And then on top of that, there are a lot of hardships and trials that we face in this life-a lot of them! And it would be really easy to let those things get to us, and wallow in our hardships and be miserable. Lehi, a prophet from the Book of Mormon, taught that, "men are, that they might have joy," and that it is the devil who wants us to be miserable, "for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:25,27).

The fact of the matter is, the choice of happiness is ours! We choose whether or not we are happy. As a missionary, life can be pretty tough. We work basically nonstop 16 hours a day, everyday. On top of that, a lot of problems come up, disappointments happen, and some days are just long, tiring and hard. It would be so easy to choose to be miserable. But my companion and I have decided to not let that get to us. God wants us to be happy, and if we live the teachings of His Son, we can be happy no matter what the circumstances. We have adopted the motto of always wearing our "happy ties." It doesn't matter what's going on. If we're wearing our happy ties, it will all be alright. And I've seen miracles these past few weeks. Life has still been hard, but I can honestly say that I am overall happy. When bad things happen, I am reminded of my commitment to wear my happy tie, and I force myself to get over it and be happy anyway. And it works. Happiness is a choice. And so I invite you all to put on your "happy ties," and not let life get you down. God has bigger plans than that!