I remember the day I decided to marry Brooke. I had bought the ring a few week previous but still wasn't 100% committed at that point. The day I decided to marry her I jumped in my car and headed to Evanston where I met with her parents and asked for permission. Afterwords I drove to Idaho where I surprised her at work and we hung out for the weekend. She still had no idea at this point where I was earlier that day. Long story short a few months later we were married in the Salt Lake City Temple.
Today Brooke and I taught a lesson on marriage and unity. It came to me today more than ever how important a Temple marriage is. There is so much more to it than just living with someone you care about. It is raising children in the gospel, helping each other progress culturally, spiritually, intellectually, and personally. It is the mutual understanding that we are in this forever. There is no end, which helps when arguments come up and rough times to know that it's just a spec on the eternal time line.
I am grateful that we have the blessing of the Priesthood and Temples to carry out such things. I know that Temples are where lasting ordinances are preformed. Temple marriage to me is a life long ceremony. It last more than the few nice words and the initial kiss as bride and groom on the wedding day. It is a test that we love each other throughout our entire lives, to prove to one another that we are committed for eternity. After this life is where the journey begins. Brooke and I are mutually in this marriage with an eternal perspective on things and I love her for doing this with me.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Birds Eye View
Have you ever driven across Wyoming in the middle of the night? We did this summer. We left Utah around 9:00 PM and drove through the night so Duncan would last the 8 hour drive north to Powell. It had been several years since I had last made the trip and I had never done it in the night. Needless to say we had to ask the phone a few times where to turn. My phone has turn by turn navigation capabilities and we had to use it a time or two so we didn't end up in South Dakota.
For those that haven't had the pleasure of driving these Wyoming roads let me tell you that there are stretches of I want to say 100+ miles where you wont see anything but dirt and tumble weeds. If you mix that in with the night sky you can't see farther then the 50 or so feet in front of you that you headlights are showing. So you are forced to TRUST this road that you are driving on that it will indeed take you where you really want to go. At day time you can at least see some land marks from time to time but all that goes away at night. When we came to some cross roads it wasn't always clear which way we needed to turn. When we weren't sure we asked the trusty phone. You can see a couple hundred feet above you and even go ahead if you want to see where this windy road is taking you. All of the sudden I can see farther ahead then the headlights, the worry of not being sure about a choice is gone because I know the GPS doesn't care if it is light or dark out, it knows how to guide me to where I want to go.
It didn't dawn on me until the next day at church the spiritual implications that trip had on me. Our lives are just like that road trip, each and every person is born with the light of Christ "headlights". Just like the don't make cars with out headlights our loving Heavenly Father doesn't send his children to earth without the light of Christ to help them see a few feet ahead. For those that chose, the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred that acts as a GPS. Our goal is to make if from point A to point B. A being birth and B being back to him once more. How nice is it to have the luxury of a GPS on this trip back home? How scary are those times when we are left without it, not knowing where to turn next, trying to trust our own abilities to get back? GPS devices run off battery and can go dead if not recharged. We all make decisions from time to time that deplete our batteries and cause the Holy Ghost to leave us in the dark. How great the power of the atonement is that allows these batteries to be recharged with countless re-tries when we mess up? It is clear to see that God wants all of us back. He can't or won't force us back though; it is up to us to come to his open arms. (3 Nephi 9:13-14)
This luxury is fully paid for by the blood of Christ, it is available to everyone no matter who you are, what you have done, or where you are from. It is scary to think of life without this guidance, Satan knows how great this guidance is to us and will do everything in his power to convince us that we are not good enough to have this gift. Don't listen to him, we are all good enough, we can all make it back to him and see the sun rise. Remember it is always darkest just before sunrise.
For those that haven't had the pleasure of driving these Wyoming roads let me tell you that there are stretches of I want to say 100+ miles where you wont see anything but dirt and tumble weeds. If you mix that in with the night sky you can't see farther then the 50 or so feet in front of you that you headlights are showing. So you are forced to TRUST this road that you are driving on that it will indeed take you where you really want to go. At day time you can at least see some land marks from time to time but all that goes away at night. When we came to some cross roads it wasn't always clear which way we needed to turn. When we weren't sure we asked the trusty phone. You can see a couple hundred feet above you and even go ahead if you want to see where this windy road is taking you. All of the sudden I can see farther ahead then the headlights, the worry of not being sure about a choice is gone because I know the GPS doesn't care if it is light or dark out, it knows how to guide me to where I want to go.
It didn't dawn on me until the next day at church the spiritual implications that trip had on me. Our lives are just like that road trip, each and every person is born with the light of Christ "headlights". Just like the don't make cars with out headlights our loving Heavenly Father doesn't send his children to earth without the light of Christ to help them see a few feet ahead. For those that chose, the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred that acts as a GPS. Our goal is to make if from point A to point B. A being birth and B being back to him once more. How nice is it to have the luxury of a GPS on this trip back home? How scary are those times when we are left without it, not knowing where to turn next, trying to trust our own abilities to get back? GPS devices run off battery and can go dead if not recharged. We all make decisions from time to time that deplete our batteries and cause the Holy Ghost to leave us in the dark. How great the power of the atonement is that allows these batteries to be recharged with countless re-tries when we mess up? It is clear to see that God wants all of us back. He can't or won't force us back though; it is up to us to come to his open arms. (3 Nephi 9:13-14)
This luxury is fully paid for by the blood of Christ, it is available to everyone no matter who you are, what you have done, or where you are from. It is scary to think of life without this guidance, Satan knows how great this guidance is to us and will do everything in his power to convince us that we are not good enough to have this gift. Don't listen to him, we are all good enough, we can all make it back to him and see the sun rise. Remember it is always darkest just before sunrise.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
What is Time?
Probably the one thing there is no going back on. Time, is so valuable. Today was general conference and Elder Henry B. Eyring talked about choices he made in his professional career that weren't exactly what he had hoped for but it was what the Lord wanted and he obeyed.
I remember a time on my mission, it was the night before my one year anniversary to be exact, the half way point. I had a dream that night that I was in the kitchen when the phone rang. President Call was on the other line and he told me that the mission rules from the Church had changed. No longer were missionaries to server for 2 years, rather 1 year now. He told me seeing how I had been out exactly one year now it was time to pack up and come home. I hung up the phone and started thinking to myself how could this be? I wasn't ready to go home. I hadn't completed what I had set out to do. Sure, at this point I had several baptisms, was a Zone leader, had already trained a missionary and felt on paper like I was very accomplished as a missionary. Something was missing, I wasn't truly converted and I felt as if I hadn't tried over the past year as hard as I really could have. That was all too late now, time had passed, there was no going back.
I woke up, my pillow drenched in sweat,(Still not sure if that was due to the dream, drool, or the extreme heat at the time) I was in a panic. It didn't hit me for about another hour that it was all a dream, or was it? Indeed I really only had a year now to serve a mission. If I were to start today I would only be able to serve a one year mission for the Lord. I made a promise to the Lord that I would bust my butt to leave nothing behind but good works and miracles EVERY day.
Why is it that during those 2 years of my life I had so many memories, lessons, and things to write home about, yet now and before my mission the days seem to fly by without a memory to hold them from the wind? Brooke and I had a conversation tonight while driving home from Evanston, the example came to mind of bread. There are two types of bread really. The one dollar loafs that are fluffy and light, then there are the more expensive kinds that are heavy and healthy full of good things. On the outside there look the same until you pick them up or taste them. Life is just like that sometimes. We can look at everyone around us and they may appear successful, happy or "heavy". Truth is we really cant tell until you ask. I think the reason my life during the 2 years I was on a mission was so hearty with memories and life lessons was because of one key element. God was heavily involved in my life. I woke up asking what he had planned for me.
Today I go to work, I have a boss that gives me guidance on what I need to do each day. If my boss isn't there I try to make do but we all know the day is never as productive when he/she is gone. The same goes with us spiritually, if we lose track of ourselves in all these earthly goals and aspirations we are going to look back at life as a one dollar loaf of bread, light and fluffy with no true value. I hope to never let the one thing we can't go back slip anymore. I need something to write home about each day. I know if we strive to make the effort we will see the hand of God in our lives more often. Our lives will be continually filled with stories as if we are on missions. The Lord never forgets about us and stops giving us experiences we stop asking and looking for them.
I hope I never have to wait for the phone call to wake up again and get going again. Procrastinate later, and jump ahead of the curve where our loving Heavenly Father will be waiting for us with outstretched hands saying job well done.
I remember a time on my mission, it was the night before my one year anniversary to be exact, the half way point. I had a dream that night that I was in the kitchen when the phone rang. President Call was on the other line and he told me that the mission rules from the Church had changed. No longer were missionaries to server for 2 years, rather 1 year now. He told me seeing how I had been out exactly one year now it was time to pack up and come home. I hung up the phone and started thinking to myself how could this be? I wasn't ready to go home. I hadn't completed what I had set out to do. Sure, at this point I had several baptisms, was a Zone leader, had already trained a missionary and felt on paper like I was very accomplished as a missionary. Something was missing, I wasn't truly converted and I felt as if I hadn't tried over the past year as hard as I really could have. That was all too late now, time had passed, there was no going back.
I woke up, my pillow drenched in sweat,(Still not sure if that was due to the dream, drool, or the extreme heat at the time) I was in a panic. It didn't hit me for about another hour that it was all a dream, or was it? Indeed I really only had a year now to serve a mission. If I were to start today I would only be able to serve a one year mission for the Lord. I made a promise to the Lord that I would bust my butt to leave nothing behind but good works and miracles EVERY day.
Why is it that during those 2 years of my life I had so many memories, lessons, and things to write home about, yet now and before my mission the days seem to fly by without a memory to hold them from the wind? Brooke and I had a conversation tonight while driving home from Evanston, the example came to mind of bread. There are two types of bread really. The one dollar loafs that are fluffy and light, then there are the more expensive kinds that are heavy and healthy full of good things. On the outside there look the same until you pick them up or taste them. Life is just like that sometimes. We can look at everyone around us and they may appear successful, happy or "heavy". Truth is we really cant tell until you ask. I think the reason my life during the 2 years I was on a mission was so hearty with memories and life lessons was because of one key element. God was heavily involved in my life. I woke up asking what he had planned for me.
Today I go to work, I have a boss that gives me guidance on what I need to do each day. If my boss isn't there I try to make do but we all know the day is never as productive when he/she is gone. The same goes with us spiritually, if we lose track of ourselves in all these earthly goals and aspirations we are going to look back at life as a one dollar loaf of bread, light and fluffy with no true value. I hope to never let the one thing we can't go back slip anymore. I need something to write home about each day. I know if we strive to make the effort we will see the hand of God in our lives more often. Our lives will be continually filled with stories as if we are on missions. The Lord never forgets about us and stops giving us experiences we stop asking and looking for them.
I hope I never have to wait for the phone call to wake up again and get going again. Procrastinate later, and jump ahead of the curve where our loving Heavenly Father will be waiting for us with outstretched hands saying job well done.
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