One of the 7

You know, sometimes people just don't take a hint.  They do the same thing over and over again and never learn.  Albert Einstein defines stupidity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  (A little forewarning, the next statement I am about to make may sound a bit strange and insane coming from a missionary, but it will make sense by the end.)  As I have been reading the Book of Mormon again, it has been made blatantly clear that the Nephites just didn't get it.

The Nephites fall into the same cycle over and over again.  Pride.

"1Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction..."  By the end of the Book of Mormon, we see the complete destruction of the Nephite people, save it be the lone Prophet Moroni.  Their destruction was because of their pride.  All through the Bible and the Book of Mormon we can see a standard cycle: the people are obedient to the Lord; the Lord blesses them; the people begin to be prideful; they start to forget the Lord; wickedness sinks into their hearts; and then, it's time for a little humbling.

"2And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

We all need a little humbling from time to time.  Humility is a Christlike attribute.  Something each of us need to strive to attain.  Sadly the Nephites, and each of us, kinda forgot this.  We do this little dance/circle over and over and over again.  Obedience, blessings, pride, smack-down time by the Lord.  Ideally, all of us would just be humble all the time.  But, none of us are perfect (yet). 

Recently, I too was like the Nephites.  I needed some humbling.  As you may have noticed, my blog seems somewhat bare and picture free.  Well, in an effort to be more obedient to the Lord and all His commandments, I have gone through and deleted any and all pictures that were not taken by myself or someone I have permission to have them from.  At first, I was heartbroken that I had to get rid of all these pictures.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how prideful I was being.  So what if my blog would look a little plainer.  It's not the pictures that make or break the message I am here to deliver.  I was called to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  That is my purpose.  It's not to have the "prettiest" blog.

So here I stand (or sit I suppose), having been sufficiently humbled by the Lord.  Will it stop here?  Goodness no!  But I look forward to the humbling and the chance to draw ever nearer to my Savior and our loving Father in Heaven.

Superawesomefantastic Day!

Yesterday was an awesome day.  Today, via pictures, I wanted to share with you why it was such a great day.  Who doesn't like to hear about good days?  I know I do!  So, I am going to be a little prideful and tell you all about my incredible day!

Saturday, August 6th began bright and early.  No, I don't have a picture of me waking up (that's on a previous post).  We woke up extra early because it was our temple trip day.  One of the cool things about serving in Eureka is that we get to go to the Medford Oregon temple.  The not-so-cool thing, it's a four hour drive. 

Avatar: Firebending

Next up is Firebending!  (By special request of Elder Trey Williams.)  The bending style of Fire Nation. 

Firbending is the ability to control and create fire.  No reliance on outside sources of their element to bend, they can create fire using their internal heat source.  But, they can also control flames already existing.  Fire is the element of power; firebending represents energy and life.  This style is very intense, quick, and the most aggressive of all the bending arts.  Simple, direct, and powerful.

To be a successful Firbender, one must have self-restraint (or self-control), breath control, and "inner-fire" (inner-drive).  Firebending isn't merely a matter of directing the element, more controlling the element.  When mastered, this style is not only powerful, but beautiful, comforting, and creative.

What I love love love is the "inner-fire" that a Firbender has to have.  Without that inner-drive they become weak.  There are sooo many times where I find myself leaving things half done or just not done as well as they could be simply because I had no drive to do it.  On the flip side of things, when my "inner-fire" is a-glowin', you can't stop me.  I will do whatever it takes to get the job done or to become the best.

Each of us has great potential.  It's the truth.  Our potential is infinite.  Heavenly Father has given us the chance to become like Him.  Seriously!  How incredible is that?!  But, we have to have the drive to get there.  We need the drive to be obedient to God's commandments.  Drive to learn more about His church.  Drive to be Christlike people.  In essence, we need "inner-fire" to ever even dream of becoming more than what we currently are.  So, become like a Firebender.  Dig deep and build up that "inner-fire!"

Words of Wisdom from Elder Chase Jackson (departing missionary)



Elder Jackson & Elder Ram



As a young 19 year old boy, I set out on what was to become the greatest experience of my life. I entered the mission field not knowing before hand what lied ahead in my journey.  Many grand experiences were found that came with a lot of hard work and pain. If I was to know before hand all these experiences would take place, I could honestly look back and say with excitement and joy, "BRING IT ON!" I would do this all because of one man who changed the world.

Living Waters

It is very clear that my companions think I am insane.  My blog ideas come at the most inopportune times and they usually result in me dashing out of the room, or across the room, to hurry and write them down.  From experience I have learned that unless the idea gets written down, it gets forgotten.  Anyways, this is the "jump out of bed and dash to the living room" idea I had last night.

There is a story, in John, of Christ teaching the woman of Samaria.  The woman comes to Jacob's well where Christ is resting from his journeying to get some water.  Jesus asks her to give him a drink.  The woman replies in a somewhat shocked manner and says "1How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?  for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans."  Christ then tells her how if she knew the gift of God and who was asking her for a drink then she would have asked him for water, and he would have given her of the "living water."  Water that "whosever drinketh....shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

After reading this, my mind was called back to a book I read ages ago entitled Tuck Everlasting.  It is a story of a family that has found a spring of water that allowed them to live forever.  In a different sense, following God's will and living the Gospel can do the same, only better!  In 1 Nephi 11, in Lehi's dream, he gives an excellent description of what the "living waters" are.

"And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God....."

"The love of God,"  how wonderful is that?  By drinking of the living waters, we will have the love of God within us and "springing us up into everlasting life."  Christ can do this for us.  He is there ready for us to ask for a drink.  He will draw the water that allows us to never thirst again.  I hate being thirsty, so never having to thirst again is the greatest thing ever! 

We can live forever with God in Heaven by obeying His word and partaking of the living waters.  His love is the driving factor that each of us need inside.  Don't wait till the last minute to have a drink, "2ask, and ye shall receive..."

Unavoidable Danger

You know those times where you see something coming and there is nothing you can do to stop it?  When you are literally stuck in a corner with no way out.  Well, you're not alone.  There was one experience in my own life a few years ago.

It was a hot summer day and it was time to head to work.  Being the pool junkie that I was, you can only guess where it was I was working; the pool.  Usually I would drive our little Toyota Corolla to work.  It was basically my car.  But, on this occasion, I found the car missing.  The curse of younger brothers!  Yeah, he borrowed my car thus leaving me the giant mammoth to drive (aka our Suburban).  The Suburban wasn't really that bad to drive.  It was just incredibly hot.  No AC=death in the summer time.  Slightly annoyed, I left for work. 

Changed My Life

"We're not alone."  Such a common saying in movies, daily life, and in our spiritual lives.  Not one of us is ever completely alone.  There are so many people in this world.  Some of them we pass by casually on the street, others are very near and dear to us.  Each person we meet has the ability to change us in one way or another.  In the end, there are some people that completely change our lives and help mold us into who we are or who we are becoming.  In my life, there are a few people like this.

Life of a Sister Missionary part 8: Feed His Sheep

At 10 a.m. we head out.  But, before we leave the house, we say a prayer.  Then, we leave the house and begin sharing the Gospel.  As missionaries, we go out into the world to share the gospel with everyone.  Young or old, male or female, black, white, or purple, we are called to share the gospel to all the world.  We invite everyone to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  That is our purpose.  Everything we do is centered around that purpose. 

Throughout the day we do various things that help us fulfill our purpose such as tracting, proselyting on the street, visiting referrals, and teaching.  It is exhausting work sometimes (or all the time), but it is the most rewarding thing in the world!  Seeing the change in a person's heart as they hear the message of the restored Gospel is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had.  It is very humbling to go out each day wearing the name of Christ on my chest.  To be a representative of Him.  We serve the Lord and find His sheep that are searching for truth.  John 21:17 "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, ^aFeed my ^bsheep."  I love my Savior.  That is why I go out each day.  Rain or shine, tired or wired, we serve Him.

Wait, did you say 3?

2 Corinthians 13:1 reads: "...In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established".  My parents either seriously internalized this scripture, or are poor planners.  Currently they have 3 children serving missions around the world.  We joked as I was growing up that this could potentially happen, but didn't really think of it as a reality at all.  The day I decided to serve my mission was the day we realized that we would be serving for at least 9 months all at the same time.

Have you had an "Ah-Ha" moment today?

Each morning, as a missionary, we study for 2 or more hours.  To some, this may be considered the ultimate torture.  Others, don't think this is even close to enough time.  I'll admit, sometimes, the first one is how I feel.  Studying has never been a strong point for me, but I am learning to develop it.  As I have been developing my study habits, I have found that the more effort I put into it, the more results I see.  Yes, a shock I know.  But, it truly does make all the difference.  The days I am completely engrossed in the study are the days when I have put forth the right amount of effort.  We get what we put into our studies.  As that effort is applied when studying the scriptures and other church doctrine, the spirit will manifest new truths that we have not known before.  “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” (PRESIDENT BOYD K. PACKER).  We can each have our own "Ah-Ha" moments as we study the scriptures.  We will realize truth both in our heart and mind.  Open your heart and mind so you can learn the things that the spirit will make manifest.  I know it has helped me and can help others.