What Does The Book of Mormon Really Teach?

   Is The Book of Mormon the word of God as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claim it is? What does it really teach? Are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Christian? I hope I can shed some light on these questions.
   In the Holy Bible, Christ taught "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39) Lehi and Nephi, in the Book of Mormon were great examples of this.
   Lehi, one of the first prophets mentioned in The Book of Mormon, spoke of Nephi's love of God and for his fellowmen, saying, "...he hath sought the glory of God, and your own eternal welfare." (2 Nephi 1:25)
   Again, just before Lehi dies, he tells his son Jacob, "And I have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls. Amen." (2 Nephi 2:30)
   Lehi, in that same address to his son Jacob, exhorted him to "look to the Great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit." (2 Nephi 2:28)
   The Book of Mormon teaches that we must love God, love one another, keep the commandments, repent, believe in Jesus Christ, be faithful, praise God, give thanks, treat each other with kindness, and so much more! It even testiefies of the Holy Bible, that it "contains the covenants of the Lord" and "many of the prophecies of the holy prophets." (2 Nephi 13:23)
   With Christ, Lehi, and Nephi, I add my testimony that my only object is to love and serve God, and my fellowmen. The Book of Mormon teaches this plainly and I know it is truly the word of God. I invite all people to READ The Book of Mormon for themselves, to ponder what it teaches, and PRAY to God and ask if it is true. I know that anyone who sincerely and humbly takes this course of action will receive a witness from God of the divinity of The Book of Mormon, and of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints which espouses it, and especially of our Savior, Lord, and Redeemer- Jesus Christ. You will have a greater desire to bring your lives in harmony with His teachings, an increase of faith, and strength from God to know and do what is right.

   

   "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26)

To find out more, go to http://mormon.org/book-of-mormon/  or send me a message on FaceBook.

For The Motherless

   With Mother's day tomorrow, I've seen many postings on the Internet regarding mothers. Today I would like to send out my love to those who, for whatever reason, did not get the chance to grow up with their mothers or get to know them.
   I did not grow up in that situation, so I will not even attempt to know what Mother's Day is like for those of you who did. But for the motherless out there, I send my love and appreciation. I hope you are able to enjoy the day, and know that there are thousands around the world that love and appreciate you. Especially your Savior, Jesus Christ!

   I invite each of you, no matter what your childhood situation, to read Something in My Heart Changed and ponder on the message it contains of our Saviors love!

Are Missionaries Weird?

   Do you think missionaries are weird? Maybe intimidating? As a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I get a lot of funny looks. They range from curiosity and confusion, to hoping not to be seen, and even anger. Some people are happy to see us, others yell out their car door.

   I think people see the Book of Mormon in our hands and the name tag and somehow get the impression we aren't normal. I'd like to debunk that theory. I think you'll find missionaries aren't so weird.

      I graduated High School, and during that period of my life most of my friends were NOT members of the LDS church. I played football. I wasn't good at it. I also tried wrestling, and track and field- same story: not good at them. You can probably tell I'm not much of an athlete! I also did ballroom dance. It was a lot of fun! We hung out at the park, mostly- if I did hang out with anyone outside of school. A lot of my high school friends still call me Ron to this day because they nick-named me after Ronald Weasly from the Harry Potter series (one of my friends was a HUGE fan!).

   Everyone's family situations are different. Some of my closest friends came from very different family situations. You and I may come from different types of homes. I had a close family. Some of my fondest memories are spending time with my mom or dad just talking or spending time together watching TV. Before my mission I spent a lot of time babysitting for my nieces and nephews.
   My closest friends and I were piano bums. We would mess around on the piano at each other's houses and play songs off the radio from artists like Taylor Swift, Relient K, The Fray, Axis of Awesome, and a lot of music from movies- especially Disney classics like Mulan. We wrote our own music. It was nowhere near professional, but it was fun.

   My family went on vacations growing up to places like the Grand Canyon, Four corners, and Disney Land.
   I had a crush on the girl down the street. Twice. I was horrible at trying to talk to them. I got WAY too nervous and generally the first thing that came out of my mouth was the dumbest thing I could think of. (can you relate?)
   I have a FaceBook. I had a myspace. I got on them way too much.

   I like to break into song randomly. So do my parents. I don't like to read all that much- but I'm beginning to like it more and more.

   I have broken my left collar bone, my left elbow, and snapped my left Achilles Tendon. It hurt. I was in Seventh Grade and I'm not afraid to say I cried!

   Do I need to continue???

   So do you still think missionaries are weird? Well, maybe I am, but you see, we're regular joes who have had regular childhoods and grew up in loving homes and we're really normal people. Each one of us has a different story, but we each have had our ups and downs, our adventures and embarrassments. We had to learn our ABC's and 1,2,3's just like anyone. We didn't just pop out of nowhere! We have lives. We have feelings. We have cares, concerns, questions, preferences- just like anyone.

   In the end, we're all children of God, and we're all a whole lot more alike than we think. I was just talking to a man from Ghana, who made similar comments about his race. He said he thinks it is okay to have a sense of pride in one's own herritage, but it is not okay to put others down for it. I think that applies to religion as well. I definitely am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I don't think lowly of others who are not of the same religion. I would hope people of other faiths would feel the same way toward missionaries like me. We have different beliefs, but we are all children of God and He loves us all equally.
   In the words of a well-known song: "why can't we be friends?"

Keep Moving Forward

   Have you ever seen the Disney movie "Meet The Robinsons?" I love it! It's hilarious! I love the Tom Selleck reference (I'm indirectly named after him... long story...) and the imagination used in it! What a great adventure!
   I also love the message it gives to it's viewers- "keep moving forward!" Sometimes life gets hard, or sometimes we get hung up on things that might get us down or hold us back. Perseverance is a key to life. We keep moving forward, we push along, and we keep on living. Remember to love God and just push along despite the opposition. Just stick it out and in the end you'll realize you are stronger than you think!
   "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God..." Romans 8:28.

Feed My Sheep

   Christ taught, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:17) As a missionary for the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I was "called to serve" not "called to preach." Although preaching and proclaiming the Gospel is the main part of how we perform this service, we also try to serve people in other ways too.
   Just a few days ago, Elder Waltman and I were driving down the road when we saw a group of men with a big moving trailer outside of their house, hauling large and small items, little by little into the house. I looked to Elder Waltman and said, "do you think we should go help them?"
   Elder Waltman replied, "sure."
   So we did. There were probably seven men there already helping out, but we offered our help and they accepted. We helped unload the trailer they already had there, and a truck or two and another trailer. We got to help them lift furniture in their house, and random trinkets and bags. As we helped out we got to know the couple moving in a little bit. They had a young child, and were moving in from across town. They were the nicest people and we had a lot of fun helping them out.
   When all the moving was done, we talked to the man moving in for a brief moment and he told us of the church he goes to, and how they are reaching out to people who may not feel comfortable in regular church buildings. What a wonderful idea. He and his family were such caring, Christ-like people and we enjoyed being around them.
   We then said our goodbyes and began walking back to the car, when this man graciously called out to us and invited us in for some pizza. I wasn't expecting that, but we readily accepted the invitation and enjoyed some pizza and their company for a little while longer. They were so appreciative and thankful- and honestly we hadn't done much in a group of so many people. I felt so honored that they would be so kind to us for such a little thing. Some would call it Southern Hospitality, but I would call it an exalting and Godly attitude.
   From King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon we learn, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17)
   I would invite you to look for ways to serve others, and do a good deed here and there. When you do, you are serving God, and you can be at peace. I know in my life I have always been happiest when I have been more concerned with the well being of others before thinking of my own. When you put your all into selfless service you are doing exactly what Christ talked about when He said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."