How to be a Family Forever



Lately I have been thinking a lot about how much my family has been blessed by having the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. In my family growing up I had four younger brothers, and our house was always pretty hectic. We were all involved in our different interests and had a lot of our time split up between different things. But despite all of the different things we had pulling us in different directions, we had one thing that always pulled us together: The gospel of Jesus Christ, especially the teachings of the prophets.



Prophets of old.

 
A prophet is a man who speaks for God. He is given great power and authority from God to declare His message to all of the people in the world. He points people to Christ and invites them to follow Christ's teachings. When we follow the prophet we are richly rewarded by God's blessings.

In our church we believe in a modern prophet as well as prophets in ancient times. And just as it was in times of old, we are blessed as we follow his guidance. Everything in the church is about strengthening the family, and so the prophets have taught us many ways that we can strengthen our families. They have emphasized the importance of keeping God's commandments, having daily family prayer, family scripture study, and setting aside one night every week for a family night, with a spiritual thought and activities. My family wasn't always perfectly diligent in doing these things, but we grew to love one another much more as we did them. I think that without having those things in my life, I wouldn't have had a strong enough faith to do what I am doing right now - serving a mission (the prophets have emphasized that one too!). My experiences with growing up following the prophet have become a foundational part of who I am.



Family Prayer



So to anyone reading this who may doubt that there can still be a prophet on the earth today, I want to invite you: Study the words of the prophets in these present times, and pray and ask God if you should follow their counsel. I know that God will answer your prayers and that you will know that what you are doing is right.

A New Year and Newfound Faith in Jesus Christ

"Old things have been done away, and all things have become new." (3 Nephi 12:47)

At the beginning of every New Year, many people take the opportunity to examine their lives and set goals for what they want to accomplish in the coming year. Because 2012 is going to be the last year of my mission, I too have thought a lot about what I want to accomplish and the person I want to become by the time my mission is complete. Here I want to talk about a goal that everyone can set for the New Year, one that can bless the life of every single person on the earth: Read the Book of Mormon every day for the rest of this year!

The Book of Mormon is scripture that was written in ancient times but saved for ours. It's purpose is to "[convince]...Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations." (Book of Mormon, Title Page) This is a book of scripture that will, if we will read it prayerfully, bring us closer to God than any other book. Even before the birth of Jesus upon the earth, this is what those prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon said about their writings: "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) This book can and will bring you to Jesus Christ if you will exercise the faith to read it every day.

On my mission I have been reading the Book of Mormon every day, and it has brought me great peace and true happiness in my life. My invitation to you as you read it is to pray and ask God if it is true. I know that He will comfort you in your heart and help you know that these words are truly His words!

The Power of God on Earth

Well, let me dust off this keyboard and mouse...

It's been a few weeks since I've written and it's a new area and a new year for me! These past two weeks have been busy and hectic. I want to share an experience I had last week that has helped me to see God's hand in my life.

As a missionary you get used to riding bikes. We do have cars, but it seems that somehow we still end up riding our bikes much of the time. Me and Elder Lee were riding our bikes last Friday on the way to get some dinner. He was riding first and I was following. As I crossed in front of a gas station, a pickup truck pulled in directly in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, not realizing in time that I had only hit the front brake! So next thing I knew I was on the ground, wondering what had just happened. I had hit my arm on the pavement and it was hurting. Elder Lee came back and we walked the rest of the way to Subway.

I sat down in Subway rather dazed. I was in shock and still marveling at what had happened. Luckily there were some members of the church who were summoned to help us out and they took us to the hospital. But before that happened, I was given a blessing by the power of the Priesthood. This is a blessing from someone that God has given His power and authority to act in His name. A man who holds the Priesthood can act in God's name and give blessings to those around him. Elder Lee gave me a blessing of peace and comfort, with the promise that all would be well if I trusted in the Lord. As we rode to the hospital I felt that peace come over me, and came to myself again! Later we found that my arm was not broken, only bruised, and that with a few weeks it would be normal again.

I know that God's power is on the earth today, and that He still reaches out to all of His children in love. This is the power and authority that is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the power that Jesus Christ Himself used to heal the sick, raise the dead, and walk on water. I know that it is real, and that it can heal you if you will have faith in Jesus Christ.