Alma's (and my own) Lament

 I have come to the realization, for good or for bad, that I may not care about a lot of things, I care very deeply about those few topics I do care about. Two topics I care about are Politics and religion, more specifically the gospel. Don't worry I won't get political here, its not the place; however with a Mormon, Mitt Romney, running for president the church has and will continue to come under fire from both the democrats and other  independent bloggers and such.

When I see the church being labeled as a cult or the Book of Mormon being mocked, or Joseph Smith being labeled as a crook or a con man or any thing contrary to what he is, a prophet of God. I often quote Alma in saying "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people  Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."

I too wish that god would grant me the Power to smite down those who make a mockery of those truths and covenants I hold most dear, but then I remember that I am being selfish and need to do the best that I can with the Lord's help and one day he will say to me "well done thou good and faithful servant"

To be or not too be

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.' I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."

I love this quote, yes it has been taken as a political stance, but you leave politics out, it shows the religious defamation of our country, our founding fathers built this country on faith. God has always been the "driver" of this country, It makes me sad that "our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."

It reminds me of a joke God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to Him, "Lord, we don't need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life
out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the 'beginning'."
"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God. "Well," says the scientist, "we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of You and breathe life into it, thus creating man."
"Well, that's interesting.. Show Me. " So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil
"Oh no, no, no..." interrupts God, "Get your own dirt."

If we look at this from a non-humorous perspective, we can see that God has given us all every thing, and yet some people insist on throwing it in God's face.

I was talking to a lady at Chic-fil-a and I asked her how gays are... She told me that they have tendencies for same sex attraction, but the problem is they don't fight those tendencies and there in lies the problem, not the fact that they are gay.

the sin lies in the embracing of the gay culture and not the fact that they are attracted to the same sex. I have tendency to be lazy, so is it ok for me to embrace a lazy lifestyle? No its not, I have to overcome that.

Here is a great quote about being gay ""Just because somebody is gay does not mean they need a same-sex relationship. We may not choose our attractions, but we do choose our behaviors,"..."My attraction is [toward men], but my desire is to be faithful to my wife. I am here to act and not to be acted upon."

Here's the article about a gay faithful LDS member.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54619090-80/women-sex-mormon-gay.html.csp

Du Maste Finnas (You have to be there)

This song comes from the Swedish Opera Kristina Fran Duvemala it is a song of a woman questioning her faith in god... She had lost her child at childbirth... She and her husband have been fighting, and she wonders "is there a god?" She sings if there is no god where can I turn? the more she sings the mre she realises that god has to be there, at the end she sings "Du Maste Finnas, Du Maste, Hur kan du då överge mig? Jag vore ingenstans. Jag vore ingenting om du inte fanns" Translation "You have to be there,you have to, How can you abandon me? I would be nowhere, I would be nothing if you weren't there"


This is where you go back and read my post "the Unprofitable Servant"

The Greastest gift

What is Christ's greatest gift to us? Its not Beautiful Women or kissing or even Deserts or anything like that, its Agency, the Ability to choose for ones self,Not just choosing between reading Harry Potter or Twilight but also right and wrong or eternal life or eternal damnation, "God will force no man to heaven" (hymn #240) Agency is the way to return to our Father in Heaven...


Yes Jesus did atone for our sins, but the scriptures tell us "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26) You can believe in the atonement all you want, but , and you have to use the atonement, it'd be like Having a cake there, but no earing it, but expecting t to feed itself to you, it ain't gonna Happen people. So basically You Have to use Agency to be able to the atonement it Has to be your choice, God won't force anyone to do anything, it has to be a choice.

Agency is the only thing that is truly ours, the rest is God's, from the air we breathe to theclothes on our back, every thing is a result of what God gives us. Agency on the other hand is ours. No one, including god, can make us do something we don't want, they can bribe us, threaten us, do horrible evil unspeakable things to us if we don't do what they want, but ultimately it is our choice.

Jello and Funeral Potatoes

Its the 24th of July, the one holiday where Jello and funeral potatoes are the norm around many of our dinner tables, not me though, on a scale of 1-10 I give jello a solid 7. Funeral potatoes I give any where between a 5-8, but what usually happens to me is my funeral potatoes get nixed with my jello and that is where the 5 comes in. I, however, am not here to complain about nasty food, I am here to talk about the reason.

As saints were being pushed from Nauvoo the Willie and Martin were forced to leave before they were ready, and you all know the stories, But I wanted to share this story

Francis Webster - Martin Handcart Company
It was in an adult Sunday School class of over fifty men and women. Nathan T. Porter was the teacher and the subject under discussion was the ill-fated handcart company [Martin Handcart Company] that suffered so terribly in the snow of 1856. Some sharp criticism of the Church and its leader was being indulged in for permitting any company of converts to venture across the plains with no more supplies or protection than a handcart caravan afforded. One old man in the corner sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person who heard him will ever forget. 

His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity. He said in substance, "I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes! But I was in that company and my wife was in it, and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited here was there, too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities!

"I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there. "Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company." 

The speaker was Francis Webster. And when he sat down there was not a dry eye in the room. We were subdued and chastened lot. Charles Mabey who latter became Governor of Utah, arose and voiced the sentiment of all when he said, "I would gladly pay the same price to personally know God that Brother Webster has"


Of all the stories this is my favorite, the lord will never forsake us, and angels will attend us


As we celebrate the truthfullness of the gospel I wish to leave you with a hymn that has special meaning for me today

Come Come Ye saints

International blog

did you guys know I have 16 page views from Russia? and 2 from Germany and 2 from south Korea and 1 from Saudi Arabia , 4 from Canada and over 200 from the states? Wow the lord blesses me

Finding Solace

This Hymn is one of my favorites, right next to Come Thou Fount, and Come, Come Ye Saints. This Hymn has had special meaning to me in times of great trial, it is a song reminding us that even when times are tough, we are never truly alone or helpless. I discovered this hymn in high school, I felt rejected, like I had no friends or anything... before all my high school friends get up in arms, realize this you guys were always out partying and having a great time asking each other to dances, yet you excluded me, Whether or not this was intentional I dunno but, I was never asked to go to a girls choice dance or even asked to be in a dance group or even asked to just come hangout with you guys, but its no longer important.

I heard this hymn in seminary I realized then that I was wasn't alone, the lord truly was on my side and that I didn't have to worry any more even if I felt like life was out to get me I knew the lord loved me and would get me through that time in my life, and he truly did, I made it out of high school and into college, where every weekend was a new adventure and I always had friends who made the effort to include me