I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Agency. It is the God-given gift to choose for one's self, the power to act and not be acted upon. We have to use this gift of agency every day of our lives, in determining what we will wear, what we will eat, what we will say and think. Ultimately, the greatest use of our agency will be the decision to follow Christ, or to not.
In Moroni 7:11 we read:
"For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil."
Recall with me the recent bombings in the Boston Marathon. I believe that that person or those persons who planted the explosives have allowed their souls to become so corrupted, proud, and wicked that they were willing to harm other human beings for no good reason, and I am firmly against them. I hope and pray that the local and federal authorities will find those responsible for this terrorist act and hold them accountable for their actions, punishing them with the severity that justice will require of them.
But it is not on those wicked men that I wish to focus this post.
It is on those others - the innocents, the runners, the bystanders, the spectators, the children - that I wish to speak.
There are many who witnessed this act of depravity and violence, and ultimately decided that our world was a great reflection of that darkness manifest. It is true: There are many, many, MANY bad things in this world today - but should we drown out light with darkness?
Shall we forget those who instantly leapt to their feet to help those harmed by the blast? Shall we forget the hundreds of local Bostonians who opened the doors of their hearts and homes to those who needed shelter? Shall we forget the immediate medical attention of those in desperate need of healing? Shall we forget the millions devastated by this attack, who immediately fell to their knees and offered pleas to God for mercy on those affected by the bombing?
When darkness looms - as it does every day in every country and on every continent - there is always light to drive it away. There are always the people, the good people, who will choose to ACT for that which they know to be right. There are always the people who are willing to fight back the darkness.
Today is a shorter post than usual (some of you are probably saying prayers of gratitude for that...ya welcome :) but I hope that the length does not diminish my point. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered in Gethsemane, was tried without cause in the house of Caiaphas, and was crucified on Golgotha's summit for you and I; He died so that we may CHOOSE: either to ACT, or to be acted upon.
The darkness of trials and tragedy need not mar our convictions to God, nor should they halt our eternal progression back home. When we are in need, aiding angels in the forms of friends, family, neighbors, and/or co-workers shall come to buoy us up. When others are in need of similar help, let US be those who choose to use our divinely appointed agency; let US be the ones who will not allow the attacks of wicked men to destroy the hopes and dreams of others; let US be those who will act on behalf of their fellow men and bring light back into their lives.
I pray that God will bless those who suffer from the attacks in Boston, and I pray that God will bless each and every one of you in your personal and public trials and tragedies. He is Supreme, and He is Loving. He will not fail us, and He expects us to be there to help others. Let us ACT, my friends! Let us ACT and share with others the light of truth and hope, of love and rejoicing. Let us ACT :)
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Ether 6:12...Otherwise Entitled: A New Dawn
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Spring. Right now, from where I am sitting typing this here post, I can see up a small hill. A recent rain has drenched the surroundings, and the green of the grass is vibrant and alive. Pink and white blossoms are beginning to adorn the trees, and the flowers are beginning to bloom in vivid rainbows of color; the brown and gray of winter are dying - the rebirth of good ole spring is finally here! Green is coming back! The air smells of a lovely April shower that is sure to bring about some May flowers.
Physically spring is a rebirth of life - the cold and gloom associated with much of winter is forced to give way to beauty and renewal. Spiritually, spring is also associated with a rebirth. Easter and Passover - both spring-time festivities - mark rebirths: one of a Savior come to the world; the other of a people from their Egyptian captivity.
All in all, spring is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts.
We, individually and occasionally collectively, sometimes need 'springs' of our own. Whether or not these rebirths - spiritual, physical, emotional, or otherwise - occur in the actual season of spring or not is inconsequential. What matters is that they happen.
In the Book of Mormon, we learn of an ancient tribe of peoples - known as the Jaredites - who once dwelt in the shadows of the Tower of Babel (this tower is spoken of in Genesis 11). At the time that the Lord confounded the languages of men, producing a diversity of tongues and speeches that were, until then, unheard of, a man known as Mahonri and his brother, Jared, led a clan under the direction of the Lord away from the area. Their language was untainted and remained as it had been before; they were given a specific commandment of the Lord to remove themselves to a new land - a land of promise. Eventually, these people led by Jared and Mahonri (known collectively as the Jaredites) would come to the Americas via a fleet of eight barges; they would soon come to establish a mighty civilization.
The Jaredites were commanded to go "into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth" (Ether 1:42), and they followed this commandment. They left the scenery of Babel's wickedness for the untainted and fertile lands of the New World. They left behind sin and destruction for a new chance of survival and hope.
In many ways, the Jaredite exodus is one that can parallel our own journeys in life. Sometimes we are stuck in a rut of sin, or in a pit of depression, or in a cycle of neglect and abuse, or even in a simple bad mood. Sometimes we become so lost in the dreary world around us that our vision is clouded, and we forget the good that God has in store for us if we are faithful.
At times like these it becomes necessary that we have a spiritual reawakening, a new dawn to our endeavors. At times like these it becomes pivotal that we forsake the tower of Babel and renew our quest for "the land of promise, which [is] choice above all other lands, which the Lord God [has] preserved for a righteous people" (Ether 2:7).
How do we do it? How do we lay aside the baggage of bleakness and put on the robe of renewal?
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (KJV Matthew 11:28-30).
For those of you that have visited my blog before, you will know that I am not ashamed to say that I am a Christian, and that I truly believe that when we lay our sins, iniquities, troubles, burdens, depressions, anxieties, and fears upon the back of Him who speaks in the above verses - even Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World - we can begin our journeys for a new dawn. It seems difficult, and it is; it seems too good to be true, but it really works; it seems that it can't possibly achieve the success we desire or need, but it does! By turning to our Lord, we can find forgiveness and mercy and the strength to leave behind the woes and worries of yesterday in exchange for the hopes of today and tomorrow.
Some of you likely have physical ailments, spiritual trials, mental anxieties and depressions, emotional struggles and conflicts, and economical mountains to climb. To all who are reading this blog and are willing to take it seriously, I offer this simple phrase: Find out for yourself.
Let the Lord alleviate your pain; let Him provide you with the strength and courage you need to not only face your struggles, but to let go of your doubts and your fears. Let Him give you the key that will open the door to a new day!
And when at last, you come to rest on the blissful shores of hope, when at last we all shall come to the realization that life's grand journey is about enduring through the winters and growing in the springs and summers, we shall do as the scripture of this post's title states:
"[When we shall] set [our] feet upon the shores of the promised land [we shall bow[ ourselves down upon the face of the land, and [we will] humble [ourselves] before the Lord, and [will] shed tears of joy before the Lord" (Ether 6:12).
Let us press on for a new dawn, my friends! Let us turn to the Savior and give Him the power to do more with our lives than we can! Let us let go of our dark winters and personal towers of Babel, and let us look forward to the coming spring, to the new dawn that is peaking over the mountains, to the promised land of glory and happiness that lies before us.
On, on to the dawn!
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Physically spring is a rebirth of life - the cold and gloom associated with much of winter is forced to give way to beauty and renewal. Spiritually, spring is also associated with a rebirth. Easter and Passover - both spring-time festivities - mark rebirths: one of a Savior come to the world; the other of a people from their Egyptian captivity.
All in all, spring is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts.
We, individually and occasionally collectively, sometimes need 'springs' of our own. Whether or not these rebirths - spiritual, physical, emotional, or otherwise - occur in the actual season of spring or not is inconsequential. What matters is that they happen.
In the Book of Mormon, we learn of an ancient tribe of peoples - known as the Jaredites - who once dwelt in the shadows of the Tower of Babel (this tower is spoken of in Genesis 11). At the time that the Lord confounded the languages of men, producing a diversity of tongues and speeches that were, until then, unheard of, a man known as Mahonri and his brother, Jared, led a clan under the direction of the Lord away from the area. Their language was untainted and remained as it had been before; they were given a specific commandment of the Lord to remove themselves to a new land - a land of promise. Eventually, these people led by Jared and Mahonri (known collectively as the Jaredites) would come to the Americas via a fleet of eight barges; they would soon come to establish a mighty civilization.
The Jaredites were commanded to go "into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth" (Ether 1:42), and they followed this commandment. They left the scenery of Babel's wickedness for the untainted and fertile lands of the New World. They left behind sin and destruction for a new chance of survival and hope.
In many ways, the Jaredite exodus is one that can parallel our own journeys in life. Sometimes we are stuck in a rut of sin, or in a pit of depression, or in a cycle of neglect and abuse, or even in a simple bad mood. Sometimes we become so lost in the dreary world around us that our vision is clouded, and we forget the good that God has in store for us if we are faithful.
At times like these it becomes necessary that we have a spiritual reawakening, a new dawn to our endeavors. At times like these it becomes pivotal that we forsake the tower of Babel and renew our quest for "the land of promise, which [is] choice above all other lands, which the Lord God [has] preserved for a righteous people" (Ether 2:7).
How do we do it? How do we lay aside the baggage of bleakness and put on the robe of renewal?
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (KJV Matthew 11:28-30).
For those of you that have visited my blog before, you will know that I am not ashamed to say that I am a Christian, and that I truly believe that when we lay our sins, iniquities, troubles, burdens, depressions, anxieties, and fears upon the back of Him who speaks in the above verses - even Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World - we can begin our journeys for a new dawn. It seems difficult, and it is; it seems too good to be true, but it really works; it seems that it can't possibly achieve the success we desire or need, but it does! By turning to our Lord, we can find forgiveness and mercy and the strength to leave behind the woes and worries of yesterday in exchange for the hopes of today and tomorrow.
Some of you likely have physical ailments, spiritual trials, mental anxieties and depressions, emotional struggles and conflicts, and economical mountains to climb. To all who are reading this blog and are willing to take it seriously, I offer this simple phrase: Find out for yourself.
Let the Lord alleviate your pain; let Him provide you with the strength and courage you need to not only face your struggles, but to let go of your doubts and your fears. Let Him give you the key that will open the door to a new day!
And when at last, you come to rest on the blissful shores of hope, when at last we all shall come to the realization that life's grand journey is about enduring through the winters and growing in the springs and summers, we shall do as the scripture of this post's title states:
"[When we shall] set [our] feet upon the shores of the promised land [we shall bow[ ourselves down upon the face of the land, and [we will] humble [ourselves] before the Lord, and [will] shed tears of joy before the Lord" (Ether 6:12).
Let us press on for a new dawn, my friends! Let us turn to the Savior and give Him the power to do more with our lives than we can! Let us let go of our dark winters and personal towers of Babel, and let us look forward to the coming spring, to the new dawn that is peaking over the mountains, to the promised land of glory and happiness that lies before us.
On, on to the dawn!
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Monday, April 1, 2013
Mormon 9:11...Otherwise Entitled: Adventures of the Ear and Mouth
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Ear-aches. Yeah, once upon a time - and by 'once upon a time', I mean quite recently - I developed an ear-ache that quickly devolved into an ear infection. Yuck. One of the worst things ever. My ear canal became swollen, putting lots of pressure on the muscles that worked my jaw. One consequence of this that you can surely imagine is this: A very difficult time trying to eat food.
Shortly after I developed the infection, I tried to eat a bowl of cereal. Little did I know the absolute pain that would shoot through my mouth as I tried to eat my Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I found myself unable to finish it; the pain was too great.
For the next while, I didn't eat very much. It simply hurt too much.
So it was that as I was walking up the stairs from the basement (where I'd been doing laundry) back to my apartment, I could feel my feet dragging. My eyes were trying to close, and I felt a sluggishness drape itself across me like a worn and tattered blanket. I was weak - I needed nourishment. I needed food.
Earlier that day I'd discovered something quite interesting: If I tugged on my infected ear in a specific way, the jaw muscles were effected in a way that made biting down less painful. I'd done this without any food in my mouth, though; now was the time to actually experiment with this idea.
I attempted to eat a poptart in this manner, tugging on my ear in the way I mentioned. I thought that I'd been clever to figure out this new method in order to eat.
Yeah right.
It hurt to eat that poptart just as much as it had hurt to eat anything else.
But I was still in desperate need of food.
I made a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and sat down on my bed. I remember uttering a silent prayer, there alone in my room, that in essence went something like: "Heavenly Father, please help me to eat this sandwich. I never thought I'd pray for something like this, but I don't think that I can do this by myself. It hurts too much. Please help me."
With this having been said, I proceeded to take a bite out of my sandwich, abandoning my technique of tugging on my ear. The first bite did hurt, but I chewed slowly...and that's what made all the difference. Not tugging on my ear, not trying to gulp down the food and not chew my food at all. I merely took my time and ate the sandwich. My jaw muscles protested against this, but I continued eating and chewing. After a while, I almost forgot about the pain that had become associated with eating as I came to the final bites of the sandwich. Granted, it took longer than eating a sandwich normally does - but I ate it!
With that being said, I now wish to share with you a scripture that I will try to connect with the adventures of my ear and mouth:
"But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are" (Mormon 9:11).
Sometimes we forget in this busy world of hustling, bustling, meetings, stress, and packed schedules that there is a God in Heaven who watches over and loves each and every one of us. This ear infection has taught me much about the Lord's workings amongst mankind; and the fact that I was able to eat that sandwich today is proof to me that we do worship a God of miracles, One who works with who and what we are!
He works His miracles through our imperfections, melting away our dross till at last we shine as gold and reflect His countenance. He can choose to bring about some almighty occurrence that will change our hearts and minds - yet, throughout my own experience, I have found that He often teaches me and works miracles in my daily life through the many small and simple things that I do. I am reminded of how great He really is by the minute things in my life that He helps manage for me.
I suppose the point of this post is: Look around you! This world is full of miracles, big and small! The fact that I was able to eat that sandwich is a miracle to me! I didn't think I'd be able to get through the whole thing, but I did! The Lord loves each and every one of us, my friends, and He is more invested in your life than you know. He is more invested in your life that you yourself are.
I encourage you to take some time today, and tomorrow, and the rest of your life, to ponder upon the miracles that the Lord works for you, and the miracles that He works through you. As I have done this I have been able to see His Hand more fully in my life, and I have been reinvigorated with a desire to help others see those miracles in their lives as well.
God still works miracles, my friends! He is not dead nor doth He sleep! Let's spread this message to the rest of the world! Let's help them to see that the Lord loves each and every one of His children, and that He works miracles for them every second of every minute of every hour of every day! :)
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Shortly after I developed the infection, I tried to eat a bowl of cereal. Little did I know the absolute pain that would shoot through my mouth as I tried to eat my Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I found myself unable to finish it; the pain was too great.
For the next while, I didn't eat very much. It simply hurt too much.
So it was that as I was walking up the stairs from the basement (where I'd been doing laundry) back to my apartment, I could feel my feet dragging. My eyes were trying to close, and I felt a sluggishness drape itself across me like a worn and tattered blanket. I was weak - I needed nourishment. I needed food.
Earlier that day I'd discovered something quite interesting: If I tugged on my infected ear in a specific way, the jaw muscles were effected in a way that made biting down less painful. I'd done this without any food in my mouth, though; now was the time to actually experiment with this idea.
I attempted to eat a poptart in this manner, tugging on my ear in the way I mentioned. I thought that I'd been clever to figure out this new method in order to eat.
Yeah right.
It hurt to eat that poptart just as much as it had hurt to eat anything else.
But I was still in desperate need of food.
I made a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and sat down on my bed. I remember uttering a silent prayer, there alone in my room, that in essence went something like: "Heavenly Father, please help me to eat this sandwich. I never thought I'd pray for something like this, but I don't think that I can do this by myself. It hurts too much. Please help me."
With this having been said, I proceeded to take a bite out of my sandwich, abandoning my technique of tugging on my ear. The first bite did hurt, but I chewed slowly...and that's what made all the difference. Not tugging on my ear, not trying to gulp down the food and not chew my food at all. I merely took my time and ate the sandwich. My jaw muscles protested against this, but I continued eating and chewing. After a while, I almost forgot about the pain that had become associated with eating as I came to the final bites of the sandwich. Granted, it took longer than eating a sandwich normally does - but I ate it!
With that being said, I now wish to share with you a scripture that I will try to connect with the adventures of my ear and mouth:
"But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are" (Mormon 9:11).
Sometimes we forget in this busy world of hustling, bustling, meetings, stress, and packed schedules that there is a God in Heaven who watches over and loves each and every one of us. This ear infection has taught me much about the Lord's workings amongst mankind; and the fact that I was able to eat that sandwich today is proof to me that we do worship a God of miracles, One who works with who and what we are!
He works His miracles through our imperfections, melting away our dross till at last we shine as gold and reflect His countenance. He can choose to bring about some almighty occurrence that will change our hearts and minds - yet, throughout my own experience, I have found that He often teaches me and works miracles in my daily life through the many small and simple things that I do. I am reminded of how great He really is by the minute things in my life that He helps manage for me.
I suppose the point of this post is: Look around you! This world is full of miracles, big and small! The fact that I was able to eat that sandwich is a miracle to me! I didn't think I'd be able to get through the whole thing, but I did! The Lord loves each and every one of us, my friends, and He is more invested in your life than you know. He is more invested in your life that you yourself are.
I encourage you to take some time today, and tomorrow, and the rest of your life, to ponder upon the miracles that the Lord works for you, and the miracles that He works through you. As I have done this I have been able to see His Hand more fully in my life, and I have been reinvigorated with a desire to help others see those miracles in their lives as well.
God still works miracles, my friends! He is not dead nor doth He sleep! Let's spread this message to the rest of the world! Let's help them to see that the Lord loves each and every one of His children, and that He works miracles for them every second of every minute of every hour of every day! :)
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
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