Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham had to be one of my favorite books as a child. If I ever had a chance to have someone read it to me, I would take it. The story is pretty simple. The main character spends the whole book trying to convince Sam I Am that he isn't going to try his green eggs and ham. He is given many situations to try it, and he consistently refuses to try it. At the end of the book, he finally tries it just so Sam I Am will leave him alone. Suprisingly he decides that he likes it! He tells about how he will eat it anytime, and anywhere.

I can relate a lot to this, because I have never been a big fan of trying new things. Now lets be honest, green eggs and ham is pretty strange (refer to picture). If I saw any green food, you would have a hard time getting me to touch it. Generally green food means it has been out on the table for WAY too long. So because of things I have heard, ( I haven't ever actually tried moldy green food) I would stay away from the green eggs and ham.

 I think we all have a tendency to stick to the things that we are comfortable with. It is easy to say, "I'm good, I am content with what I have." This is especially easy if we have heard bad things about something. If we don't go out of our comfort zone and try it for ourselves, we may never find out that we are missing something good. We have our own "I AM" trying to get us to listen to him. He gives us the gospel, and asks us to just try it, "Prove me now herewith." He promises that it is good, and if it isn't then we don't have to eat anymore. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good. It is the best thing that we could ever "try out!"

Truth

It has been interesting to see how I have changed over the course of my life, and especially the last year on my mission. In Alma 32 it talks about faith and how it grows and what it can become. At different times I felt like my faith was pretty strong in parts of the Gospel, and especially in the Gospel as a whole.

Just recently I have found a completely new perspective on things. Have you ever seen someone in denial about something. I used to hate it when the football or basketball team that I was rooting for lost. I would make excuses and blame it on other things. I conviced myself that they didn't really lose, they just got a bad deal from the refs, ect... But that doesn't change the truth that they did lose.

 I always knew that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints was true for me and other mebers, but didn't understand that it is just as true to everyone else. It is as true to those who don't believe it yet as it is to me. Sometimes we try to tell ourselves that a certain situation changes things (ie: bad calls by refs), but no matter the justification truth doesn't change because someone doesn't want it to be true.

When you can accept truth, no matter what it means, and be happy about it; it will change your life. You will find greater peace, happiness, and self assurance. The truth (especially of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Plan of Salvation) gives us something solid to hold to our whole life. There is nothing better than the assurance that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is watching over us, and the knowledge that if we obey, we will return to live with him and our families!

I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church on the earth today. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet, and we have prophets speaking to us today. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is true for us all. Let us continue to share this great truth with everyone!

Online Missionary Work

Why in the world are missionaries online? This question is one that is really similar to what I was thinking when we found out that we would be working on Facebook and trying to share the Gospel through the internet. Facebook is something that has always been forbidden to missionaries, along with almost every website. So you can imagine our suprise when they told us about this. I was actually so shocked that I thought maybe they were playing a prank on us or something!

After about a half hour it started to sink in, and I started to think about all the possibilities this could present. The internet might be the best tool we have right now to get information out to people. Why not use this as a way to help people understand the happiness we all recieve from the Gospel? This could be a great way to get the truth to everyone!

The internet is full of things that will dull our spiritual sensitivity. It had many things that will turn people away from the truth because they do not completely understand. Over the last six years there was a study that has shown that internet searches of the word "mormon" have gone from 80 percent negative, to being 80 percent positive in some countries. The reason for this is that positive information about the Church is being spread across the web.

This is another effort to show the good. There are so many great websites that the Church has out right now: mormon.org, lds.org, youtube.com/mormonmessages, ect... We as (full-time and member) missionaries have an obligation to the Lord to share these things with our friends. This is an easy way to "...invite others to come unto Christ..." You can read more about this at Church News .

We can all do our part and share this wonderful message. Let's get the Lord's invitation to come unto him to all the world through the internet!

The Book of Mormon

There are many who claim to be a prophet. Christ even told us in the Bible that false prophets would come. He said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matt 7: 15). With this warning, how are we to know what to believe? Christ gives us the answer later on in this chapter, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

One of the fruits that we have from Joseph Smith, so we can know that he was a true prophet, is the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is an ancient record of the dealings of God with the people in the America's. It is a history that begins in Jerusalem about 600 B.C. A prophet named Lehi is commanded by God to leave Jerusalem and he would be led to a promised land. They leave, cross the ocean, and eventually come to the land promised to them. Time passes, people listen to and learn of God. Many also reject the teachings of Christ. Prophets were called of God to teach the people and guide them to salvation. These prophets all testified that the Son of God would come and suffer the sins of all mankind. They also promised these people that Christ would show himself to him and visit them.

While Christ was on the earth he told the people in Jerusalem, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."  (John 10: 16) After his resurrection Christ came to these people in America, he taught them his gospel, he established his church among them. They had peace and prosperity for hundreds of years.

Eventually the people began to reject Christ's teachings again. They became wicked and killed Christ's followers. One last prophet named Moroni had the records of these people, written on gold plates. He buried these plates with the promise from God that they would be revealed to the world in the future.

Joseph Smith was shown by an angel where these plates were buried. He was able to translate them by the gift and power of God. It became evidence that God had called Joseph to be a prophet, to restore Christ's church on the earth today, and to lead all of God's children!

There is a promise in the Book of Mormon. Moroni tells us, "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:4).

I can promise you the same, if you want to know if Joseph Smith is a true prophet, pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. You will receive the answer that it is. I know it is true. Our loving God has reached out to us once again. He leads us with a prophet that he has chosen. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is his church on the earth today!