Endure To The End

   It has been a while since I have made a post about sports (or any post for that matter).  One thing I have been thinking about lately though is the importance of Enduring to the end.

                                               

    I think back to when I was in 7th grade playing AAU basketball.  I was on a team named "the running rebels".  We were having a great season, we had only lost 2 out of about 55 games, and won every tournament we played in up to that point.  We worked very hard to get to where we were at.  Then came time for the state tournament, the only tournament that really mattered.  We were favored to win it and didn't look like we would have much of a challenge.  We breezed through all the games up until the championship game and were set to play a team we beat earlier in the year, but this game proved to be a big challenge.  We came out stagnant and weren't playing up to our ability.  We were behind most of the game, and with just 2 seconds left in the game we were down by 2 points with the other team shooting free-throws.  It would have been easy to throw in the towel at that point.  The opposing player missed his free-throw however and my teammate rebounded the ball and passed it up to our shooting guard about 3/4 of the court away from the basket.  He launched a hail mary shot, and the ball banked off the backboard and into the hoop. We won the tournament and finished our season victorious.



     Each of us are at a different stage in life, some are on course and others are far from it.  In the game of basketball the final minutes and even seconds are what determine the outcome of the game.  In our lives it is the same thing, we could have worked hard our whole life to keep the commandments and in the end if we neglect our faith, we can lose all that we have gained up until this point.  At the same time we could have made alot of bad decisions in our life, but if we regroup and do our best at the end, we can come off victors.

     Enduring to the end is such an important step of the Gospel, it is where we prove our faith and sincerity of our repentance and determination to follow our Savior Jesus Christ.

An Easter Declaration

The following video is of Jesus Christ and all the things he did for us, all leading up to his triumphant ressurection, at the end is the testimony of  the prophet of God on the earth today:





          On this upcoming easter Sunday, may we all remember our Savior Jesus Christ and all the things he did for us, and especially remember his ressurection.  Most importantly may we all remember that he did these things for each and everyone of us, because he loves.  Jesus said "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)  May we all follow and do what he has asked of us.

      I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is our Savior, I am thankful for this testimony and I pray that I can continually draw closer to him, because I love him.

Oh Vallejo

    These past couple of days have been awesome.  I was able to go back to one of the cities I used to serve in, Vallejo California.  Every time I go back to an area I used to serve in I am reminded of how much I truly miss it, and how much I truly love it.   When you are away for so long you tend to forget a lot of things and how dear and precious it really is too you.  When you finally go back it just feels like home.

                                      

        Now Vallejo isn't exactly a "Heavenly place" but I can't help but think this is what it is going to be like to return back to our Heavenly home, except that it will be a much greater scale of joy and happiness.   I can only imagine the joy that is going to fill my soul when I get back to my Father in Heaven and my Heavenly Home, a place I love.   I have heard it said that when you return to God you will be shocked at how familiar he is too you.   This is because before this life we knew him and lived with him.   He sent us here to earth to learn and grow and his goal is that we will eventually return back to him.  This should be the focus of our life here on earth. As it says in the Book of Mormon "This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God." (Alma 34:32) We all need to take a look at our life and say, "Am I prepared to meet God?"  I know that as we make this our goal we will realize things we can do to prepare for that day when we will see him again.

                                        

        I am so glad that my Father Heaven gives me small glimpses, like that experience I had today, to help me remember what I am striving for.  As the prophet Enos said " And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen." (Enos 1:27)  I can't wait for this day!
   

A Book With A Promise

     I as well know that the Book of  Mormon is true.  I know this because I have read and prayed about it and by the power of the Holy Ghost have recieved my answer.   The Book of Mormon tells all men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.  I have felt that Peace already and know that one day I will live with my Father in Heaven again.  

150 Days of General Conference

Good evening, everyone!  I’m grateful for the opportunity Elder Bevan has given me tonight to “guest-blog” for him.  I have to admit, I’m a little overwhelmed putting my thoughts out for the entire world to read; I’m not really much of a blogger.  Not that I never would, but just that I have almost no experience with it whatsoever.  But nevertheless, I do have a few thoughts that I would like to share. 

Reading back, I saw that Elder Bevan had talked a little bit about the recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his posts “Men of God” and “Push a Handcart or Share the Gospel”.  I wish to add a little bit more on this subject and I hope that you will bear with me. 

First of all, I’m kind of a stats guy.  I didn’t ever study statistics, nor do I plan to, but trends and the idea of totals and things like that really fascinate me.  So, this section of the post starts with a little history lesson.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized April 6, 1830 with only six members.  Two months later, on June 9, 1830, the first General Conference was held in Fayette, NY.  From 1830 until Church members moved to Illinois in the early 1840s, conference was held by request of the First Presidency at various times during the year.  It was not until the Saints reached Illinois that the traditional cycle of April and October conferences was established.  Through the years, Conference has evolved into the series of sessions that we recognize it as today; a Saturday morning and afternoon session, a Sunday morning and afternoon session, with a special priesthood session (for men) held Saturday evening.  A little investigation on the Church’s official website, www.lds.org, helped me learn that forty years ago, there was even two full sessions held on Friday.  So, just like anything, Conference has had its own personal growth.  Its importance to members of the Church is immeasurable.  Now, in the 21^st century, 21,000 members flock to the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City, tune in on their radios, televisions, and internet browsers, all with the purpose of receiving instruction from their leaders, one of whom they sustain as a prophet, seer, revelator, and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And when a prophet speaks under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, his word is considered scripture.  So for 181 years, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in fact, the entire world (whether they choose to participate or not) has been receiving new scripture.  So if we just assume for a moment that General Conference has followed the same pattern it does today for the last 181 years of its history, that would add up to 1810 sessions of two hours each (3620 hours) which translates into a little over 150 days worth of addresses from inspired leaders called of God.  That’s five months, folks.  How long would it take you to read all of that material?  If the technology were available, how long would it take you to watch it all on DVD?  (You could try and read at least part of it; text from conference addresses is available on the Church’s website as far back as 1974.)  But the point is that there has been so much new scripture literally revealed from God since at least 1830 and, evidently, according to the statistical report of the Church given last Saturday afternoon, only 14,131,467 people of the world’s what, 6 billion plus (?) have realized this and consider it significant in their lives.  So what are we waiting for?

That question leads me to my next idea, taken from a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church.  He spoke on Sunday morning about a man named Saul who lived during the 1^st century.  Saul was kind of a nasty character as we read about his beginnings in the book of Acts, but an event that takes place on the road to Damascus changes his life forever.  We read in Acts 9:3-6 “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

                                                          

Are we looking for some kind of experience like this to get us to wake up and realize that God really speaks to men today?  And when I say today, I mean TODAY, the day you are reading this!  Our message as missionaries and messengers sent from Jesus Christ is that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us dearly and wants so much for us to return and live with Him in His kingdom to obtain all glory and all blessings!  That is what would await us if we would just repent and follow the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and follow Him down into the waters of baptism.  Let us not “wait on the road to Damascus”, as President Uchtdorf said, for some kind of earth-shaking experience.  Many people today don’t believe in God for various reasons.  Maybe many of them want to believe and are expecting the heavens to open unto them and for the big, booming voice of God to declare to them in majesty, pomp, and circumstance His existence!  Does this even ever happen?  The answer is yes, on occasion, but 99.9% of the time the answer is no.  God gives unto us our testimonies and our knowledge gradually; line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little and there a little.  Then, one day down the road, when we look back, we’ll realize how far we’ve come, how much our faith has grown, how much we trust in our Savior, and how much we can’t wait to be with Him once more. 

I testify that the heavens are open.  God does speak to man.  He has a prophet here on the earth that receives divine revelation for every one of God’s children.  If we heed his counsels, it will be well with us at the last day.  We have five months worth of reading material to prove it.  I invite you to consider your relationship with your Heavenly Father.  Pray to Him in whatever way you know how.  He will always listen and He will always respond.  He loves you.  He wants you back.  Listen to His voice “whether by [His] own voice or by the voice of [His] servants, it is the same” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38).  May each of us, Mormon or not, learn more of Heavenly Father and of His prophet, His apostles, and other servants in the world today is my prayer for all of you. 

                                                                                                                                -Elder Caleb Condie

Push a Handcart or Share the Gospel

                                                       

    Today while listening to General Conference, I was intrigued by the words of Dieter F. Uchtdorf when he said "Some members in this church would rather push a handcart hundreds of miles, than talk to their friends about the Gospel."  As I thought about this I laughed a little bit, but the reality is that there are some members who would rather do this.  But why?  We have the "Good news" of the savior!  This Gospel is something that has changed our lives and has the ability to change the life of every individual we know.  What joy would it bring to us, to give each person we knew a $100 Bill.  We would love to see the reaction on their faces, and we would be stunned if they were to turn us down.  We have in our possesion something that is above any earthly amount of money.  So I ask again, Why not share this with everyone we know? 

                                           

     The Savior said  "Lift up your voices unto this people;  speak the thoughts which I shall put into your hearts, and ye shall not be confounded before men" (D&C 100:5)  All the Lord asks is that we talk about the Gospel to our friends and say the things he would have us say.  I know that by doing this and sharing the Gospel, we will feel as Ammon did when he said "My joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. … I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."(Alma 26: 11, 16)

                                        

     May we all lift up our voices and talk to our friends about this wonderful Gospel that our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ has given us. 

Men of God

                                               

                                 

     These men are called of God!  With Jesus Christ as  their master and leader, they direct the work of the Lord on the earth today.  President Thomas S. Monson (above, middle) is the Lords prophet on the earth today.  He recieves direct guidance and revelation from the Lord, for the whole world and every individual on the face of it.  His two counselers assist him in this work and help him lead and build up the kingdom of God here on the earth. 

                                                        

 These twelve men are  Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.   Apostle was the title Jesus gave to the twelve whom he chose and ordained to be his closest disciples during his ministry on earth, and whom he sent forth to represent him after his ascension into heaven. The calling of an apostle is to be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world, particularly of his divinity and of his bodily resurrection from the dead.

All of these men are going to be speaking to us this upcoming weekend.  Who wouldn't want to hear what they have to say?  Come and hear the words of prophets and apostles, I promise that if you do so and give heed to their words and counsel, you will be blessed and protected.