Heroes

     Today, I was thinking about all the many heroes I have: My parents, George Washington, Johnny Depp, Martin Luther King Jr., and so on and so forth. Out of my many heroes, I especially admire Moses, one of the prophets of the Old Testament. He was definitely one of the coolest prophets. I mean, even though he was a man, he did extraordinary things. He parted the Red Sea, called down many various plagues on the Egyptians, and led the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. These are some amazing feats. A scripture in the Book of Mormon comes to mind, "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Alma 37:6). Moses was just one person, but he performed many miracles and did much good throughout his life. Whenever I think of Moses, I always remember the sacrifice it must've been to not only leave his home in Egypt, but to then go back, this time as a servant of the Lord, and willingly followed the Lord in all things, even to the afflicting of those whom he had called friends and family. What an amazing person he was.

    

 

      (Moses parting the Red Sea- Exodus 14)

  Among my other heroes, the modern-day prophets are included. They fulfill their purpose today, just as the prohpets did in times of old. That purpose is to bear witness that Christ lives and is our Savior, and also to receive revelation on how to lead and guide Christ's church and His chosen people. I am truly grateful for a prophet who stands as a mouthpiece of God, that we might know God's will concerning His people. The prophets of old, as well as in times of today, are all included in my list of heroes who I look up to and strive to be like, Christ being foremost among them all.

 

(Thomas S. Monson - the prophet today)

Diggin' in the Garden

     What a good morning, spent diggin' in a garden. Boy, do I love serving, especially when it allows me to get out of this church shirt and tie once in a while. I also love the many things I am learning as I get to spend two or three hours each Saturday going over and workin in a member's garden - AKA a huge monstrous overgrowth of flowers, weeds, and poison ivy. What a blast!
    Well, I guess today, something that really struck me was the teamwork necessary to get some of these stinkin weeds out. One of the worst was a huge group of grapevines that had intertwined themselves in some Japanese Maples. The problem was, we didn't want to cause too much damage to the Maples, but if anyone knows grapevines, they will know what a pain they can be. I learned that what would've taken me hours to accomplish by myself, took about thirty minutes as all four of us surrounded, and then annihilated those grapevines. Goodbye grapevines, you won't be missed....



(Not the actual grape vines, but you get the picture)


    Our relationship with the Savior is a lot like this. In our life, we come up against massive grapevines that would be very difficult to remove. If left alone, as those we removed today had been, they will grow and intertwine all around us, blocking out everything else that truly matters. By ourselves, we are going to be hard-pressed to remove them. But, with the Savior, when we put our lives in His hands, He will work side-by-side with us, to help us remove these grapevines of life.
    Looking back on earlier posts, I realized that I seem to relate everything to our relationship with the Savior and how important it is for us to rely on Him. I guess that that's because it is something that I have come to learn quite profoundly over the past couple of months, as I have struggled to learn compassion and heal from past wounds. It took me so long, but I have finally come to realize that I can't do it by myself. When I finally realized, and admitted that, I learned that the only way to find peace was to rely on the Savior. I am so much happier, and feel so much more whole than I have ever felt before. I encourage everyone to do the same. Come unto Christ, just as Peter did, and He will rescue us, no matter who or where we are in life.