Refining Fire

Several years ago I saw a documentary on how copper was mined and how it was refined. I typically don't watch those types of shows but this one caught my attention. The basic idea behind getting to the pure copper is that it goes through a process that involves several steps. The raw material is put on a conveyor belt and it travels a distance to its first bath. It is put into a bath of a type of acid and there may have been heat added. It stays in there for a period of time and when it comes out many of the impurities have been taken away. This process is continued several times. By the end the copper is just under 100% pure. Life is much the same way. We go town the road of life with little or no problem and then we come up to a trial of some sort. They are usually painful and cause us to make changes in the way we do things, look at things, or they cause us to change specific aspects of ourselves. Then we are given a reprieve and time to stand stronger and continue on down the road. Then another growing experience is given to us. This happens throughout our lives. The great thing about these experiences is that we can decide how they will affect us. We can go through the trials or growing experiences and come out asking "why me" and feel burned and become angry and bitter. Or we can ask the question "what do I learn from this", make the changes that will make us stronger, and be happy and enjoy our journey through life. There is a reason why we go through these experiences. The Lord is trying to get all the dirt and impurities off of us to allow the purest, the best part of us shine through. Just as the copper isn't 100% pure at the end of its refining process, we won't be perfect at the end of our lives. But how much more rich will our lives be if we will accept the challenges in our lives, learn from them, and become the people that the Lord needs us to be and knows we can become.

What do you believe?

The movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is a great movie. Toward the end of the movie as the greedy bad guy is wanting Indiana to find the Holy Grail, he says the following: "It is time to ask yourself what you believe." I have been thinking about this question lately. So many are trying to discount long-held beliefs and traditions by saying they are out of date and just plain wrong. There are many things that I believe but there are also many things that I know to be true. It could take days to tell you those things but here are a few that are most important to me right now at this stage in my life. First, I know that there is a God, my Father in Heaven, who is in control of all things and watches over us. I know that He is interested in me and in my life. I know that He hears and answers my prayers. I matter to Him and He wants to be involved in my life but that only happens when I invite Him into my life. He wants me to return home to Him but He will never force me to do the things that will make that possible. He is a loving and incredibly generous Father who has great confidence in me and my ability to make the right choices. Second, I know that God continues to speak to men today as He did in ancient times. So many times in the scriptures it says that God is no respecter of persons. He loved His children in ancient times, called prophets to lead them, and spoke to those prophets who taught the people what the Lord wanted them to know. God speaks to men today and we are blessed to have a prophet of God on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson. The Lord loves us as He has loved those who have come before us. Finally, I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was born over 2000 years ago to a young woman named Mary. His earthly father was Joseph, a man of great integrity, who loved Jesus as though He were his own child. I know that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in order to show us all the way to live. He showed us how to treat each other and to put others before ourselves. He taught us how to love, serve, teach, and so many other things. He suffered and bled in the Garden of Gethsemane for me. The only way I can return to my Father, because I am mortal and sin, is if a price is paid and justice and mercy are both satisfied. Christ did that through the Atonement. He hung on the cross and died. He laid in a tomb for three days and on Easter morning He rose and took up His body again. He lives today. I am deeply thankful for my Savior. The philosophies of men will swirl about us until the end of time but there are many things that we can always believe in and there are many things that we can know for ourselves. The things that we know can and will see us through difficult times if we will build upon a strong foundation. For me, that foundation is my Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.

There is always hope!

The other evening I was driving down a country road near where I live. There is a family that has sheep and they are usually out grazing in their fields. I have been waiting for the lambs to be born and there they were. It was so fun to see these new, little lambs jumping and running and seemingly having a great time. The wonderful thing about spring and this earth coming back to life is that hope is reborn in my heart. There are things each day that can continually fill our hearts and lives with hope: a crisp morning enjoying a beautiful sunrise, at the end of a hard day the Lord blesses us with a gorgeous sunset, someone smiles at you and that simple act just makes your day. Hope is a powerful motivator. During these times of difficulty and upheaval on every side, hope can see us through and give us optimism for the days ahead. Take a few minutes each day to look for the blessings that you have been given. Gratitude will fill your heart and you can't help but have hope!

Good, Better, Best

"A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled everything else. "Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life." 'The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health - anything that is so important to you that if were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles, and the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your wife out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'" (Excerpted from First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill copyright 1994.)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said "We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families." You need to ask yourself what is most important to you? What are your priorities? What are your goals? In today's world we have so many choices and it is easy to get bogged down with so many things that are good, but are they the most important? I find myself in this situation often and I am always asking myself if I am using my time the best way that I can. I often reflect on one of my favorite quotes: "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives" (President Ezra Taft Benson). When the most important thing in our life is our relationship with our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ, everything else falls into place. We have always been our Father's children and will be throughout eternity and that is the first role that we played on this earth. We have taken on additional roles as we have grown (spouse, parent, friend, etc.), but first we were and are His children. He will teach us what is important for us and how to perform in the different roles we have if we will only ask Him. How He must long to talk to us. The scriptures say, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). I love this scripture. There is a beautiful painting of the Savior standing at a door and knocking. There is no door handle on His side of the door. The only way He can enter that home is if those inside open it and invite Him in. How we need to invite Him into our lives. How we need to have Him at the center of our lives. When we do that, there is a tremendous peace that will come into our lives and oh how we need that peace right now!

In Whom Can We Trust?

What interesting times in which we live. The philosophies of men and the deception of men is reaching unheard of levels. Isaiah was prophetic when he said: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!" (Isaiah 5:20-23)
Everywhere we look we see things turned on its head. For example, those who stand for traditional marriage - between one man and one woman - are called "un-American" and told that we will be looked up with shame by our posterity (Tom Hanks and Sean Penn said these things). Another example is President Obama's administration such as Timothy Geithner, the new Treasury Secretary. He didn't pay his back taxes until nominated to be in Obama's administration and now he is giving the IRS unprecedented authority to go after those who have not paid their taxes! This list could go on and on but I think you get the idea because you see it all around you. Now is the time to turn away from the world and to fully and completely turn to our Father in Heaven. We no longer have the luxury of playing on both sides of this issue...where do you stand? If you are not for God and His plan, then you are against Him and His plan - it is just that simple. Our Father is so good and loves us so much that He has given us a map on how to return to Him and how to make it through all the mists of darkness that surround us, the scriptures. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
In another book of scripture, a prophet who lived about 2600 years ago, named Nephi said "O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever....I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen." (2 Nephi 4: 34-35)
We are all children of God and He is always there. There is never a busy signal when you talk to your Father. He loves us and wants to help us but He will never force us to have a relationship with Him. He will never force Himself into our lives. However, if we will humbly go to Him and ask for His guidance and then trust in Him, He will walk beside us every minute of every day. A modern day prophet, Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, once said that you need to pray as though everything depends on the Lord, and then work as though everything depends on you. When we do all we can He will help us with the rest. We just need to trust Him.

Keeping Us Safe?

The following was on the Russian News and Information Agency website yesterday:

MOSCOW, March 2 (RIA Novosti) - Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran's nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.
U.S. President Barack Obama made the proposal on Iran in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Kommersant said, referring to unidentified U.S. officials.
Iran's controversial nuclear program was cited by the U.S. as one of the reasons behind its plans to deploy a missile base in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. The missile shield has been strongly opposed by Russia, which views it as a threat to its national security. The dispute has strained relations between the former Cold War rivals, already tense over a host of other differences.

This has posed a few questions in my mind: 1) What has Russia done to give us reason to absolutely trust them? and 2) What is Pres. Obama doing? One of the greatest responsibilities of the federal government is to provide for the common defense of this country...to keep us safe from those who would do us harm. When I was in high school I remember learning about the term - the balance of terror. It was basically the fact that knowing that the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. had enough weapons to completely annihilate the world many times over there was a peace that was created from that. It kept us from attacking each other on the battlefield, although there were hostilities between the two countries - that it why they refer to the time as the Cold War. It is difficult for me to understand what the motives and intentions of Pres. Obama are. His main motive must be to keep America safe. It seems to me that he is more focused on appeasing leaders around the world - at the expense of our safety. We need to do what is required to keep us safe and then we can see what we can do to help others around the world. Obama says that he is pragmatic. I think that he is arrogant and short-sighted. I guess only time will tell what happens. Oh, by the way, Russia isn't interested in this idea.

Great Old Saying

Do you remember hearing this: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"? I remember hearing my grandparents say it when I was younger. I haven't really thought much about it until recently. I have been thinking about ways to be more thrifty in the money that I spend and what I spend my money on. I used to throw shampoo bottles away when I could probably get a few more days worth out of it...same with toothpaste. If the kids got holes in their pants, they would just be thrown away and another pair would be purchased. Now, all of the shampoo and toothpaste are used up and patches are put on the jeans (at times this is even trendy - a plus for the kids!). In these times of economic uncertainty, how greatly we could benefit if we could find ways to be more thrifty and value that which we have. In the end, our lives are not going to be judged by what we have, but by what we have given. I hope that when all is said and done, people will know that they mean more to me than any of the things that I have had.