God is not Omnipotent

I remember a question my little elementary school friends used to ask people as a joke.

"Can God create a rock that is so heavy he can't lift it?" hahahahahahaha!

Good one guys.

So I asked my dad this question. His immediate answer was... nope! God can't create a rock too heavy for him to lift. God cannot do everything.

WHAT?!

It's blasphemy, I know. One of the most important concepts of the gospel is summed up by a simple question:

Who is God?

Well, He is our loving Heavenly Father. He LOVES us. If God did not love his children, then he would cease to be God. Many people seem to struggle with any concept that is not directly addressed in the bible. Those people limit their knowledge. Can I not come to my own conclusions about God? Can I not use my own brain to think things through, and figure out who God is? Can I not pray and seek revelation for my life, and thus, gain an intimate, personal relationship with my Father that lives in Heaven?

I can! And you can too.

I love that I can speak with God, and I love that He can speak back to me using the scriptures, or His messenger, the Holy Ghost, or through other human beings. I LOVE THAT! Am I the only one that thinks this is absolutely amazing? I hope not.

In Doctrine and Covenants it says, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." D&C 82:10

So does that not limit God? It does, but not in a bad way. In what way does this limit God? This makes Him trustworthy. 

God is trustworthy. I can trust Him! I sure hope we all can trust God. But I won't complain that He has given us a bit of insurance with this guarantee. You see, when we enter into a promise/covenant/contract, we, as honest people, keep that promise. God is honest. Therefore, he keeps his promises. This limits God's power, but what if God wants it that way? I don't think God is reckless. He doesn't just go around doing whatever He wants, he is perfect, and perfect people are always honest!

So we have been told that God so loved the world that he sent His only Son. Jesus Christ. He sent his son because He loves us sooooo much. He told us he does.

God CANNOT not love us.

God is not omnipotent. He cannot stop being perfect. He will always love us.

That's a promise.

I don't care who you are. I don't care what you have done. I don't know you. But your Heavenly Father knows you. He knows you perfectly. And He loves you SO much that he sent His Son to save you, to teach you, and to change you into the person that you were destined to become.

Our Heavenly Father will never cease to love us. He can't.

Don't like yourself? Sounds like a Pride Issue

I had an interview with my mission president today. My relationship with my companion is struggling right now, so the chance to chat with the Spiritual Giant, President Calderwood was much needed. Here are some highlights:

"I'm not frustrated because I don't get along with my companion, I'm frustrated because I don't know how to fix it! I think it was easier with my last companion because he isn't super confident. I WANTED to lift him up."

"So would you say you need to feel needed?"

"Now that you mention it... YES!"

After this, President had me figured out. He used a graph to illustrate my problem. I modified it a little, but it looks something like this:



Lack of Self Worth _______________Trust________________ Exaggerated Self Worth



Most of us, when we think of "pride," we think of that spoiled rich kid, or the captain of the football team who would never look down upon average people like us. *shutter* 

But there is another form of pride that has been eating away at me, and millions of others around the world, and I don't think anyone is noticing quite yet.

If you don't like yourself, chances are you may need to let go of a little pride. I'm not talking about the rich kid pride or the football player pride. I'm talking about the average person who is trying so so hard to just make the cut, and seems to always fall short kind of pride. What if the reason we never make the cut, is because we are setting our own standards? What if the only one we are failing is ourselves?

So I need to feel needed. Why? Well, it's because apparently I think that I'm not important unless I am helping someone in some way every minute of every day. And that makes me prideful. The universal sin. I trust my own actions to bring me self worth. Apparently it's not enough for me to know that I am the son of deity. It's not enough to know that my God knows me by name and loves me. 

That's not enough.

Well it should be. The cold hard truth is, none of us are in the middle (though I suspect my mom is pretty close). Everyone can see the right side pride. Probably because they want to be seen. But no one seems to notice the left side pride. 

Mormon 8:36 

And I know that ye do ^awalk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not ^blift themselves up in the pride.

I would add to this that few do not tear themselves down in their pride.

Where do we put our trust? Do we trust ourselves? Or do we trust in Him who lived a perfect life, and set a perfect example for us?

I have a lot to work on, but after today, I'm going to work on those problems with an attitude of trust. Now I see that I don't need to set my own expectations. The Lord's expectation is progression. Nothing more and nothing less. I can make it over that bar. You can too.

I'm trying to be like Jesus

There is a great song that the primary kids (3-11 yrs.) sing in Sunday school.

It's called, "I'm trying to be like Jesus."

I was listening to this beautiful song in the car a couple days ago and decided that it's my new favorite song. After all, my entire life is completely centered in this one simple sentence right. I'm trying to be like Jesus.

1. I'm trying to be like Jesus;
I'm following in his ways.
I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

Chorus
Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.

2. I'm trying to love my neighbor;
I'm learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:

Chorus
Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.
Taken from AlbumSongAndLyrics.com
Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938

You were all dying to know what this wonderful song said, so there ya go! But today I want to focus on the title. I'm TRYING to be like Jesus.

Trying...

JUST TRY!!!

I love this concept. I mentioned a scripture in my last post about when Christ taught his commandment to us to be perfect. Luckily, Jesus Christ wasn't just a great teacher. He came to earth not just to teach us and demand immediate perfection, but to save us. And because he, in his perfection, suffered and died for our sins, we now have the ability to try.

So why is this so hard? All we have to do is TRY to be perfect! We are growing grace for grace, and that growth comes from our commitment to try and try again. I have learned the great lesson to never tolerate where I am at, but to always try to be better. That's not to say I'm never happy with who I am. I am very proud of ground I have covered. I am surely a better man than I was last year, or the year before that. But I'm not satisfied either. I'm not done. I've been singing this song for 17 years now and I'm not done. I'm still trying.

So back to my question, why is this so hard? How come some people still have a hard time even trying to be like Jesus, let alone actually becoming like him. Honestly I can't figure it out. But I think it might be pride. Too proud of ourselves. We know better than Jesus. Let's be honest. He lived 2000 years ago, so there's no way he knows the answers to MY problems. Pride pride pride. I'll talk about that more another time. But while you are waiting, maybe give Jesus a try...

I won't tolerate you

I don't think that anyone should tolerate anyone anymore. They don't deserve my tolerance. And they don't deserve God's tolerance either.

I remember one bright sunny day holding up a big sign that says, "Smile, God tolerates you!" Oh wait, I think that was wrong. I've never heard anyone tell me that God tolerates me. That's because our Heavenly Father LOVES us. Love is much deeper than tolerance. In fact, God loves us enough to never tolerate imperfection. 

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Tolerance is alright. It's better than intolerance, but we can do better. Love your neighbor. Not murdering people is alright. It's much better than murder, but we can do better. Love your neighbor. When Jesus Christ taught the Jews in his short ministry on Earth, he taught "the higher law."

Obeying the Law of Moses is alright. It's better than not obeying the Law of Moses, but we can do better.

Is anyone else seeing a pattern here?

Tolerance is simply a gateway to love. How appropriate that part of the "higher law," (really all the higher law) is to love Our Father in Heaven, and love our neighbor as ourselves. I truly love my friends and family. I want the best for them. If I hear/see my imperfect neighbor (everyone is our neighbor) doing something wrong, do I judge them? Certainly not. Do I tolerate their bad behavior? I don't think so. Out of my true love for my neighbor, I will ALWAYS encourage, strengthen, and help them to overcome imperfection. As a result, I and my beloved neighbor are now closer to our Savior, and we have come one step closer to being perfected in Him.

So God has revealed truth to his prophets in ancient scripture, and today. Some may not believe in that truth, but that does not make it untrue. We have been commanded to be perfect like our Father in Heaven. On my journey toward perfection I will gain a love for all mankind. And I show that love by helping my brothers and sisters and friends and enemies closer to reaching that far off goal of perfection with me.

 
Anyone who is reading this, I'm not sorry if I ask you to change. You aren't perfect, and neither am I. So when I ask you to change, know that I am changing too. I won't tolerate you anymore. I love you too much.

Divorce

I'm teaching the gospel to a dear friend of mine right now. Not really a friend, more like a whole family who I have come to love more than I thought I ever could. I met them in New York a few months ago. Since then, I have come over to their house to teach them the truth of the gospel at least once a week for nearly three months. They have a lot of issues they are going through right now. The father is a recovering alcoholic, and is unemployed. A cousin of theirs has cancer. And husband and wife do not get along anymore. As I have taught them the principles of the gospel, I have watched this family start to live them, achieve temporary happiness, forget the principles, and collapse once again.

"It's just not working..."

What? (He was talking about his marriage.) It's just not working? How can it "just not work?" These were my thoughts last night as this poor father told me why he wanted a divorce. Some people have marriages that are truly broken. I get that. Sometimes husbands are relentlessly abusive. Or someone may not be faithful. Those kinds of things can SOMETIMES constitute a divorce.

When someone is sick, in the hospital, does that person simply say, "Oh, my body stopped working, I guess it's time to give up now," and then die in their bed?

If I get a flat tire do I take my car to the junkyard, or to the mechanic?

When a marriage isn't functioning as well as it should, do you give up? Do you take your marriage to the divorce court, or do you take it to get fixed?

And with a marriage, you have options. You can go to a marriage councilor. You can go to your bishop/pastor. You can go to the savior, the one who understands perfectly your situation. The one who knows both sides to the story. The one who has the answer, the cure! I suggest you take it to all three.

The purpose of this little rant of mine is to suggest a principle that I am most passionate about. If I had a testimony of one thing, it would be this:

We are here, on Earth, to progress. No one is perfect, but Christ is. And he wants us to be PERFECTED in him.

So those who feel like it's time to toss in the towel, 99% of the time, it's not. It's time to become humble. It's time to become patient. It's time to become selfless.

 "In all of this, we should realize that a good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection."
 -Elder Dallin H. Oaks Divorce

Brothers and sisters who read this. Our Savior Jesus Christ loves us, and enables us to do all things. I cannot thank him enough for His sacrifice for me. That He understands my every feeling. When all is said and done, we need to turn to Him, and do His will. Divorce has consequences. Let us not make a hasty decision. Let us not take matters into our own hands. Let us give our hearts to Christ. Let us give our hearts to our family members. I want to be with my family forever. And I know that any couple living the gospel as they should, will feel the same about their family.

Some marriages cannot be saved. But most can. Do not take your car to the junkyard for a flat tire. Learn to become perfected, and fix what has been broken.

Saving Starfish

So I  was pondering what I could yet again on a story that Coach Cornell told the class one day. Again, I found that it could easily be applied to any person living the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Saving Starfish

     A young man is walking down the beach at sunrise with his grandfather. It was low tide, and there were many creatures to be seen. They laughed, talked, and explored the tides, until they reached a spot where thousands upon thousands of starfish covered the sandy beach. 

  

     "Grandpa? What is going to happen to all these starfish?"

     "They are going to dry out and die on the beach, then at high tide, will come and wash them all up and it will happen again tomorrow."

   

     "That's awful! Isn't there something we can do?"

     The young man then picked up the nearest starfish, and hurled it as far as he could into the ocean.

     "What are you doing? There's no point. You can't save all of them, it's just the way it has to be."

     The young man continued. He threw another starfish in the ocean, then another, then another. He wasn't going to give up that easily.

     

     "You can't save them all, it doesn't matter!"

     The young man threw one more starfish into the ocean, turned to his grandfather and said,

     "It mattered to that one."

     He turned around and threw another starfish. Without a word, the grandfather bent down, picked up a starfish, and hurled it into the ocean.

     And so it is with the daunting task of being a believer in Christ. Some may say the work I do as a missionary is pointless. I've heard the words yelled at me out of a car window, "You're wasting your life!" Some may say, "You can't save them all, it doesn't matter." To those people I say, "It mattered to that one." 

     There are those who do not know they are lost until they are found. Some don't realize that they are just like those helpless starfish, stranded with no way out. Jesus Christ is the saving ocean that gives life to the stranded people of this life. You and I enable those stranded people to find a way back to Him. It matters to that one. So who is that one? Find the one, and save them.

It's not always easy

So I got transferred last Tuesday. For those who do not know, missionaries are sent to different areas around their mission over a span of two years. We stay in an area for at least 6 weeks. So for the first time on my mission, I got transferred to a new area and it's called Mineola, NY.
     I didn't think I would have a problem moving around because I have been a missionary for 8 months now. I kind of know the ins and outs at this point. But guess what? I was wrong! Moving to a new area is actually incredibly difficult. I now have to build a relationship with a completely new branch (congregation), spend 24 hours a day with a guy I just met last Tuesday, and leave all my dear friends in Hampton Bays behind! So dealing with that stress has been difficult. Now here is the solution:

We have to remember that we all have mountains to climb. What separates the people of god from the people of the world is how we handle those mountains. Do we climb them? Do we give up and turn back? Here is the best way, try asking the Lord to show you the way. Ask him to show you the trail He has laid out for you. If you walk up a mountain using the path that Christ laid out for you, the trip will seem lighter. However, you end up at the top of the mountain just like you would if you had climbed your own way up! Let's all remember the Savior in our trials and allow Him to support us to the top.
     As I have done this, my life here in Mineola has become easier. I went from being down, and just wanting to go home, to loving the people even if I can't understand their Spanish yet. I know that I was able to come out of this past week stronger than I was before, and happier than ever because of the Atonement and His guidance up this steep mountain. I invite all of you to do the same as you go through trials and I know that you will be blessed to find happiness and peace rather than hopelessness and failure.