"Be Not Afraid, Only Believe"

One of my favorite stories from the New Testament, is the one of Jesus Christ, and the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:21-24, 35-43).  In this story, one of the ruler's of the synagogue named Jairus, approached the Savior, and pleaded with him on behalf of his daughter.  Jairus's daughter was on the verge of death, but Jairus knew that Christ had the power and authority to heal her.  Christ followed him, but as they were travelling, one came from Jairus's house to inform them that his daughter had already died.  Can you imagine the pain and sorrow that must have come over this loving father, when he heard of the death of his only daughter?  For all of you parents, I want you to imagine what it must have felt like to lose one of your own children.  Jairus had exercised the faith, he had called upon the lord, but because of other people in need (Mark 5:25-34), his daughter had died.  The scriptures do not tell us much of Jairus's reaction, but we can imagine that he must have had an enormous wave of emotion.  We can imagine that some fear, and some doubt may have creeped into Jairus's mind, but the Lord gave him a response.  In verse 36 the Lord says "...Be not afraid, only believe.".  Those simple words, are so powerful.  They continued to travel to Jairus's house, and Christ raised Jairus's daughter from the dead.  What an amazing miracle!  Much can be learned from this story, but what I wanted to focus on were the words that Christ spoke to Jairus at his point of despair, or his point of trial.  His words "Be not afraid, only believe.", brought hope.  We all face trials in our lives, and we all face adversity.  That is a part of life.  We will all face points where our faith may be tested or our hope may be tried.  These times are not desired but they are needed, because through the trials and the storms, then we can become stronger.  I wanted to write this post in order to share my thoughts about how we can find hope, and peace, and even happiness when we are surrounded by such trials.

Trials are never fun, and they are never easy.  They are meant to challenge us, but not break us.  When we face a trial, we really have two choices;  Will I turn to God, or will I turn away.  That is the question.  When faced with some trials,  we often times ask "Why would God let this happen to me?".  Well when faced with these trials, an important thing to remember is God does not cause evil and suffering to occur in the world.  God gives every man what is called free agency.  What this is, is man's ability to choose.  Man can either choose to do what's right, or he can choose to do what's wrong, and when some people choose to do what's wrong, it causes suffering in other peoples lives.  This is not God causing this to happen.  Some people then ask though, why does God allow these bad things to happen to good people?  That is a very difficult question to answer, because the answer is different for each and every circumstance, but one thing that we must always remember is that God loves us.  He will always love us.  He knows that our trials work much like a refiners fire. (Psalms 66:10-12)  Through our adversity and our afflictions, we can then become the men and women that God wants us to be.  We must trust in him, and trust that he will always love us.  When we trust in him, then he will raise us up.  (Mosiah 23:22)

So first off, when faced with trials, we must remember that God does love us, and that if we trust in him, and if we don't turn away from him, then he will raise us up through our trials.  We must endure our trials, but we also must endure them well.  The Prophet Joseph Smith, who was a prophet in the modern days, went through many trials in his life.  At one point, he was unjustly thrown in prison, along with a couple other men.  While in this jail they suffered many hardships.  At one point, in desperation, the Prophet Joseph crys out "O God, where art thou?" (D+C 121:1).  Have we not had the same moments in our lives?  Moments when we our selves felt lonely and lost?  Moments when we feel as to cry out "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).  Well when we are facing these difficult times, we need to always remember that God loves his children.  We may not know the meaning of all things, (1 Nephi 11:17) but always remember that no matter what, God will always love you.  When the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out, he had his prayers answered in the form of a wonderful revelation.  In this revelation, he was taught many things, but one major thing that he was taught is that if we endure our trials well, we shall be exalted on high. (D+C 121:8).

So now the question is, how do we endure it well?  That is a question that has taken me many years to answer, but I have finally learned what it means to endure well.  In order to understand this, we must once again understand why God allows adversity into our lives.  It is too strengthen us.  So in order to Endure something well, we must allow ourselves to be strengthened.  We must allow ourselves to grow, and become better through our trials and struggles.  When we can learn to do that, that is when we can truly become exalted on high.  We can just endure our trials, but when all we do is endure, then we learn nothing from them.  In order to endure something well, we must be able to look at the trial facing us, and think about what we can learn from it.  In doing so, we can progress, and we can become stronger.  That is what God wants for us.  He does not like to see us hurt, or sad, but he loves to see us grow and progress.  He knows what he wants us to become, and he knows how we will get there.  Once again we must only trust in him.

This is something that has taken me many years to finally figure out, but I remember when I first read those words "Be not afraid, only believe.", it brought an enormous wave of peace into my life.  I cannot promise you, that if you have faith, you won't have any trials in your life, but I can promise you that if you do remember to have faith through your trials, you will be strengthened.  Trust in God and do not fear.  Christ is the shepherd and we are the sheep.  He will lead us beside the still waters (Psalms 23).  Knowing this in my life has not allowed me to have a smile on my face throughout all of the trials in my life, but my faith has enabled me to emerge from any trial with a wider smile.  Trials do not make me happy, but what I learn from them does bring me happiness.  Never turn away from your faith, and I promise you that the Lord will strengthen you.  Christ's words ring true for each and every one of us "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"  (Matt. 11:28).  I know this is true.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.

SCRIPTURE POWER!!!

                         

Today I have been reflecting on one of the things that has brought me great happiness into my life, and that is the WORD OF GOD, or more commonly called the Scriptures. I absolutely LOVE the Scriptures. They are up there with Razzleberry Pie and my mom's clam chowder. The scriptures truly are the Best. As a missionary we get a lot of time to study the scriptures, and to learn of the teachings contained inside of them. A lot of the time, when I study them, I feel like God is talking directly towards me. The scriptures are a great way to receive personal revelation, to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or even just to feel God's Love. All of these blessings can come to anyone who is just willing to open up the pages and read. I have noticed that as I have combined my scripture study with prayer, my mind has been enlightened to a greater understanding of the Love my Father in Heaven truly has for me. The Scriptures are just AWESOME! There is no better way to say it. I learn so much from them, and I have received so many blessings in my life because of them. That is why I am posting this blog today, because I want everyone to be able to experience the same blessings that I have experienced though the word of God.

There are two major volumes of scripture that I have been studying a lot of recently. They are The New Testament and the Book of Mormon. Both of these books of scripture have blessed my life in so many ways, and as I have been reading them on a daily basis, my Faith in Jesus Christ has grown so much. I would like to talk about each one, and how each one has blessed my life individually.

The New Testament

So to simply put it, the New Testament, is a Testament that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. It testifies of Jesus Christ's Love for each and every one of us. It testifies of his sacrifice that he made for each one of us. It testifies that he died on the cross, but he overcame death three days later. It is full of miracles, teachings, and witnesses of Christ. As I have studied and pondered about the New Testament, I have come to know Christ on a very personal basis. I have truly come to know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he loves me as well as you. He knows each one of us by name, and he knows perfectly what each one of us is going through in our lives at this time. Right now I am serving as a missionary for his church, but more importantly I have been called to be a witness of Jesus Christ. So, I stand by the New Testament, and I provide my witness of Christ as well. He lives, and because he lives, we may live as well. When I read the New Testament, I am filled with the spirit of God. I learn about the doctrine of Christ. My mind is opened to a greater understanding of what Christ went through for me personally. And really as I read, it just makes me happy! I love it! If you have never read the New Testament, I would invite you to find a copy, and read it for yourself. It is a wonderful book of scripture, and I promise you that it will fill your life with happiness as well.

The Book of Mormon

The story of The Book of Mormon starts out with a family, who lived in Jerusalem. The father of the family was named Lehi, and he was a prophet. He prophesied to the people in Jerusalem at the same time that Jeremiah was prophesying in the Old Testament. Lehi warned the people that if they continued in their wickedness, that they would be destroyed. The inhabitants of Jerusalem got upset with Lehi, and the Lord warned Lehi to take his family and flee from Jerusalem. They did so, and they took others with them as well. Lehi's son Nephi obeyed the Lord and kept his commandments. Nephi was directed by the Lord to build a boat and sail to a promised land (the American continent). The Book of Mormon follows their descendants, and it is a record of their dealings with God, and also a record of the teaching of the Prophets that were called on the American continent. The crowning moment in the Book of Mormon is when the resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ appeared to the inhabitants of the Americas. After Christ was crucified, he was resurrected three days later (Mark 16:6). He ascended up to our father in heaven (Mark 16:19), but his work was not finished. He taught the people in the middle east "16 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). Then after Christ's ascension, he visited the people of the America's and taught them "21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: 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." (3 Nephi 15:21).  Christ taught the people about his gospel, and he taught the people many other things pertaining to salvation.  We have a record of that account, and of what Jesus Christ taught the people.  Isn't it Awesome!!!

I love the Book of Mormon! There is a lot of misconceptions in the world about what the Book of Mormon truly is, but it is explained clearly right on the front cover of the book. It simply says "The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ". That is really what the Book of Mormon is all about. It is all about Jesus Christ. It says in the introduction to the Book of Mormon "The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel." (The Book of Mormon, Introduction). That is it. The Book of Mormon is a book of scripture that testifies of Christ and takes place on the American continent. The Bible is a book of Scripture which takes place over in the middle east, and it also testifies of Christ. The Book of Mormon is not there to replace the Bible or to destroy the Bible, but it is there to strengthen and to clarify the doctrines which the Bible teaches. It is there to provide a second witness that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. It strengthens the doctrine of Christ, and it further establishes what Christ taught.

In order to explain this more clearly, I like to use analogies. Back home, I assisted my Dad in doing carpentry work. Carpentry work involves a lot of nailing. We also re-shingled a lot of roof's. While doing this work, there were often times roof's that were too steep and too dangerous to walk on freely without any support. So what we would do is take long pieces of wood, and nail them to the roof, so we would have something that we could stand on to support us as we worked. Now, when nailing these boards, if we were just to use one nail to hold the board in place, the board would not be very stable. As soon as you would step on that board it would give way, and it would have no strength. But if you were to put two nails in both ends of the board, then the board would be stable and strong, and the board would not twist and turn. I compare the nails to the Bible and The Book of Mormon. When you just have the one nail, there will be little strength to the board, and there will not be a lot of stability. You can twist and turn that board any way that you want, and get any view out of it that you want. This is not diminishing the worth of the nail, but one nail is just not strong enough. When you add the second nail, then you have a greater strength. One nail is not better then the other, and one nail is not more important then the other. They are both equally important and equally needed. I absolutely love both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and I study each one every day. 

The Scriptures are truly amazing!  I do not know where I would be in my life if I did not have the word of God to guide and direct me.  I receive answers to my prayers everyday, as I read both the Bible and The Book of Mormon.  They have brought me so much happiness, and understanding into my life, and the great thing is that I can partake of that happiness everyday!  You can too.  All you have to do is open the pages.  As you combine your scripture study with prayer,  I promise you as a representative of Jesus Christ, that you will have a greater and everlasting happiness in your life.  Your prayers will be answered.  You will receive guidance and instruction.  You will receive strength from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I know this to be true.  I invite each and every one of you to open up some scriptures and just read.  A greater happiness is just waiting there, you just need to turn the pages.  God does love you, and he speaks!

:)

One Smile at a Time

Hello Internet World!!!!!

My name is Elder Dewey, and I am a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  As a missionary for my church, we have now been authorized to start using the internet and social media to spread the wonderful good news about Jesus Christ.  That is what this whole blog will be about; Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I am completely new to this whole blog thing, but it is something that I would like to try doing (so please don't judge me if it appears like I have no idea what I am doing, because I don't).  Really what my purpose is, is to help bring more happiness into the world.  It is so sad to look out and to see all of the pain, and sadness that is surrounding each one of us.  But I know that as we look to Christ, then we can find true happiness, even in the midst of many trials.  So that is what this is all about.  That is what this blog is all about.  It is all about just bringing a little bit more happiness into each one of your lives through Jesus Christ, and I hope that I can do that One Smile at a Time.

So to start off, I would like to introduce myself a little bit.  Once again, my name is Elder Dewey, and I am from the wonderful (and somewhat freezing) state of Wyoming.  Some think that everyone that comes from Wyoming is a cowboy, but I am actually kind of the opposite.  I loved doing all kinds of stuff.  I loved skateboarding, singing in rock bands, rock climbing, paintballing, basketball, running, camping, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, water skiing, cliff jumping, and really anything that is outdoors.  I loved these things because they brought happiness into my life.  But what I especially love is bringing happiness into the lives of others.  I love joking around, and laughing, and really just making people happy.  So if I can make you happy with this blog, then it will be a success.  I would also love to hear back from you, and to hear what makes you happy.  But that is what I am really all about.  I hate it when people around me are sad, or depressed, or left out, so I do my best to make everyone around me happier, and I especially know that this can be done through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.



 I absolutely know that Jesus Christ lives, and I have been called to be his representative.  There is absolutely nothing else in my life that has brought me greater happiness and greater joy, then the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that no matter who you are, or no matter what may be going on in your life, the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help you with whatever challenges you face.  If you have a strong faith in Jesus Christ, if you have not so strong of a faith in Christ, or if you have no faith in Christ; I know that the messages that I share can bring even more happiness, and an even stronger faith into your life.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, and I do love him.  I hope that if you are having a bad day, or even if you are having a great day, I hope your day is even better now.  May God bless you all with a greater happiness in your life.