My Witness

I am so grateful how my mission has helped me gain a stronger testimony of my Heavenly Father and also of Jesus Christ.  For countless days they have been there to help, lift and inspire me. I know I wouldn't be the person I am today without the great love they have for me.



My Father in Heaven has been a source of great peace in my life over the past two years, and even many years before that. I am so grateful for the personal relationship I have with him. That relationship has grown only through personal prayer and study. Every day I look forward to knelling and offering the desires of my heart to him. I love this scripture in 2 Nephi 32:9,"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul." He has strengthened me through hard times and has help me realize how grateful I am for all of the blessings in my life.


Jesus Christ has also been a constant help for me in my life and my mission. I have grown to love him for all that he has done for me, especially for the Atonement he has performed in behalf of me, and the whole world. My favorite scripture about Christ is found in Helaman 5:12,"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

He truly has been my Rock, and has been a foundation that has always kept me safe. I know that as we build our lives around Jesus Christ, he will become our Rock and help us in our lives.

I am so grateful for my Heavenly father and Savior Jesus Christ. They have truly been my safe harbor in my life. I testify that they live and they know each one of us individually. I know everyone can come to know this is true through scripture study, prayer, and the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Golf and The Gospel

This coming weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. It is the weekend of the British Open. The oldest major Championship in golf. I love the British Open because you never know what the weekend is going to hold. The weather is always a factor at the Open. Not to mention tough course conditions that can make the best golfers look like amateurs. You just never know what lies in store for the best golfers in the world this weekend.

In life we face tests or challenges that might test our faith  just like the British Open might test a golfer. During our mortal journey we must stay on the strait and narrow path that our Father in Heaven has set for us. Sometimes we make a mistake or hit a shot into the rough that drags us down. We also could make a more serious mistake that would lead us to times of sorrow. Similar to golf we could hit a ball into the water or out of bounds. In golf when you make those mistakes you have a penalty that comes along with it.

Sometimes the mistakes we make in life have penalties or consequences associated with them. Those mistakes can bring us down or make us feel sorrowful, but because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to be cleansed and forgiven of our mistakes through repentance. When we truly repent we turn away from our mistakes and turn to God. Through the Atonement we can be forgiven and have a fresh clean slate. Its kind of the same with golf we might have a bad hole that we make a couple of mistakes. After that hole we may have the tendency of  feeling all is lost, but that is incorrect. We have another hole to prove we can play better. We can forget about our mistakes on the previous hole and have determination to succeed on the hole we are currently on. We must be focused on what lies ahead of us not the mistakes that we have previously made. If a golfer in the British Open is able to put past holes behind him he is more likely to succeed and have a successful round of golf.

It is amazing to me how everything in the gospel of Jesus Christ can be compared to life experiences. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real! Just as in golf we may make mistakes,but we always have the opportunity to look forward.

Unanswered Prayers

A couple of weeks ago I was reminded by my companion of one of my favorite songs. It was "Unanswered Prayers," by Garth Brooks. Elder Sharp shared it as a thought with a family that had recently been going through a hard time.  Recently I thought of that song again, I thought of the true meaning that Garth Brooks was trying to portray. "Some of Gods greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."



So many times in our lives we pray to Heavenly Father that a specific thing will happen in our lives.  Sometimes those prayers are not answered immediately or they are not answered as we think they should. We tend to want things right now and demand them to happen. But we forget who knows us best, our Heavenly Father! One of my favorite lines of the song is, "Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs that just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care."  God knows exactly what we need in our lives. Whether trials or times of joy. Either way He is in charge and all will turn out alright in the end.

I know that God lives and that he knows each one of us perfectly and he does answer prayers. When you feel as if your prayers are not being answered or no one is hearing your pleas. Remember, "Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."

Wonderful Wyoming

This past Monday I had the privilege to go to Wyoming's Sun Light Basin. It is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. The valley was green and the snow capped mountains just added to the beauty. It is truly an amazing place. As I stood there I couldn't help but think how wonderful our Heavenly Father's Creations are. I was in awe of his wonderful master piece. It strengthened my faith that God is our creator and he created this world for us to live.
I was reminded of one of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon. It is found in Alma chapter 30 verse 44. It states "...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." Thinking of this scripture made me know that God had created this wonderful area of the country and the whole world. 

 As we made our way home and look back down the valley I was once again in awe of this beautiful setting. I was also so grateful to my Heavenly Father for his beautiful creation's and the opportunity of life he has given to all his children. I testify that He lives and that He truly is our Creator and Father!

Hold Up The FOUR!

The clock ticks to 0:00 and it is the end of the third quarter of an intense rivalry battle between two college football power houses. Players and fans start holding up four fingers. Why are they doing this you ask?  It is the fourth quarter and time to lay everything out on the table. Time for the players to find the last drops of energy to come off victorious.

But how does this relate to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Our lives can be compared to a football game.  It can be a hard battle and just when we think we can not take it any longer life puts us right in the middle of the fourth quarter.  We have to decide whether to put our all on line or give up. We have to always be prepared! We have to know where to turn when our lives get hectic and we are in our, "fourth quarter". But where do we turn for help? Where are the coaches in our life? Is there a playbook we can follow? That is exactly why the gospel of Jesus Christ is here. There is a playbook and we do have coaches to help us to overcome our own challenges.

First lets talk about the playbook. Why is it so important to have a playbook in football? Without a playbook the team would not be unified in its plays. The lineman wouldn't know who to block, the receivers wouldn't know there routes and the running backs would have no clue which hole they needed to run through. And that's just for offense! There would just be pure chaos on the field. In our lives we have the scriptures as a playbook. The Holy Bible and Book of Mormon are the best playbooks we can turn to when we are going through difficult times. The scriptures testify of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Book of Mormon Nephi tells us,"feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:3). The scriptures are the words of Christ and our guide to show us how we can partake of his Salvation. When we read and study the scriptures we will be able to receive revelation in our lives to know what we should do in our times of trial.

We also need coaches to help us, but who are they and where can we find them? Our coaches are Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ.  But, how do we access there counsel? From Prophets and apostles, who are there waiting on the sidelines to help us. We can look at it this way. Our head coaches Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are up in the coaches box watching over the whole game. Being way up in the bleachers they have a perfect angle to watch all that is going on. In Football the coaches in the box relay what is happening on the field to the coaches down on the sidelines. Prophets and apostles do not have headphones that they can receive direction from heavenly father and Jesus Christ, BUT they do receive revelation. In Amos we learn,"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). Our coaches on the sidelines (prophets and apostles), will tell us what we need to do in our lives so we can find peace and strength through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we follow the counsel of these wise men our lives we will grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and be able to conquer any obstacle in our way.

SO when the fourth quarter comes in our lives and the game is on line.  Remember to hold up the four! The playbook is easy to access we just have to open the scriptures. And as we listen and follow Heavenly Father's Prophets and Apostles we will over come any challenge life will throw at us. I know when things get hard in our lives we can turn to these strongholds and come off conquer.

Families Are Forever

 As a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I share many messages about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. They vary from a living prophet on the earth today, to faith in Jesus Christ. But one of the unique messages that I share as a missionary is that families can be together for eternity. This gospel principle has changed my life. To know that I can be with my wonderful loved ones after this life and forever has eased my soul in times of sorrow. 

This is a picture of my family. I love them very dearly. I know with out them in my life I would not be the person I am today. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a wonderful Family. I am also very grateful for the knowledge that I have the chance to be with my family after this life. I know that death is just a temporary thing and that I have the chance to live with them for all eternity. 

"My Older Brother"

While being on my mission I received this story of our Savior Jesus Christ. This story has really helped me realize the tremendous sacrifice my elder brother, Jesus Christ has made for me and everyone else.

"My Older Brother"

When I was just a small boy, I had a favorite big brother. He was great to me. He would put his arms around me and we would go scampering down some cool dirt path. At times like this I felt ten feet tall. He didn't seem to mind me tagging about one bit; and there was nothing I enjoyed more.

I was so proud of him! When I was with him I felt like I was beaming stronger than the sun. He was good at everything. I never could seem to match the mountains he would make out of sand.  Mine would always seem to crumble and sag, but his would stand as firm as the Rocky Mountains.

Dad always tried not to show how proud he was of him, he being the oldest and all. His smile seemed to beam a little brighter when my brother was around.
 I felt my world had collapsed when he went on his mission. Dad and Mom had to both fight the tears back. He called up Dad regularly and let us know how much he loved us. He even told us how great his mission mother was so Mom would not worry.

The persecution was really bad there as the Church was just getting started. But he never seemed to let himself get down, even though the people would not believe his messages. We would share in his joy when he would get some new converts, but I don't mind saying I was scared that the non-believers would do something to him. It even got to the point where men were plotting to take his life. But dad never seemed to be worried, for some reason.

Then, one day, we received a word that his mission had ended but not as most men's do. I was struck sick by the terrifying news.

They finally got a hold of my big brother. My big brother that I played with. The one that never seemed to be capable of doing anything wrong. My big brother who loved everyone he knew, and whom most everyone loved.

 They beat him and mocked him. He suffered all they did to him without striking back. Why would anyone want to hurt my big brother? I could not understand.

 A mob took him to a hill just outside of town and spitting on him, they nailed him to a wooden cross. My soul moaned as I heard that he begged Father to forgive them. Wracked with unbearable pain, he gave up his life for what he believed. My big brother, my king, my idol was dead. I cried through what to me seemed like the darkest day of my life.Where was my big brother with whom I had shaped mountains of sand? Why did he, of all my brothers have to die like this?

I felt Dad's strong arm upon my shoulder and heard him say,"He did it for you, son. For you and your brothers and sisters."

Time passed and I was called on my mission. Sometimes I forget what happened so long ago, but every Sunday a small piece of bread and a small cup of water remind me of my big brother and what he did for me, and assures me that he yet lives.

I bear my witness that Jesus Christ lives and that he is our Savior and Redeemer. As we grow a personal relationship with him we will feel his love and the cleansing power that comes with it. I am truly grateful for him and his infinite Atonement.