The Savior said,

• "will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may ^cheal you?" (3 Nephi 9:13)

 "The Greek word of which repentance is the English translation “denotes a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world” (Bible Dictionary, “Repentance,” 760). This means we are to change our thoughts and then behavior until we are turned away from our sins and are aligned with God’s commandments. This change of mind means that we are actually progressing toward what Paul called “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Repentance is thus a continuing process in which each of us needs to draw on the Atonement for real relief, real forgiveness, and real progress." (See Article)

Jesus Christ made it possible for each of us to have real lasting happiness.  The Atonement means everything to me. I know that Jesus is our Savior.

Watch Out For That... Tree

Walking out of the apartment, I.. OUCH!  too sunny.  I quickly decided to shut my eyes.  I didn't want to stop moving toward the parking lot because time is of the essence, so I decided to reverse-blink until my eyes got acquainted with the light.  I'd take a glimpse, see what obstructions were in my path, and close my eyes again.  Relying on what I could see in a blink every few steps, I made it to the car unharmed.

What do my baby sensitive eyes have to do with the gospel?

Heavenly Father has shown us the safe path through life's struggles: following the example of Jesus Christ.  We can pray and ask Him what he would have us do.  We get answers through the Holy Ghost, or the spirit.

• 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
• 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  (Galatians 5)

When we get our answers it is like glimpses into the safest path, and when we are anxiously 'engaged in a good cause' (D&C 58) we can trust in God that He will be there for us if we are going to run into another car or a bush or something.

'Asked about the role of the Spirit in his professional career, Elder Scott said, “[In my work] it just seemed natural to turn to the Lord to ask for guidance. I’ve never separated church, professional life, family life, or personal life into little compartments; I’ve just felt that the Spirit can guide in all of those.” He said he believes that the Lord is “absolutely aware and very interested in giving us support in whatever we do in life, our professional life included.”' (See Article)

Mixed Signals? Who is Right?

The other day we tried to cross the street and to my dismay this is what we saw.  I froze.  I was stuck one foot on the curb and the other on the pavement.  Who do I trust: the White Walker or the Red Hand?  For a second I simply didn't know what to do...  Then we laughed and crossed the street because we knew it was safe at that point.

Mixed signals like this come every day.  It's hard to know what's right and what's wrong sometimes when people are telling us different things.  One source will say something and another will completely flip flop it.  Who do we trust?

• 30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
• 31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost. (2 Nephi 28:30-31 bolds added)

We don't have to trust the White Walker or the Red Hand!  We can find out for ourselves the truthfulness of all things as we pray and ask God and he answers us through the comforting power of the Holy Ghost.

• 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
• 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.  (Moroni 10:4-5)

How Can We Avoid Whirlpools in Life?

I first saw this river and thought, 'this can't be the whirlpools I don't even see whirling...'  But we've read about others' experiences in them and they're extremely dangerous. 

Whirlpools in life can be deceptive.  It can be hard to see sometimes the troubles that lie ahead, but as we trust in the promises Heavenly Father has made us we can know that it will all turn out okay as we turn to Him.  The scriptures are where we can read others' experiences with trials and how the gospel helped them through them.  As we search the word of God and apply what we learn in our own lives we can find peace, joy, and happiness, and avoid whirlpools.

Water Under The Bridge

"When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else."

• “And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men” (1 Nephi 19:9).

•  "Through the strengthening power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you and I can be blessed to avoid and triumph over offense. “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165)."

 (see all of Elder Bednar's talk)

Power In Righteousness

Niagara Falls is amazing! The river is incredibly powerful and the falls dump about 150,000 gallons of water per second. 

Think of the drop of water that chooses to take another path...It's purpose is to make it to this grand spectacle, but it may go into tributaries/whirlpools and get stuck.  Other times it may try to start it's own river, but then it gets drawn out until it realizes it must recede back to 'the fountain of all righteousness.' (1 Nephi 2:9)

Our loving Heavenly Father lets us take our own path. He won't force us into anything, and when we realize that the best path is that of His son's he is there to welcome us back.  As we strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ we come closer to God and feel His love more powerfully.  I know that Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to reach our full potential.  Let's try to help Him help us and stay in the river.

Wispy Distractions

The other day we were driving along and saw this really neat cloud cover up the sun.  There were all these wisps, but they were thick enough to bog down the light from getting through.  We had to stop and take a picture.

It made me think about the light and truth that Heavenly Father has revealed in the scriptures and how they are often bogged down by simply not reading them.  Often times we let 'wispy things' like busywork or sleepiness get in the way of what is more important, and that darkens our life.  When we read, ponder, and pray about the scriptures individually and as a family we grow within ourselves and together.  We come to know Heavenly Father is there and become united in following the example of His son.  This is the path to true happiness.

• 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  (John 14:6)

Rock of Our Redeemer

When you take pictures at night and there is not much light, the shutter in the camera will stay open for a while.  The longer the shutter stays open, the more light gets absorbed, and eventually you can make out what is in the picture.  If you shake or waver, the picture will get very fuzzy and will be hard to understand.  We were at Niagara Falls, but by myself I could not hold still enough to get the picture I wanted.  To get this picture I had to set the camera on a firm foundation and hold it there while it absorbed light.

When we are seeking light and truth we can only obtain a clear view when we are established on a firm foundation.  The only truly solid foundation is our Savior Jesus Christ.  He offers us a rock to build on, and we must do everything we can to hold ourselves to it.  As we learn more about our foundation through prayerful study of the scriptures we become more and more stable, and begin to understand the finer details in the picture of life.  As we stand firm in faith in Jesus Christ we will realize the blessings Helaman spoke of when he said

• 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. (Helaman 5:12)