Line Upon Line

My brother has a blog at word press and I go there to visit his site to see how things are coming along in his writing. I am rather impressed usually, he does such a great job of teaching the gospel as he understands it and always has such good Bible verses to read attached in them. I had received probably two dozen or so emails from him as he had begun to express his new found love of the Savior in his life and as he has progressed in his own spirituality he has begun to write more and more, a habit that I think is great, and after much nugging , he finally started a blog. I had been reading his blog and realized that there were two I had not read before and to my surprise the one pertaining to knowing whether your going to Heaven when you die struck my intellect, only to find at the end he went from loving people to condemning other religions..... namely mine. I was hurt, really hurt. I know that our doctrinal differences have been a topic for argument in the past but I thought that we were moving beyond that as brothers and I was hoping that my family was finally getting over the fact that the faith I now followed so diligently, that had changed the life of me and my wife, has been one of a positive and uplifting faith and one that definitely was Christian.

I wrote a comment at the end , I do not think he would have the courage to actually post , but it was along the lines of if the Bible states, that the Spirit of God will not dwell in any unclean temple and my Church is not of God, then why do I get promptings from the Holy Ghost and why do I feel the Spirit in church. I went on to say that I know that things are true in my faith and that I know that my salvation is sealed in Heaven contingent upon my faith in the Savior. I also spoke that if God did and does speak to men than there is still revelation on the earth today.

You know I really want to have a good relationship with my family and it makes it hard when they are willing to degrade something that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is true! I have stood in the Holy Temple of God and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit stronger there than any other place I have ever been before.

I had joined the Church after many long months of investigation and when I did join and felt the love that my Savior had for me and He taught me to have that same love for others , I wanted everyone I knew to have it, especially my family. As I have approached each of them over the past few years it has always been the same kind of negativity, but you know I never give up praying that some day their heart will be softened to the Spirit enough and have an opened mind enough to actually hear the Spirit whisper the truth in their hearts. I had prayed for a long time that my Brother would find God, and when He did I rejoiced for gladness that my prayers had been answered only to have him come at me with anti-Mormon material, and you know that was ok because he believed what he felt comfortable with and what my Mom and Dad believed, and he was not looking beyond it either.

So I had worked hard over this past year at looking at others religious beliefs and choosing to be more supportive and by doing so I want the relationship between my Parents and Brother to be good. I know that by expressing my faith and trusting in our understanding Heavenly Father, all things will be made known to those that seek him in this life or the next. I pray for them that won't hear that they hear, and those that choose not to see will see and I pray it is sooner than later , that I might enjoy the gladness of watching them prosper in the rich fruit that only the Savior can provide. I love you Tom,and all that are within the sound of my voice, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Can't please everyone!

As my life has progressed in the church and the labors of the Lord, I have found myself in a predicament from time to time where the things that I have either said or done offends someone. Now as far as I am concerned and I believe that our Savior looks at it as, If you are offended then you probably need to take a look at yourself because the reasons behind contention usually lies within. I have recently been involved in some issues within my own family and they have not been easy to deal with in fact the stress of all of it has even taken its toll on my health, but I know that through all struggles, all trials, and all adversity , if we put our faith in our Father in Heaven then we can learn and grow from these experiences. There are some that know me that choose to not like me, most of them are not part of my faith and I want them to know that no matter the depth of there aggravation or even hatred towards me or my family that through everything, I still am inclined to have Christ like love for those that don't know what love is.

There is a philosophy in our religion based upon the principles of Christ Like attributes and love, one that requires all true followers of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, to love everyone , no matter who they are. Why some would ask? If it is true that we all were created before the world was organized and we lived, when in the spirit, with our elder brother Jesus, then we would surely know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father. The children Of a God that loves us all equal, without favoritism one to the other. We must then know that we are all brothers and sisters no matter who we are. I have spoken of the importance of the "ONE" before in my blog and it has been a topic from general authorities in the past and a topic of great importance. I feel we as people must look to one another and put off the hatred and the contention and start loving people for the fact that, eternally we are related, good or bad does not determine our amount of love and shouldn't. God himself will be the final judge and ruler over our fate, we must not hold on to ill feelings towards others because it only brings you down to a level that only Satan would want to be at.

For the person that commented on the ratings part of the blog caption, and rated it as poor, I hope that you can find something that appeals to you somewhere that holds the same kind of spiritual truths and compassion towards others as I try so diligently to provide. I appreciate your opinion and understand if you didn't like the posts, it is not for everyone. May God bless all who read this and anything else that holds true to God.

Wonderful Sabbath

Today was a great day for me and my family, we were able to sit in Sacrament meeting and hear from my daughter Alex for her very first talk! She was very nervous, but with the help of her very faithful friend , Sarah Pratt, she was able to pull it off great. I think that she did a fantastic job speaking and her delivery was magnificent. I was impressed that she was not only very clear in how she spoke but also that she took her time and did not rush through it like I have seen some of the youth do when they are nervous. So a very proud day for Dad today to see his recently (August 2008 ) baptised daughter up there giving a talk. I know that we are not to use words like pride and proud when referring to our children, well pleased is always better, but I am proud of her and I know that our Father in Heaven is as well.


I also was blessed to be able to get a visit yesterday and also enjoy the company tonight with other members, the visitation of Brother Alexander Carter and new wife Andra (formerly elder Carter from back in summer of 2006). He was by far my all time favorite missionary. I am certain that the Lord had sent him to us at that time to help us understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Carter came into our home with such a love and conviction for the gospel that it could do nothing short of emulate the true love of Christ. He brought with him a firm testimony and the real intent that all Priesthood bearers should have in there lives , that unshakable knowledge of Jesus Christ and His purpose.

My family owes a debt of gratitude to this young man, by his example and willingness to follow the admonitions of Christ and the Holy Ghost , Hope and I were able to receive of the rich blessings of the waters of baptism, confirmation, and a temple sealing and endowments, being forever entwined in matrimony with one another. We have been given the greatest gift giveable by a young man that boldly stood upon a door step of rejection and persecution, to stand firm and immovable and never be anything less than bold even in the face of adversity. I am forever in his debt for listening to that still small voice that softly directs each of us.

I was happy to see that he was married to a beautiful young lady, who has obviously stolen his heart, and as I observed their relation , both in my home and at the home of a dear friends tonight, I was able to think of how blessed this young couple was and it was because of those diligent labors that brought them were they are today. As we drove home tonight I said a silent prayer and thanked our Father in heaven for the gift of being able to call this young man my friend, and for the compassion that He, Jesus Christ has shown this young man because of his labors, I thanked our Father for sending him to us, to teach us and to guide us to achieving our eternal goals. And as my prayer came to its end I thanked Him for watching over Elder Carter and sending him such a great young woman to be his eternal soul mate.

It is beyond words to express the capacity of God's grace , mercy, and love. I do know that it is without end and it is for each of us, much like the plan He had had for Hope and I to be joined together for always, He too had a plan for the wonderful Carter couple that blessed us with there presence this past weekend.

Always His plan, always His time...................Always!

Tired?...me too! Anger? ... me too! Life.......me too!

I have never been so exhausted in all my life! I have had the worst week in history for dealing with sick kids and trouble in the home. It seems as though we have had one of the those weeks when every kid in this house has had a doctors appointment and the even though we got our baby into see a doctor on Wednesday morning for his upset stomach and fever, it turned out that we were back in the emergency room on that same night because the poor kid couldn't even keep down 1 ounce of water! It was 4 am before we got to lay down to bed and 6:30 that morning to get the rest of the kids ready to go to school and get off to work just don't feel like enough sleep. Every day we have been to an appointment with one of the kids or been for our selves its been tough we were in the E.R. on Monday night with one of the other kids and didn't get home until 3am . I honestly think that so far this week I have got about 12-16 hours of sleep. I have a friend that always says to me " No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need it " kinda an oxy moron but I feel like it fits.


I like the fact that as I looked through my favorite blogs that I read that those authors have been having similar experiences! I know that for me it feels like an exercise of will power and stamina. I often think of Nephi , son of Heleman, that was so righteous that God said that anything he commanded with his Priesthood authority would be granted. If we but exercise our faith in a manner like Nephi we too can have things changed in our lives for the better. I know that times seem hard and whether its a short temper, one that leaves us feeling a bit un-worthy of God's help, or the fact that we can't get to sleep for the other members in our households, I think it is important that we focus on how we look at the change we can make.

I sat talking to my daughter today, who once again faces another struggle, and explained my views on stumbling blocks or objects placed in our path of travel. Whether they be large or small stones , never the less they are still stones. I explained to her that as we face these stones, or challenges, that it is our outlook and attitude towards them that makes them either stumbling blocks or stepping stones. We as individuals can face all sorts of opposition in our lives and if we choose, we can step up and rise above the average and continue in our journey of life, or if we choose ,we stumble. Either we we are the authors of our own journey.

As I touched on that point today and also in this talk I feel as though it definitely fits all categories and aspects of our lives. If we turn to Christ in all things we can step up to any challenge, even bridle tempers and embrace lack of sleep. With that said I will end this blog with a small thought......Line upon line , precept upon precept, in Him, through Him, and By Him... all things are made possible.

No Doubt

I can say that all is well and for the most part mean it... but there is always something that lies in the dark that seems to hold me back. I strive to be as good as any one can ever be and sometimes I don't quite meet the criteria. It is tough sometimes being in a position where eyes are upon you and people actually need for you to help them with stuff. I find myself in a slump tonight. I have been struggling with some issues at work for the past two weeks and I have allowed my frustration to alter my proper perspective on where my goals should lie. With all the stress of custodial battles and pleasing people I have been about stretched to my limit, but the worse thing is, I haven't relied upon my Father in Heaven like I should. I haven't prayed correctly these past few days and I certainly haven't been in the best mind frame and that for me personally can be disastrous!

With real intent, and a heart full of remorse, a plea to my God that He may forgive the sin and the transgression. I am as they say only human and with the blinders of Satan, I look at myself incorrectly. No matter the offense, the lack of work towards the Kingdom, or even the lack of duty to God, can be resolved at the foot stool of my bed. A quiet prayer a fervent heart and a prayerful plea sets me free.

For more than two weeks now I have wanted to expound upon the topic of faith, not generalized but specific aspects of faith, one point that I heard that aroused my attention. Blind faith. Believing without seeing like you know God exists but you haven't seen Him yet, that faith in all things those things that are spoke of and not spoke of. Like the fact that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, we as latter day saints believe in a premortal world whereby we lived once before with our creator before coming to Earth and having a veil drawn before our eyes, keeping us in a state of amnesia. But we know its true. Most Christians believe that there was something before this and know there is something after, but their knowledge is limited. Doesn't mean they don't have blind faith. What about relying on our Father in Heaven to help us in all things? Are we able to to believe that He will protect us in all life's storms? Even Peter, had moments where his faith faltered, when the Savior rushed across the water to the boat at sea, as He called out to them " It is I, be not afraid" , Peter said unto the Lord, " If it be thou: bid me come unto thee" and the answer, as always " Come unto me" as Peter focused upon the face of the Savior he was able to walk upon the water's surface, but when he broke that eye contact with Jesus and looked upon the dark water with the waves crashing at his feet , fear and doubt settled in and Peter began to sink. But as quick as he cried out " Lord save me" the Savior in His infinite mercy stretched forth His loving hand and lifted Peter from the dark water and with a gentle rebuke said unto Peter " Oh ye of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt" and the Savior helped Peter back into the boat and with a gentle embrace demonstrated His love, mercy, and charity as only the true and living Son of our living Father in heaven, could have.

As my struggles have been difficult and my mind not focused on Him, I am led by the heart to feel of this story and to share it with you , that we may all know of the love that is found from a Savior that never leaves us, even when we may leave Him, that in and through Him, we can be saved. It may only be from at bad week or some behavior that is in need of work, perhaps its large or small, either way , through Faith we know that Jesus is there and is waiting for us to cry out " Lord save me".