Practice Makes Permanent

Practice makes perfect, the adage goes, but someone wise corrected that half truth; practice makes permanent. Doing something over and over again will become second nature, but sadly that doesn't guarantee it will be a perfect thing. That is why it is vital we practice things the right way or we'd be better off not practicing at all. This concept became more important to me as I reread a story in the New Testament.

John 12 relates the story of Mary Magdalene anointing Christ with costly oils prior to his death. When Judas seeks to find fault with this action, proclaiming that it was a waste of money that otherwise could have been given to the poor, Christ rebukes him and tells him to "let her alone" for "the poor always ye have with you, but me you have not always." Although a powerful reminder to always putting Christ first (something Mary teaches us by example earlier in Christ's ministry as well) this story was presented to me in another light; the lesson in not serving but being served.

It is often easier to give than receive. We would rather give than feel we owe someone something. We would rather serve than have the embarrassment of needing help. We would rather listen and comfort than humbly speak out of our own pain and sufferings. The very moment we receive we are calculating a mental tab and feel guilty until we feel we have repaid the kindness. Unfortunately, this often doesn't stem from an acute sense of selflessness but rather a malady of pride, pride that not only robs others the blessings that would come from serving us but also the power that would come into our own lives by others kindness and service. But most of all it can be at times a symptom of something else.

The Lord will never give us an aspect of doctrine or commandment to follow without presenting plenty of practice. Most of what we do in life is type or shadow of something to come, a low stakes way to grow in order to be ready when it matters most. The acceptance of others kindness is no exception. As I listened to this familiar Bible story it came to me in an unfamiliar light, and it's truth was burned into my heart. The practice of accepting service is practice for us to accept the kindness and mercy offered us through the Atonement. How often do we feel unworthy, in debt, or too proud to accept forgiveness and spiritual healing? Or tell ourselves that if we ask forgiveness than we will have to read our scriptures longer or be more faithful in our callings? Or even worse, we tell ourselves that we can't ask for forgiveness until we pay extra fast offerings or home teach more than once this week. We somehow get into our minds that the Atonement has a price tag attached until it can be accessed. Nothing could be further from the truth, and this week I finally see a way to be better and do better: let myself be served. Practice the feeling of gratitude instead of feeling in debt. Practice humility instead of pride. Practice receiving and giving back out of love and not obligation. Only then will the practice of accepting the Lord's help become permanent, and our actions in the name of the Lord will be because we are grateful and desire to bless others, not because we feel we must pay God back.

The Perfect Storm

When I began this blog, it was as Sister Michelle Green, missionary and representative for The Lord Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel. Gospel means "good news", and for 18 months I did all I could bring that good news to everyone who would listen. Now, a year since I came home, I sit in a chapel, again with my mother and grandmother, listening to General Women's Conference. As I listen to the words of many faithful women of God, I reflect upon my mission. It is, without fail, the most difficult and sacred 18 months of my life. Never had I felt myself break down in such a way, to the point where I felt there was little of me left. And today, right now, I see what is to be done. The parts of me that were not Christlike were torn down, and only I can allow the proper contractor to build me "right" this time.
In some way, we are all like an imperfect building, yet we are asked to be "perfect", or, as it is translated, complete. One can not rebuild what has not yet been knocked down. Every single day The Lord works on us, hoping to clear the way for His plans for us. Every day the adversary entices us to choose the wrong builder. Daily our windows break down, our doors squeak, our tile breaks, opening the way to use perfect materials this time. But there will be a time, for every single one of us, when a storm will come and beat us literally to the ground. A wind that blows through our glass, a flood to wipe out our insides, an earthquake to shatter our foundation. And one day, we will find ourselves in the perfect storm, the kind that will literally wipe us out in every way. It is in this perfect storm that we will finally be ready to be reborn, to be given an opportunity to become complete. It is in that moment that we have the eternally  fateful choice: who will build us again? Bitterness, anger, remorse? Or humility, hope, and the Atonement? I testify that every setback, sorrow, and burden we face leads us not only to the perfect storm, but to perfection within ourselves, but only in and through our Savior. May we choose Him as the architect of our lives.

The Science of Faith Part 3

Chemical vs Physical Change

I was in the seventh grade when I was educated in the difference between a chemical and physical change. A physical change doesn't change what the object is-it just changes its appearance. If need be it could be brought back again to its normal state. Like tearing a paper in half or sand papering a block of wood physical changes have little to do with what the substance ends up becoming. On the other hand chemical changes occur when the object's make up is actually altered to the point where the object can no longer go back to what it was before. It would be like lighting a log on fire and having it turn into ash-it is a completely new substance that cannot be turned back into wood. Chemical change often alters the appearance, but most importantly-it changes what the object is forever.

My new companion Sister Streeter has a song that is called "That's What Faith Can Do". As I listen to it I can't help but add to the list of miracles, faith can accomplish the miracle of change. True faith in the Savior and in His Atonement means that we come out of the experience a "new creature", "born again", "having no more a disposition to do evil"; in essence we have a "mighty change of heart" (Mosiah 5:2)(Enos 1:4-8). On the other hand, insufficient faith in what the Savior can and will do to our lives if we let Him results only in a temporary change in demeanor or action-in other words our heart changes not at all. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has a purpose far greater than changing our actions or our outward appearance; it has the power to envelope us into a new way of thinking, feeling, acting and being. I was once told that if I had faith in the Atonement I would realize that there "was nothing its love couldn't heal, nothing its power cannot make right" and as I exercise faith I am beginning to see that is the case. I know with all my heart that His Gospel is a Gospel of change-powerful enough to make us entirely new people that can and never will go back to who we were before. If we truly wish to experience "a mighty change of heart" than we must undergo the spiritual "chemical change" available only to those that believe and act on their belief in Christ, for His reply to this change in us has and always will be the same,

"be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole." 

Luke 8:48

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland

(To read full talk click here, to watch click below)

Broken Arms and Run-Down Houses

I think most of us have broken a bone at some point. Luckily for me I have only broken one once; my right arm. After watching some X-Games, at 10 years old I decided to become a professional BMX biker. Naturally, there was no reason to start small, so I grabbed my garage sale mountain bike, a small boulder, and a old piece of plywood to begin my training, because of course, there are few more stable ramps than homemade plywood/boulder ones. Wanting to maximize my height as I jumped, I set my ramp up at the bottom of a hill in my neighborhood. Soon I was speeding like an arrow toward that ramp, and given the crookedness of the top, I began to question the safety of actually going off of it. Panicked, I slammed on my brakes-my front brakes, at just about the time I started off the highly unstable jump. Then, the next thing I remembered was getting up, and looking down to see my horribly bent right wrist.
A kind neighbor helped me home and when I got inside my older brother asked what was wrong, because I was crying. I showed him my wrist and he immediately knew I broke it and went to call our mother. Not wanting to have to go to the doctor I said "it may not be broken, what if its not? Maybe we should just wait and see for awhile, it'll most likely be better tomorrow". Adamant my brother sat me down, called my Mom, and soon I was headed off to my Dad's office. After a few X-rays he was ready to set the bone. I however, was not. I didn't want anyone near my arm, let alone to set it. At first he offered a numbing shot, but as I have an intolerance to sharp things near my person, I declined. Respecting my agency he began to set the bone-it took about 3 seconds for me to yelp like a cat getting its tail ran over. Of course he got the needle out, numbed the arm, and was able to easily set it that time. Soon I was in my new cast and I went from feeling miserable to feeling like a war-hero. I looked at what I deemed as pure torture and had survived it and now had a cool cast to prove it. I couldn't wait for others to sign my cast.

Now before we get to how this relates to the gospel, I have one more story for ya'll to mull over. Well more of a scenario. Let's say we moved into a new home, and it needed a little TLC-picture "Flip this House". The electricity may not work, or the faucets may leak, or the painting job may be an ugly puke green. When we move into a home do we often say "well, it came that way, guess it'll have to stay that way"? Not usually. We may not get around to it, or have the money for it right away, but few would just decide it was impossible to fix those things.
Now for how these both relate to the gospel-
Broken arms: How often have one of us said to ourselves when we have a pain or an injury that we'll just wait and it will most likely get better? People may try to get us to go get checked yet we worry about insurance, time, what the doctor will say, convenience, or even worry nothing is wrong and we'll look weak by going in. As fatal and painful as putting off going to the doctor can be to our bodies, I am here to tell you that our spirits are no different. We all experience mistakes, trials, and hurt in life; in essence we all break our wrists. But just as a bone will never heal right without the touch of a master our souls will never be healed without being set in place by the Master's hands. Under Christ we are all "insured", for "salvation is free". (2 Nephi 2:4) All we need is a copay of faith and humility-a broken heart and a contrite spirit (Enos 1:4-8, 3 Nephi 9:20). He will never mock us for what we believe is wrong or call us weak for coming to Him. No matter how painful the process may be or how long the healing process may take it is worth it, and no matter how badly broken we are, we are always fixable-it is never too late. And in His mercy the Lord sends us His spirit (the numbing shot) to comfort us through the experience. Literally, we are never left alone, and once He is finished our spiritual casts can become a hope to others; our experiences and testimony of our healing can inspire others to go to Christ, and each signature we get just adds to our and Christ's joy as we bring others unto Him.
Run Down Houses-None of us come into this world perfect, and though we often expect ourselves to be, we never seem to believe we ever will be so. We look at so many other "houses" and see all that we aren't, and yet believe our own faults can never be made whole. We begin to say to ourselves "well that is just how I am" and think we are doomed to live in a "house with a leaky faucet forever". That just isn't the case. The Savior has commanded us to be "perfect even as [He] is perfect" (3 Nephi 12:48). We truly are expected to be perfect one day, and rather than discourage us that should make us very excited, for "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7). It is possible to make the needed "repairs" in us, in fact, we have everything in our favor to do so. The most exciting thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it brings with it the good news that we are never stuck with how we came into this world but rather have every possibility of becoming everything we came here to become. All it takes is faith in and obedience to Christ and His Gospel. If we never thought the repairman could fix the faucet, would we ever call? And if we did would we follow the instructions he gave us to fix the problem? Similarly, only when we have faith that Christ can perfect us will we call upon Him, and follow His instructions He gives to us. I testify that when we do so we can become whole, complete, and perfected in Him.

Additional Scriptures:
Matthew 9:22
Mark 9:23-24

The Door of the Sheep 2

A few months back I posted a blog about Christ and His Atonement having the power to make doors through all the walls we face in life. This concept has been on my mind since then and when I was reading some of my brother's favorite versus something new stood out to me. It is found in 1 Nephi 21:14-16:

God gave us walls not to succumb to them,
 but to overcome them through Christ

"But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me-but he will show that he hath not. For can a women forget her sucking child, that she should no have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget thee, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."
Christ isn't just mindful of our mistakes and sins, He is perfectly mindful of our walls; those things that hold us back, our natural weaknesses and shortcomings. The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't just about making us clean, it literally has the power through Christ to make us better-to become new creatures. When my older brother left on his mission he shared this verse with me and since then it has been one of my favorites. It is Ether 12:27:
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
We all come with weaknesses and shortcomings, but we have them for a reason. We have them because they help us be mindful of Christ as He is mindful of us, and if we turn to Him in Faith, He will make our weak things become strong. He is not only mindful of walls, He has the power to make them walls of protection rather than walls of damnation-from a weakness to a strength. Weaknesses are one of the best ways we learn to rely and turn to Him. He knows that learning to rely on Him is worth anything we will go through because in His hands we can become far more than we could become of ourselves. He truly has the hands of a master carpenter of souls, and we have the choice to place ourselves in those hands.

"I Believe in Christ, So Come What May"

I was asked to bare my testimony on the Savior for a meeting on Easter Sunday. It could only be three minutes long and I thought to myself, how can I ever express my feelings on Jesus Christ in just three minutes? In preparation I read the lyrics to "I Believe in Christ". One of the last lines of the song reads "I believe in Christ, so come what may". I realized that that was my testimony of Christ. One of the greatest miracles of the Atonement is that it does not just save us from physical and spiritual death, it does not just promise to make up all of the unfairness we have in this life, and it does not just mean we can one day be back in the presence of our Heavenly Father again-it also means that there is absolutely nothing we will face in this life that can wipe the smiles off our faces IF we center our faith and lives in Jesus Christ. That is why He is the "rock of our salvation". If we build our lives on Him and Him alone then the winds and waves of mortality cannot bring us down. The Lord has said "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25). That is our promise. I have experienced in my life that come what may I always have the right to peace, joy, progression, and fulfillment because Jesus Christ has opened the way for us to be so through His Atoning sacrifice. I testify that there is nothing His power cannot make right, nothing His love cannot heal, and nothing that He can not help us overcome and I say so in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Don't Punch Your Sister!

When I was a teenage grump, I did something I will never forget; I went into a barbaric frenzy. Why? Well, in my defense, I was provoked, but I guess it was still no excuse. I was about 15 years old and my family and I were skiing up north for the day with some relatives. My little sister, who was about 10 at the time, and our cousin Kaden who was about 9, were all headed down the mountain for our last run. For some reason we began throwing snowballs at one another as we headed down. This exciting game soon escalated into my little sister Jess deciding to hit me with her ski pole. To this day I still don't know exactly why that upset me so, perhaps I was just not in a state of inner-peace in general, but I became unhinged right away. Seeing my playful smile turn rapidly into a face resembling a half starved and rabid wolf, she began to quickly ski down the mountain with me right behind her yelling. Many a helpless onlookers watched us as we headed down, Jessica hopelessly trying to get me off her tail. Eventually, we got to the bottom of the hill and there was literally no where for her to go; she was stuck. I caught up to her and grabbed her pole and began hitting her repeatedly with it with one hand and throwing snow down her back with the other hand. If you ask Kaden about it it still gives him the shivers remembering the awful scene. I took a sibling argument to a whole new level.
The vengeful blood-lust lasted only a minute or two, but the aftermath lasted a lot longer. As I suddenly came to myself I saw my poor kid sister crying in the snow. Immediately I was filled with the most horrible feeling of regret I have ever felt. I could hardly believe what I had done. I began apologizing over and over, helped her up, and of course added "don't tell Mom or Dad!". For weeks I felt guilty even looking over at her. I never wanted to do anything like that to anyone ever again.


Sadly, about three years later, I did. I just got home from basketball practice and I wasn't in the best of moods. Of course, walking in and finding out it was time for Family Home Evening did not improve my sentiments. My mood was drastically darkened when I was then informed that we had a "guest" speaker for FHE; someone here to teach us self-defense. If I had it my way I would have rather had my Dad buy us all some mace or a tazer and called it good, but nonetheless I sat down to participate. After a few minutes of instruction we were put in pairs to practice blocking a punch. Of course I was paired up with Jessica. Not only could she block all my punches, I couldn't block any of her punches. Of course being the older sister by 5 years I was annoyed that she was better at this than I was. My pride set in, and the fact that she began to brag and rub it in only fueled that pride. Before long I lost control and stated "block this!" and punched her as hard as I could. She dropped to the floor in a ball and my mind flashed back to the bottom of that ski hill. Of course I helped her up and said "don't tell Mom and Dad", but the rest of the night I felt awful. It was then that I realized something; if I didn't want to feel that awful feeling of guilt and regret I needed to do something about it. I didn't just need to tell myself not to do that anymore, I needed to change my very being to become someone who didn't even think to do that anymore. In short I didn't need to change my behavior, I needed to change my character.


Now Jessica (above) and I never fight,
because I experienced a "mighty change of heart"

 Now this story may be familiar to some because I always use this story when we teach about repentance. Repentance is often taught as a five step process 1)Recognition of doing something that is not in line with God's teachings 2)Remorse for what you have done 3)Asking for forgiveness from Heavenly Father 4)Restitution or making things right with anyone you harmed in the process 5)Forsaking or never doing it again. A lot of times we get stuck on one of these five steps. Sometimes we are so filled with the remorse step that we sell ourselves short of being able to make lasting change and feel that that is "just how we are and always will be". As a representative of Jesus Christ and His Gospel I testify that that just isn't true. The Atonement of Jesus Christ gives us actual tangible power to overcome any and all weaknesses that we see in ourselves. When we humbly submit ourselves to Him and have Faith that the Atonement can help us and Hope in ourselves that we really can change and that the Atonement really will help us do so than we will experience something far greater than simply a change of behavior; we will experience a "mighty change of heart." This change of heart was experienced by a group of people; and this is what they said about it "Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2)
I don't know about you but to me a change of heart sounds much better than a change of behavior. Fighting with ourselves every day to "make" ourselves do what we think we should do can be and is exhausting, frustrating, and discouraging. But if we let truly repent, following all the steps to forsaking, then God will turn that forsaking into a change of heart, and we won't be fighting against ourselves anymore but will become "new creatures"(2 Corinthians 5:17). That is why Christ is the Prince of Peace, through His Atonement we will no longer be fighting ourselves anymore, because we will want to do what is right. And for anyone wondering, to my knowledge, I have not acted in anger or violence to my little sister since that day, and I can honestly say I don't really desire to, ever, because this time, I did more than change my behavior, I turned it over to God so that He could change my heart.
For scriptural accounts about this:
Enos 1:1-8
Alma 23-24 (Alma 24:16-19)
Mosiah chapter 3-5

The Holy Ghost and Snowmobiling

When I was about 14 my family took a vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was sort of a tradition to go skiing there a few days after Christmas and to spend some time with some of our family living nearby in Pocatello, Idaho. This year was just a little different though, because this year we were taking a day off from our skiing adventures to try our hand at snowmobiling.
I had a little bit of excitement at the thought of it-I had never been before and I was anxious to try it out. Plus, we weren't just going anywhere, we were headed for some hot springs. We got to the rental place and they suited us up in gear; sleek black snowsuits and black visor-ed helmets. I remember feeling a little bit like Speed Racer in the get up and I was excited to drive, but my parents wisely suggested I ride behind my older brother for the first half of the trip first to get the hang of it. Impatient but obedient, I hopped on the back of my brother's snowmobile.
After a hour or so we stopped to break and play in the snow. I was begging to drive the entire time, so eventually, my brother gave in and handed the keys over. I was shaking I was so excited. I hopped on, fired her up and waited for my brother to get on back. Soon we were on our way.

Besides Mario Kart this was my first time really ever driving a vehicle. What my brother and I soon found out is that I did not have an aptitude at driving. I tend to speed up rapidly, panic, brake, get far behind, panic, speed up too fast again, and then continue on the vicious cycle. This horrible pattern was soon intensified by the fact that we began traveling on a road next to a little ravine. Scared at how close the edge looked I began veering very much to the right side of the road into the hill on that side. The snowmobile would ride up the hill a bit until I panicked once again and turned sharply to the left to get off, only to feel to close to the ravine again. My poor brother was at his wits end by the time we got to this nice open field. I could practically hear his sigh of relief. It was only just a little louder than my own. Unfortunately the big open field was a little less open than I thought. To me the whole area looked like a big huge space of white. It wasn't snowing and the sun wasn't that bright yet I swear I was somehow experiencing a white out. I just kept driving along, faster and faster, trying desperately to catch up to the rest of the gang. I could hear my brother shouting something at me the whole time and I felt his arm pointing to something, but I was too discombobulated to really pay attention. Suddenly I experienced this horrible feeling of having no ground underneath me and then; wham! I was head first in the snow. I slowly got up, wondering what had happened. I saw my brother a few feet behind me, the snowmobile halfway in the snow, and saw above us all a little ravine I had somehow driven us off of into the snow below. Needless to say I was embarrassed, confused, and scared.
Luckily there was no damage, someone drove the snowmobile back up the bank, and I was rightfully banished to ride behind someone again. I later found out that what my brother had been doing behind me was pointing to the road and yelling "road, road, Road, ROAD!" to no avail. I had been too preoccupied and confused to listen-hence we ended up flying off of a ridge.

In our own lives we have similar experiences. We are all on our journey in life, excited to "drive the vehicle" and take ourselves where we want to go. Though we ourselves may be inexperienced, we have the right to receive constant guidance from someone who knows perfectly the path laid before us; the Holy Ghost. He can help us understand not only where to go, but how to get there. Often in life we become too overwhelmed, stressed out, and frustrated to listen to his gentle promptings. Then, if we are really getting ourselves into trouble, he begins to shout, point, and make a ruckus in general to save us from spiritually wrecking. Even then, if we have allowed our minds to be clouded by disobedience, worldly influence, or just plain old distractions of the world and stress of day to day life, we still might not hear or understand his council. At that point, we are sure to wreck. I am eternally grateful that even when we wreck we have access to the Atonement that will restore our lives and put us back on the path, this time with a little more help, until we are ready to drive again toward our spiritual destinations.

No Decision is a Decision

My Grandfather has two twin brothers, Tom and Jerry. According to my Grandpa they were the "cat's meow" and frankly I believe him when I see pictures. They look like James Dean to me and I enjoyed hearing stories about them. My favorite by far is a story about when they were young and were riding a tandem bike together. The two were having a good time and soon started down a big hill. This hill descended into a wide open field with just one tree standing errect, right in the middle. Down they went, speeding directly into the path of the tree. Now I admit I can't remember which was driving but to save confusion lets say it was Jerry. All the time that bike was speeding towards that tree poor Tom was thinking "he's gonna turn any minute now, he's just fooling with me". He thought this right up until the minute that bike hit right smack dab in the middle of that tree's trunk and they went sailing into the dirt. Thankfully, neither one was too badly injured, but of course Tom turned to the Jerry and cried out in disbelief "why didn't you turn away from that tree?" Jerry's reply is something that I"ll never forget, he told Tom "I couldn't decide if I should turn to the right or to the left".

Now although the story is humorous, my Grandfather made sure he let us know what the moral of that story was; no decision is a decision. Now I am the kind of person that struggles deciding which glove to put on first as I leave for the day. Decisions are a hard thing because often we fear of making the wrong one. God has given us the divine gift of agency-the power and ability to choose for ourselves. Often the Advesary attacks us not only by trying to make us decide the wrong choice, but often he gets us by making sure we make no decision at all. By keeping us on the "fence" in life we get out of making a choice, but we also forfit God's blessings and personal growth. It is only when we realize that no decision IS a decision that we can free ourselves from this trap and avoid running spiritually into trees. We can choose with confidence knowing that not only can we be guided in our choices by the Spirit, but should we fall down a forbiden path, the Atonement is always available to bring us back. And this Faith in Jesus Christ is what gives us the power and confidence to decide today to follow Him; even if it costs us the painful process of making a choice and a change.

The Door of the Sheep

I happen to love reading and before I came on my mission I made a goal of reading all the Newbery Award Books. It was a lofty goal and unfortunately I didn't finish but I read one that will stick with me forever. It is called "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli. The story follows a young son of a knight who dreams of becoming a warrior like his father. While he father is absent the lad gets sick and although recovers most his strength back with time, his legs become mostly useless, making knighthood out of the question. Instead, he is sent to an Abby far away to learn to read and write and find a way to make a trade. The boy is bitter about his lot and fights against learning anything other than knighthood. A kind monk patiently works with him and teaches him to swim, whiddle, read, write, and even makes him crutches that allow him to get around with some mobility. Over and over again he tells the boy that hard things may put a wall in our path to what we want, but we always have the ability to make a door. He tells the boy to learn all he can so that when he meets a wall in life he will always be able to make a door in it and keep progressing forward. The book is short and I don't want to spoil the end for any intrigued readers but the story itself stuck with me because of the monk's advice to prepare for walls so that when they come we can make a door through them. There are many applications to our lives of this sound advice but I want to focus on one: the Atonement.

In the Bible Dictionary under names of Christ it lists "the door of the sheep". It is in reference to John 10:7,9. That really stuck out to me because it really puts perfectly into words who Christ is to us when we come accross our own walls or trials in life: he is the door. No matter how difficult or impossible life may seem at times we know that although we ourselves may not be able to climb over or break through them we know that if we allow Christ into our lives he will always provide a door for us. There is nothing his power cannot heal or make right and as we realize that the Atonement begins to have real power in our lives. I know that Christ lives and that he is our door if we let him and become his sheep as we prepare every day for our walls in life. So, let us like Nephi go through life and say "I will go and do" for "the Lord shall provide a way for (me) that (I) may accomplish." (1 Nephi 3:7) If we do so we will never meet a wall too high, thick, or strong for us, for Christ truly is the "door of the sheep".

Angels We Have Heard on High

So I am rounding up with the Nativity story and have been thinking now about the angels. They appear a few times in the Nativity; to bring news to three parties 1-Mary 2-Joseph 3-the shepherds.

1-What can we learn from Gabriel? I think that we can learn that when we are asked of the Lord to open our mouths and teach/talk to people we are to do so. I am sure Gabriel was both excited and nervous for the news he brought; he knew the joy of the news but I am sure he also worried how Mary would react to it. I am sure he knew it was truth and something that would bless her life but it would also be hard to carry out. We, like Gabriel, must open our mouth still and focus on the blessings the gospel brings to people who hear it and not focus on the changes they will have to make and how hard it is. If we truly understand the blessings of the Lord through His restored gospel then sharing the message will be good news and not hard to hear. We will WANT to share it because we see the positive and the blessings rather than the "obligations". President Urchtdorf said "the gospel of Jesus Christ is a pathway not an obligation". Let us remember that as we share it with all who will hear us.

2-What of the angel that brought news to Joseph? He told Joseph after Joseph had decided to have Mary put away-"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21) I am sure Joseph was confused and upset about what he had thought Mary had done, yet he still tried to do the right thing. When we come to trials or "upsets" in life the Lord can help guide us or clarify problems in our lives so that we can move forward in the way the Lord would have us and in the way that is best for us. Let us strive to live so that our example or even words can be a source of guidance and clarification to those around us confused but seeking the truth of the gospel that will lead them to Christ as the angel did for Joseph.

3-The angels brought unto the shepherds "glad tidings of good joy". Christ IS the glad tidings of good joy. Let us, like these angels, proclaim Christ to "all" (Luke 2:10) so that they too may come unto Christ. When we seek to truly understand who Christ is and utilize the Atonement in our own lives we will realize how wondeful the message of Christ truly is, and we will seek to share this message with all we can. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;" (Mosiah 12:21 or Isaiah 52:7)

Let us be like the angels of old and share the gospel message of blessings with courage, seek to guide others as we live the gospel, and share the glad message of the Atonement and life of Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer.

Borne of Four

This story in the New Testament has always been a favorite of mine. I love that four friends make it possible for a man to change his life. This young man, sick of palsy, hears of Christ and seeks to be by him. Sadly, he cannot get there on his own. So, his friends take him to the house Christ is at, but are met with a road-bump; the house is far too full for them to crowd in with their friend in his bed. Not ones to be easily discouraged they decide to "simply" carry their friend to the roof, take off the top of the roof, and let him down by rope to the Savior. That in and of itself is a story worth thinking about. But what I love most is what happens next. After this herculean effort, Christ tells the man "thy sins are forgiven thee." Imagine how this man must feel. After all of that he is still stuck in a bed, and now, there is a large crowd staring at him in the center of the room, wondering what he is doing there. On top of all this, some Pharisees begin to mumble, saying "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2:7). Of course Christ realizes what is going on, and he asks them a powerful question, "Why reason ye these things in your hearts. Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" (Mark 2:8-9 )I find that a very fair question. But I love what Christ does next. He turns to the man with palsy and says, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house." (Mark 2:10-12) 

What I love about this story is that to me it is a perfect teaching moment for all of us. There were two types of miracles this man witnessed; the healing of his physical ailment and the healing of his spiritual ailment. To me, initially, the physical healing was most impressive. In my limited perspective I thought that young man would be most thrilled to be able to walk again, I mean, that is why he came in the first place, right? To me that was the miracle. And yet Christ asked the Pharisees, is it easier to forgive sin or enable this man to walk again? That made me think. I looked back at that very fair question-which is easier? And I realized that the real miracle was far beyond that young man being able to walk again. I saw the two miracles a little differently. Christ essentially looked at the young man and offered him two things; the taking away of a trial (physical healing), and the enabling to deal with trial (spiritual healing). And I have to ask myself; what would I rather have? Would I rather have my miracle be the taking away of trials? It would certainly be easier for me and for God to do. But wouldn't I much rather have the more permanent solution? Wouldn't I rather have the Atonement work within me so that no matter what happens or doesn't happen in my life I can still feel happy? That when tragedy strikes I am prepared to deal with it, grow, and keep moving rather than just try to survive it til it goes away? In Helaman 5:12 it says-"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." As I read this I realize that that is the greatest miracle of all. That is the power of Christ through His infinite Atonement. That when the raging storms and winds of life hit, they shall have no power to make me miserable, downcast, impatient, despairing, angry, or anything else for that matter. I begin to realize the real miracle of Christ. I begin to realize which miracle I should seek after, and which miracle that young man of palsy would treasure most. And yet I remember that, in His mercy, Christ heals him physically as well. He takes away that trial or storm of life. So, when I see this picture of the man borne of four, I remember the miracle to pray for. I remember what to seek. And I remember that a lot of times, Christ in His mercy, timing, and wisdom, gives me both-and I am everlastingly grateful that He does.