My Birthday

Today is my Birthday! One of the happiest times of the year for kids, new presents, you are the focus, really good food...Just a really good day! I still love my birthday, but for a different reason. I think most of us  reflect on our past after significant events. Looking over my last year, I have grown IMMENSELY! I wish I had done a thorough interview of myself then VS myself now, that would have been pretty cool to see the growth in the way I answered. But, why am I pointing this out? Keep reading.

What is the purpose or reason for life? This is one of the most common questions I get asked. This question seems to bother so many people. I ask this question to people as well, not to torture them, but to get them thinking. There is one thing that science can never explain, and that is the purpose for everything, including science. Because God created us he had a plan for each and every one of us. In Jeremiah 1:5 The Lord speaks to Jeremiah, He says "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." What a comforting thought! God knew Jeremiah, before he sent him to this earth; before he had his first birthday!

I know that God knows us too! Our omniscient Father, knew the challenges we would face, he knew the trials we would have. He prepared a way for us to be able to overcome these things, and find Joy!

In Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, Paul recounts trials that some have gone through, and tells us why. "Others had a trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a testimony through faith...God has provided some better things for them through their sufferings for without sufferings, they could not be made perfect."

As we go through life, we will face trials. I don't like them. I don't know many who do. But, as I look through this last year of my life, I have had many trials, and through those trials, I was able to grow. The purpose of this life, as taught to us by an ancient American prophet, is recorded in The Book of Mormon, in the book of Alma Chapter 34 verse 32. Alma says "This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God." As we go through experiences, as we grow in our understanding and faith, our life becomes better. But, it won't if we are passively watching days go by. In my last year, I have grown so much, but as I have the time to reflect on my past, I see just how far I still need to go.