Not exactly what it seems.

Ban The Invisible Killer

Di-hydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DH MO, but the dangers of Di-hydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DH MO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DH MO withdrawal means certain death.

Di-hydrogen monoxide:

• is also known as hydroxyl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
• contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
• may cause severe burns.
• contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
• may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Contamination Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions!

Despite the danger, Di-hydrogen monoxide is often used:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant.
• in nuclear power plants.
• in the production of Styrofoam.
• as a fire retardant.
• in many forms of cruel animal research.
• in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
• as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

Companies dump waste DH MO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The purpose of this blog is to show that anything can be twisted to make it look right.

Di-Hydrogen Monoxide written chemically is H20 or...Water. What would happen if we were just presented the negatives about anything? Would we think positively about it? How much do we depend on water? Yet after this convincing article, we would be ready to ban it.

Jesus Christ taught,
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits."

What purpose would someone have of driving you away from this life sustaining resource...water? Likewise, there will be false prophets driving you away from this soul-sustaining living water.

Remember the guidance of the good shepherd comes through "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." When you feel these fruits you will know you are being led in righteousness
.

Faith takes Work

Do you know that scripture in James, where it says "Faith without works is Dead being alone."?

In this last week, I have realized a lot of the truth of that statement. This week we have had the great opportunity to share the gospel in Clearlake, CA. We have been telling everyone how Jesus Christ has restored His gospel to the earth, and that he has called a prophet to lead us and guide us through these unsteady times.

Many people want to hear us. They want to feel the hope and the peace that comes from this message. But many of them also don't act on the things that we teach them. They don't come to church, they don't read the Book of Mormon, and they don't get baptized. Though in the moment that we teach they feel the peace and hope. They limit themselves from Faith, and from eternal peace that comes from living the gospel.

My Mom wrote in an e-mail to me today a quote that she had just read.
In the Spring,
At the end of the day,

You should smell like dirt.

I think I can echo the words of this person unknown to me.

In our Life,
At the end of it,
We should feel great peace.

Peace doesn't come all at once, and we can't just do deathbed repentance, and expect to get the full peace.
We have to be investing every day, and pray and act on the things which Christ tells us. As we do this, our lives will have greater joy and peace. I know this. So act on your faith!

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tinted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.

I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am lifted up in prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my goal is heaven.

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table with the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach 'till all know, and work till He stops me and when He returns for His own He will have no problem recognizing me-for it is His banner that I carry.

A Rock

 Another Guest Writer: Elder Epps, He is from North Carolina. He is an incredible missionary, and is an inspiring person. Read carefully his words. 

 Well I'm not a very creative person, never have been but I would like to share something with you that has been on my mind as of recent. The thing that I have thought a lot of about is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I think I do not deserve the great sacrifice that our Savior Jesus Christ made for us as he, the perfect Son of God, humbled himself before our Heavenly Father and willingly accepted to pay for every single little and big mistake we make in our lives. Sometimes I get down because I know the mistakes I have, do, and will make added on to that pain He felt. I have often thought that I am not deserving of that great sacrifice He made for us.

   As I have continued to study, pray, and feel, I have come to realize those feelings and thoughts that many of us have of inadequacy or worthlesness only come from the opposition, who is Lucifer. We need to completely turn over our lives to the Lord and see what he will make out of us. Someone that helped me a lot as I grew up once compared us to a rock. Yes a rock. We have many weakness and we make many mistakes throughout life and we just look like an ugly good for nothing rock. For example this one...

     Now we can compare Christ to a river. As we hand our life over to him and the things he taught and he did and allow the river (Christ) to take us where it is going we will change. Along the way we might hit bigger rocks, and harder places to get out of (our trials), but these bigger rocks, and rough currents that we hit will shape us and form us into something more pure as we continue to allow the river to take us. Our rough edges and not so attractive things (our mistakes) will go away. We will turn into something more pure and with less defects. The product will look something like this....

    After a long, rough and difficult process we are perfected. We are without blemish. We are pure. Only through the river carrying us down that long and difficult path we can become like this. Only through Jesus Christ our Redeemer we can become pure and without blemish. I encourage all of us to leave those feelings of doubt and inadequacy behind and hand our lives over to our Savior and see what he can make us. No matter the trials or difficulties we have, lets not stop. Just keep going forward with faith and we will one day stand before our loving Heavenly Father withouth blemish and he will warmly welcome us into his arms as well as his perfect loving son, Jesus Christ.

Elder Epps

A Pencil With No Point

How many times in our lives, have we ended up with a pencil that looked like this?

When our pencils are like this we can't do anything.

No writing birthday cards...(which I owe to my sister), No writing poems,

No writing love notes, No sketching dinosaurs, No writing fairy tales, Nothing.

Does your life have a point?

Charity, the Journey of a Lifetime

I don't know how many of you get frustrated with yourself, when you aren't developing Christlike attributes quickly. I am pretty impatient with myself. I expect a lot, in a short amount of time. Recently I have been really trying to have more charity, and while I do well some days, I draw blanks others. This quickly gets frustrating to me, and starts to discourage from my original journey.

I wonder how many people find this point, and start to lose hope.

I am here to give you that hope.

"He Denieth None"

Another guest writer: I asked my Zone Leader Elder McBride To share something that he felt inspired to write about. He is one of my favorite missionaries out here, and I will be sure to forward any comments to him.

As of late I have been doing a lot of pondering upon the Savior and His sacrifice for each of us.  I have stared at picture after picture of Jesus Christ and remained speechless at the thought of that act which was performed out of an unconditional and perfect love.  I have thought about why the Atonement is so important in my life and the difference it can make in the lives of those that surround me.  I wondered how it is that I might come to better understand God's love. 

I was reading in the bible, and came across this scripture in John 10:17-18, that says, "therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This commandment have I received of my Father."  This scripture hit me with a greater force than it had previous.  I started to think about how the Savior came willingly to do this for the Father, to show His trust and His love.  It started a reflection of my life and how willing I was to do things for the Lord, and I came to this result; Our willingness to do what God asks of us, is a measure of our love for Him. 

That pulled my mind to even greater reflection and remembrance; God willingly gave His Son, and watched him suffer all pains, stand rejection, and be mocked.  God withheld all power to save His Only Begotten Son of these troubles to give me the opportunity to return to his presence.  How convenient was it for the Father to watch his Son suffer?  How convenient was it for the Savior to suffer, bleed, and die for my mistakes, sins, and rebellion?  These questions came to my mind quickly as I thought of times I had placed things aside that God has commanded me to do, because they weren't always convenient.  I wondered how much love the Savior had to have for not only me, but for my family and friends and even those I don't know, to lay down his life so that we may return to our Father in Heaven. 

All of these things brought my focus back to the Atonement, back to why the Savior is so important in my life.  I am inadequate.  I do make mistakes.  I have placed other things before God in my life, and loved things other than Him first.  I am grateful for the willingness that Christ shows in forgiving me of these mistakes and if it were not for His love, and His Atonement, I would not be as happy as I am today, or as thankful for the things I am given, by His hand.  So, I am brought to this scripture from the Book of Mormon, "for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him..." (2 Nephi 26:33).  I am not denied by him, none will be, if they come unto him.

Change

For most of us, Change is hard.

We get comfortable. We are happy where we are at. We have "enough". This is exactly how I felt. Recently, I was transferred from Vacaville to Santa Rosa, and I had a huge change! I had been in Vacaville for 7 months, and I loved the people there. We were teaching many, and I loved each of them. Then, I found out I was being transferred.

For me and for the people I was teaching, this was difficult. We were comfortable. I even had one wonderful lady threaten to not come to church if I left. (We talked her down from that lofty threat, explaining that this change is necessary.)

In a lot of ways, 'mission life' mirrors 'normal life'. In normal every day life, we get comfortable where we're at. We go to church every week, have the same schedule, and we are happy with our family, and happy with our life. Sometimes we get so comfortable, that we don't change. We know it would be better for us, but we justify it in our own minds.

Already in Santa Rosa, we were able to meet a wonderful man, who accepted to be baptized on December 5th. Would I have gotten this incredible opportunity to invite someone to follow the example of Jesus Christ, if I hadn't been willing to change?

We grow when we are uncomfortable. One of my friends back home wrote a poem, about a flower. I can't recite it off the top of my head, I wish I could it's a gorgeous poem, but it says that the flower was put in a box, and there it died, because it could not grow.

Think about our lives, if we don't force ourselves outside the box how are we going to grow? So today, I'm going to give you a challenge. Go outside your box, bear your testimony to someone, and if that is inside your box, leave them with a challenge. Only you know where you have placed your limits, find them break them, and Grow your Faith!