Preparing as Youth to Receive Guidance in These Troubled Times:

At the last Stake General Priesthood Meeting, I was asked to speak/train about the Duty to God program that the young men participate in by setting goals for their personal development. Here are my notes from the presentation:

In 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to a young boy Joseph Smith in answer to his humble petition. What had Joseph Smith both done and been taught in order to receive such a mighty revelation? What must you and I do in our youth in order to receive our own mighty revelations, in other words, what does Joseph Smith’s experience teach us about our own lives? What established guideposts do we have that will guide us in our lives? In consonance with those thoughts, this evening I would like to discuss a guide post that the young men have in their lives: the Duty to God Program.

In order to illustrate the importance of guideposts in our life’s journey, let me share an experience that I recently had. For work, I was traveling in order to visit with a client of mine and I had printed a map with what I believed to have correct directions to the location of the meeting. When I got to the area where I supposed to end up, I soon recognized that the map and directions that I had printed from the internet had taken me to an incorrect neighborhood and I had no immediate means of knowing which way I needed to go in order to arrive at the agreed upon destination. With the hour of appointment at hand and anxiety mounting in my mind, I called a friend in order to receive guidance, direction and resources that I did not have immediately at hand. My friend was able to get me back on course and assisting me in arriving at the proper destination.

This story illustrates the need for correct guideposts in two ways. First, it is incumbent upon us to know that we have accessed the necessary guideposts to help us arrive and the destination we desire to arrive at. Where is it that we need to arrive at? All of us here know that it is a “better country” that we “desire”, even “an heavenly” (see Hebrews 11:16). Indeed we know that our Father in Heaven has prepared for us Celestial glory. We know the destination and therefore it becomes necessary for you and I to know the necessary guideposts that will point us on the way to that ultimate destination. Guidepost, therefore, serve the purpose of pointing us to that next

"The Duty to God Award will assist young men to meet the future challenges of life and to achieve the purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood. . . .

"If you will fulfill the requirements for these priesthood duties and personal attributes, you will prepare yourselves for the Melchizedek Priesthood responsibilities and future challenges in your life. I promise you that your achievement of the Duty to God Award will provide you with a living testimony that will sustain you throughout your life.

"Where available, Scouting can also help you in this effort. We encourage you to participate in Scouting. Many of the Scouting requirements can fill goals and requirements of the Duty to God certificates.

"Scouting is part of the Aaronic Priesthood activity program. The Duty to God Award is a priesthood award, having requirements that will help you develop spiritually and fulfill your priesthood duties.

"Some of the great blessings of these programs that have been developed are that as the youth of the Church, you will have a clear understanding of who you are, you will be accountable for your actions, you will take responsibility for the conduct of your life, and you will be able to set goals so that you might achieve what you were sent to earth to achieve. Our plea is that you strive to do your very best. . . .

" . . . By fulfilling your duty to God, you will bring blessings not only to your own life but to the lives of others.

"Giving service to others is one of the purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood. As a requirement for the Duty to God Award, at least once each year you will have a service project that will provide an opportunity for significant service to your family, the Church, or the community. As you help and serve others, you will learn that the following scripture is a very essential part of the gospel: 'Inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto me' (D&C 42:38).

"I hope the parents, and the bishops—who are the presidents of the Aaronic Priesthood—will understand that the young men and young women for whom they have responsibility have been prepared to come to earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose. It is a great blessing to be able to qualify for and then receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. You young men have noble callings to become righteous men, to grow in strength, and to influence others for good. You young men are the future of the Church. . . .

"Brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood, set your goals now and start working toward earning your Duty to God Award and Eagle Scout Award. You will be blessed for your efforts. . . .

" . . . I promise you that you will be blessed for your faithfulness and declare with the prophet Alma, 'I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God' (Alma 7:22)" ("Fulfilling Our Duty to God," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 39–41).

"With the challenges that are bombarding young men today—Satan’s attempts to weaken them and lead them astray—there has never been a greater need for the blessings that come through achieving the Duty to God Award. A young man who is dedicated to reading the scriptures daily, memorizing the Article of Faith, and accomplishing the other requirements will not only be more focused on that which is good and right and true, but he will be more prepared to shun evil" ("Fulfilling Our Duty to God: A Window of Opportunity," Ensign, Sept. 2006, 36).

Power of Education

I was invited to speak at a fundraiser for a local non-profit, Diamonds in the Rough Sports, Inc. I met the founder of the nonprofit about 8-9 months ago and have tried to help as he gets things launched. The nonprofit focuses on taking kids that were not able to finish high school and help get them off the street, into charter school and then on the college. They use the vehicle of athletic ability in order to help get these kids scholarships and junior colleges. It is a program that has amazing potential to impact kids that really need the support. The event was interesting because they had 5 young men who will be the newest participants. Each of these boys is from Liberty City, which is probably one of the roughest areas in Miami. It was fun to sit and talk to them and see what their interests were and what they were hoping to accomplish. You could tell that these young men had seen a lot and experienced a tough road. I was especially impressed by the comments of the last young man, Zedric. Zedric is about 19 years old and he talked about a picture of his peewee football team that he has in his room. He said of all the boys in that picture, 5 are already dead, 3 have life sentences in prison and 2 are in prison for 7 year terms. Zedric talked about being profiled by the police and other "expected" him to screw up. He then said, "I don't want to be a failure anymore." There are too many kids like that out there... That don't have people concerned enough to make a difference in their lives. I wish that more people could have been at that event. Could have seen what a powerful opportunity for change we have in an incredibly difficult difficult neighborhood here in Miami. The organization really needs help and support so that these kids don't get let down again. Spread the word about Diamonds in the Rough Sport. You all can help. Even if it is in the form or making a small donation or getting people you know to assist. If you want to know more, send me a message and I can put you in contact with Lloyd Price, the founder. Anyways, here is a transcript of my speech and a link to the video. Spread the word and help out!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=159250546454&ref=nf

“The Power of Education”

To begin, I like to express my gratitude to Lloyd for the vision and foresight to set up Diamonds in the Rough Sports and put together this event this evening. I'm also glad to see all of you here tonight because of the commitment that that demonstrates and the influence that each of you can have in the lives of the young people of our community. This is a great start and I hope that we can take the vision of what we see today and share with our friends and neighbors in order to launch this nonprofit.

I appreciate the opportunity that Lloyd has given me tonight to speak with you a little about the power of education. In order to illustrate the principles of education that I would like to share with you to be this evening, I would like to share a story from my own life. When I was a young man my family lives in the state of Minnesota. In our backyard were two large pine trees that had grown relatively close to one another. I enjoyed taking as many opportunities as I could to go into the backyard and climb the trees. On one such occasion, I had climbed about 10 or 15 feet up in one of the trees and decided that I wanted to be in the other tree. I had two options: I could climb down, walk from the base of the tree that I was on to the base of the other tree and climb that tree. But I fixed my mind on the second option. I decided it would be much faster to walk along the intertwined branches of the two trees to go from one tree to the other. As such, I proceeded to walk along the branch that I was standing on in an attempt to walk along the branches attached to the other tree. I had taken a couple of steps when I was soon taught an important ecological truth. Branches are weaker the further they get from the trunk of the tree. This lesson was taught in dramatic fashion as the branch I was standing on snapped and I fell to the ground landing on my back. Lucky for me the only thing that happened was I knocked the wind out of myself, but the lesson persists to this day.

Now there are several analogies that we can draw from this experience that I had, but I would like to focus on two things. First, safety that exists in education; or standing close to the trunk. Second, the power of education to allow us to do the right thing, or the best thing. Education has played a very important role for me in my life. In fact at this point in time the majority of my life was spent in receiving a formal education. Of course that's not to diminish the education that I've received since then but simply illustrates the impact that education has had on me on a daily basis. Education also plays a critical role in the development of communities and of civilizations. Education has done more across the go to alleviate poverty, sickness, depression, and all sorts of adversities that everyone faces. Education brings everyone safety and opportunity.

In fact, internationally, education has played a critical role in assisting individuals and families to break out of the poverty cycle in the developing world. For example, in the country of Bangladesh Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, has worked directly with the poor of Bangladesh in order to offer them opportunities to overcome their situation. A critical element of the work that he is doing has been education. In his own words, “the effects of poverty can be very insidious. Public schools in Bangladesh are available even in the countryside, tuition is not charged, and books are free. But this doesn't mean that money is not a barrier to education. Paper, pens, pencils, and other supplies cost money. So does a school uniform. Even more important, sending a child off to school for several hours a day has a hidden cost in the income generating potential that must be foregone. A small child can help make money for the family in many ways-fetching water from the local stream or well, carting supplies around the farm. When even a few cents makes a meaningful difference in the income of a family, a mother and father must think carefully before making the sacrifice of committing a child to continued education.” By offering a scholarship program to those families that helps to cover those incidental costs, more children are able to participate in continuing education in Bangladesh.

Although the poverty that we deal with in the United States may appear different to the struggles of those families in Bangladesh, we still struggle to help families help their children get the education they need. Families here in the United States deal with similar decisions related to the cost of education and related to the hidden cost of losing an income generator. Children here need the same opportunities to have access to the funds and resources that they need to further their education. In Bangladesh the struggle was getting children of primary school. Here in the United States we struggle getting kids to college. We lose too many kids because they do not have the resources to cover the costs associated with higher education. What is equally as tragic is the fact that many of these potential college students don't further their education because they don't know that they have access to opportunities. That they have resources that will allow them to receive the support and funding that they need to further their education. There is great safety that comes from education.

In my own family, education played an important role in overcoming the poverty that existed in our country during the Great Depression. My grandfather was able to receive a college education and become a teacher following his service in World War II because he was able to access funding through a G.I. Bill. I am also personally grateful that he was able to receive an education because it was where he met my grandmother. It is amazing to see the impact that education continues to have in the lives of my family members. My grandfather went from being a poor boy on a farm in Arizona who didn't have shoes because they couldn't afford them to being a successful school teacher in Oregon. Amazing as that is, the picture becomes more vibrant when you look at the subsequent generations. My father was able to go on and receive a PhD in engineering. His siblings not only went to college but received masters and doctorates in their various fields of studies. And I'm grateful to say that I was able to make it through law school because of their sacrifice and dedication to family. Education has great power and that power increases from generation to generation.

As stated earlier the second analogy that I would like to illustrate is the impact of education in helping us determine the best course for our lives. Former Sec. Gen. of the United Nations, Kofi Annan said, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” and “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.” Education offers to each of us the opportunity to not only learn arithmetic, grammar, fact and figures. Education is a great key with which each and every one of us can unlock potentially limitless potential. Therefore it is not just that we learned to read, but it instead becomes the vehicle or the tool with which we read good books. We are able to engage literature or use arithmetic in order to better our own lives as well as the communities in which we live.

Every child in our community should have the opportunity of receiving the education that they desire. Whether it's a scrawny little boy in Minnesota falling out of trees, the son of a single mother that lives down the street or the kid that they thought would never amount to anything. They need to know that they can do it. I need to know how they can do it. Let make sure that the kids in our community are able to keep climbing those trees. What a great opportunity it is for you and for me to support access to education in our community. Thank you.

Developing Patterns of Worship

Yesterday I was asked to speak in Church, so I thought I would share my talk with y’all…  Love ya!

“Developing Patterns of Worship”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers to you and to me wonderful opportunities and experiences. These opportunities and experiences are directly tied to the manner in which you and I worship. Because of how important it is to properly worship the Lord, I would like to outline some principles that I've learned in my life that have helped me to better understand how to develop proper patterns of worship. Also, to assist in the illustration of these principles, I will discuss how we apply them in our Sabbath day worship. I pray that we can reflect by the Spirit on how to worship and remember the blessings it brings to our lives.

The Spiritual Geography of Worship:

One of the first things that we learn about worship from the Sabbath day is that our ability to worship is directly impacted by our being in the proper location. In order for our worship to be whole and complete, the Lord expects us to attend church, participate in our meetings, and assist according to the assignments we receive and the dictates of the Spirit. Great protection comes into our life when we are physically located where we need to be spiritually.

In order to illustrate this principle of the importance of physical geography to spiritual worship and let me share a scripture. Following the death of the Savior, there was great physical turmoil here in the Americas. The book of Mormon describes the storms, earthquakes, mountains becoming valleys, significant loss of life and other forms of destruction. Following this turmoil, those that survived heard a voice and received counsel from the Lord. The Savior said, "oh all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, to repent of your sins, and be converted, then I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, my arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."[i] Soon after receiving this instruction from the Lord, a large group gathered near the temple in the land of Bountiful. The Savior's instruction to "come unto him" involved two necessary elements. First, the minds and hearts of the people needed to focus on him. Second, those who wanted to follow him needed to be basically in the right location. Those that were gathered at the temple had great blessing of being directly taught by the Lord.

The same holds true for you and I. The Lord extends the same invitation to you and to me. Do we need healing? Do we desire to receive eternal life? We must turn our hearts and minds to the Lord and we must physically locate ourselves where he can personally counsel us. When we attend our church meetings, it should not simply be to see great friends, hear a great sermon, or simply fulfill a duty. Our Sabbath should be an effort for each and every one of us to be right where the Lord needs us to be. I promise that when you and I physically are where we need to be, he will teach us the personal, beautiful messages that we long to hear. Knowing that, let us not forget those around us that need healing, that need these messages, but are currently located in the wrong spiritual geography. Let us bring them home.

How are We to Worship:

Because worship is important to our spiritual development, it is comprised of many elements that should be focused on bringing us to Jesus Christ. The Sabbath, especially our Sunday meetings, allows us to partake in many beautiful aspects of worship. I would like to focus on two things that we can do that will help us to improve our worship: communication and music. I will discuss them within the context of the Sabbath day, but the principles expressed apply to our daily worship as well.

First, communication is a critical element of worship. Our worship is enriched as we discuss the Gospel, share how to apply it, and strengthen and support one another. As you and I, "meet together oft, to fast and pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of [our] souls,"[ii] we will be able to increase our understanding and access to the things of the Lord. It is true that our classes and meetings offer an obvious opportunity to do this, but we minimize our access to the Lord when we limit this element of worship only to what we do in our Sunday meetings. These gospel conversations can and should occur on a daily basis, or is Moroni said, “Oft.” As we do so, we see the completeness of the plan of salvation, the ways in which the Lord has specifically tailored principles to bless us in every aspect of our lives, and we understand who we are and the role we are to play in his kingdom.

But, our communication is incomplete as a form of worship, if we simply communicate amongst ourselves. There are others whose welfare must also be discussed. Those for whom we should also fast and pray. Our friends, neighbors and family members who do not yet have testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ need to know. They need to hear. And we need to tell them. Because the Sabbath day is set apart is his day were our connection to the Savior is closer, as we spend the whole day in worship, they will see and know the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will know where we are and thereby know him. They need to feel the Spirit through the reverence of our Sabbath worship.

There is another form of communication that is critical to our worship. Prayer. The Savior said a beautiful example both to his disciples as well as to us today, of the importance of communicating with the Father. In an Ensign article, this example is illustrated in a discussion on worship. “During the Savior’s ministry, his nearness to the Father deeply touched the twelve. They seemed to be especially impressed with his prayers. On one occasion they said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1.) He then gave them a pattern for prayer we refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. Although for centuries this prayer has been used as part of a ritual in public worship, the gospels of Matthew and Mark make it clear that it was given for instruction and not for ceremonial purposes. The prayer begins with a statement of reverence for the name of God. The name of God means the character of God, the kind of God he is. Then it asks that God’s will be obeyed on earth as in heaven. It asks God to sustain us, to forgive us, and to keep us from the evils of this life. The prayer is intensely personal, and should teach us to communicate more clearly with God regarding our personal needs.”[iii] Complete worship must include sincere prayer.

Second, our worship of the Lord is amplified by the music that we participate in while we worship. It is no surprise that in speaking to Emma Smith, the Savior said, "for my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with the blessing upon their heads."[iv] Music allows us access to the Lord in a very unique and beautiful way. Our Sunday meetings are blessed when all participate with joy as we sing the hymns of Zion. But our access and use of spiritually uplifting music should not be limited simply to singing hymns and church. Our homes must be a safe have were all who enter hear and partake in good and uplifting music. We worship the Lord as we listen to the songs that remind us of him and his great sacrifice on our behalf. As we listen to songs that bring joy and peace to the ears of those that hear them. We must not limit our own access to the spirit by limiting our access to the spiritual power of hymns.

The Focus of Our Worship:

Ultimately though, we must always remember whom we worship. Our Savior Jesus Christ. Whether it is our worship in the Temple, our Sunday meetings, or the spirit that we seek to bring into our homes, we must remember him. Alma emphasize this is he taught his son Helaman about the importance of the Scriptures and missionary work. After reviewing his own personal conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Alma taught the importance of remembering and doing the small and simple things. In order to illustrate this point, Alma reflected on the experience of their ancestors with the Liahona or director that they had received from the Lord. He taught, "And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; whereas our fathers were slothful to give the heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual. For behold, it is easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point out to them a straight course to the promised land. And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise. O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us, and if we will look we live forever."[v]

There are many times in our lives that we are simply asked to "look and live.” I hope that we don't get distracted by the "easiness of the way." We must not lose sight of where we are to look and who we are looking to. This is illustrated by the example of Peter when he saw the Lord walking on the water. Peter in his great faith desired to be with the Lord and requested that the Lord invite him out on the water. The Lord did so, and Peter miraculously walked on the water. Just a few steps, though, “but when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me."[vi] Lucky for him and an example for you and I. The Lord's response was immediate. And he stretched forth his hand and saved Peter. There may be times in our lives or the lives of those we love where the difficulties of life make worship difficult. When we don't think we have the capacity to accomplish that which the Lord has asked us. Don't forget who we are walking to. We worship the Savior, Jesus Christ. One who is mighty to save. And who will save us immediately. The boisterousness of the waves may not go away immediately. But the Savior will be there. He will reach out to us. And bring us to him. That is why we worship. That is why we follow Him. And that is why it is important for us to build the foundation of worship each Sabbath day that will impact our daily worship of the Savior Jesus Christ. I love you and am grateful for your faith.

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[i] 3 Nephi 9:13-14

[ii] Moroni 6:5

[iii] John F. Heidenreich, “Bible Pattern of Worship,” New Era, Mar 1973, 32

[iv] Doctrine and Covenant 25:12

[v] Alma 37:43-46

[vi] Matthew 14:30

Let’s talk…

Opportunities are interesting things. If I were to tell you that you could do anything that you wanted to… what would you do? I hope that you take advantage of all that great experiences that you have in your life. For example, does your family know that you love them? Do your friends enjoy speaking with you about any topic? Guess what? Did you know that I am talking to you right now? I'm not typing this blog entry at all. This is voice recognition software at work. It's a trip. I think this will be something that will help me become more efficient in the work that I'm doing. In fact I can already tell that I can do this at a much faster rate than I can type. So, from now on you'll get dictated blogs. Lucky you. That's all I have right now. Love you tons.

Love a Local Business

You have the chance of support my business! Check out the widget on the right... You can select my business on the map and make a note as to why you love it. This will put me in to contention to get some grant money. I would love the support!

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Happy Monday, dear friends. Love ya.

Becoming and Overcoming

This morning I had the opportunity to take some time to listen to this talk: Becoming and Overcoming by Carol Wilkinson from a recent BYU Devotional. I was very grateful for her perspective on how to face adversity and the emphasis that she placed on the things that we can do to more properly work with our Father in Heaven as we may be struggling in our lives. One phrase of hers really struck me: "Be willing to spend time with God. Desire it with all your heart." What a beautiful way of describing that process of consecrating our lives. All too often we get caught up in our problems and trying to understand them, that we miss out on opportunities to "spend time with God." These tender moments of prayer and faith are ever more important in our lives, especially in times such as these. But more importantly, they become the sustaining and strengthening balm that we need as we struggle. It also allows us to position ourselves to have more empathy for those around us who are struggling. And in turn help them with their needs.

We are promised by God that we will overcome. What a blessing it is to know that he will sustain us. We can be happy regardless of the things that we are struggling with. Love you all!