Be or Become

I love Abinadi. I am grateful for Alma for being the one to tell his story. Abinadi was a martyr in the Book of Mormon and one of the most powerful stories of a prophet facing opposition in all scripture. Similar to John the Baptist, Stephen, and even the Savior Jesus Christ, Abinadi willingly gave his life in defense of truth.Every time I read about the prophet Abinadi, I am struck by the power of his words. He so bravely stands up to the wicked king Noah and his priests, warning them that their wickedness will lead to their destruction and captivity. Abinadi seems fearless against this opposition and he is extremely confident that he is sent from God.One of my favorite moments in his story is when King Noah orders his priests, “Away with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do with him, for he is mad.”They thought he was crazy and nothing more than a nuisance, but then the power of God really showed up: See Mosiah 13:1-10I love it! What amount of faith and power would have to be over you to speak up like that to the very people that held you captive and wanted to kill you? Ultimately, after Abinadi delivered his message, he was killed, and his death was a type and a shadow of the death of Jesus Christ.On a personal note, I can remember discussing this story with my mom when I was a kid. I don’t remember how old I was or where exactly I was, but I remember that she asked me if I had enough faith that I would be willing to die for the gospel. In my childish innocence, I probably said yes, but more importantly, that planted in my heart a desire to be like Abinadi. If I did not yet have the faith to give up my whole life to God, maybe one day I would, and I could work towards that.My mom’s question changed my life. It helped put me on the path to truly valuing my testimony more than my own life. Abinadi’s story converted only one man in King Noah’s court, but his story has also played an important role in my personal devotion to Jesus Christ and His church. I am so grateful for all the players in this chain of events: for Abinadi, for Alma, for my mom, and ultimately, for my Savior Jesus Christ.Jesus Christ also willingly gave up His life. He did it to overcome death for all of us. Because of Him, we will all live again. One day I want to be able to see my mom again. I would also love to meet Abinadi, and Alma. Because of that Easter morning so long ago, I will be able to meet all of them, but most importantly, I will see my Savior.I will end with a question. Would you be willing to give up your life in defense of your testimony?

There are so many examples of how serving God is a way of loving God. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” He also said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”Jesus also taught us how our service to others is really service to Him. He said:“35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”As I recently attended a special Palm Sunday Sacrament Meeting, I was touched by just seeing so many people gathered together that love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Members of the church love Him. They try to serve Him. They try to follow Him and repent. No one is perfect, but these people are sincere. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ requires sacrifice, time, effort, and a humble heart. If we are full of pride and selfishness, we won’t last in the church. It requires too much from us.Do we have to serve God? Can’t we just be saved? Let’s look at what God wanted from the people of Israel during the time of Moses. Moses told Pharaoh, “Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.” God wanted a people that would serve Him and offer sacrifice to Him.Even though the Law of Moses was fulfilled in Christ, we are still required to sacrifice in the form of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ still wants us to serve, as noted before. He still wants us to repent.In a spiritual sense, I think many people are in bondage today. I think many people struggle with addiction to multiple stimuli. I think many of those things drive us down into terribly harmful thoughts and actions. I also believe that through Jesus Christ, we can be liberated from bondage and become a people that serves Him.Also, remember that God does not need us to serve Him. He can do anything. He wants us to choose to serve Him because of how it blesses us and others around us. He first loved us and served us. As we love and emulate Him, we become His people.

I had a friend once tell me of a phrase in the Doctrine and Covenants, that “an effectual door shall be opened for them.” (D&C 118:3) For some reason those words just stuck out to me as a comforting thing. The message was that God would open up an opportunity for me to have the success I sought. Let’s look at the whole verse:“Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.” (D&C 118:3)A door might mean an opportunity in this case. An effectual door could mean an opportunity that actually works and is effective. I love the imagery of seeing the Lord open up a path for us.To me, this concept is much easier to see in hindsight. It is easy to look back and see how the Lord’s hand was in my own life. He put many wonderful people and experiences in my path. He gave me many opportunities to grow in wonderful ways. Looking back at my life, I feel grateful for the many ways God opened effectual doors for me and my family.In contrast, there is another interesting use of the word effectual that I found in Mosiah 7:18. In this verse, King Limhi, the leader of a group of Nephites in bondage, is given hope that they might escape and find help in Zarahemla. He praises God for this opportunity, and then says, “yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.”An effectual struggle sounds like there is hard work ahead, but it has a sense of hope. Effectual seems to mean that the struggle will eventually pay off. It’s kind of the message that it will be hard, but we will make it.There are trials we have in life that require an effectual struggle. Sometimes prayer, church attendance, scripture study, etc. are really not enough. I know in difficult circumstances, like addiction or trauma recovery, or in struggling with loss, abuse, or mistreatment, it is helpful to have many resources to help out.A very spiritually minded person might wonder if they can just handle something by trusting in God alone. I have wondered that. In my personal life, it took me time to realize that I just needed more help from experts and people around me to overcome some difficult challenges. It’s my personal opinion that God wanted me to learn to rely on His children for help. I believe that God sent us here to help each other out, and that He can give us the help we need through others.So, in both circumstances, effectual doors and effectual struggles, I believe that God delivers us by means of other people. We can also be that door or help for other people. We are not meant to struggle on our own. Jesus Christ organized a church so that people could work together and lift each other. He wants us to learn to give and receive help.I encourage you to look for those effectual doors and struggles in your life. How has God sent that help or opened doors for you? How can you open doors or provide help in someone’s struggles? Ultimately, we are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. He enables us to be His disciples. 

I just started into the story of Moses in Exodus, and I am intrigued by what kind of a person he was. What do we know about his background? He was saved by his mother sending him in a small raft or arc to Pharaoh’s daughter. He became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, yet when he grew up, he saw his own people, the people of Israel, in bondage. Moses took action and killed an Egyptian in defense of two Hebrews being smitten. Because of this, Moses had to flee and he ended up in Midian. There he impressed Reuel by being a helpful person, and Reuel gave Moses a daughter to be his wife.That is about all we have to go by for Moses’s background before he saw the Lord. Apparently Moses was brave enough to oppose injustice, and he was considerate enough to help out the people around him.Then the Lord appeared to Moses and called him to be the deliverer of His people. Moses showed reluctance and doubt in his own abilities, but the Lord showed Moses that it was the Lord who would work through Moses. At one point the Lord almost seems annoyed at Moses for doubting, so He appoints Aaron to be a spokesman for Moses.The more I think about this, the more I realize that there are nuances that are unknown. We don’t really know what Moses was like. We don’t totally know his feelings, fears, or strengths. Still, we can imagine being in his shoes. In what way can I be more brave and stand up against injustice and evil? How can I be truly helpful to the people around me. Lastly, how can I make myself ready to receive the call from the Lord? Not everyone is a prophet, but I do believe we can all hear the voice of the Lord and find out what He wants from us.Maybe some of Moses’s early actions were driven by the Lord’s inspiration. Maybe Moses felt guided to help the slaves and help the shepherds of Reuel. Maybe his willingness to act upon promptings was his proving ground before the Lord called him to greater things.We do know that Moses was a type and shadow of Jesus Christ. He was a Savior, like Christ. Maybe his attitude reflected Christ’s willingness to follow “not my will, but Thine be done.”

Joseph of Egypt. This is a story of reconciliation and forgiveness, among many other things. It’s hard for me to even describe this story because of the complexity of the emotions involved. I can’t imagine going through any of the things that happened to him. I can’t imagine being sold and betrayed by my brothers, I can’t imagine going to prison after being falsely accused. I can’t imagine succeeding at everything I became a part of. I can’t imagine being in a place of great power and being able to forgive my brothers.The story is so unusual and unfathomable in our day and time. So why does it hit home so much? Why is this story so relatable? There is something about betrayal and pain that we can all relate to. There is something to the complexity of families that we can relate to. Even the complex mix of emotions that we feel at times.Each time I read how Joseph wept, I wondered what he was feeling. He was overcome at times and sent people away, or hid himself as he wept. Notice that it took significant time for him to sit in his emotions and wrestle with them. He did not immediately forgive his brothers. I imagine him wresting until he came to a point of giving it all up to God.In the end, Joseph acknowledges that it was God’s will that he was sold into Egypt. It was all part of a much greater plan. When Joseph realized it was God’s will, he was able to forgive his brothers.We can all strive to have a godlike perspective on life rather than holding to our own pride. I know I need work on this.

I want to share a quick object lesson with you. This is something I learned from my mission president, President Clate W. Mask. He was just the greatest teacher and leader for our mission. The lesson is called “Keep on keepin’ on.”I have this jar with rice in it and this little ball represents us. As missionaries, we would face rejection and struggles a lot, but that also applies to life now. We have moments where we feel on top of the world and things are running smoothly. Unfortunately, sometimes the world slams over us in discouraging ways (turn over the bottle and the rice buries the ball).This is where we need to keep on keepin’ on. I’ll shake the bottle to represent this. We need to keep our chin up, trust in the Lord, keep acting in faithfulness and obedience, keep striving to be better each day. As we keep on keepin’ on, it’s not long until we are back on top, feeling blessed.Look at Joseph of Egypt. He was true to God even in the worst of times. He was nearly killed by his brothers, sold to become a slave, and then thrown into prison. He could have renounced his faith and given up so many times. He was 17 years old when his brothers sold him and it was not until he was 30 that he became the greatest in Egypt save Pharaoh.Joseph kept his faith and covenants. He kept trusting in God. When Potiphar’s wife tempted him, he dared not sin against God, so he fled. Everywhere Joseph went, people saw that God was with him and he could be trusted. He kept on keepin’ on.So that is the lesson I learned from President Mask, and I cherish it. I have taught it to my kids who have served as missionaries. I still need this reminder for myself. When life buries you and it feels hopeless, keep on keepin’ on, and you will come out on top.

Joseph, Why Did You Say That?I just started into the story of Joseph of Egypt. One of the first things Joseph does in this story is have a dream that indicated all his family would bow down to him. When I read this, I thought, “Joseph, read the room. That was not the smartest thing to say.”Joseph’s brothers hated him because he seemed favored by their father, Israel. The brothers conspired against him, almost killed him, but finally sold him to be a slave.Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Joseph had had some street smarts and knew when to keep his mouth shut? Sure, it may have saved him some trouble initially, but what about the big picture. This story is so much larger than the initial events that took place. Joseph was destined to go to Egypt and he became a leader that his family eventually did bow down to.Let’s consider some reasons why Joseph did open his mouth, even if it might have seemed like a bad idea. It says that Israel loved Joseph more than any all his children and gave him a coat of many colors. Joseph received this love. Joseph also had a dream, and maybe Joseph knew that this dream was from God. Maybe he had a loving relationship with God and knew that this dream needed to be told to his family, regardless of the ramifications. Maybe Joseph felt so much love from God and his own father that he had no fear to speak the truth. We know from the Book of Mormon that “perfect love casteth out all fear.” (Moroni 8:16)In spite of the many difficulties Joseph endured, he never turned his back on God. He stayed true to being honest and chaste. He trusted in God even through years of trials. God remained with him and kept giving him power to interpret dreams. This would later lead him to a position of great importance. Joseph did not fear men. He trusted in God.As a side note, as I talked with my wife about this topic, she said it reminded her of Joseph Smith. Why did Joseph Smith tell people about the golden plates? Why didn’t he just keep that to himself? Wouldn’t that be easier? Joseph Smith could not be quiet about his experiences. He feared God more than he feared man.So what does this mean for us? It makes me wonder what I can do to fearlessly speak the truth of God, even if it is awkward or not a popular thing to say. Personally I feel like social pressure is difficult to overcome. How can I be filled with God’s love so that I do not fear?Ultimately, the story of Joseph is a type of Jesus Christ. Many of his experiences foreshadow the life of Jesus Christ. Christ is the ultimate example of fearless love and honesty. He humbly, yet powerfully, testified of truth and He received the worst treatment with faith. He willingly bore it all because of His love.

A New BeginningI read from Acts chapter 2 today and was impressed by the wonderful beginning and change that occurs in this chapter.The setting was the Day of Pentecost. I found it interesting that this day is 50 days after the Passover, so quite a while had passed since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Day of Pentecost is a Jewish festival day that celebrates the wheat harvest and also God giving the Law to Moses (thanks Chat GPT).On this day, there was a sound like a great rushing wind. It was the Holy Ghost. People began to speak in tongues and understand tongues. Peter preached to the people and they desired to know what to do. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38)3000 people were baptized and the church was formed.What a great beginning this was! People joined the church. They sold their goods and parted them to all in need. They had all things in common among them. It says that many were added to the church daily.How did this change start? I found it interesting that it started with a great understanding of language. Can you imagine what it would be like to understand everyone else? We live among people that share culture, but what about people on the other side of the world that have different languages and cultures. They live so differently and believe so differently. Often this leads to misunderstandings and conflict. What if we all understood, really understood, other people, including their intentions and their hearts?I believe that when we really understand people, we can love them much more easily. The Holy Ghost filled these people’s hearts and they must have felt love, and there was a great understanding. With all this, no wonder they all wanted to repent and join into a covenant with God.Are you ready for a new beginning in your life? Here are three things to think about regarding new beginnings:Seek new understandingSeek to repentSeek to make covenants or renew covenants with God.I believe these things can fill us with the Holy Ghost and give us a wonderful new beginning, filled with the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts.Please share in the comments your experiences with new beginnings. How did it start? What did it feel like?

Teach about Jesus Christ No Matter What...The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a manual for teachers called Teaching in the Savior’s Way. One of the first sections in this manual is entitled, “Teach about Jesus Christ No Matter What You Are Teaching.” Here is what it says:There are many things to teach about in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ—principles, commandments, prophecies, and scripture stories. But all of these are branches of the same tree, for they all have one purpose: to help all people come unto Christ and be perfected in Him (see Jarom 1:11; Moroni 10:32). So no matter what you are teaching, remember that you are really teaching about Jesus Christ and how to become like Him. The Holy Ghost can help you learn to recognize truths about the Savior and His redeeming power in each gospel principle, commandment, and prophetic teaching (see Jacob 7:10–11).Here goes my doofusness again. My first thought when reading this was, “Yeah. Of course. That makes sense. No problem.” However, when I really look at my own actions and efforts, I realize that this is harder than it sounds.For example, today I read in Genesis about when Jacob tricked Isaac into giving him a blessing in place of Esau. This is such a strange story. I wonder how in the world I can relate this to Jesus Christ.In this story, Isaac has gotten old and blind, and he tells Esau to go catch some venison and cook it up for him. Then he says he will give Esau a blessing. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, overhears this and she tells Jacob to pretend to be Esau in order to get the blessing in his place. Jacob does this, receives the blessing, and Esau gets mad and wants to kill him. Jacob ends up fleeing for his life and they are eventually reconciled later in life.How in the world does this story teach about Jesus Christ? It’s not an easy thing to grasp.Maybe that can be a lesson in and of itself: we don’t understand God’s ways at times. Let’s ask this question: Was the Lord involved in this strange set of circumstances? It does say later in Genesis that the Lord was with Jacob. Maybe the Lord guided Rebekah to do what she did. Maybe the lesson is to do what your mom tells you!Jacob is blessed to have blessings of wealth and leadership in his posterity. We know that comes true. We know God uses small and simple means, but maybe sometimes He uses very strange means to bring about His will. That seems to be the case here.I personally have to stretch to connect this to Christ. Perhaps God is involved in my life in more ways than I realize. Maybe he placed people and opportunities in my way. I can think of many things that have seemed to just fall into place for me, and I am so blessed.So let’s think about this strange story involving Jacob, Esau, Isaac, and Rebekah and apply it to our own lives. How is God involved in your experiences and relationships. Think about people around you and think about how maybe God wants this to influence and bless your life, especially if you are in a covenant relationship with God. If you are, then God is literally with you.

Lessons From Two JacobsI am going to talk about something I observed from two different Jacobs: Jacob son of Lehi in the Book of Mormon, and Jacob son of Isaac in Genesis. Then I will tie them together.Jacob son of Lehi is well known for recounting Zenos’s Allegory of the Olive Tree. The first thing I always think about with this chapter is that it is looooong. It’s the longest chapter in the Book of Mormon, and I either have to gear up for a long session, or split it up into multiple days. I split it up this last time.To summarize roughly, in this allegory, the Lord of the Vineyard plants olive trees in a vineyard, then proceeds to nourish, prune, and harvest for many seasons. There are times when he tries to help the trees by grafting and transplanting the saplings into other trees or other places in the vineyard. Much time seems to pass, and sometimes the trees bear good fruit and at other times the trees are corrupted. At times Lord almost gives up and mourns the loss of his vineyard, but the servants and the Lord decide to keep trying various methods of pruning, grafting, nourishing, and waiting. Eventually the vineyard bears more good fruit that grows along with corrupt fruit and there is a final separation of good and corrupt fruit. Be sure to read this to get a much better understanding.What really stuck out to me this reading was the clear distinction of who did what. The Lord and His servants do all the planting, nourishing, pruning, transplanting, grafting, and waiting. It is the plants, however, that grow and bear fruit. They either grow good fruit or corrupt fruit. The Lord does not do the growing.I think we are the plants. We have to take the nourishment, be pruned, even transplanted and grafted into a new setting at times. We have to choose how we grow and what fruit we will produce. The Lord will not do that for us. If any of you have done any gardening, you know that there is some point where you have to just wait and see how the plant will grow. It cannot be forced.Now let’s jump to the other Jacob, son of Isaac. Jacob was the second born son behind Esau, who rightfully had the birthright. We can think of this as the covenant relationship with God. Esau could have had all the blessings and responsibilities of the birthright, but instead he sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and pottage. The Bible says he despised the birthright. Jacob wanted the birthright. It symbolizes the covenant relationship with God. In both of these accounts, notice the element of choice. God will not force us to make covenants and live in a covenant relationship with Him. God provides all that we need to bless us and help us bear good fruit. We make and keep covenants as an active way of accepting what God has offered. If we choose to accept what God offers, we will be greatly blessed.

Why Am I Doing This?I have been asking myself why I am doing this podcast. I think I finally came up with an answer. Is it a good answer? Probably not, but this is the best I can do.I want to convey that although I am a middle-aged doofus, I can still thrive as a happy follower of Jesus Christ and member of His church. You can too! Even I can successfully “be or become an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, proceeding forward on the covenant path into the eternities.”Qualifications for a middle-aged doofus:I am 47 years old...middle-aged.I am awkward in social settings and even struggle at social cues at times.I am not an expert on scriptures, doctrine, languages, history, culture or anything that seems to convey that I am a knowledgeable person.I am generally uninformed with current events.I am not very informed about pop culture, movies, popular music, tv shows, or sports.Most importantly: My kids all think that I am a doofus.I think it is clear that I qualify as a middle-aged doofus.So what qualifies me as a successful member of the church?I have stayed an active participant in church my whole life.I have lived through trials of faith, sadness, loss, heartbreak, personal struggles, relationship struggles, parenting. Basically I have lived life...so far.I have studied my scriptures on a personal level for decades. Even though I am not a scriptorian, I have learned to love the scriptures and gain strength from them. I rely on them like an anchor.I have learned that blessings come from prayer, church activity, from seeking help from others, the temple,  paying tithing, and generally living in faith.I know that even though I am weak, God can work miracles through even me. He said, “If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work” (D&C 4:3). He also has said “That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers” (D&C 1:23).This might not be a big thing for any of you, but for me it feels good to discover a real reason why I am doing this. I finally identified it and I hope it resonates with you.Calling all other middle-aged doofuses: are you with me? I guess doofuses of other ages and even smart people can also join forces. We can do this. We can proceed forward on the covenant path. We can all be followers of Jesus Christ.

Grace, Faith, and WorksI have heard discussion about the conflict between faith and works several times in my life. I have also wrestled a little bit with it, and I want to share my personal perspective. My views are my own and do not officially represent the church.A hot-button scripture about this is 2 Nephi 25:23, which says,“...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”People that take issue with this think that we, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe too much that our salvation is dependent on our works, and not enough on a belief in the Grace of Jesus Christ.Now is this true? I think it really depends on the individual members. Let me ask you members of the church. Have you ever felt like you needed to work out your own salvation by beingmore obedient,more faithful,more patient,doing more service,more repentant?On the flip side, have you ever felt like you don’t have hope of forgiveness or salvation because you do not haveenough faithenough humilityenough righteousnessenough works?I grew up a member of the Church in Utah Valley, Utah, a place sometimes called “Happy Valley.” I think that name came from the idea that virtually everyone in the valley was a member of the church and there was kind of this utopian sameness. There were also norms and expectations that I grew up with because I heard them so much in church. I heard things often like“Be worthy to officiate in the ordinance of the Sacrament.”“Worthily partake of the Sacrament.”“Be worthy to enter the temple.”“Keep the commandments.”“Repent if you have sinned.”I grew up with some confusion about worthiness, thinking that it did depend on my own actions and faithfulness. I also had personal struggles that I kept falling back on, shortcomings that made me doubt my own worthiness. I do think that I fell into the trap of thinking that my own works had to save me, and because of my shortcomings, I lost hope.But I don’t blame the church for this.I also had my share of childhood traumas that rocked my world. I also had to learn to understand my own emotions. I was a very determined kid, and I thought that if I could be good enough, I could fix all the problems that were, to be frank, out of my control.Thankfully, I got help from a bishop. My bishop once asked me directly while speaking one on one with him, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ paid for your sins?” I paused for a moment, and then I said, “Yes.”That moment changed my life. I realized that this was not the church of prophets, apostles, bishops, etcetera. This was The Church of Jesus Christ. He was the Head of the church. All the teachings and leaders were at best instruments to bring me directly to Jesus Christ.I learned about Grace that day. I learned that Jesus Christ knew me personally and that He did pay for my sins. He even paid for many more future sins that I would commit. His Grace was so much greater than any works that I could ever think about doing. I surrendered my life to Him and realized that He could carry me so much farther than I could ever imagine.I found some great scriptures to broaden our perspective on this topic. This is from Jacob 4. Jacob was Nephi’s little brother, so think of this as a continuation of the subject of faith, grace, and works:See Jacob 4:6-11I hope you can all personally develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. Allow some Grace towards yourself if you have believed things in the past that harmed you. Learn how great Jesus Christ is and how much He loves you.

Elder Ulisses Soares recently spoke about the virtue of Temperance in his last General Conference address. If I am being honest, I don’t really think about temperance, but as I thought about it I am starting to realize how much we need it in our society today.Elder Soares points out that this is a Christlike virtue, and that He lived it throughout His life. I find it interesting that Temperance cannot be exercised alone. It’s like a seasoning that you put into your food: hence Elder Soares’s words “Adorned with the virtue of temperance.” Temperance seems like it is an extra ingredient to how we do other things.For example, I can act or think passionately, but if I sprinkle in a little temperance, maybe I will be a little more thoughtful about how maybe I am going too far or forgetting something important, or even how I might be completely wrong.The Doctrine and Covenants Section 58 verse 27 says we should be “anxiously engaged in a good cause....” I thought about this statement. It does not say anxiously engaged in the best cause or the perfect cause. Sometimes I look at the passionate way that people approach politics, social issues, or even what we should have for dinner, and their passion can be really persuasive. It can be hard to navigate. I think social and other media can really promote the anger and contention brought about because of these deep passions.What if there were temperance, however? What if we all added a healthy amount of temperance in our passions and just settled down a little bit? Are our passionate beliefs about social issues more important than our true identity as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters?I will close with a beautiful interaction from the Bible, in fact one of my most favorite interactions of all. It is when the resurrected Lord Jesus appeared to Mary at the sepulchre. Jesus spoke to her tenderly and I would say with temperance. She did not even know it was Him at first.John 2014 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

3 to 1 PrincipleI want to share a principle that I learned years ago from a sports psychologist named Craig Manning that became very helpful to me. I actually learned this principle years before I put it into concrete action, and I will explain why.I call this the 3-to-1 principle, and it is very simple. When you evaluate your performance, intentionally think of three things that you did well, believe them, and then think of one thing that you can try to improve.That’s it. It’s very simple, yet it took me years to figure out a way to actually use this.I learned this during a time where I was teaching music at a high school, and I thought the idea sounded great. I thought, “I should implement that and it would help my students gain confidence.”In practice, however, I quickly turned to my habit of jumping right to the things that needed improvements. This practice sometimes corrects flaws, but it can be detrimental in developing confidence in the performers.Believe it or not, my teaching career progressed and eventually I was teaching at BYU in the School of Music. While there, I got a wake up call from a brave student that shared her feedback with me through teacher evaluations. She said that she sometimes left her lessons feeling like she never did anything right.I realized this student needed some positive encouragement, and I began to implement the 3-to-1 principle in all of my lessons with all my students. Because I am a moron, I had to force myself to remember by creating new weekly lesson sheets with specific places for me to fill in three things that went well and 1 thing to improve. The result was all of my students began to show more confidence throughout their lessons. This was a small and simple thing that brought about a major change in my students’ experiences.So, here is a tip: avoid the mistake of just thinking, “Yeah, I will try that,” only to quickly forget it. Rather, get some paper, and start writing down some things that you are doing well in a 3-to-1 ratio to things you want to improve. It can also be used with how we see our kids or others.Alma 37:6-7 says6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.I invite you to think about this in the context of being or becoming an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, proceeding forward on the covenant path. What are three things you are currently doing well, and one thing that you would like to improve.

Have you ever felt like you have fallen short? Have you ever thought, “What have I done? How could I have done this? How could I have sunk so far” Regret and remorse can be some of the most painful feelings we experience.My heart goes out to each of us when we feel our hearts drift away from the gospel. I believe we all have our moments.I read about the Apostle Peter this morning. The Rock. Peter was the chief Apostle and the leader of the Twelve, yet in the last moments of Christ’s life, Peter did something I think we can all relate to: he denied the Christ.Now some have speculated that perhaps Christ told Peter to deny Him. That may be. Regardless, the act was still a painful thing for Peter to do.I feel a deep love for Peter when I read this story. I just ask myself, “Would I have done any better?” Christ predicted that the cock would crow after Peter denied him three times, and when that happened, Peter wept bitterly.I picture Peter in agony. He denied his Savior only hours after he declared he would never do that.Peter’s story does not end here. It took time. Even after the Christ was resurrected, Peter chose to go fishing rather than live up to what Christ wanted. Christ had to come and ask him, “Lovest thou me more than these?” Christ then told him to feed His sheep.Peter changed and grew and became one of the greatest disciples to walk the earth. He went through agony and lived and died for Jesus Christ. His denial of Christ does not define him.Just like with Peter, God wants us to become active members of the Church, proceeding forward on the covenant path. He wants us to move forward and leave the past behind. We do not have to be defined by how we have fallen short. President Oaks gave us four suggestions to overcome our doubts and struggles that hold us back:First, strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ.Second, increase our humility.Third, seek help from others.Fourth, be patient.I believe we all have our Peter moments, and those moments might last for years. If you are struggling to be active in the church for whatever reason, know that Jesus Christ loves you. He loved Peter. He provided a way back. He can do that for you. Please don’t give up.

President Dallin H. Oaks told us what Heavenly Father wants for each of us: “That is to be or become active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, proceeding forward on the covenant path into the eternities.”Today I am going to talk about being an active member of the church, what that means, and different ways we can go about it.There are many directions I could take this discussion and I recognize that what I say are my opinions and experiences. Please feel free to join the discussion by leaving a comment or question.Being active could have a range of meanings anywhere from attending church every once in a while to being extremely involved in many church activities at home and at church and in other ways. Here is a possible list of things an active member might do:Attend churchAttend classesRead Scriptures dailyTemple serviceMinisteringServe in callingsDo missionary workResearch family historyPray for one anotherStrive to live and teach the gospel in the home.Pay tithes and fast offerings.Clean the church when assigned.Volunteer for service assignments.The list can go on.When these things are put into a list like this, I think it can start to feel unauthentic and even forced by peer pressure. A person might even start to feel resentment that they may not be as good at all of these things as the person next door. There could even be some comparison and pride that you are perhaps more active than someone else.I want to get away from any of those feelings and think about a more personal perspective of being active in the church. Maybe we could ask ourselves, “How is my activity in the church blessing me?”In my own experience, a lot depends on where my heart is. When I am actively seeking Jesus Christ and the influence of the Holy Ghost, church activity has been a huge blessing for me.Here are some encouraging words from Nephi: Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20)How does church activity bless you?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk in 2014 about gratitude called Grateful in Any Circumstances. The talk is loaded with perspective and teaching about gratitude, and how we can have it in any circumstance. Please go listen to this talk.I am going to share only one small insight from this talk, and I feel almost disrespectful in sharing only this small portion. There is so much more in the talk. Today I will focus on this quote:“We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?“Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges.“This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind.”I want to share a story of gratitude that really impressed me. Many years ago, when I was an adjunct faculty at Utah Valley University, I had a spontaneous interaction with our Dean, Newell Dayley. Newell is one of the most kind-hearted individuals I know, and to me he is a contradiction. On one hand he is soft-spoken, thoughtful, kind, receptive, and friendly. On the other hand, I don’t know if I have ever met a person so influential and powerful. He singlehandedly changed the UVU School of the Arts while he was there.As I said, one day I ran into Newell and we started to chat at we walked somewhere together. At some point, I remember asking him for a little help with some situation. I don’t even remember the details of the situation, but at the end of our talk together, he looked me dead in the eye, smiled, and kindly said, “Thank you for this opportunity.”I was blown away. Here I thought I was adding to his plate. I was a lowly adjunct faculty member, and he was the Dean of the School of the Arts. He had so many things to do, yet he was grateful I had asked for some help on probably something that was not very significant at the time.Well, this taught me something about gratitude. Newell Dayley was literally grateful I handed him one more problem or task to deal with. To this day I am amazed at him, and I am grateful for his example of gratitude. Thanks Newell.

In the book of Abraham, we learn that Abraham desired to be a minister, to have priesthood authority, and to bless the lives of others. Chapter 1 verse 2 speaks of his desires:“And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.”Wow. Look at Abraham’s desires. We know that Abraham faced struggles in his family. His father was a wicked man, and Abraham had to leave and become a stranger in a strange land. Abraham and Sarah were childless for many years, but they had faith that God would give them posterity. After Isaac was born, Abraham’s faith was tried when he was commanded to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. These were tests Abraham faced, yet he prevailed in faith.The promises God made to Abraham can apply to us. I feel like Abraham’s desires were things that we can strive for. We can strive to be greater followers of righteousness, to possess greater knowledge, and to have a righteous posterity that will bless the world.

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants Section 52 and I counted 8 times that it said some version of the phrase, “preach by the way.” Sometimes it says, “preaching my word by the way,” and sometimes just, “preach by the way.”This phrase really stuck out to me and I thought about this content that I am creating. My goal is to share some spiritual insight each day that comes from my scripture study and hopefully helps lead people to Jesus Christ. So, there is a process each day in preparing for this content. I have to study the scriptures and decide what I want to share.When I read the words “preach by the way,” I thought maybe I could do some kind of live stream of my scripture study. It would be even more informal than this, and perhaps more interactive, but I thought maybe it would be worth a try. So, I may just try that in the next few days. If so, it will probably be on the Twitch platform, and I will still post a daily message on my youtube and podcast channels.I first learned about the phrase, “Preach by the Way,” when I was a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I served in the Spain, Barcelona Mission from 1998 to 2000. As missionaries, we were encouraged to preach by the way. We did a lot of traveling on busses and trains, and we also did a lot of walking. We had a lot of opportunities to preach by the way, and we did our best to do so. I can think of at least two people that I contacted on the streets that eventually got baptized.So here is my invitation for members of the church. Consider preaching by the way. Who has the Lord put in your path today or recently. Can you minister to them? Think about Jesus Christ and how He preached by the way. Many of the wonderful stories of Jesus Christ occurred while He was traveling, or while others asked Him questions. I believe God will put people in our paths and give us opportunities to preach by the way. If you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has there been someone put in your path that has perhaps ministered to you? Ask God to send you people in your life that can lead you closer to Jesus Christ. He will guide your paths. Increase your faith in Christ, be humble, accept help from others, and be patient. God will guide you and lead you to the truth.

During the Last Supper, Jesus told His apostles to love one another:“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”This is a hard commandment. It is not only hard to love one another, but it is also hard to fully learn to love as Christ loved. He said, “As I have loved you.” How has He loved us?Does Jesus love unconditionally? I would say yes and no. He loves the sinners, you and me, but He does not love the sins. Can He disapprove of our sins and still love us? Of course He can. He perfectly showed us how to love all sinners and tolerate no sin at all. This is a challenging thing to emulate, at least for me.What about loving actions? I am a dad, and I have also been a teacher or coach in various settings. I will say that treating those you teach with love can be challenging. Real teaching pushes the pupil to be uncomfortable and do hard things, just like God expects of us. But, God is also infinitely merciful and patient. He lovingly invites us back to Him. Sometimes His Spirit is offended by what we do and it takes time to recover from that. In the end, though, God is much more merciful to us than we could ever deserve.So I invite you today to think about how you can love one another as Jesus did. Wrestle with this concept, and do your best. What is one action you can take today to try to love as Jesus loved.

In the Book of Mormon, the young prophet Nephi was in a situation where he needed to hunt for food, but he broke his bow. When this happened, Nephi’s brothers and even his parents complained and were upset. They all complained to God, but Nephi got to work and built a new bow out of wood. He went to his dad, Lehi, and asked where to go to get food.In answer to his prayers, Nephi was directed to the top of the mountain to get food. Think about that. Going to the top of the mountain is not an easy place to go. Nephi had to do this hard thing to obtain food. What can we learn from this? When we have difficult trials, sometimes God’s answer to us is, “Do this hard thing.” When we start to do this hard thing, we can start to have hope and see change. When we look back on these trials and what God required of us, we can feel grateful for how Jesus Christ enabled us to do these hard things.God does not always give us the easy way out, but He does give us what is best for us.Please leave a comment or question about the gospel. Thanks for watching/listening.

President Dallin H. Oaks, the newly ordained Prophet for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave his first address at a recent BYU Devotional. In this devotional, he spoke about learning about what the Lord wanted him to do now. He said this:“As your leader, I pray for what our Heavenly Father wants for each of us—and that is to be or become active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, proceeding forward on the covenant path into the eternities.”This podcast will discuss the topic of being or becoming an active member of the church, and what that might mean for each of us.This is a brand new podcast, and I welcome questions and comments. Thanks for listening.