Prayer is Real

 Today, I would like to talk about prayer with ya'll. This has been on my mind  most of the day today, so I am hoping that as I talk about prayer and explain prayer I hope I can help someone understand it more. Prayer has helped me so much through out my life. It has helped me get through my trials, and hard times in my life, and continues to give me comfort and help. Prayer is a unique opportunity that we have to talk with the Almighty God, our supreme creator. It is amazing to think that He will listen to us as we take the time through out the day to pray. He will listen, you are important, and He loves you, and He does have time for us, because we are His children. What is prayer? Prayer is simply direct communication with our Father in Heaven. In the Bible dictionary it says "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that are made conditional on our asking them."(LDS KJV Bible Dictionary pg 753) Prayer is a commandment from God. "We can pray at any time, and in any setting."(preach my gospel page 73)

 If you are not a frequent prayer you may be asking  yourself How do I pray? That is an excellent question. Let me explain the simple steps to prayer. First we address our Heavenly Father(Dear Heavenly Father) Just like you would be writing a letter to a friend. Second, we ask Him for things. Things that may be on our heart at the time, or if you have questions that are on your mind. Thirdly you close in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I know that as we use these simple steps to prayer we can find comfort in our life's. As we put our trust in God He will help us. There is an awesome quote by President Brigham Young that can apply to all of us. "We should never give into the idea that we are not worthy to pray. This idea comes from Satan, who wants to convince us that we must not pray. If we do not feel like praying, we should pray until we do feel like praying."-President  Brigham Young. I know that prayer can help in your life. I would like to encourage and invite all of us to have more meaningful prayers in our life, and to talk with God because He wants to hear from us. I know we will be blessed as we pray. I also invite you to visit http://www.mormon.org/ if you would like to learn more about prayer.

What is Faith?

Some of us often wonder what faith really is. I hope as I try and explain faith, that you may understand it more fully. Faith is the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you hear the word "faith" what do you think of? I first think of my Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ. We must first have faith in Him, and through Him we can acomplish all things. To better understand faith let us go to the scriptures. This scripture can be found in the Book of Mormon in the book of Alma. 32nd chapter 21st verse explains faith and what it is. "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." I reall like This verse because if we knew everything what would be the point of coming here to Earth and going through all these trials? We need to have faith that all will go well, and that God will give us comfort when we need Him, and if we go to Him, He will give us comfort. There are many stories of faith in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible. One that comes to mind is found in the New Testament. This is found in Matthew ch.15 starting in the 22nd verse. This is when Peter sees Christ out in the Sea......

" And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to ^apray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

 24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

 25And ^ain the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good ^acheer; it is I; be not afraid.

 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was ^aafraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little ^afaith, wherefore didst thou ^bdoubt?

 32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

 33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."(lds.org/scriptures)

I really like this story of Peter. It showed that at first he had great amount of faith. Then along the way he lost his sight on the task at hand. I know life can get crazy sometimes and we loose sight of the task at hand. But I know that as we focus on the task at hand, which is to return to our Father in Heaven, and Endure to the End, we will be blessed.

I hope that this has helped you understand faith a little bit more, but if you have anymore questions or would like to learn more about faith please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org

WE BELIEVE

This is what we as members of the restored church of Jesus Christ believe....Hope this can answer any questions that you may have about our belief.

"One of the first things we’re taught as children are the Articles of Faith — 13 statements that summarize our fundamental beliefs.

Two years before he died, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote them in a letter to a newspaper editor, John Wentworth, who had asked for information about the Church.

Ever since the Articles of Faith were written, they’ve inspired and directed us in the basic principles of our gospel. They enhance our understanding of certain doctrines and help us commit to living them. They invite further thought. And they’re a good tool for explaining our beliefs to people unfamiliar with them."

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13 Articles of Faith

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1.

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2.

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3.

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4.

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5.

We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6.

We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7.

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8.

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9.

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10.

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11.

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12.

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13.

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

  -www.mormon.org

You Will Be Freed

Heroes and Villains

  The dictionary defines a hero as..."a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities." Also in the  dictionary a villain is defined as "a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot." Everyone has a hero, and everybody has villains they face every day. In TV shows and Movies most of them at least the ones that have to do with superheroes has a villain, and a Hero. My favorite hast to be Batman. Batman, of course the Hero, and he had many villains, who tried to destroy him any way that they could. One of the most notable villains in the Batman series is the Joker. He tried everything to get rid of Batman. Even when it seemed like Batman couldn't get out of a situation he was in he managed to find a way out. In life we have many Heroes as well as many villains. Our heroes and villains may vary, but we all have them. Our villains may just be our every day trials that we go through. But I know that as we search the scriptures diligently, pray, seek guidance from our Heavenly Father we can defeat our Villains, and let our Heroes win. On of my heroes is Christ. He is the BEST EXAMPLE to all of us, of defeating our villains in every day life. We can defeat our villains if we let Christ be our hero, and also the examples of people in the scriptures. We can and will always find a way out of a sticky situation, just like Batman does. I know if we put our trust in Him we can ACACCOMPLISH ALL THINGS. All you need to do is let Him in your life. Christ can set us free from our villains, and help us in our life. I know this to be true. There is a scripture that I love that if we put our trust in Christ, we can defeat our villains, and Endure to the End It can be found in the Book of Mormon in Helaman ch. 5:12..... 

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." 

                                                              WHO WILL YOU LET YOUR HERO BE?

Life is like a Box of Choclates

Forest Gump once said....and I quote..."Momma says life is like a box of chocolates, ya never know what ya gonna get." As I think of this quote from this classic movie I think about all the trials and tribulations that we go through. We never know what life is going to throw out at us, but as we put our faith in Jesus  Christ we Can get through these tough times that we all go through. A scripture that is found in John ch. 16:33 has helped me in my life get through trough times..."These things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: But be of good cheer I have overcome the world." I know that we can find peace in this life through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, especially in these the latter days, and with all the turmoil going on. It has brought me and my family comfort, and I know that it can do the same for you as you rely on Jesus Christ, and put your trust in God. Like Forest Gum said We are never going to know which piece of chocolate we are going to pull out we MUST look to the future with hope, and find joy in our journey. In a tool used by us missionaries there is a quote that I love "We must walk by faith rather then by sight.." I LOVE THIS Gospel!  It truely is the Lords work.