Spreading Sunshine and Sharing Faith
After being released as a counselor in the bishopric I was called as the ward mission leader in the Highland 14th ward. I was asked to present a ward mission plan. The theme that I felt inspired to use was simply, "As I have loved you, love one another."
Today was a special day. 25 years ago I was serving an LDS mission in southern France. As a male missionary you normally serve for 2 years. (Females serve for 18 months). I gave it my all for these two years and it made me a better person and helped shape me into who I am today.
The year is 1985. It is summer time. There is a small arcade at the Dan's grocery store about a mile from home. Each day during the summer, my friends and I would walk to the store for an ice cream and to play some video games. Sometimes I only had a quarter. Sometimes I had 4 quarters. But one thing was for sure, I was going to play "Punch Out."
When I was young, Easter was all about the Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter up the street next to the Lions Club. They may have sponsored it, I can't recall. I remember that we'd see a lot of neighbors there and other kids from school. It was a big event and there were a lot of kids. I had a basket in hand and I wanted some eggs!
One day I was listening to Music and the Spoken word, and it hit me. I looked at the calendar, and the trade show actually started on Sunday. What if I invited everyone to come see Music and the Spoken word before going to the Salt Palace to trade show?
Life can get really busy. I’m 47 years old now. I have two kids who are living in other parts of the world, one in Iowa and one in the Ukraine. We still have 4 children at home. I run my own business. I have a demanding church calling. This all makes time fly by. But before too much time passes, I wanted to get this written down. This is a hard one for me to write. Spoiler alert, there was no tragedy. Life went on as usual. But my heart aches and I get so sad when I think about what happened in Cedar City, Utah a couple weeks ago, and it’s all my fault.
Recently I listened to a general conference talk by President Hinckley about Joseph Smith. As I listened to it, I felt the familiar sweetness of the Spirit (Holy Ghost) testifying to me that what he was saying was true. It was the truth.
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
Jesus taught many things that have been recorded in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible. One thing that was taught in the Sermon on the Mount was how you could tell who was a true disciple of Jesus Christ among all the false prophets. He said that you would be able to look... Continue Reading →
