SCRIPTURE CHALLENGE!

A go to a school where we start every class with a prayer (even biology, and math, and non-religion classes). The students say the prayers. We can pray for whatever we like. It usually starts out being grateful for this day, grateful that we can study here at this school, then people pray that we can feel the Holy Spirit to help guide us through the day, then some people pray we will remember what we need to for the tests, and that we will learn the things that we need to learn, and have a good rest of the day. The prayers, of course, vary depending on who says them. But they are pretty similar in an average prayer.

Today, I got to say the opening prayer for my New Testament Class. I prayed that we could learn the things that God wants us to learn, and that we can help to share it with others.

And, so, that's what I'm doing. 

Because Faith without works is dead, (as I learned in James 2:17), I decided to act on my Faith that I have in God, and work, by helping to share it with others. 

I'm presenting a Scripture Challenge for today, for anyone, and everyone reading this blog, I present to you this scripture challenge.

First: 

1-Go to the scriptures: This can include, but is not limited to, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. 

2-Online Scriptures work best, because it is easier to find specific words/phrases, so you can go to www.lds.org/scriptures/search 

3- In the Search bar, type in "God" 

4- Write down, or type, as many of the characteristics of God that you can find.

5- Pray about them and Ponder them

In class, my teacher mentioned a book called "The Great Divorce" It is By C.S. Lewis, also the author of the Chronicles of Narnia. 

In the book, C.S. Lewis explains people on a bus to Heaven. Anyone is welcome on board, and anyone can leave, if they so choose, at any time. The bus first passes by hell, and those can choose if they want to come on the bus or not.

The story then takes the bus to Heaven, and some people get out, and some people stay in the bus. Some people even get out of the bus, walk around, and then get back in the bus to go back. 

I haven't read the book, so I don't know what the Author was trying to get across.

However, my challenge, my idea,

is wondering if I or if You would be on that bus. 

And, if we would stay on the bus. 

and, if when we arrived to heaven,

we would get off the bus,

and rest forever, in Heaven, as our final destination.

Heaven to me, is a place that is with God. A place where we get to dwell with God Eternally. Dwell, or live, or hangout, or whatever you want to call it. It just means being with God, in the presence of Him.

My last step of the challenge is 

6-Ask yourself: The God you found, the characteristics of Him, is that someone that you would feel comfortable with your whole entire life, and for the rest of eternity?

Maybe it seems like an easy question: Who wouldn't want to be with someone who is so loving and kind and caring every single second of their life? Why wouldn't I want to be with someone like that? 

I think sometimes, especially with my family, the times when I don't want to be with them the most is when I feel guilty. And, when I feel guilty, but I still know that they love me, and they treat me love, even when I'm not feeling love.

I think that's the point of the bus to Heaven.

I know it's the point of Heaven. Heaven won't be forced. It will be a place where if we want to go, we can go there. But if we don't feel comfortable there, then God won't force us there. He has other kingdoms set apart for people who don't feel comfortable being with someone that loving and forgiving, for whatever reason. 

Heaven will be a very glorious place. However, it may not be glorious for people who don't want to be there, or don't feel like they belong there, or feel to guilty to even face God, or even don't want to believe or acknowledge God. 

God won't force us to dwell with him forever. It will be our choice. 

I think that's why works are important. When we work on becoming Christ-Like, and loving people and forgiving people, and caring for people, we become more like Heavenly Father, and when we become more like him, it's more likely that we will want to spend Eternity in his presence. 

I feel that Heaven will be a joyous thing, a wondrous thing, a place where we can be happy. The happiness that we want, that we choose, that we feel comfortable with, that happiness can be ours.

In Jesus' Name,

-Amen 

(View from Haiku Stairs, October 4th 2014) 

Push it forward, and hold on strong

A lot has been going on, to make me seriously contemplate if I truly want to be a missionary, a representative of Jesus Christ, set apart to serve others.

I talked to Elder Bailey. Elder Bailey is a missionary serving here in La'ie Hawaii. He has down syndrome, and his loving spirit is very apparent to everyone he speaks to.

The first time I met him, he came up to me, and told me to go congratulate some girl who was being sent to Oakland, California for her mission. I didn't know him, I didn't know the girl, but his intention, was for the girl to feel happy and excited, and he gave me an opportunity to encourage and congratulate her.

I was laying down outside, basking in the sun, while waiting for my class to start and Elder Bailey came up to me and asked me if I was okay. I said I was. But I felt prompted to ask him if I should serve a mission. I told him that I wasn't so sure anymore, and I was worried I wouldn't be prepared.

He told me "Go serve," "Just go serve a mission!" "Why wouldn't you?"

It was so simple. I asked him why he decided to serve a mission. And he said "President Monson" (President Monson is a prophet of the Church). Elder Bailey told me "President Monson assigned my call, and so I came here."

For those of you that don't know, President Monson, also sent my call. He signed my paper and everything!

I realized after talking to Elder Bailey, that if he can do it, so can I.

I still wonder how I am going to teach people something that I just learned a little over a year ago.
It's still all so new to me, and so will it be to them.

But I learned to stop worrying about those fears and imperfections in myself. Because I know that Christ will make up the rest.

The missionaries who taught me didn't know every single peace of the Bible or of the Book of Mormon. They didn't, they couldn't, but they knew enough.

And I know that I will know enough for the people that I will teach. I will know enough and God and Jesus Christ will make up the rest.

That's all they have ever asked of us. They ask that we try our best, our very very best, in ALL that we do, and they will make up the rest.

That's the beauty of the atonement. Christ will always make up the rest. We are imperfect, but in Christ, we are whole. We are inadequate, but in Christ we can be all knowing, we are defeated, but in Christ we overcome.

We do our part, Christ always does his. The difference is, is that Christ never lets us down.
He never has, and he never will. 

I haven't been more excited for my mission than I have been this week, after the conversation with Elder Bailey.

Sometimes it just takes some pushing down, hard times, tough thoughts, to overcome, to try harder, and realize why I cared and tried so much in the first place.

And that, my brothers and sisters in Christ,
is Jesus Christ. That's why I care so much, because Jesus Christ is here.

In Jesus' Name
-Amen

(Me, with the army, I'm joining!! JK[just kidding], not yet :)