Lessons We Learn from Dinosaurs

#1 Don't get eaten

Spiritually speaking, a bad habit or a temptation is a giant, scary, flesh-ripping T-rex. If you want to survive life unscathed, get as far away as you can!

#2 Eat a lot

You do not maintain a multi-ton physique by eating like a bird. You have to eat hundreds of pounds of food. Spiritually, you cannot keep up with all of the spiritual work you do if you do not feed your spirit with reading the scriptures everyday. Dig in! Munch munch....

#3 Find safe nesting grounds so other dinosaurs don't eat your little dinosaurs

For those of you dinos who have little ones, no smart dinosaur parent raises their babies around predators. Protect your little ones from the powerful, bone-crushing jaws of the T-rex  and teach them the survival skills they need. Then, when they are well trained, they can fend for themselves. Spiritually, teach your children what you know about God and good choices. Protect them from evil. When they are grown, they'll remember what you taught them.

#4 Safety comes from the pack

Roaming through the bush alone is like asking to be singled out by a T-rex. Plus, hanging around the older dinosaurs means you learn cool skills like how to fight and how to find better food. Spiritually, activities like going to church or studying the scriptures with other people provides spiritual safety. Take advantage of strength in numbers.


#5 It helps to have spikes, claws, sharp teeth, clubs, or horns and use them.

All dinosaurs have some kind of built in defense. Learn to use it well. Spiritually, we all have some strengths that make it easier to fight off T-rexes when they come hunting us. Practice using it to defend your weaknesses. Don't get eaten!

Champion good! Be the dinosaur you know you can be!

Flowers

My mom used to sing me a lullaby. It went:

White coral bells upon a slender stalk

Lilies of the valley line my garden walk.

Oh! How I wish that I could hear them ring,

But that only happens when the fairies sing.

I have always liked flowers. I love how they look, how they feel and how they smell. My mom can tell you that I'm much better at taking care of flower gardens than vegetable gardens!  I have noticed lately that all of the trees and plants are bursting into bloom! It has made me consider two lessons that we can learn from flowers.

First, "Bloom where you are planted." I like this saying. It encourages me to make the best of any situation. It reminds me that no matter where I am, I should still be myself: the unique me that God created. I might not be well color coordinated with the rest of the garden. I might not bloom on time. I might not even be the plant the label said I would be! But I can flourish wherever I am.I can sink my roots, I can follow the sunlight and become a beautiful thing regardless of my surroundings.

Furthermore, Jesus Christ taught us a lesson using flowers in the Sermon on the Mount. He taught us to "consider the lillies of the field" (Matthew chapter 6 verses 28 through 33). He said:

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;

they toil not neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you ,

that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is,

and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,

O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying what shall we eat?

or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your

heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you.

He was trying to teach the people that God knows our daily needs. He understands that we need food and clothing and shelter. However, our minds should not solely be applied to filling those needs.We should also seek the kingdom of God. I believe that is true. I believe that as we seek the Lord's will, our needs are met. Our lives overflow with heavenly abundance and we are happy. The beauty that we add to ourselves by this effort is above earthly standards of beauty.

Champion Good!  Be your best self! Seek God! Bloom!



Holiness

Photo: In Mormonism, we believe in building temples. These are holy places for worshiping the Lord. This is a picture of me and some of the other missionaries at the Oakland temple last week.

Holiness

If something is holy, it is pure, sanctified, and consecrated. It rises above all that is base, lewd, and unclean.

In the Bible the Lord tells Moses,

 "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2) 

Later in the Bible King David writes,

" Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" (Psalms 24:3)

To be with God is to be in a holy place. The Lord has commanded us to be holy so that we can be with Him. How can we make ourselves holy?

My favorite description of what we can do to become holy is in Isaiah.

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well, seek judgment [justice], relieve the oppressed, ...plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." (Isaiah 1:16-19)

I like the feeling that comes from being clean, or obedient to the Lord's commandments. That is what I like about following Jesus Christ: it makes me holy. That is how we become holy. We follow Jesus Christ and rise above the world.

Champion Good! Become holy!

 

Things We Learn from The Princess Bride

Inigo "Hello! My  name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

If we were to have four sentences define who we are and what we are looking to accomplish in life, what would they be? "Hello! My name is Sister Biggs. I believe you and I are part of God's eternal family and I love you. Prepare to be happy." These couple of sentences work for me because right now I'm a missionary. What works for you? Is God or championing good a part of it?

Buttercup "I shall never love again."

When Buttercup thinks Westley has died, she declares that she will never love again. In other words, nothing will ever mean as much to her as Westley did. I can only say that I feel that way about a very few things: God and my family. God, because He brings me purpose and true happiness; my family, because I love them. What about you?

Westley "Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

We are all part of God's family. He loves us perfectly. We all form relationships here on earth that are based off of love. Love is meant to last. Relationships are meant to last. God's family, us, is meant to be together in love and happiness for eternity.  Death and sin, the only things that separate us from God and each other, were conquered by Jesus Christ. So, if we follow Christ, death [and sin] really cannot stop true love. "All it can do is delay it for a while." That makes me so happy!

Champion Good! Love people! Know your purpose! Live your purpose!  

Bonus quote: Westley, "You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?" 

Message in a Bottle

Communication on a Mission

While on a mission, you are required to spend most of your time working. However! There is one day a week where you are permitted to write an e-mail home. Besides that e-mail to family, the only other communication you can have is through letters. All the letters have to be written on that one day.

I have been on my mission for almost seven months now. I have learned that to successfully get all of my letters written, I have to be organized and prepared.

1. Throughout the week, I take notes on funny or significant things that happen. I have these notes by me while I write.

2. I keep a booklet with everyone's addresses so that I do not have to rifle through old letters to find them!

3. I keep all of my letter writing stuff in a box. Pens, envelopes, paper, stickers, markers, stamps - you name it, it is in the box!

4. I bring snacks. Chocolates or gummies are preferred :)

5. I write in comfort. In the picture above, I am by the heater and propped up on a pillow. Perfect!

I do a pretty good job of staying in touch with people. I have limited time, but if I handle it well, I can get a lot done. The best part is, that when I do a good job writing people, they write me back! I love getting letters on my mission. It is the only time I get to hear from people! They make me laugh and they make me feel loved. Sometimes I even get pictures!

When we use our time and skills wisely, we can get quite a bit done. The Lord understands this. Sometimes He will give us enormous jobs to do! But, I would like to think that they can all be tackled if we use our time and skills wisely.

Champion good! Use the time! Use the skills!

The Holy Spirit

"And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." (Acts chapter 5 verse 32)

What is the Holy Ghost? The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is a heavenly being that communicates with our spirits. He witnesses of truth to us so that we are able to recognize it.  We have to be worthy of having his help though. If we are obeying God's commandments we are able to have the Holy Ghost with us more.

What does the Holy Ghost feel like? I have been thinking about this lately. You know what it feels like to be thirsty? Then what it feels like to finally drink? The Holy Ghost feels like that. It satisfies a spiritual need for relief.

You know how it feels to be greasy and dirty, then to take a thorough, hot, soapy shower? The Holy Ghost makes you feel like that. It makes you feel fresh and clean spiritually.

You know how if feels to be lonely, and then hear from someone who loves you a lot? The Holy Ghost feels like that. You remember your worth and are reminded of the abiding relationship you have with God.

Here are two quotes that I like,

"We can recognize when the Holy Ghost is teaching us the truth. Our minds will be filled with inspiring and uplifting thoughts. We will be enlightened, or given new knowledge. Our hearts will have feelings of peace, joy, and love. We will want to do good and be helpful to others. These feelings are hard to describe but can be recognized as we experience them." (Preach My Gospel, p. 73)

"The Holy Ghost has a sanctifying, cleansing effect upon us. The Holy Ghost testifies of Christ and helps us recognize the truth. He provides spiritual strength and helps us do what is right. He comforts us during times of trial or sorrow. He warns us of spiritual or physical danger. The Holy Ghost  provides the power by which we teach and learn. The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of our Heavenly Father's most precious gifts. Through the power of the Holy Ghost we can feel God's love and direction for us. This gift is a foretaste of eternal joy and a promise of eternal life." (Preach My Gospel, p. 65)

Seek the Holy Ghost. It makes you happier, cleaner, and loved.

Champion good! Feel the Holy Ghost!

Thoughts on Prayer

Silent or spoken, God hears all prayers. Full of faith or hesitant, God welcomes all prayers. Children and adults alike can pray to the Lord about what they care about. We get to know God and trust Him through the conversations we have with God through prayer! Families and groups of people are united through prayer. Jesus Christ set the example for us. Everyone, even He, can and should pray.

What should we pray about? Everything! One of the songs I like says,

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

(Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire. Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 145).

Everything in life that we sigh over, that we cry over, or that we need outside help on is something that we can pray about. More than that, we can thank God for what makes us happy, laugh, or proud. If we pray, God hears and answers. Remember, He's our Heavenly Father and He wants to stay in close touch with us, His children.

Champion good! Stay in touch with prayer!