Thursday, May 19, 2011

Never Give Up

What a wonderful blessing Gabe had in his life when he continued with his dream. He put everything behind him and was grateful for what he had. That attitude changed everything. He didnt just give up, even though he wanted to, but he endured and then the blessings came.
I find it very similar in my life, that i go through so many hard times and it gets tough to keep my motivation up. There are times where i am told what i am doing wrong and i feel even worse, and there are times where i just dont feel adequite enough for what i am doing.
In 1 Nephi of the Book of Mormon, Nephi goes through many tirals, and a lot is asked of him but he didnt give up, because he knew God loved him and would help and bless him. Nephi not only was betrayed by his own family, but he was asked to build a ship that he had never done before. When i think about anything like i cant even imagine doing anything like that. Thankfully Nephi had the help of his Heavenly Father and never quit. So we learn from the example of Gabe and Nephi, that times get hard, but we should never quit, because if we pray and ask for help we will recieve it and we will be blessed in a way that will be best for us. I know that if you push through your hard times there is a great reward whether great or small after that will come our way, also we will build a greater confidence in ourselves that is a blessing in of itself.
So if there is something you want to do and you arent sure you can do it, look at what the result will be in the end, and work for that blessing. 
NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER QUIT!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Love Our Mother


   Today i would like to talk about my wonderful mother! I have come to deeply love and appreciate her and all she does for me. I was blessed to be raised and taught by her. So how should we love the mother that loves us.
  When i was a young boy the age of  7 i started a paper route. It was an early morning one and i had quite a few papers to deliver, with no transportation. For some of that time i shared the route with my brothers and a a sister ocasiaonally. None of us at this time were able to drive ourselves so each morning 365 days a year my mother would wake up, wake me up (usually more than once), drive me around to deliver the papers, then she would help me get ready for school, go to work for 8 hours, come home listen to me complain and throw fits, make or help with dinner and homework, go to sleep then do it all over again. I never thought of how much she did and as i got a little older my mother sang for the mormon tabernacle choir, so she added that into her schedule. There were the occasionall day where she may be sick and my dad would take over. As i was looking back on this i realized NOT ONCE did my mother ask for anything in return or take more money from the paycheck than what was used for gas, or complain about how tired she was, and for NINE YEARS my mother did this because she loved me. Through all my complaints and temper tantrums and sicknesses my mom took care of me and gave me her time. She couldve taken that extra two or so hours to catch up on sleep or practice singing which she so dearly loved, or even spent time with other things she had fallen behind on; but no she loved me and helped me earn money for my childhood, and teen years. As i look back i think of how many times i didnt thank her or how i nagged her for things, or thought she didnt do enough for me or spend enough time with me. If i realized back then what i do now i would be so disappointed in myself. In Doctrine and Covenants 4 we read 5And afaith, bhope, ccharity and dlove, with an eeye single to the fglory of God, gqualify him for the work.
 6Remember faith, avirtue, knowledge, btemperance, cpatience, dbrotherly ekindness, fgodliness, charity, ghumility, hdiligence.  Jack R. Christianson says: "I love these verses because, to me, they are not just about missionary work, but are also about how to love people."
 My mother was full of these attributes towards me. She wasnt a perfect mother but she tired her best, and with how imperfect i was and am as a son she did a great job.
  We also can learn to love our mothers or our children if we strive to develop these attributes. And when you do something for your mother or children do it out of love not to gain a reward or earning.
Jack R. Christianson also stats: "If we really want to be loved, the formula is to do what? It is to love others, and to express it, and to show it."
  So not only this mothers day but always,  remember the formula. I know there may be times where your parents or children dont show their love, but inside you still know they love you. Do things out of love, just as the Savior did for us.