Meet the Mormons

This is a great inspirational movie that I recommend highly to everyone, no matter your religious background!

Wanted: Love

I know what love is and how it makes you feel. I know how it is to want to have the love of another and want to feel needed or wanted by someone of the opposite sex. I am very aware that in this world we all need to feel loved by someone. I absolutely love music and especially music that talks about love and makes me think of the one who I love. Now this isn't about my life or whether or not I'm in any relationship, but I want to talk about love for a while.

I found this Mormon Message not long ago and love the story it tells. This is for sure the kind of love I want to have with the beautiful Daughter of God I marry someday!

I would like to provide several videos for you to watch and listen to that have brought that feeling of love into my life and creates for me examples of what kind of husband I want to be! I am a country music fan and have become a huge fan of Reba! I love her music so much and although many people may argue that she doesn't have many loves songs, I would disagree because she has lots. Most aren't the typical love songs we think of though. Here are a few music videos from the wonderful Reba that talk about love.

The first one talks about what love is meant to be... Devoted and  Forever! I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we believe families can be forever and that once we die it's only a moment of separation, but that we will be reunited with our loved ones again! I also believe in devotion. I believe that a marriage should be built upon devotion to one another, that if you love someone, then you will show that by what you say, do, and by the way you act.

Reba also sings about love being hard, but that love is also about endurance. Hard times come and you have to work through it together.

Taylor Swift also has a similar song about how love is suppose to be, that is when hard times come that you don't rush out and get divorce or break-up. Instead you work through it and make things work and stand by each other.

Now for fun here is another Mormon Message I enjoy! I love this message shared by Elder Richard G. Scott! I absolutely love the talk this message comes from and so here is a link to that talk if you wish to read it. I promise it is worth your time, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-eternal-blessings-of-marriage?lang=eng.

Now here are some music videos that are not as important as the song it was made for. Listen to the lyrics and think if they match in some way the way you feel about that special one in your life!

I know love songs make a difference! I love when I'm reminded about the one I care about! I hope and want to be a man that can give my wife the things that matters most and that is to be a good husband to her and father to our children! Now I would like to bring all of this to a close with a few last songs about love! We can learn a lot from those who have lived a life in love with their first love. The older generations have lots of good things to share if only we will listen!

I know I don't mind waiting on a woman because it will be worth it! Plus it will allow me with great memories to look back on when we are old.

This I know! The woman I marry will be the best thing that ever happens to me and that she will be my everything, the love of my life!

Because of Him

Because of Him...

I'm so thankful for the life and sacrifice of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ! I am so thankful for the love I feel from my Father in Heaven and His Son! I'm so thankful that because of Him, I can become better than I am! I'm so thankful that families are forever! I'm so thankful that my Lord Lives!

The Secret Behind it All

I recently watched this video and what a great message it has within it. How many times do you plan out your day and by bed time you've done very little on your "to do" list. Well, watch this video and think of this, if you haven't been able to do everything because you were called upon last minute to help someone out or do some type of service that looks like a burden, remember the good you've done.

I absolutely love this! God plays a part in our lives! When you think you've failed, just remember that God has plans for you as well. Part of this life is learning what God would have us to do and turning our plans into Gods plans. I know as we do this, that we will experience the most joy and get the greatest fulfillment out of life.

Values.com

While watching a movie on T.V. it came time for the commercial break and to my surprise one caught me attention. What a great message and a great commercial! It's a commercial that comes from Values.com, we've all seen their commercials, their billborads, and their inspirational products. You can go to Values.com and learn more as well as watch the commercials and see their signs and find lots of cool uplifting and inspirational things. I've created a link to the right to their website

Inspirational Quote

Official Picture for "A Secret I Just Can't Keep"



2014 LDS Missionary Expo

Hey Y'all! Just to aware y'all of a great event coming up on October 1st-3rd, 2014! The LDS Missionary Expo will be at the UVU UCCU Event Center and then on the 3rd @ 8pm will be a Benefit Concert featuring singing-sensation Nathan Pacheco, Grammy Nominated and Billboard #1 violinist Jenny Oaks Baker, the amazing 9-man a cappella ensemble BYU’s Vocal Point, piano phenom Rebecca Pacheco, and Utah’s Best in State American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic.
check out the link below for more information!

http://www.ldsmissionaryexpo.com/home.html

Anyway!

Here is a message about doing things ANYWAY! I believe that we all don't or won't do things because we're afraid or we don't see the reason for doing it. Here is an example, why should I smile to people in the hall when no one will remember. You never know if that smile will change some ones life. They could be having the worst time of their life and just a simple act of someone smiling at them could be the thing they never forget and credit to the thing that helped them most in that time of their life. My point here is we need to live our life doing good and what we love. Don't place limitations on yourself and hold your self back. I love the song "Anyway" by Martina McBride and the message she shares.

What do you want to do or who do you want to be? Live your life to the fullest and if you don't get what you want... well, live life to the fullest Anyway!

I want to make a difference in this world! I plan on doing that with this blog, with going to school to become a marriage and family counselor. I plan on doing that by living to the fullest and bettering my self so I can better others. I plan on doing that by being a good husband, father, and friend. I plan on doing that by staying close to God, because without Him I'm nothing. I may fail at this, but I'm going to go for it Anyway!

New Web Links

I've created some new web links off to the right of the blog. I would love to tell you a little bit about these.

Mercy River
Mercy River is a LDS music group of three wonderful women who provide great and uplifting music. They don't only sing about religion, but also have some fun music that's all got good messages. I absolutely love this music group and am proud to say they are in my favorites to listen to while in the car, but they are great to listen to anytime. If you ever get the chance to see them live you should do it because they are funny and have lots of fun which makes the show just as fun. Check out their music at their website: www.mercyrivermusic.com

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
I am a member of the LDS Church and I'm so happy I am! You can find so many great inspirational messages at the official web site including talks, videos and pictures as well as much more.

I'm A Mormon
Mormon.org was created by the LDS Church to help people learn about what we believe. Members are able to make profiles and share their testimonies there. It's a great place to ask questions and get answers from members from the LDS Church. They also have created a few videos where members will share with you a little about themselves and a trial they've faced and how having the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives helped them get through the trails they've went through.

Mormon Channel
I absolutely love the Mormon Channel! This is a site that has amazing videos and inspirational messages. I love the Mormon Messages the most! Great short videos about topics that matter.

Never, Ever Give Up!

My Psychology teacher showed this video to the class the other day and what a great message of believing in yourself. It's amazing the difference in this man from when he didn't believe in himself to when he did believe. All because one man believed in him and he started to believe in himself and was able to change and change a lot to the point of where his life is completely different for the better. You can do hard things even when everyone else says you can't. I believe in YOU!

 

Love- the Essence of the Gospel (President Monson)

To go along with my Pray for Peace challenge I gave out in my pervious post I found a talk I feel goes well with that. I hope we can all pray for peace and then go out and give love to others and show kindness to our fellow brothers and sisters. Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us and what's us all to give love to each other. Below is the talk and a link to watch the video!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video

Love—the Essence of the Gospel
President Thomas S. Monson

My beloved brothers and sisters, when our Savior ministered among men, He was asked by the inquiring lawyer, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Matthew records that Jesus responded:

 

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 

“This is the first and great commandment.

 

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”¹

 

Mark concludes the account with the Savior’s statement: “There is none other commandment greater than these.”²

 

We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey. Likewise, we cannot fully love our fellowmen if we do not love God, the Father of us all. The Apostle John tells us, “This commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”³ We are all spirit children of our Heavenly Father and, as such, are brothers and sisters. As we keep this truth in mind, loving all of God’s children will become easier.

 

Actually, love is the very essence of the gospel, and Jesus Christ is our Exemplar. His life was a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. At the end the angry mob took His life. And yet there rings from Golgotha’s hill the words: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”⁴—a crowning expression in mortality of compassion and love.

There are many attributes which are manifestations of love, such as kindness, patience, selflessness, understanding, and forgiveness. In all our associations, these and other such attributes will help make evident the love in our hearts.

 

Usually our love will be shown in our day-to-day interactions one with another. All important will be our ability to recognize someone’s need and then to respond. I have always cherished the sentiment expressed in the short poem:

 

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.⁵

   

I recently was made aware of a touching example of loving kindness—one that had unforeseen results. The year was 1933, when because of the Great Depression, employment opportunities were scarce. The location was the eastern part of the United States. Arlene Biesecker had just graduated from high school. After a lengthy search for employment, she was finally able to obtain work at a clothing mill as a seamstress. The mill workers were paid only for each of the correctly completed pieces they sewed together daily. The more pieces they produced, the more they were paid.

One day shortly after starting at the mill, Arlene was faced with a procedure that had her confused and frustrated. She sat at her sewing machine trying to unpick her unsuccessful attempt to complete the piece on which she was working. There seemed to be no one to help her, for all of the other seamstresses were hurrying to complete as many pieces as they could. Arlene felt helpless and hopeless. Quietly, she began to cry.

 

Across from Arlene sat Bernice Rock. She was older and more experienced as a seamstress. Observing Arlene’s distress, Bernice left her own work and went to Arlene’s side, kindly giving her instruction and help. She stayed until Arlene gained confidence and was able to successfully complete the piece. Bernice then went back to her own machine, having missed the opportunity to complete as many pieces as she could have, had she not helped.

 

With this one act of loving kindness, Bernice and Arlene became lifelong friends. Each eventually married and had children. Sometime in the 1950s, Bernice, who was a member of the Church, gave Arlene and her family a copy of the Book of Mormon. In 1960, Arlene and her husband and children were baptized members of the Church. Later they were sealed in a holy temple of God.

 

As a result of the compassion shown by Bernice as she went out of her way to help one whom she didn’t know but who was in distress and needed assistance, countless individuals, both living and dead, now enjoy the saving ordinances of the gospel.

Every day of our lives we are given opportunities to show love and kindness to those around us. Said President Spencer W. Kimball: “We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those who are all around us as our brothers and sisters.”⁶

 

Often our opportunities to show our love come unexpectedly. An example of such an opportunity appeared in a newspaper article in October 1981. So impressed was I with the love and compassion related therein that I have kept the clipping in my files for over 30 years.

 

The article indicates that an Alaska Airlines nonstop flight from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington—a flight carrying 150 passengers—was diverted to a remote Alaskan town in order to transport a gravely injured child. The two-year-old boy had severed an artery in his arm when he fell on a piece of glass while playing near his home. The town was 450 miles (725 km) south of Anchorage and was certainly not on the flight path. However, medics at the scene had sent out a frantic request for help, and so the flight was diverted to pick up the child and take him to Seattle so that he could be treated in a hospital.

 

When the flight touched down near the remote town, medics informed the pilot that the boy was bleeding so badly he could not survive the flight to Seattle. A decision was made to fly another 200 miles (320 km) out of the way to Juneau, Alaska, the nearest city with a hospital.

 

After transporting the boy to Juneau, the flight headed for Seattle, now hours behind schedule. Not one passenger complained, even though most of them would miss appointments and connecting flights. In fact, as the minutes and hours ticked by, they took up a collection, raising a considerable sum for the boy and his family.

 

As the flight was about to land in Seattle, the passengers broke into a cheer when the pilot announced that he had received word by radio that the boy was going to be all right.⁷

To my mind come the words of the scripture: “Charity is the pure love of Christ, … and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”⁸

 

Brothers and sisters, some of our greatest opportunities to demonstrate our love will be within the walls of our own homes. Love should be the very heart of family life, and yet sometimes it is not. There can be too much impatience, too much arguing, too many fights, too many tears. Lamented President Gordon B. Hinckley: “Why is it that the [ones] we love [most] become so frequently the targets of our harsh words? Why is it that [we] sometimes speak as if with daggers that cut to the quick?”⁹ The answers to these questions may be different for each of us, and yet the bottom line is that the reasons do not matter. If we would keep the commandment to love one another, we must treat each other with kindness and respect.

 

Of course there will be times when discipline needs to be meted out. Let us remember, however, the counsel found in the Doctrine and Covenants—namely, that when it is necessary for us to reprove another, we afterward show forth an increase of love.¹⁰

 

I would hope that we would strive always to be considerate and to be sensitive to the thoughts and feelings and circumstances of those around us. Let us not demean or belittle. Rather, let us be compassionate and encouraging. We must be careful that we do not destroy another person’s confidence through careless words or actions.

 

Forgiveness should go hand in hand with love. In our families, as well as with our friends, there can be hurt feelings and disagreements. Again, it doesn’t really matter how small the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to canker, to fester, and ultimately to destroy. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals.

 

A lovely lady who has since passed away visited with me one day and unexpectedly recounted some regrets. She spoke of an incident which had taken place many years earlier and involved a neighboring farmer, once a good friend but with whom she and her husband had disagreed on multiple occasions. One day the farmer asked if he could take a shortcut across her property to reach his own acreage. At this point she paused in her narrative to me and, with a tremor in her voice, said, “Brother Monson, I didn’t let him cross our property then or ever but required him to take the long way around on foot to reach his property. I was wrong, and I regret it. He’s gone now, but oh, I wish I could say to him, ‘I’m so sorry.’ How I wish I had a second chance to be kind.”

 

As I listened to her, there came to my mind the doleful observation of John Greenleaf Whittier: “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’”¹¹ Brothers and sisters, as we treat others with love and kind consideration, we will avoid such regrets.

 

Love is expressed in many recognizable ways: a smile, a wave, a kind comment, a compliment. Other expressions may be more subtle, such as showing interest in another’s activities, teaching a principle with kindness and patience, visiting one who is ill or homebound. These words and actions and many others can communicate love.

 

Dale Carnegie, a well-known American author and lecturer, believed that each person has within himself or herself the “power to increase the sum total of [the] world’s happiness … by giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged.” Said he, “Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”¹²

May we begin now, this very day, to express love to all of God’s children, whether they be our family members, our friends, mere acquaintances, or total strangers. As we arise each morning, let us determine to respond with love and kindness to whatever might come our way.

 

Beyond comprehension, my brothers and sisters, is the love of God for us. Because of this love, He sent His Son, who loved us enough to give His life for us, that we might have eternal life. As we come to understand this incomparable gift, our hearts will be filled with love for our Eternal Father, for our Savior, and for all mankind. That such may be so is my earnest prayer in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Inspirational Video: The Hope of God's Light

Inspirational Quote

Inspirational Quote

Pray for Peace

Let me share part of who I am with you... a huge Reba fan! Recently Reba released a new song and music video entitled Pray for Peace and it is great. I love the message here to just pray for peace. World Peace will never come because it's just against the law of the Gospel that there must be opposition in all things. I do believe that we can obtain world peace in certain ways though. It's on a smaller scale, like the world joining in pray asking for something like peace. It's a great message that Reba shares here. It's so true that all we need to do is pray for one another and seek to help each other out. The Gospel teaches us to love one another and treat others how we want to be treated. I invite y'all to join in this message to Pray for Peace and spread word. I challenge everyone of you to first pray for peace tonight. Then go out and do something to help bring peace to someone else and then share your experience on the Facebook page. Maybe I'll share some of your stories and post my own experiences. Now time for some good ol' Reba!!!

Lets put a shout out to Reba because she is just Awesome! Also, Reba has a sister named Susie McEntire who is a gospel singer. I have heard a few of her songs and if you like gospel and you like country than you'll like Susie. I really like her song Sitting at a Red Light. Check her out at her website, http://susiemcentire.com/.

Inspirational Quote and Picture

Introduction to "A Secret I Just Can't Keep"

The story behind where I came up with the title of "A Secret I Just Can't Keep" is really from a song that I loved from the first time I heard it. I was introduced to Song writer and Musician Cherie Call from the radio. Cherie Call has a song titled A Secret I Just Can't Keep and I would love to share with you the lyrics of this wonderful song.

I have a secret that I just can't keep
I have a light that I can not turn out
I have a face that wears a constant smile
And people ask me what this smile is about

Chorus:
Somebody loves me and knows my name
And I'm filled with joy that I can't contain
Somebody loves me the way that I am
And it's something I just can't keep all to myself

It's not the kind of love that falls apart
It's not the kind of love that fades away
My name is written on a perfect heart
And I have been saved by amazing grace

repeat chorus

It's the worst kept secret in town
It's like keeping the sun from a room with fifty windows
And I don't even want to try to pull the shutters down
This love is all around me

I have a secret that I just can't keep
I have a light that I cannot turn out
I wake each morning with a heart so full
And every night I fall asleep so sound

repeat chorus

I love the message in this song. There are so many people who are in need of the knowledge of the love of God. I know and can testify that God loves each and everyone of us, His children.

The purpose behind my doing this blog is to share thoughts, talks, pictures, videos, and many other things to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I will be sharing things that are virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy that will uplift, inspire, and encourage for good. I will also be sharing personal experiences from my own life that has brought me closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I have created a Facebook page to go along with this blog. My plans and hopes are that through Facebook I can reach a wider audience. I would invite you to like the Facebook page "A Secret I Just Can't Keep" and share your own uplifting stories and experiences as well as share the things I post.

I will also do Shout Outs. In Shout Outs I will tell you about things that I've found that help further my goal here, which is to share things that are virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy that will uplift, inspire, and encourage for good.

My first Shout Out is for Cherie Call! Cherie is a songwriter and musician who provides inspirational and uplifting music. I love her voice and the messages in her songs. You can learn more about Cherie Call and her music at her website, http://www.cheriecall.com/.