Judge Not: Diversity

Old Friends (values.com)

Love truly spans all boundaries. I love how diverse this world is. Heavenly Father could have created us all the same. Made up a mold, and put each of us through it. Dumped the same knowledge and experiences into our minds.
But instead, He chose to make us all different. He chose to allow cultures and languages to develop. He chose to have different skin colors, hair colors, and eye colors.

One of my favorite children's books is "The Sandwich Swap." A typical American girl makes friends with an American-Indian girl. They have lots of fun together, until one day at lunch when they each notice that the other girl has a weird looking sandwich. Unwilling to see past that little difference, they stop being friends and eventually lead the whole school in a huge food fight.
In the aftermath of the food fight, the girls look at what happened when they weren't able to accept the other's unique differences. You'll have to read the book to learn the rest. :D

Sadly, this has happened with adults as well as children. ISIS, the KKK, the Nazi-Holocaust are all examples of terrible actions stemming from an unwillingness to see past differences.

One of the biggest lessons both my dad and uncle have taught me is this:

Everyone is a child of God; Judge not.

I know that that is true. We are all God's children. He loves each of us the way we are, and desires that we progress to become even better. But it is not our job to govern that progression. He knows our weaknesses and our neighbors' weaknesses. He can take the judgement from our hearts and help us to see each other has His children. I have felt His love for His children a few times in my life and it filled my soul with light and joy. 

I know that if you pray to feel His love for others, you will be able to feel that love and understand what He wants you to do.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies

One of the most inspiring stories in the Book of Mormon is the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies--also known as the people of Ammon.
These people were Lamanites who had separated themselves from the other Lamanites because they had been converted and now believed in God. The other Lamanites were angry with the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They probably felt betrayed and confused by the change in their friends and former brothers-in-arms. The Lamanites prepared to go to war against the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
When the Anti-Nephi-Lehies heard about the preparations, they were naturally scared. The king and the prophet counseled together and with God to decide what to do. They felt inspired that they should not fight against the Lamanites.
In fact, they gathered together all of the people and challenged them to make a covenant with God: that they would never raise a weapon against anyone ever again. As a symbol of that covenant, every single person took their weapons and threw them into a pit, burying them where they couldn't be reached.
When the Lamanites were ready, they came and attacked the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. As they'd agreed, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies didn't fight back. Instead they knelt down and prayed to Heavenly Father.

22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay (1,005) of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.
23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—
24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbearfrom slaying them; and there were many whose hearts hadswollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.
25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.
26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved. (Alma 24)

 When I read through this story last, I had a few cool thoughts I'd like to share.
I wondered why, when Heavenly Father had saved so many people who placed their trust in Him, He chose not to save the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Then I remembered that only a generation after these people came the 2,000 Stripling Warriors (read that story here). These young men were protected by the mighty power of God... and maybe by 1,005 angels as well.
The example of faith that their uncles, fathers, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandparents, cousins, and many others who died for their covenants must have also been a powerful force for the young men.

Finally, I thought of the question in "The War Room" (amazing movie, you should watch it). "Do I just let him walk all over me?"
The Anti-Nephi-Lehies not only were walked over, they were killed.

For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also—counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ—requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when those sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.   ~Joseph Smith

Although many of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were killed, many more people were converted. And through the scriptures we can know that those who were killed were taken up to heaven.

This story has come to mean much more to me. To me it is now a story of how a large group of people, unified in faith, can find new life through conversion and through the resurrection.

A Careful Boy I want to Be

I recently heard a story about, "Please." In the story, one boy is extremely rude while his older brother is extremely polite. What ends up changing the younger brother's attitude is the example his older brother set. When the younger brother sees how polite his older brother is, he thinks "Hmm... I wonder what it would be like to be like that?" And then he changes.
The examples we set for our families are so important.
I love this poem:

A careful boy I want to be;

a little brother follows me.

I do not dare to go astray

for fear he'll go the self-same way

I cannot once escape his eyes;

what e'er he see me do, he tries.

Like me he says he's going to be-

that little brother following me.

He thinks that I am good and fine;

believes in every word of mine.

The bad in me he must not see-

that little brother following me.

I must remember as I go

through summer's sun and winter's snow

I'm building for the years to be

that little brother following me.

Finally, Elder Gene Cook from the Quorum of the Seventy shared the story of his brother's example:

When I was a boy, my family wasn’t very active in the Church. When my older brother, Ron, was turning 12, a man in the ward convinced him to become a deacon. ...When Ron was about 17 and I was about 12, his teacher told him that he needed to gain a testimony of his own. He said to me, “I intend to find out for myself if the Church is true. I’m going to pay any price to know for myself.”
Over the next few weeks, I watched him. I’d find him on his knees praying. I’d see him reading the Book of Mormon. I was amazed at how diligent he was.
... Later ..., Ron told me,  “...I now know for myself that the Church is true. ...Because of what has been happening to me in reading the Book of Mormon. I’ve got my testimony by reading and praying over every page. I know all that we’ve been taught in the Church is correct, and I am going on a mission.” I’d never heard Ron say that before. It was evident to me, even as a young boy, that he had really been impacted by something.
After Ron left me alone, I thought to myself, “If the Lord would tell my brother, then I’ll bet the Lord would tell me.” So I did what my brother did, reading and praying over every page of the Book of Mormon. Because I was still young, I didn’t understand a lot of the words, but it wasn’t long before I began to feel the Lord speak to me in my heart, telling me it was true. I read the whole book through and ended up with a strong testimony even at age 12. That really helped me through my youth and in preparation for a mission.
I have always been thankful for my good brother, who loved me enough to show me by example how to gain a testimony.

Heavenly Father has told us to "let your light so shine before men." I know that as we fearlessly and boldly testify of the truths we've learned to our family and friends they will be strengthened, and our example can lead them closer to Christ.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Some people say that the ultimate sacrifice is dying for a person. Others counter that it's "easy" to die for someone, but hard to live for them.
My view point on it is this: live so that you would be willing and ready to die for your fellow man.
We read the story of Maximilian Kolbe this morning. He is an amazing example of living and dying with the pure love of Christ in his heart.

Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894, became a Franciscan monk as a teenager, and was later ordained as a priest who served a small parish community. But when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, tragic events of human suffering where set into motion in which Kolbe's destiny would be sealed.
... In his labors to protect many Jewish refugees, Kolbe found himself a Nazi target, was arrested, and sent off to Auschwitz in 1941. There, in the midst of the death camp's unimaginable daily horrors, he worked to encourage his fellow prisoners by setting an example of faith and hope.
One day a prisoner escaped, and, in order to bring an end to any future plans of the same, the guards decided to punish 10 inmates of cellblock 14 by condemning them to death by starvation in an underground bunker. One of the ten ... began to weep and cried out, "My poor wife and children! I will never see them again!" At that moment, Father Kolbe calmly and purposefully stepped forward.
"I wish to die for that man." Such an unusual offer surprised the deputy commandant, who asked Kolbe to identify himself. His response was simple and direct: "I am a Catholic priest." Those words said far more about the saint than any name possibly could. The commandant agreed to grant the request.
Thrown into the dank, crowded underground bunker with the other men, Maximilian Kolbe continued to set an example of faith and hope, leading them in prayers of praise and adoration to God, singing hymns, and encouraging them to focus on the certain and irrevocable promises of Christ. ...Weeks later it became necessary to kill him by lethal injection.

 As Easter gets closer, I start to think about Christ and His sacrifice for us. When I searched "easter" on Google, the pictures that came up were of bunnies, eggs, and flowers. But Easter is about much more than any of those things.
Easter is our time to recognize the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made. His Atonement allows us to follow in His footsteps. We are able to correct our course through His grace.
Because of the example of love He showed us, we can also reach out to others with love.

I know that as we pray for His love and for His Atonement, He will answer our prayers and bring us peace.

"Could you not watch with me one hour?"

I was thinking last Sunday about the disciples who were with Jesus in the garden. Even after all of His teachings, they didn't understand that this was the final night they'd be with Him.
So they fell asleep.
As He saw their faces and felt their sins, they slept.
Of course, they didn't know that this was the most important night in history. And they probably weren't the only ones to sleep. Hundreds of people slept that night and billions of people were saved from hell.
As angels in heaven, I'm sure we were watching in wonder and awe. I'm sure we wondered how the disciples could sleep when they were only a few yards away from the Savior as He bled from every pore.

But as I pondered this, I looked at my own life. Am I missing important experiences? Are there times when I'm giggling with my friends while everyone else is having a defining spiritual experience? Am I too busy to answer a friend when they call me for comfort?

President Jeffery R Holland shared one woman's story about when her husband watched for his one hour:
“I want to tell you about the moment I ceased resenting my husband’s time and sacrifice as a bishop. It had seemed uncanny how an ‘emergency’ would arise with a ward member just when he and I were about to go out to do something special together.
“One day I poured out my frustration, and my husband agreed we should guarantee, in addition to Monday nights, one additional night a week just for us. Well, the first ‘date night’ came, and we were about to get into the car for an evening together when the telephone rang.
“‘This is a test,’ I smiled at him. The telephone kept ringing. ‘Remember our agreement. Remember our date. Remember me. Let the phone ring.’ In the end I wasn’t smiling.

“My poor husband looked trapped between me and a ringing telephone. I really did know that his highest loyalty was to me, and I knew he wanted that evening as much as I did. But he seemed paralyzed by the sound of that telephone.
“‘I’d better at least check,’ he said with sad eyes. ‘It is probably nothing at all.’
“‘If you do, our date is ruined,’ I cried. ‘I just know it.’
“He squeezed my hand and said, ‘Be right back,’ and he dashed in to pick up the telephone.
“Well, when my husband didn’t return to the car immediately, I knew what was happening. I got out of the car, went into the house, and went to bed. The next morning he spoke a quiet apology, I spoke an even quieter acceptance, and that was the end of it.
“Or so I thought. I found the event still bothering me several weeks later. I wasn’t blaming my husband, but I was disappointed nevertheless. The memory was still fresh when I came upon a woman in the ward I scarcely knew. Very hesitantly, she asked for the opportunity to talk. She then told of becoming infatuated with another man, who seemed to bring excitement into her life of drudgery, she with a husband who worked full-time and carried a full load of classes at the university. Their apartment was confining. She had small children who were often demanding, noisy, and exhausting. She said: ‘I was sorely tempted to leave what I saw as my wretched state and just go with this man. My situation was such that I felt I deserved better than what I had. My rationalization persuaded me to think I could walk away from my husband, my children, my temple covenants, and my Church and find happiness with a stranger.’
“She said: ‘The plan was set; the time for my escape was agreed upon. Yet, as if in a last gasp of sanity, my conscience told me to call your husband, my bishop. I say “conscience,” but I know that was a spiritual prompting directly from heaven. Almost against my will, I called. The telephone rang and rang and rang. Such was the state of my mind that I actually thought, “If the bishop doesn’t answer, that will be a sign I should go through with my plan.” The phone kept ringing, and I was about to hang up and walk straight into destruction when suddenly I heard your husband’s voice. It penetrated my soul like lightning. Suddenly I heard myself sobbing, saying, “Bishop, is that you? I am in trouble. I need help.” Your husband came with help, and I am safe today because he answered that telephone.
“‘I look back and realize I was tired and foolish and vulnerable. I love my husband and my children with all my heart. I can’t imagine the tragedy my life would be without them. These are still demanding times for our family. I know everyone has them. But we have addressed some of these issues, and things are looking brighter. They always do eventually.’ Then she said: ‘I don’t know you well, but I wish to thank you for supporting your husband in his calling. I don’t know what the cost for such service has been to you or to your children, but if on a difficult day there is a particularly personal cost, please know how eternally grateful I will be for the sacrifice people like you make to help rescue people like me.’”
I know that as we follow the Spirit, we will be guided to moments of amazing spiritual growth. But when we get there, we can't fall asleep. Satan will tempt us, tell us we deserve a break.
Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to have eternal peace and rest with Him. Trust Him, and watch with Him for this one hour.

Grace Series: Yet another Parallel between Grace and my Violin

My mom and I had the opportunity to perform a piano-violin duet of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" during Sacrament Meeting yesterday (click here for the meaning of Sacrament Meeting.)
I love playing my violin in my home and accompanying the ward choir, but I have a hard time with doing solos. It seems as if no matter how hard I practice, when performance time comes I mess up. So yesterday I was praying and praying that it would work out. I was begging Heavenly Father to help my fingers go in the right place, to keep the bow from squeaking (it never does it at home, but it always does it when I'm in front of fifty people :S).
But despite all my prayers, I squeaked. Despite my begging, some notes were flat. As I was putting my violin away, I asked "Why didn't I get your grace? Why wasn't it perfect?"
Then I looked out into the faces of the people I'd played for. Some of them were crying. The Spirit was in the room.
This is My Grace, the Spirit gave Heavenly Father's words to me. After all you can do, I will do the rest.

What makes People Lonely?

When I searched "High School Crowd" this was the first image
that was shown. How many people in this picture look like they
aren't lonely? 

I know that I have friends. I know that I have people who love me. So why do I sometimes feel lonely**?
What is it that makes you feel like you're all alone in a crowd of people?
(**These thoughts don't apply to clinical depression. I'm not a doctor and can't give any advice on that besides to go and see a doctor who can help you find hope again.)
I believe that what we need isn't just people around us or even people chatting with us. Mother Theresa said, "The hunger for love is much harder to remove than the hunger for food."
When I'm feeling lonely, the questions I ask are, "Why doesn't anyone like me?" "Why doesn't anyone love me?"

I really enjoyed this video:

My mom also shared that she had been feeling lonely. In church, that week, our Bishop (the leader of our local congregation) stood up and shared that when we feel friendless we should befriend others. When we feel like no one cares we should go out a care for others. When we feel unloved we should give love to others.
Why would that make a difference? There are many reasons, but the one that stood out most to me was this; Heavenly Father is the person who loves us the most. He designed everything for our happiness. When we are serving others we are opening up the door of our hearts so that we can receive His great love.

I know that we can feel that love. He gives it freely and will always give it.

Caring more than you Fear

"My wife and I were reading in bed, when our five year old daughter came in. She was very upset. Putting down our books, we asked what was wrong. She told us that her two year old brother had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs, and now it was dark. Both she and her brother were afraid of the dark. I told her that he would be alright, and that she didn't have to worry. With that, she left and my wife and I went back to our reading."10 or 15 minutes later, my wife decided to go check on our little girl. On entering our daughter's room, my wife saw that she wasn't in bed. After a quick search upstairs, she went to check the dark downstairs."There, on the couch, was our son. Sleeping next to him, with an arm protecting him, was our little daughter. When my wife approached, she saw that our girl had been crying. Terrified of the dark, she had gone down anyway to help her little brother if he woke up."

My mom shared this beautiful story with us this morning. I know I've felt this way before. And I've had others show this kind of love towards me.

When Jesus said, "Thy will, not mine, be done," He was also showing this kind of love. He might have felt scared during His final days on earth. But He went through it because He loved you more than He was afraid.

I know that He cares deeply for us, and is always there for us.

"The Object of this Life is to Learn"

There's an amazing article by Jeffrey R Holland called "A School in Zion." In it, he quotes Brigham Young who said, "The object of this life is to learn."
What do you think about that? Did Heavenly Father really send us down here just so we could learn?
If He did, what are we supposed to learn?

seek learning even by study and also by faith  ~D&C 109:7

What does that mean? To learn by faith.
Perhaps He's telling us to learn with the thought of Him on our minds. Perhaps He's saying that any study can be applied to a gospel principle.
It's a question that I haven't found a solid answer to. Maybe there isn't a solid answer.
Maybe it's just the idea of keeping our secular learning joined with our spiritual learning.

After reading the quote "the object of this life is to learn," I was reminded of something I learned in my college class. The best way to learn something is to teach it. You're 80% more likely to remember something you've taught over something you've read.
Think about this with the gospel. The best way to learn it is to teach it. That may be why there is such a great focus on missionary work.
I know that as I teach I have learned more effectively. I have also felt the spirit more strongly when I'm teaching or participating.
Heavenly Father will bless you as you teach or as you "study by faith." He sent you here to learn, to experience. He wants to be with you so that He can guide you through your trials.

"In school the lesson comes before the test. In life the test comes before the lesson."
Let Him help you through your test. It won't be easy, but He will make it easier.

A Dangerous Force

There is a frightening battle that is being fought throughout the world. As Pres. Gordon B Hinkley says, "the production and peddling of which has become a multimillion-dollar industry where a few get rich and multitudes become enslaved and debauched."
This destructive agent is pornography.

It seems that we are facing it everywhere. On billboards, computers, phones, pop-ups. Even in a work environment we may be shown by a colleague or at school by a friend.
Here are some scary stats (found on Covenant Eyes): 1 in 5 mobile searches are for porn; 9 out of 10 boys (and 6 out of 10 girls)are exposed to porn before they're 18  with the average age being 12.

Research reveals many systemic effects of Internet pornography that are undermining an already vulnerable culture of marriage and family. Even more disturbing is the fact that the first Internet generations have not reached full maturity, so the upper limits of this impact have yet to be realized"- Jill Manning, Sociologist

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints posted this video
"What Should I do when I See Pornography?"

After we've protected ourselves, how can we help protect others? Again from Gordon B Hinkley:

I hope you are so busy studying good books that lead to productive thinking and so pleased with the opportunity that you have to mix with others of your kind ... that you have no time to waste on the filth and rot we call pornography.

When I read that I thought, What if we reached out to those who are less social or more shy? It makes sense that the less you feel wanted by real people the more time you spend with virtual people. Let's help them feel wanted.

I hope that your awareness of this problem and the awareness you'll give to your family and friends helps to end this destructive plague that is surrounding the world in chains.

I know that through the love and grace of Jesus Christ we can change. We can escape any trap Satan has set for us. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much and want us to be free. They want us to reach our full potential. They want us to be happy.
Please trust them with your internet use, with your family, with your destiny. They will take you to heights that you never could imagine.