Christmas Season

My Dear Friends,

Christmas Is Here!!

Here is the Thought for the Week, A quote from my Planner:

"Christmas and some of the cherished traditions of the season remind us that we, like the Wise Men of Old, should seek the Christ and lay before Him the most precious of gifts: a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

My Dear Friends and Family, how are you doing that this Christmas season, have we falling into the same routine that we do every year, or have we switched it up. Are we focused on the Christ Child. May you have a Wonderful Christmas Season.


Luke 2:1-20;

 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all ^athe world should be ^btaxed.

 2 (And this ^ataxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called ^aBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

 5 To be taxed with Mary his ^aespoused wife, being great with child.

 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

 7 And she brought forth her ^afirstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the ^binn.

 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the ^aglory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you ^agood tidings of great ^bjoy, which shall be to all people.

 11 For unto you is ^aborn this day in the city of David a ^bSaviour, which is Christ the ^cLord.

 12 And this shall be a ^asign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

 14 ^aGlory to God in the highest, and on earth ^bpeace, good will toward men.

 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

 16 And they came with ^ahaste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

 18 And all they that heard it ^awondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

 19 But Mary kept all these things, and ^apondered them in her heart.

 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Isaiah 9:6;

6 For unto us a ^achild is ^bborn, unto us a ^cson is given: and the ^dgovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, ^eCounsellor, The ^fmighty ^gGod, The ^heverlasting Father, The Prince of ⁱPeace.

I so Testify as you draw closer to the Savior this Christmas, and keep him nearer to your heart this coming year, you will so see the blessings of Heaven out poured unto you in so many different ways.

Elder Johnson

Merry Christmas

Christmas Time

Let us start off this new year.

Picture Time

My Apartment

Beautiful Drive on our Way to Church

My District

We have been teaching this wonderful lady the Gospel and I love it because I get to draw pictures. 

I will have to update you with more this is just the Plan Of Salvation.

S

The Family I live with, The Backmans, Sister Backman lives in Sandy, and only comes up once a month. Brother Backman works here in Seattle, and flies to Utah every weekend to be with his wife. 

Beautiful Day

Wonderful Evening

Pictures

Temple Day

Halloween Dinner

18 month pants

Rhineheart Baptism

Halloween Party

Angelo Family

Mortenson Family

Chad The Man

Port of Tacoma

Picture Time 10/15

Our Baptism

Lunch, We made

My Companion, Elder Wilde

Beautiful Moon

The District

Service time

Great time to be a Missionary.

Normal Study Materials

Cute little bunny

Lunch, I made

Sweet Clouds

Time Stands Still

By Far my favorite picture

A Lighthouse

Picture I Drew

 Our Apartment:

Living Room/Workout Room

Kitchen

Piano (i can almost play "Nearer My God To Thee" both hands)

Stairs

Bedroom

Study

Our Savior

My Message is this week, is one of the Savior, and the Atonement. I believe we can only come to know the atonement, but falling on our knees and felling the prints in his hands and his feet. 

3 Nephi 11:14;Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.   

Our Savior has invited you, a Daughter or Son of God, to come and feel what he has done for us willing.

3 Nephi 11:11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

Alma 7:11-13:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

As you watch these different videos, Ponder over what your Savior has done for you.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland:

I would invite as did Alma;

Alma 7:14-16;

14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

 15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

 16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.

What does Alma ask as to do, or more importantly what does the Savior ask us do?

 1.  Have Faith In Him

 2. Repent 

 3. Be Baptized, If you have been baptized. Partake of his Holy Sacrament, Worthy!

 4. Be Born Again

I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction.

Let us lay aside our sins and come unto him. As you do this, May God grant you forgiveness and blessings.

I ask one final thing.

Alma 7:17:

And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things?  

I bear my testimony to you. I know my Redeemer lives, he is close to a repentant heart, some that comes unto him. I know He can forgive you of your sins. He loves you and don't you forget that. My beloved brothers and sisters, May you come unto him and partake of his salvation. His Atonement is real. I bear this my witness to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

 

The First Vision

Hello Everybody,

I would to expound on a topic that changed the world. The experience Joseph Smith had truly changed the world. It was started by a simple couple questions:

Most of the scriptures that i will use will come from Joseph Smith History.

What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

I want you to ask yourself these questions. Make it real. All of us have an opportunity to experience a powerful, spiritually revelation from God.

God instructs us to ask him.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 

The experience of a young boy in a grove of trees teaches that our Father blesses each of us generously as we humbly seek Him through personal prayer.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

I testify to you that truly God will answer your prayers.

As Joseph Smith, pondered over this scripture. Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did.

Joseph Smith went into a grove of trees near his home to ask God his questions, to gain wisdom.

I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.



One of the most amazing things happened.

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!


Jospeh's Answer:

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.

 19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

Bread Of Life

John 6:35;
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Benson Hill Good-Byes

Hey Everybody, I thought i would share some videos we have taken a long the way. more to come, these videos are of a huge rainstorm that hit us on Thursday. it was really crazy. I hope you enjoy them. It has been fun serving in Benson Hill, but all good things come to an end. I love the Lord. May God bless you in all you do

Enlightening the Way

This weeks spiritual blog is going to be on LIGHT. I have truly come to see how important and vital it is for our spiritual progression, and to help us along the path of eternal life. As i share my thoughts and insights, reflect on some time you have felt God's Light directing you.

In The Bible Dictionary, talking on the Light of Christ;

The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ. For instance, Christ is “the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (D&C 93:2; see John 1:9). The light of Christ fills the “immensity of space” and is the means by which Christ is able to be “in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things.” It “giveth life to all things” and is “the law by which all things are governed.” It is also “the light that quickeneth” man’s understanding (see D&C 88:6–13, 41). In this manner, the light of Christ is related to man’s conscience and tells him right from wrong (Moro. 7:12–19).

Doctrine & Covenants 50:24;

 24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

This scripture describe a lot of how i feel. When we keep Gods commandments and actively come unto God, He increase our understanding and reasoning. 

Doctrine & Covenants 88:11;

 11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; 

In Doctrine & Covenants 84:46;

46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. 

In Spanaway, Elder Gardner and I were able to study the doctrine of Truth. now this was intense study, but I increased my understanding a lot. We discovered all truth comes from God, in which light does also. So in each of those scriptures in reality light can be replaced by truth. 

As you watch these wonderful videos by Elder Bedner, Reflect again on the Light of Christ, and Truth.

“Oh, if I could teach you this one principle. A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it! Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith,’ as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. ‘The spirit of man,’ as the scripture says, indeed ‘is the candle of the Lord’ 

I bear my testimony to you, that i know God lives and He cares. He wants to help you by guiding you thoughts and actions through the Holy Ghost. Seek The Light of Christ, Improve to better focus on it in your life. May God bless you as you turn to the scriptures, prayer, and living-day Prophets. 

Pictures For August

Hello Everybody,

I'm doing well. Here is some pictures:

So True!! 

Seattle Skyline From Renton Highlands

P-Day Fun!

Study Area

Front Room (I moved it around, so its different now)

Kitchen

Bedroom

Closet 

Front Door and Porch

My Desk

Our Stereo System  

Louie, A recent converts baby

Jimmy Hendricks Memorial