Blessings of Prayer

  

As I was thinking on what to write about and how hard it is to sometimes think about a topic, something came up. I have truly been blessed because of the Gospel and the encouragement my parents had to teach me and my siblings. I have been a member all my life. My parents joined the church in Guatemala, both were the first ones in their families to join. Since joining the church, they have gone trough trials and tribulations just like everyone of us goes through when we try to follow the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Every since I was little, I remember my parents teaching me principles that would help me later in life. They taught my brothers and I about sharing and loving each other, helping people, having that charity towards other people and being responsible by  making good choices. They taught us how to have faith in Jesus Christ and also being able to follow His example. They taught us to always pray and ask our Heavenly Father for help and strenght, also to give thanks to all that we have. I truly admire and am thankful for my parents for taking the time to raise us by teaching and applying these principles.

About a couple of days ago, I had an experience with a principle that I had been taught since I was little. Prayer is something so powerful and helps us to communicate with God. I think of it as talking to a family member that is really far away and is very costly if you want to visit them everyday. Traveling back and forth to see how they are doing can consume time and be costly for the long run. There is a better way and easier way to communicate with them. We can simply pick up the phone and call them. We can let them know how we are doing and also ask for help, the same can apply to them. They can let you know how they are doing and also ask you for help.

The experience that happen to us was that we were trying to get out of this hill with the car. It had snowed the day before and the road was not looking too good. At first I thought, this is gonna be easy, just push the pedal and the car will climb up the hill. It didn't work, at the beginning the car got half way and just stop and would not continue. I had to go on reverse and go all the way back to start again. We try this for like 5 or 6 times and nothing. I tough to myself, we probably gonna get stuck here forever and not being able to go to the place where we needed to go. I told my companion at that time who was Elder Maloney, to offer up a prayer. He prayed for us to be able to get out of there safely. We started again on our way. Surprisingly I felt like something was pushing us, I continue to push on the pedal until we made it all the way. I truly know that prayer works. I offered a silent prayer thanking my Heavenly Father for helping us that day. As we ask our Heavenly Father to help us, He will help us as long as we ask him and humble ourselves. I can testify as a representative of Jesus Christ that when you pray we get closer to God and He will bless you because of that.



Achieving our Goals!



Have you ever set a goal for that year, like the beggining of the year and you really want to achieve it but by the end of January something happened and you stopped or wasn't able to obtain it?...yep, that has definetly happened to me! Elder Ballard, of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles, shares some insights that can help us to be able to reach those goals.

"You must cultivate a desire to develop the skill of setting worthy and realistic goals."

We need to realize that the goals we set are not too high or low. For me, I have set goals and now that I think were too high and that's why I was not able to accomplish them. As we think about the goals that we set and push ourselves a little we will be able to accomplish. We need to have the desire as well. One scripture I like about desire is Alma 34:27 "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

"When you set a goal and commit yourself to the necessary self-discipline to reach that goal, you will eliminate most of the problems in your life. Spend your energies doing those things that will make a difference. We have to have faith. We have to have faith in God. We have to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And oh, how desperately we have to have faith in ourselves."

As we follow Elder Ballards's invitation, I can promise you that through Christ all things are possible and that we will be able to reach any goal that we set.



I know that the Book of Mormon is True.

About two weeks ago I finish reading the Book of Mormon. I had read it before but this time I understood it more and I gained a better testimony of it. I know truly with all my heart that it's true and that it is the word of God. So what's a testimony? A testimony is what you believe to be true. For me a testimony are the things I know for myself to be true. For example I have a testimony that the prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon were inspired and were guided by the God to write the things they did. We can all gain testimonies which help us continue to strive to do good and to endure till the end.

A prophet in the book of Mormon explained more about testimonies. Alma 30:41, he says "But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them? Believest thou that these things are true?" We can strive to be able to believe and to know these things for ourselves. As I have come to know that the Book of Mormon is true, You can also know it for yourself. The last prophet of the Book of Mormon, he gives a promised to those people who read.

He says the following in Moroni 10:3-5, "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

The Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ as the Bible is as well. They both testify that He is the Christ and our Lord and our Redeemer. He truly loves us and has given us scriptures so we can learn more about Him and his teachings. As we understand and read the Book of Mormon, I promised that we can know that He is there for us and that he still communicates with us. We will gain a greater love for him and for all that he has done for us.

FUTBOL: The love of the game

 Let me tell you how much I love futbol or in other words soccer. I think it's in my blood already. My mom tells me that when I was a little kid the first gift I got was a soccer ball and that I learned to walk by just following a ball. Funny ha but I think it's true. Ever since then I've come to love the game and how it's play and to my perspective is way fun if you start getting into it. Through my high school years I've play soccer and also in clubs which was pretty much a year round sport back in Charleston. All my friends would get together and have fun. Also I remember going to tournaments and the effort we all put into because it's definitely not an individual sport. At times it may seem that you might make all the difference but without a pass or a cross from a teammate you basically can't score. Also in order for me to have learned the techniques and the way to play soccer, it took a while. It took lots of effort from my part and discipline in order to be able to play in competitive soccer and win tournaments.

I think of this as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In order for us to be able to be as good as a soccer player we need to put effort on our parts. We need to study the principles so we can learn more. As we do this we are becoming better and better as a soccer player becomes. But how can we do this? Well one of the first things we can do is to pray to our Heavenly Father if he really is there for us. We can all receive different impressions. For me it's been having a peaceful feeling that makes me happy and makes me wanna do something. We can all feel this and what makes us feel this is the Holy Ghost. When Jesus Christ was with his disciples and he knew that he was about to be crucified, he left them with something that will help the apostles. In John 14:26 it says "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Because of the Holy Ghost we are able to have more understanding and he will teach us more as we study the scriptures. Another way to know more about Jesus Christ and his teachings are found in the scriptures. This is something I have come to love to do in my personal life. I have found that in the times when I need the most help or just something to guide me in my life it has worked for me. In Nephi, a prophet it the Book of Mormon, he tells us more about why we need to study the scriptures. This scripture helps me more to understand why we read and try to learn the teachings of the prophets. In 1 Nephi 19:23 "And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." As we do the council that Nephi tells us we will be able to find guidance and be able to learn.

I know that in my life in order to accomplish a goal I have set it takes practice and time. The reward that comes after can be sweet and rejoicing. As a win from a soccer game scoring on the last minute and giving your team the win they deserve can be sweet and rejoicing so is being able to recognize the hard work you have put into it. As we shape up or testimonies or gain one that's the sweet and rejoicing reward that we receive. Because of Jesus Christ we are able to see this in our life and how great is the joy that comes from it. Especially to know that His Gospel can bless us. We can all feel this way and have that sweet rejoice just as you score a goal in the last minute and give the win to your team. In Luke 1:47 "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." As we strive to reach our goal and be able to feel that rejoice and also being able to say what Luke says that our spirit will rejoice in our God, it will be the best feeling in the world.