"...ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a prefect brightness of hope..." (2 Nephi 31:20)

I love looking up definitions from my big, fat, red dictionary I got in college many years ago. I use it frequently. So, the other morning I looked up a few definitions from one of my favorite scriptures which reads:

  "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a prefect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." 

2 Nephi 31:20

I love the admonition to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ". "Press" means "to act with steady force". In cycling, when going up a hill, if I stop pedaling I will fall over and crash or I can turn around and go back down the hill, but only if I turn quickly enough and this defeats the purpose of getting to the top. In order to make it to the top, I must act with steady force, or press forward and keep my legs pressing in a forward movement. Steadfastness means: "firm, fixed settled or established; not changing, or fickle, or unwavering; constant". Think of this with "pressing forward"- unwavering and constant. It is so effective in cycling. In life, it is also effective when we press forward, unwavering in making good choices, choosing the right. It might be a lot of work, or perhaps a long hill. But if we are pressing forward and don't turn around or stop pedaling and are steadfast, we will make it to the top. And WOW! does that feel awesome!!!

As I looked up definitions, the one that intrigued me the most was "brightness". It says: "shining with light that is radiated or reflected". "Having a perfect brightness of hope" or a prefect shining with light that is radiated from us and that light is Christ. Christ is our hope. We hope in His eternal sacrifice. Hope in His power to heal us. Hope in His eyes to see, because we can't and don't see what is over that hill that we are in the middle of climbing and it sometimes feels like we have been climbing it forever! Hope, a perfect brightness of hope, so bright it reflects in our countenances (see Alma 5:14, 19) because we hope in the perfect Atonement made for us. 

The hope is, even when we can't see over the top of the hill, that Christ sees and knows all that is over the hill. And Christ does know and sees beyond the current hill we are climbing (see Matt. 6:8; 2 Nephi 2:24). As we "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a prefect brightness of hope" we can make it through, up, and over all the challenging hills, valleys, and rides of life. Christ is "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). We don't have to wait to get to the top to have a Christ-like life as we "endure to the end". A Christ-like life, is eternal life now. 

Have a "prefect brightness of hope"- He knows all, sees all, and loves us beyond measure and we have nothing to fear (see 2 Tim 1:7; D&C 98:14). Just keep pedaling, or as the scripture says, "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ". Life is good, even when it's hard and seems all up hill. This I testify.

"[God] maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45)

We had a power outage this past weekend that lasted for about 6-7 hours. It had started to bring back memories of the year we had no power for 3 days. You need to know something about me. I get a little edgy when I am cold. A little edgy when I am tired. A touch off when I am hungry. A touch out of sorts when I have an infection. If you throw all of those together...well, let me just say, in the nicest way possible, that all heck breaks loose and it is better to not be around me when they all come together. My family knows that they need to stay out of my way. So, this past weekend, when it was getting closer to the 5 hour mark with no power and it was getting dark outside and the temperatures were dropping, I was really trying to hold it together...I hope the Lord sees fit to take me when "The Big One" comes, I am not much of a "pioneer" without my modern conveniences, such as food, heat, light, medicine, a warm bed, did I mention food?

Sometimes, things just go wrong and for no apparent reason. The power goes out on the best of us, and we are cold, hungry, tired, and we have an infection all at the same time. Things could definitely be worse (I have experienced way worse and I try to accept what I am given and be grateful...note the try, it doesn't mean that I am happy about it, or that it is easy). One of the conclusions that I have come to when bad things happen to good people (which happens all the time), is that "[God] maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). Power outages, unfortunately, don't skip homes that are paying tithing, or even paying their electrical bills. They happen to whomever happens to be on that grid. Power outages happen to the best of us. They make life inconvenient, change our routine, test our patience, make us slow down, sometimes they make us questions why things have to happen to us, sometimes they may even make us question our faith. These are not necessarily bad things.

Another conclusion I have come to about bad things happening to good people is that unbeknownst  to us, these trials, or power outages, can actually be strength building opportunities for us. The Lord has said, "I will try the faith of my people" (3 Nephi 26:11) and taught through His prophets "...ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Ether 12:6). Sometimes, as I am riding my bike up a long, steep hill I have to look down rather than up. This is the proper placement for my head. The hill looks flatter, I am able to focus on each stroke as I pedal, and I slowly, oh so slowly, make my way to the top. It is with my head down, humbled in prayer that is in the proper position that makes all the difference, when I need help in my deepest, and darkest hours of my "power outages". Elder Henry B. Eyring said, "Trouble itself can be your way to strengthen and finally gain unshakable faith" (Mountains to Climb).



Life isn't always filled with lights and without its storms. I sometimes wish it were. But then I look back at all the growth that has come form all that hard work, diligence, and perseverance of pedaling up those long, steep hills and you know what? I wouldn't change a thing. I to add my voice with the prophet Nephi and say, "I know that [Christ] loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (1 Nephi 11:17). Things work out, if not in this life, then in the next. We are loved beyond measure and we are not left alone in the dark. This I testify.

The day after the storm...and after the power outage. The sun always comes out after the  storm.

Note how the branch is hanging down from the weight of the snow, this is several hours after the storm has ended.

The mountains from our home. I am standing in our driveway. We received at least a foot or more of snow, and the mountains received 48" or more!

Yea, all things which come of the earth... are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart" (D&C 59:18)

My 10 year old son will still ask me to come and listen to him say his nightly prayer every once in a while. (I know this isn't going to last much longer, I will enjoy it while it does last). When he prays he will sometimes say, "Thank You for this wonderful world we have to live in". My son is spot on, we do have a wonderful world to live in, especially with all its modern conveniences and life of ease and comfort. "And it pleaseth God that He hath given all these things unto man" (D&C 59:20). There aren't words to describe the world God created for us that is filled with beauty and joy.

As I have pondered my sons gratitude to Heavenly Father I have thought of so many blessings we now enjoy and possibly take for granted in our busy, everyday lives. I remember in my teenage years my grandfather would tell me how he remembered when television was first invented. Think of all the information that is shared through television (let alone through books, computer, classes, people) for our benefit and good: news, weather, educational shows, we can learn about every kind of animal and bird, plants, herbs, gardening, building and construction, the seasons, and the earth, cooking shows, cycling, and we can watch  General Conference, just to name a few things. All this is "made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and gladden the heart. Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body, and to enliven the soul." (D&C 59:18-19).

I love these words: "for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and gladden the heart...and to enliven the soul". The Lord has blessed us with an incredible world in which to live. I only listed a few of the things that make my everyday life easier, let alone gladden my heart, taste good, please my eye, smell good, strengthen my body, may use for clothes, or enliven my soul. I am sure you can come up with a few of your own items or ideas which bring any if not all of these blessings into your life daily.

Another quick thought about this "wonderful world we live in" is that not only do these items bless our lives by making it easier, more joyful and "gladden our hearts", but they also testify that there is a God. "And behold, all things...are created and made to bear record of [Christ], both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of [Christ]" (Moses 6:63). The prophet Alma also taught: "...All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" (Alma 30:44).

What a blessing to have all these witnesses of Christ surround us, to gladden our hearts, for our benefit and use, for taste and for smell and to strengthen our bodies and "enliven the soul" (D&C 59:18-19). We really can "feel [our] Savior's love, in all the world around [us]" (Children's Songbook #74) as we give thanks for the beauty and creations that have been given to us.

~Here are a few items/blessings that gladden my heart, enliven my soul, or otherwise...

Indoor plumbing...it gladdens my heart because its indoors and it got fixed.

Cycling...this particular picture was taken just before a ride with my dad and my brother-in-law around Bear Lake. Love  this sport!!!

Basket weaving...definitely cheaper than therapy.

Cherry pie our 10 year old son made, with gluten free crust so his sister could eat it, too. It tasted as good as it looks!

Roses from my back yard neighbors. I love yellow roses! 

The temple is a place I love to attend. (Click here to learn about why I attend temples.)

This little group of people...let me just say, my heart soars when I think of them. I love spending time with them.

After looking at all of these incredible blessings in my life, I testify, there is a God. He lives. He loves us. And He knows our needs, our pains, our desires, our hopes, our dreams, our every thing. He also knows what is best for us. Our challenge is to trust Him, The Creator of this beautiful world we live in.

"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Cor 13:1)

As I was reading from The Book of Mormon today in 3 Nephi 11, I reread the account when Jesus Christ shows Himself unto the people of Nephi. When they first see the resurrected Lord it reads, "they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them" (3 Nephi 11:8). Every eye is turned towards Him, and everyone sees Christ. They witnessed with their eyes the Savior of the world, but they were not sure if it was Christ. They thought it might have been an angel. Gratefully, God is a merciful God and follows patterns and in this case, the law of witnesses. 

Paul taught the law of witnesses and we are taught it as well in our day. It reads: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Cor 13:1; D&C 6:28; see also Deut.19:15; talks here and here). We don't need to rely on just one voice or one witness to tell us if something is true. What a blessing the Holy Ghost is to confirm for us things we have felt, seen, and heard. This is the role of the Holy Ghost, to testify and witness of Jesus Christ (see 2 Nephi 31:18). The people of Nephi also get to experience the law of witnesses. I will continue to explain.

The people of Nephi then hear the voice of the Lord (see 3 Nephi 11:10-11). They hear His voice and He identifies Himself saying: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, 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" (3 Nephi 11:11). This is the second witness for the people of Nephi. They hear the voice of the Savior of the world with their own ears. Their reaction is heartfelt and humbling. "When Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show Himself unto them after His ascension into heaven" (3 Nephi 11:12). 

The people of Nephi had been taught for 400 years by prophets that Christ would appear to them after His resurrection. They fell to the earth and worshiped Him. His great love for them is manifested in His reaction to this testimony of realizing that the prophesies had been fulfilled and Christ was indeed before them. Christ, the God of the whole world didn't expect them to just rely upon their eyes and ears, which would have been enough, according to the law of witnesses. But their Savior, and ours, goes farther than that; He invites them to come and feel and then know.

 "The Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto me, that 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" (3 Nephi 11:14). And the people, all of them, "went forth, and thrust their hands into His side, and did feel the prints of the nails in His hands and in His feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was He, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come" (3 Nephi 11:15). They were able to see, hear,  come, and feel that they may have their own witness of Jesus Christ. After which, they "did bear record" that it was Christ. 

I add my own witness and record, that I too, have seen and have read the words of the prophets and apostles that testify of Christ. I have come to Christ by trying my best to keep His commandments and follow Him. As I have done this I have felt the Holy Ghost witness to me that "This is the Christ". The Savior of all mankind. Without Him, all mankind would be lost (see 1 Nephi 10:6). But we are not lost. There is great hope and we need not fear as we see, hear, come, feel and know Jesus is the Christ. This I Testify.

This is one of my favorite Hymn's "This Is The Christ"

words written by  Elder James E. Faust (July 31, 1920 – August 10, 2007)

"...He holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society." (D&C 134:1)

I am so proud of myself. I just voted by mail and it feels so good. I honestly don't really like politics. I laugh because I do have very strong opinions, but I don't like discussing politics. I get very frustrated with...people. But, I would not give up my right to vote or my freedom, both of which come from the eternal principle of agency. Agency is: "The ability and privilege God gives people to choose and to act for themselves" (Guide to the Scriptures).

As I have thought about the privilege of voting I have learned a couple of things. In the 134th section of the Doctrine and Covenants there is a declaration of what we believe about governments and laws in general. Verses 1 and 2 read:

 "We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that He holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. 

We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life" (D&C 134:1-2). 

When we vote we are using our agency "for the benefit of man". If we choose not to vote and we complain about what goes on, we have no excuse and no right to do so. We made our choice when we did nothing. We let others choose for us when we don't vote. We will be held accountable for this choice like it or not.

I said I don't like discussing politics because of people. Well, I am just going to let Elder Quentin L. Cook speak for me on this point, which applies to more than just politics. He said:

"We need to be civil in our discourse and respectful in our interactions. We live in a world where there is much turmoil. Many people are both angry and afraid. The Savior taught us to love even our enemies (see Matthew 5:44). This is especially true when we disagree. The moral basis of civility is the Golden Rule. It is taught in most religions and particularly by the Savior. "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Luke 6:31). Our faith requires that we treat our neighbors with respect" 

(Restoring Morality and Religious Freedom).

I may not like arguing politics...but I sure have strong opinions about what I think is right and good, and it's okay if we agree to disagree. I definitely I love my freedoms; with that comes the love of freedom of speech, the love of my right to bear arms, my right to life, my right to the pursuit of happiness. I choose to vote because I want to voice what I believe is right, and I hope you choose to voice your opinion as well by using your God given gift of agency and vote in this years election. (You may then complain if you feel so inclined...but I can testify that complaining doesn't really help the situation change much, it might make you feel better to vent momentarily, but it usually doesn't bring about change.) Notice, I don't tell you how to vote, just VOTE!

P.S. Here are a couple of excellent talks about the Constitution; Challenges for Our Day; and a whole series on Religious Freedom.