Christmas

Well, its christmas time again. Its a time for cheering and laughing with friends, its a time to get together with family and eat a large dinner you can't possibly eat all in one day, and some how do; then get so stuffed that you have to take a nap afterwards!

Not only that tho, its also a time to remember the savior and what wonderful things he has done for you! He loves you, and that is why he came into the world. He came to redeem the world. As it says int he scriptures it says in Luke 2:8-14 "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 glory 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 good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign 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 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." The hosts of heaven literally sang out in Joy of their king. Our savior and Redeemer! Because of him we are redeemed from the fall, and the way is paved that we may return to our heavenly Father, if it so be that we no longer deny him, but call on his holy name!

This season, we celebrate what was over 4,000 years in the making, When we were in the pre-earth life, we were over joyed to know that our redeemer would come to redeem us all! As it says in Job 38:7 " 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" How Joyful an occasion that must have been, when we as spirits, and children of our Heavenly Father, knew that we could progress beyond our spiritual state, and learn to be like our heavenly Father, learn to have a fullness of Joy as he does. Let us all remember this christmas season, that its not what you get; and sometimes its not really about the gift you give; but that its the spirit by which the gift is given! Remember Christ in all things this christmas season, after all, as the prophet Isaiah said speaking in the voice of the savior "I have engraven thee on the palms of my hands"! He remembers you, and all of us! He loves us, and he will never forget us! Please remember him, I love you all, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

-Elder White

calling back the lost

Jesus christ, our lord and savior said; "I am sent to call the sinners, not the righteous to repentance, the whole need no physician". As I ponder this christmas season, I can't help but think that I haven't been the best example that I could be too my family! True, i've fought with them; I've yelled at them, I have good times, and bad times with them. But as I reflect back on these times, I realize, What have I done for those I love, whom have strayed from the gospel plan?

Please, don't misunderstand what I am saying; this has nothing to do with you being a bad person. After all, I firmly believe that there are plenty of good things about you, with out tools like; the book of Mormon, the plan of Salvation! But I would speak to you, on this wonderful book that is called "The Book Of Mormon". Its a wonderful book, full of wisdom of an ancient people whose descendants we are! I am half cherokee, and appachee, which; if you do a little digging, they are one and the same with the navajoo, so therefore I am half cherokee and navajoo! We are half lamanite! We share this proud heritage,but have we fully accepted the promises, and privliges extended to us? We have been promised to become a great people, to be a new Jerusalem! If only, we will accept the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. The book of mormon does that for us! It gives us the doctirines of Jesus Christ, it gives us examples of what happens when you fail to follow these principles, or if you hold out faithful. It promises us blessings, and truth to light our path should we choose to follow its guides. Allow me to cite the scripture found in Moroni 10:3-5 which states" 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 untill the time that ye shall recieve these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall recieve 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". I beg you, as did moroni of old, look not upon me in my weakness and scoff, but come unto christ. Get on your knee's, asking God the Father, through your humble prayer, to enlighten your mind, and teach you of all things concerning his doctirine. Ask him to tell you of the Book of mormon, and weather it is true or not. Thank him for blessings shown, and all things you have, that are dear to your life. Then end in the name of Jesus Christ. Recieve a testimony of these things for yourself, by not relying on the wisdom and powers of preception of man, but relying wholly on the powers of God, who will show you all things what you should do! The way is given that all man maybe saved, its made conditional upon our asking, and truely wanting to know. God respects our ability to choose, and will not force an answer on us that we do not desire, even if it be right! Please, call upon god, and ask for his help. He has all power to perform his words! I know its true, and I love you all! In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

-Elder White

Keep moving forward

I draw my blog topic from two sources today; The first is from the movie meet the robinsons, and the other is from my own personal experience! I'll start off with meet the robinsons, and then i'll move on to my own personal experience.

In the movie meet the robinsons, a young man named Lewis, a brilliant young inventor; who is unwittingly met by his son from the future, who has taken the time machine in order to look for the stolen time machine, that he was the cause of being stolen. He accidentally left the garage door open. So in order to make up for his mistake he goes back in time, only to discover that the time machine he is looking for is in the time frame that his dad was a child in. Upon this discovery he tries to use his dad, with out his knowlege, so that he can hopefully get the time machine back which his father invented. (Confused yet, hopefully not because we've got a ways to go. Ok not really, but metaphorically speaking.) So, Lewis, and his son from the future, end up in the future, now upon reaching the future, he learns of this amazing slogagn, which ofcourse in the future, he'll be the creator of. The slogan is, "Keep moving forward".

So I wanted to talk a little bit on what might keep us from moving forward. What might keep us from moving forward? Fighting with our siblings, failing to be obedient to the commandments, things like that. Our sins, the appostle paul taught "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of god". So, how do we move forward? How do we get beyond these little ruts in our lives that keep us pinned to one spot in our life? Through the atonement of Jesus christ; only in and through his atoneing life blood may we move forward, with the assurance that we are clean from our sins, made only conditional on us asking for this.

I'm a martial artist, I've been a black belt for about 2 years or so, and so every morning as a missionary I have the chance to exercise; well what do you suppose I do with my excercise time? Well I go straight outside and I practice martial arts. Well, our here in New York, for those of you who live out here, you know it can get cold around this time of the year. So as I was out their practicing martial arts one morning, I began to think to myself; 'What the heck am I doing out here'? But then this line went through my head from meat the robinsons, 'Keep moving forward'. As I thought of this, my arms, my legs, and my fingers are cold and frozen, I realized that by just moving forward, and continueing on the same path, I was actually getting warmer. That pretty soon, the cold didn't bother me, because I was moving. Then I thought, how many people can't feel the warmth, and love of Jesus christ, or our heavenly Father, because they don't understand this simple statement. "Keep, moving, forward" Just do it, promise you, that when you trust in your heavenly Father, and rely on the atonement of your elder Brother Jesus christ, that you will be cleansed, you don't need to fall back, or be down on yourself. He loves you and wants you to come unto him, and be healed! Just as Lewis, from meet the robinsons discovered that he had decided in the future, that he would "KEEP MOVING FORWARD"! so can you keep moving forward. By reading your scriptures, and praying daily for guidance from our heavenly Father! its true, I know these things for myself, because I do them! I've tested my heavenly Father time and again, and he never fails me! And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

-Elder White

Study, pray, and listen "There's no greater way to learn the book of Mormon"

I just have to say that I love the book of Mormon, through it, we learn the doctirines of christ, it gives us stories of saints that lived good and faithful lives a long time ago. It gives us stories of battles that ensued from unrighteous action, and warns us against sinning, tells us what we must do to gain eternal life.

I think tho, one of the best features of the book of Mormon, is that it gives us guidance through this life, and its difficult times. As a missionary in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints, its a struggle every day. Weather its to wake up in the morning and get out of bed on time, or trying to teach an investigator, who is just not getting a concept, even tho you try, and you try to get them to understand. But its not our timming, its the lords timming.

The book of Mormon, if we will let it, allows us to gain a closer relationship with the Father, and through this relationship, we can help others to see what kind of love they can feel, if they're just willing to listen! It is my prayer that all of us will, study the book of Mormon, Pray about its precepts, and then listen to god for the answer. Don't take my word for it, prove the book for its self, get on your knees and pray. Test its metal as it were. I know you can recieve an answer. and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen!

A study of culture, verses a study of words!

In my studies of the bible, and the book of Mormon; i've pondered on the many words of scriptures and I realized a fatal flaw in the designs! I had been trying to understand the Bible from the point of view, or an ancient isrealite, who merely wrote in english! As I pondered on these things, I tried to think about all the things I had learned about the ancient isrealites! As I reflected on their culture, and how they would have understood the passage, or even how they would have written it, if they were writting the same thing, but in our cultural languge. The conclusion I came up with, was that they would have written it much differently had they been writting it for our time.


For example in the book of proverbs proverbs 28:26 Now in the english culture, the heart represents the center of emotion, and feeling. So, when I first read that scripture, I wasn't quite sure what they were trying to say. But lets take a closer look at this statement shall we? In the hebrew culture, well in any of the cultures, known more formally as the semetic culture, the heart is the center of thought or intellegence. (This would explain why the heart of the pharoh was preserved, while the brain was considred worthless, and typically tossed out). So, as we examine this scripture, to an ancient israelite, a more litteral translation, would be; "He that trusteth in his own intellegence, and mind is foolish". Which kind of makes the second half of that statement, make a little more sense! But whoso walketh wisely, shall be delivered"!

So, as I pondered on these things, I realized, that; in order to gain a more literal translation of whats found in these passages of scripture is, one would need to study the culture; in addition to the languge, in order to understand what was really being said. After all, inherent in every languge/culture, you will find small statements, that will not mean much to someone else; but through such minute statements, I like to call "Micro communication", you can communicate, threats, statements of love, Joy, or anything else that you might want to communicate to another person. The same is found in the bible; through out, you will find words, and phrazes uncommon to us, but completely natural, and common to the ancient children of israel.

So, the next time you study your scriptures, and you don't quite understand what is meant in them, or even if you think you know what is being said in them, ask god what it means! chances are, the cultures are completely different, and so the meaning has changed as it tries to cross the languge barrier. Try asking yourself, the 5 main questions that every writer has to ask themselves when writing a story, "Who wrote it"?, "What were they writing it for"?, "Where was it written"?, "Why did they write it"?, and "how does it apply"? As you do these things, the bible scriptures, I promise you, that this coupled with prayer, will open a light unto your feet, and the pathway through the scriptures will open unto you! The path will be iluminated before you, and you will never walk alone through the scirptures again!

I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Lessons learned from a good friend, and fellow missionary; sister vaterlaus!

So; as many missionaries may know, one of our beloved sisters, sister vaterlaus is going home. I thought I would write in honor of her, and the lessons I have learned from her. I think one of my fondest memories, is back when I was still quite a young and tender missionary. I was serving with one of the top 3 most patient elders in the world; he did a lot for me. Now, for people who know me, i'm not really that great with social interactions of any kind; Sometimes I walk away from the whole conversation I just had with someone, going, wow, you are a complete an utter idiot. Not to mention, there are a lot of thoughts, and ideas that fly about the mission about me, that may or may not be truthful; but they make it less then ideal to associate with me at all! Like i'm talking, you talk to me; it sounds like you should probably be shunned! No, i'm just kidding, but it is really hard to talk to me. Because even the things that are true, make it less then pleasent to talk to me. I'm not denying that. I'm working on it, I haven't discovered the secret, or formula to talking to people about situations.

Well, so any way, one day; we're at a kick ball game in honor of all the leaving missionaries. I've ofcourse was being my typical self, trying to be goofy, and funny, and most people probably just thought I was being annoying. But, someone told sister vaterlaus that I knew martial arts, infact, I think it was our very own Elder Nevil that told her that. But either way, she actually asked me to show her some martial arts. Which I did, which was different for me, because most people when they hear I do martial arts, typically think that either that means they should be intmidated, or that I want them to feel uncomfortable around me. That is not true at all! I love people, i'm just really, horribly, nerdy, and socially akward! But any way, so back to the story, she actually started a conversation with me about my skills, then latter after all that, she actually showed me one of her talents; YOGA! I mean, this is the first person, aside from the people that know me rather closely, that has been willing to talk to me, or even try to get to know me. I was astounded at her courage in talking to me, one of, atleast I consider myself, to be one of the most illapproachable missnionaries in this mission.


Then at a later time, we were taking some investigators up to see the sites, I was with a different companion at that time, he's awsome! But, while there, I guess, she got it into her head that she had offended me up there or something. Now, most missionaries would naturally decide that its not worth their time, that they should just ignore the offended, or wounded person and walk away! But low and behold, the next day, when she had time, she went throught he trouble to write me a text, appologizing for what she thought she had done! I was astounded at how, loving, and kind this young woman really was! I learned alot from her, I really have; I learned not only is it ok to talk to people that you think may be a pain in the butt, but also that you should always be willing to swallow your vain and selfish pride, and just appologize to someone, even if you think they're a total bonehead and that they deserve a rebuking and not an appology! I mean, when you go into a situation to appologize, sometimes, i've been guilty of this too, but sometimes we go in there; with the thought that this person is upset because they lack the understanding, and that in reality, they realy just need us to teach them of our ways, and convince them that you are right and they are wrong! I've done that, and, it almost never works out! If you go in there with that attitude, of, they can learn something from me, you usually go in and make the wound bigger; sometimes even foolishly reopening a wound that had healed on its own. But this sister, made it aboslutely clear, that she was sorry if she had offended me, and that she was not expecting me to learn something from her, but she was "On the errand of angels" and was going to "Bind up the broken hearted"! She took the time to bind up the broken hear that I might of had! But, rather then going in there with accusations, or sharp rebukes for some way that I could have been stupid; she said that "She was sorry if she was mean". The impression left upon my heart, was so deep, that I actually started doing it with my companion; and you know something? It actually works! It actually makes you feel 100% better, even if you don't consider it to be your fault, you appologize, and then you explain why you did it, and how you felt; I learned that, if you just go in there with no other object then to bind up their broken heart, then you will accomplish the goal! rarely if ever should you go in with the idea of, I will rebuke them, and they will learn wisdom from me! She has taught me so much, and as I've applied it, i've become a better missionary for it. Sister vaterlaus, we love you, and we think your the greatest! Hey, and thanks for all you've taught me, I have learned to become a greater missionary then I ever would have had I not met you!

We'll miss you here in the New York Rochester Mission, but you go home and be as great of a missionary as you can be, and like we all know that you are capable of being! I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love thy neighbor as thy self!

As a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we are encourage do as Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to do, "Love thy neighbor as thy self" and "Have love one to another"! Living as a missionary isn't always the easiest thing! As a missionary, we have what we call "tracting", a translation from missionary speak to normal english it roughly translates to, "Going to a door, knocking, introducing yourself and your values as a Latter Day saints, and introduce a message of ultimate happiness. Doing this only to get A.) a door slammed in our face, with some kind of mean comment thrown at us; like, but not limited to, 'I'm sorry we're christian we can't help you', 'Your going to hell', and any such nasty things the human mind can invent. Or B.)Someone could ask us to share the message with them, but they may just say they already believe in christ after we share it, or they may do it to simply fight with us". Yes thats a long deffinition; but its how it works.

So one might ask themselves two questions; "why the heck would you do something like that"; and "how do you keep going despite all that". the simple answer can be found in the reason why we're out here. in John 13:34 From this scripture it is made abundantly clear, that we are not just obligated to love one another, but its a commandment. one of the ways that i'm able to do what I do as a missionary, is simple; I love everyone that I come in contact with. I want all to hear this message that I've recieved that has brightened my life and given me such happiness.

Now, love for my neighbor is not all that motivates me to keep moving. Now yes, love is one of the most important things in the work; but a love of God is a bigger reason for me being out here. I love my Heavenly Father, and I know that the only thing he wants for me, is my eternal happiness, and the eternal happiness of all his children. In D&C 4 This scripture sets forth the doctirines that every missionary should remember when they step out in to the world to perform this labor of love.

Now these two loves by themselves should, and indeed is enough for me to go out into the world and put that name tag on, introducing myself, and the message I bear as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ; But I like to take it a bit further. I go out there into the world each day, because I know with absolute certainty, independent from anyone else, that this church is true; that Jesus is the Christ, and that he and our Father in Heaven live and love us to the end. I know, that with out a shadow of a doubt that our Savior, and redeemer lives, I know that this work is true. The fact is, that when I go out into the world, and I recieve a door slammed in my face, I laugh at it! Because, I know that this is just prophecy that has been spoken of by the prophets of old, and the prophets of today! When i'm told that I'm not a christian, my solution, to turn right around and sing "I believe in Christ"!

What I like to do, is compare the building of ones testmimony to the investing of money in "low risk" and "High risk" investments. When you put your money into a bank account, the interst increases the money with in over a slow period of time right? conversely, if you put it into stocks, where the investment is much higher risk, it produces large amounts of money faster! When I go out there into the world each day, and I see people throwing insults at me, I just laugh, Because these people not only do not understand my religion, but they also do not understand what they are really doing to me! They think, that by argueing with me, or telling me i'm in a cult, that they can break my testimony down, but the reality is, they're actually building mind up! they're creating an enviorment in which, although i've risked my testimony by sharing it I gain the huge reward of the spirit confirming my witness that the words I speak are true. I just know, that they are really fufilling prophecy, and so therefore, my testimony grows. It is my witness, and my privlige to stand bold, and to stand strong with my brothers and sisters in proclaiming, not what I belive, or that I belive, but that "I Know this church is true, and I know my redeemer and savior lives"! Its my privlige to do this, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.