Life

   I'd like to share some of my experiences of life, not to brag or boast, but hopefully to lift and give hope to someone else with similar struggles.
   I was a senior in high school. Our football team, of which I was part, had recently won the State Championship in our division. I had been a top player on the team.
   A party was being thrown on behalf of the team for students up in the mountains at a ski resort. Two rooms had been rented by former students to hold this celebration.
   I had made a promise to myself never to attend "parties". I knew there were a lot of things going on at parties I did not want to associate myself with. I also had a girlfriend who held the same feelings as myself. So, when invited to this party I politely said, "No thank you."
   The night of the party my girlfriend and I were double dating. The other boy was one of the captains of the football team. While enjoying roasting marshmallows over an indoor fire the captain asked my girlfriend and I if we would accompany he and his date to this party. We explained our lack of desire to attend such an event. He said he felt the same way but also had promised many of the guys that he would make a showing. He further said that if we were with him it would give him a good excuse to leave the party.
   My girlfriend and I took a moment to think about it and then agreed to go with them to the party. At the resort they went into one room, my girlfriend and I went into the other. As soon as we walked in someone jumped up from a large reclining chair and offered it to us. I sat and my girlfriend sat on the arm of the chair. Ahhh....comfortable.
   No sooner had I sat down than the host walked over to me, throwing me a can of beer and said, "Alan, have a beer."
   I threw it back and said that I didn't drink.
    He threw it back and said, "Everyone is drinking".
   I threw it back and said, "I'm not."
   The room was full of my peers and yes...they were all drinking. When entering the room it was noisy with all the talking going on. Now the room was silent and everyone was watching what I would do.
   The host said, "I never won a championship and I'm drinking".
   I said again that I did not drink.
   He said fine...I was relieved that it was over. He walked over to the bar put the beer down and came back with champagne offering that to me. That easy chair was no longer comfortable. At that point I stood with my girlfriend and left the room. As we entered the hall the captain and his date were also just leaving the other room. All of us commented on our disgust with the behavior of what was going on and we left.
   Walking across the parking lot my girlfriend put her arm through mine and gave it a squeeze and said, "I'm proud of you". I felt like a giant. It also hit me that I hadn't just been standing up for myself but that I was defending her honor at the same time.
   What if I took that drink....what would she have done?
   A couple of weeks later my father told me, "I'm proud of you, Alan."
   I asked why?
   He said, "I was talking to one of your friends at that party you attended."
   I swallowed hard....how did he find out I went?
   He continued, "Your friend told me how they admired the courage you had to stand for your beliefs and walk away from that party. Your friend told me they ruined their life that night."

   Was I ridiculed for standing up against my peers. No. In fact I was surprised how they all treated me so well and said they had greater respect for me.
   We live in a world that says alcohol, sex and drugs are all a normal part of life to be indulged in. What do I see after all of these years....many people who are alcoholics, who have been married and divorced at least once. People still searching for what will make them happy.
   Happiness is a gift of inner peace and joy given to those who live and uphold the commandments of God. I'm a witness of that.

My Christmas Message

With Christmas in full season I want to take time to share my thoughts and testimony about Jesus Christ. When I came home from my mission I found while people enjoyed hearing about Holland they did not want to talk about religion...about Jesus Christ. Many years ago...while in school, a very good friend took her own life. It bothered me. I wondered what life was about. I have always believed in God, in Jesus Christ. I remember as a young boy making a gift for Him of some things I collected that year, but I was too embarrassed to set it out under our tree. Well, many years later I was going on a mission. I believed in Christ and His Church and wanted to share that. When I received my mission call it hit me...I'm going to go share this with the world....I really need to KNOW that this is true. I began reading the Book of Mormon in ernest and praying for a witness. There is a promise toward the end of the Book of Mormon that if one desires to know the truth God will make it known to them. You don't have to take any one else's word...you can know for yourself. Early one morning as I was reading a voice whispered in my mind, "Get on your knees and pray". I did. I had the sweetest experience that left me in tears and with a witness that Jesus is the Christ and His Church has been restored upon the earth. I knew at that moment my life would never be the same. That this would bless and change my life. I've had that same type witness many times since then. This world is full of substitutes...things to draw us away from Christ....but none of them can fill our lives with the joy and happiness that comes from living the life He has asked us to. It is not easy to deny ourselves of ALL ungodliness, but as we do so more and more we will have greater happiness and peace in our lives...even while living in a world of termoil. Unless we fill our lives with the things of the Spirit the things of the world will block them out.
This Christmas....turn to the only one who can give us everything...everything that can bring peace, joy and happiness...turn to Jesus Christ.

Enjoy this message of Christmas: http://www.mormon.org/christmas/story

God's First Commandment

In the garden of Eden God joined man and woman together and told them to replenish the earth....and sai, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one."
God has never altered this commandment. God is an Eternal being and through the atonement of Jesus Christ every person who ever has or will live on earth is an eternal being......God deals with us as eternal beings. His commandments are eternal, they will never change.
Marriage is meant for man and woman to come together a nd create their own eternal families.

Why Christmas

     Many people think that the first gifts of Christmas are gold, frankincense and myrrh. May I suggest that they were not. The first gift of Christmas was the Christ-Child, himself. "For God so loved the world that He gave (when someone gives us something is it not a gift?) His only begotten Son that whoso should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For Christ came not to condemn the world but that through him the world might be saved."
   This sheds light on the gifts of the magi. Their gifts were not only gifts of honor but of gratitude...to the one who was given to us to save us.
    That is the WHY of Christmas. We should not give gifts for any reason but out of gratitude for those in our lives we love and cherish.
   You may ask..."What about the stranger".
    God gave His Son because of His love for ALL of us...His children and of His desire that we return to Him. Therefore the commandment to love one another. In God's eyes and in the beginning there were no nationalities or races....just God's children. His commandment to love all people as we love ourselves answers who we should care about...everyone. When we see people in need we help...out of love for them as our brothers and sisters and out of gratitude for all that God has blessed us with.
   Many people say they have obtained their wealth and good fortune on their own and that God had nothing to do with it. Really? God gives us health and strength to work, protection from harm, etc....if you don't think so get on your knees and tell God you don't need Him or recognize that He has done anything for you and see what becomes of all of your daily "blessings".
  In celebrating Christmas we should be as the reformed Scrooge and give of ourselves and means freely to all in need. In this we are saying.."Thank you, God for everything and especially for the gift of your Son".
    Do we get rid of Santa and all of the "Christmas legends or traditions", no. They can assist us...make the season more enjoyable and make it easier to teach children about giving.
    I like the way the Christmas Season is celebrated in Holland...or the way it was when I lived there 35 years ago. "Santa (Sinter Klas) came on December 5th and gave goodies and toys. December 25th was set apart as a day to worship Christ and to be with friends and family. It made the gift giving fun....but made more sacred the day we celebrate Christ's birth.
    However we celebrate may we do so out of love, honor and respect and treat one another as God would have us.
   Merry Christmas.

Friends

    Life is good. What makes it good?
There are so many things that take place in our life...so many events...what makes them memorable? The people we are with. What would a vacation be taken alone? What would a State Championship in football, baseball, tennis or what ever be worth without those you were with? What would be a home without mom and dad and brothers and sisters?
     Life is enriched by the relationships in it. Why then do we deceive, cheat and hurt other people? If it is people that make life rich then it is also people who bring about the greatest pain and suffering.
     I had a friend in high school whom I one day saw crying. It made me feel bad to see this friend crying because she was one of the sweetest people I knew. I wondered why someone would hurt her. Yet, I too have caused tears to fall from those I claim to love. When that happens I try to apologize and ask forgiveness...it is never on purpose...just making stupid choices.
    A man I know wrote a book and in it laid out four steps of human behavior. It caused me to think what kind of person I want to be and strive to be.
    Step One:
    We say or do things without any thought and never even think how it may affect others.

   Step Two:
    We say or do something and then realize what we have done and apologize for the pain we have inflicted.

   Step Three:
   We catch ourselves thinking of saying or doing something and stop ourselves.

   Step Four:
    We no longer have any thoughts or desires to do anything that might bring others pain.
     This is were the Savior was...in complete control of his thoughts and actions at all times and loved others so deeply that anything negative never came to his mind.

   One other example: Again in high school there was a girl, not popular, not attractive, not the nicest person....because no one treated her with kindness. Years later I found out that she had passed away in her apartment; alone. It was several days before she was found. I almost started to cry when I learned that. I reflected, how had I treated her?
   There is a quote: Some people bring happiness where ever they go. Others whenever they go. 
   I want to be the kind of person that brings happiness that makes others feel good about themselves. It is the people in my life that have brought so much happiness to my life...I want them to know I appreciate them. Telling someone you love them may be awkward at first but when people know you are sincere it bonds your relationship forever.

Pizza

 For some strange reason I woke up thinking about Pizza this morning. Actually those who know will not find that strange at all. I love pizza and could almost survive on pizza and nothing else without tiring of it.
   Moving on I was thinking of pizza in relation to life with and without the gospel of Jesus Christ. Weird? Let me explain.
   My introduction to pizza was when a young boy back in the 60's (1960's). My mother would buy Juno's Pizza Mix and make our family pizza for dinner. I liked it, it was good....but, steak was better.
   My sister began dating and went to a pizza restaurant. She came home all excited about how delicious pizza was and it was her new favorite food. I thought, "how good can it be?"
It was a few years later before I found out on my own. My best friend, Fotu, began working at Pipes-N-Pizza. A few months later I also was hired on there. It was here I first tasted a real pizza. WOW!!!!!!
   I was hooked!
   This was the best food ever! What's steak?
  Now the comparison. Many people live life without the Gospel of Jesus Christ, namely as it has been restored to the earth and organized as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They get along in life and enjoy life. I have always been a member of the Church but we believe that ever person must come to KNOW for themselves whether it is true or not. This is accomplished through study and prayer. As I read the Book of Mormon for myself and knelt to ask God if it was true, I received a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true. It changed my life and enhanced my life. I have had the chance to share it with other people and watched how it has changed their lives.
   One can be happy and enjoy life without the gospel/Church, but as God says, true happiness and peace are gifts reserved for those who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ, keeping His commandments, standing as a witness of Him at all times and in all places.
   This is what I have experienced and witnessed in the lives of others.
   Other religions can be of good influence but the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ containing the fulness of His gospel opens up a whole new fulness in life.
   That is why we send out missionaries. We invite others to come and taste it for themselves. There is nothing to fear. Nothing to loose. Only something to gain.
   In our Church we do not try to take others faith away from them...but enhance it, making it brighter and more joyful.
   Try it.

Falling out of bed.
   Years ago I heard a talk with this quote which impressed me. "Why do people fall away from the Church? For the same reason they fall out of bed...they are not in it far enough.
   In the Book of Mormon the prophet Alma teaches how to develop faith, in Alma chapter 32. He teaches that faith can be developed and one can come to know truth and compares it to planting a seed and nurturing it. If it is a good seed it begins to grow and will grow into a strong plant. If not nurtured...it may still be a good seed but dies due to lack of attention. He goes on to teach that this is not just for people who want to develop faith but is a lifelong process to keep us strong in our faith.
   I work with a lot of people in the Church. It is easy to know who will eventually quit going to church or to tell which will complain and be a little rebellious. They are those who do not read the scriptures and pray daily. They figure attending church once a week should fill all of their spiritual needs. When they have problems they usually blame it on the Church or on God...it is not their fault, or they wonder...why me?
   Everyone of us will have challenges in life, challenges that test our faith and testimony of the gospel. In the early days of the Church Oliver Cowdrey began to have some questions...even after seeing an angel of God and the Gold Plates. The Lord through Joseph Smith told him to cast his mind back to the hour he first believed: "Did I not speak comfort to your soul, did I not cause your bosom to burn?"
   The Book of Mormon often uses the words...remember. We are also promised that if we will study the scriptures daily and pray daily...more than once, in fact keeping a prayerful heart that we will be given power to rise above all our challenges and temptations.
   There is nothing wrong with having questions...if we are willing to seek the answers. Often we want God to come down and answer our prayers as He did for Joseph Smith. When God gives us answers: through the scriptures, through prophets or even past personal prayers, He expects us to use those things to find answers...we need to do our part, to search and then ask for confirmation of their truth. Then He will send the comforter to give us the assurance and comfort we need.
   God can see down the road and over the horizon. He has given us all we need to know Him and His gospel...for salvation. It is available to us. He has done this because of His love for us and His desire to help us through this journey called life. And, He has commanded us to pray daily and ask for the things of which we are in need....in other words to recognize our need for Him and to be grateful for His daily help. As we do this we remain humble and our faith in Him grows and grows to be a strong and healthy plant and we never need to worry about falling out of bed.