The ChickDouble

Saturday night after The Hill Cumorah Pageant some missionaries drove through Mickey D's on the way home to get some ice cream. A few of us were hungry so we decided to get some food as well. We decided to get a classic.

The Mcdouble and the McChicken sandwiches, these two sandwiches are great by themselves but when combined they make the ultimate combination the ChickDouble! What needs to be done to enjoy these two as a treat is first separate the two patties on the McDouble. Then simply insert the McChicken in between the two hamburger patties of the McDouble.

This trick creates a rather large sandwich but boy does it taste good. It may not be the best for your figure but boy does it taste good, if you only get one a year.
                                                      
Thinking about it, these two sandwiches work together to fill our stomachs, they are different, chicken and beef, but work together. This reminded me of two other things that work together to fill us. They are different from each other but they work together to fulfill the same purpose.

It's the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They are two separate books they talk about different people and their dealings with Jesus Christ, but they work together to bring the fullness of Christ's Gospel here to earth. These two books fill us spiritually. When we are spiritually full from reading these books our faith in Christ grows and our love for him increases. In return for filling our spiritual stomachs we are blessed with peace, love, joy and many more blessings.
                           

Off to College

When a kid goes off to college they have no idea what they are in for. They don't know how to live on their own, most don't even know how to shop or do laundry. But still they are excited to leave home and live on their own a figure everything out.

Kids call home all the time asking silly questions because they need help, probably like: how do I know how much money is in my bank account? Or what are some easy healthy recipes? Sometimes they might even say they are thankful for what little they remember about what their parents tried to teach them.

During the school year the kids have fun making new friends, going on trips and just being away from home at college. But then the school year finally ends and they come home for summer. They are so glad to be home because they no longer are stressed about the next exam or essay that is due. Parents are always so excited that their little baby is back home.

This is way similar to the Plan of Salvation. We were excited to leave home and come to earth to figure everything out. We often call home giving thanks for what we already have and what we have been taught. We also ask what to do in a certain situation, or just for help in life.

Heavenly Father does all he can to help us out but he obviously is way far away and can only do so much. We are left to figure the rest out on our own, this is when we learn and grow here on earth.

While we are here on earth we are supposed to have fun. Adam fell from the Garden of Eden so we might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). We are supposed to love life, we find joy in our family and friends, hanging out with them, going on trips and having experiences with them. Life does get hard but we are blessed with family and friends so they can be there when we are at our lowest.

Then whether you like it or not we will die, we will return home and our Heavenly Father is so excited to see us again. We will probably be excited too once we get there, because then we no longer have to worry about all the stressful stuff in the world.

Airplane TVs

So you know how when you get on a long flight they have TV's in the back of the headrests. You have the option to watch whatever you want, ESPN, the news, the weird station that tells you your elevation and where you are, or you can watch a movie or something. I think some airlines even have radio stations you can listen to. These are just some things for you to do to pass the time while you sit in the terribly uncomfortable seats for hours at a time.

Someone in church a couple of weeks ago had a great idea. That is to make it so you can't watch anything but the missionary lessons; like The Restoration of the Gospel, or The Plan of Salvation. I thought that was a great idea but it may take away peoples agency a little bit. But I guess if they would at least make it an option so it is available for the passengers to watch that would be okay. On the radio stations they could have the option to listen to General Conference talks or something like that. Then the passengers can exercise their agency and decide if they want to come closer to Christ while they are traveling.

They would watch lesson after lesson until their destination... Heaven!

Mail

Everyday around 2 o'clock the mail comes, sometimes I'm home sometimes I'm not. But always when I go to the mailbox it's a surprise to see if I get anything. It's always so exciting to open the mailbox and look inside but usually the feeling of disappointment comes soon after opening the stupid box.

One day as I was walking to my apartment to go eat lunch I was hoping that there would be some mail for me. The anticipation was killing me. I had been waiting for a letter back from a friend. I get to the box open it and... To my surprise nothing was there again and I was sad.

As I was wallowing in my despair, as I was mad at the mailman for not bringing me more letters, I came up with this analogy about the mail system.

When you send a letter you usually tell a couple of funny or interesting stories that happened recently, tell about some of the cool new people you've met, and you say how you are doing, and maybe ask for some things from home. That sounds almost exactly like a prayer. I always include those things in my prayers, especially asking for stuff from home.

Then waiting for the reply letter is like waiting for answers to your prayers. You never know when they are going to come or what form they will come in. Sometimes you may get frustrated because you haven't gotten an answer in a long time. It happens to me all the time. Usually they come in the form of a letter. But very rarely you get a package waiting for you on your doorstep.

These are the answers to our prayers. Most of the time it's a nice feeling of peace and joy or an assurance that something is right, or personal revelation, the letter. But everyone once in a while you will get an answer in the form of a big epiphany or something, the package.

But unlike the post office you will always receive something back from God. It may just be a nice feeling or it may be a rare huge life changing revelation. You never know, but you will always get something in return. No matter what I get in return for my prayers I love my answer and always give thanks for them.

Horseshoes

Horseshoes are so necessary for the protection of the horses hoof. I recently finished a book called The Lamb and the Lion. It is about Willard and Rebecca Bean and their 25 year mission to bring the church back to Palmyra, New York in the early 1900's.

The book is awesome and goes over a bunch of stories about what happened to them and how at first everyone hated them because they were Mormon. But as the years went by the people started to respect the Beans.

There is one part in the book where Willard Bean is making some horseshoes for some horses he acquired. He said this about horseshoes,

"Forged and beaten and shaped by the master's hand into something worthwhile. It takes time and it is hard, but remarkable we will become as the fire and pounding and steam secures a shoe that walks in his footsteps."

That really stood out to me. I started to ponder it and I realized that it is more than just for horseshoes. It is for every single soul, and especially me as a missionary. Every day I am forged, beaten, and shaped by the spirit to become a better missionary. The experiences I see everyday make me learn and grow into something worthwhile.

I am being molded exactly how The Savior wants me to be. He is shaping me exactly how he needs me and I have nothing to complain about.

It is amazing just as Willard Bean said it takes time and it is hard. I second that statement, after all the hard work, after all the beating and pounding, all the time, and experiences we really do become something worthwhile; walking exactly in His footsteps.

I am still being beaten and pounded every day, it is tough but it's rewarding. My footsteps are becoming closer and closer to Christ's. As we all live the Gospel our Savior shapes us into what will be best for us. All we have to do is listen to the promptings of the Spirit, then we will walk in his footsteps.

Letting it Go

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday school we got onto the topic of repentance. My companion and I explained like this; so pretend you have a pen that represents the sin you are trying to repent of. That pen is grasped tightly in your hand, to drop the pen you have to open your hand finger by finger.

The first finger gets lifted after you have acknowledged you have done something wrong.

Second you feel godly sorrow for what you have done.

Third stop doing it.

Fourth you confess your sin to God, and if it's a serious sin confess it to a church leader.

Fifth and final finger you need to make restitution for what you did; if you hurt someone get forgiveness, if you broke something fix or replace it.

After you have pried open your fingers the pen falls right to the floor. Then you are able to have your hand back and you are able to do whatever you want again.

Then we talked about how this process should be done daily because when it is that is when you are able to feel the kingdom of God in heart and mind. Then you are better able to feel the Holy Ghost in you life everyday, and you are better able to receive personal revelation.

I am so glad that we are able to repent and get forgiveness from God for all of out stupid mistakes. Without this I would be carrying around a lot of extra baggage that would really be weighing me down. So if you have some extra baggage I invite you to get rid of it.