I'm glad some things didn't work out

I'm glad I couldn't say ch or j until I was six years old.

I'm glad I never won the spelling bee.

I'm glad I broke my leg in fifth grade and had to learn how to walk again.

I'm glad my Spanish teacher chewed me out on the first day of seventh grade.

I'm glad I wasn't one of the popular kids in junior high.

I'm glad I spent two days throwing up in the snow on my first fifty mile hike.

I'm glad I didn't make the honors program in eighth and ninth grade.

I'm glad I wasn't placed in the front of the violin section sophomore year.

I'm glad I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis at age fifteen.

I'm glad I had to perform some last-minute miracles to graduate high school.

I'm glad I was required to work one Christmas Eve in my job as a debt collector.

I'm glad I never had a girlfriend before my mission.

I'm glad I had to wait till college to get an article printed in the school paper.  

I'm glad Egypt got too dangerous the semester I wanted to study abroad.

I'm glad the University of Utah rejected my application.

I'm glad it took me so long to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  

I'm glad some things didn't work out, because they made room for the things that did.  

Two years ago today I took a pretty girl out on a first date.  Now, we're happily married in the temple with a baby coming any day.  We have a nice apartment in the town where we both grew up, and I'm doing what I love in school.  

Not to brag, or anything, but my life is amazing.  

It's also been full of trials and disappointments.  And thank goodness for those!  I shudder to think where I would be without them.  It hasn't been easy, but it's been a great life so far.  Here's to the road ahead--the ups and the downs. 

"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."
--Thomas Paine

  

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.

--Romans 8:28

The North Wind and the Sun

The North Wind boasted of great strength. The Sun argued that there was great power in gentleness.

"We shall have a contest," said the Sun.

Far below, a man traveled a winding road. He was wearing a warm winter coat.

"As a test of strength," said the Sun, "Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man."

"It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat," bragged the Wind.

The Wind blew so hard, the birds clung to the trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves. But the harder the wind blew down the road, the tighter the shivering man clung to his coat.

Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud. Sun warmed the air and the frosty ground. The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.

The sun grew slowly brighter and brighter.

Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.

"How did you do that?" said the Wind.

"It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."

--Aesop's Fables

This little tale was on my mind a lot this afternoon.  During my lunch break at school I took a stroll around the courtyard, and it was so beautiful outside that I took off my jacket and found a bench to sit on.  First day of the year without a jacket!  I was in heaven.  

Spring is evidence that God loves His children.  We're not done with February yet, but Heavenly Father is giving us a little taste of warm weather to let us know we're almost there.  He's great like that.

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

--Psalm 116:5

Life, the Universe, and Everything

My wife and I had a blast this weekend going with some friends to Life, the Universe, and Everything, a convention centered around writing science fiction and fantasy.  Many published authors were in attendance, with some big names like David Farland, Brandon Sanderson, and Orson Scott Card, all offering advice on a variety of topics that included tension and drama, character development, making the most of writing time, and selling a finished novel.  If you want to become a better writer--in any genre--it's a great idea to go at least once.

Being a creative writing major at Utah Valley University, I found this weekend's convention to be a wonderful supplement to my education.  Some of the best advice I've ever received came from Henry J. Eyring, whose grandfather said to find something you love doing so much that you think about it when you don't have to think about anything.  Well, if this is how I spent my weekend, I must be on the right track.

But I got more out of it than just writing tips.

In several discussions there were people who asked how to promote their books once they got published.  The question was answered by a different author every time, but the answer was always the same:

You've got to talk to people about your book.  Talk to everyone.  Do book tours, do social media, visit schools--be committed.  Word of mouth is the fastest way your book will get attention.

My first thought was, That sounds like being a missionary.

And that's when the Spirit called me to repentance.

I'm currently writing a novel that's sort of a mash-up of Wall-E and Final Fantasy, with a tiny bit of Battlestar Galactica thrown in.  I love talking about it.  I was explaining one little aspect of the story to my wife one day and an hour or two later she knew the book pretty much from beginning to end.  

But you know, that stuff's not important.  Not really.

If I loved talking about the Book of Mormon as much as I love talking about my novel, I'd make a greater difference in the world.  That's not to diminish the impact that fiction makes on people's lives; I can list all sorts of books that have touched me and made me a better person.  But pure truth, the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is more powerful than any other written word.  It changes lives more deeply than anything else.  Reading The Little Prince taught me how to build better relationships with people.  The Book of Mormon teaches me how to build a stronger, more personal relationship with God.  The question of priorities should be a no-brainer!

If I'm willing to talk about my novel and gain readership, I ought to be talking about the scriptures even more.  They've changed my life.  They've opened my heart and my mind to my Heavenly Father, and because of that, I have access to the aid of the most powerful, loving being in the universe every single day.  He's there for me.  He's actually in my life, and it's real.

It's real.

And that's what the world needs the most.

Thus my attempt to begin blogging again.  Mine is only one testimony.  But it is a testimony, and that's the most important thing I can give as a writer.

And you don't even have to take my word for it; just follow this link!

Our Trial in the Mountains Made Us Men

At age thirteen I took a heavy pack
And in the mountains, with the other boys,
I made a home I carried on my back
Away from all the bustling city’s noise.
We'd walk for fifty miles before we came
Again to plumbing and electric light.
By night we lounged around an open flame,
By day enjoyed the panoramic sight
Of places no one else had ever been—
At least they seemed untouched by human hands.
Our trial in the mountains made us men,
And still we dream most fondly of those lands.
But nothing was so sweet as were our beds
When in the end those pillows met our heads.

A year of growth and joy

Last night was a great night.  My fiancee and I spent the evening with close friends, enjoying dinner and games and just the company itself.  It was a lot of fun.  Typically I would have been in bed well before.  I don't like late nights the way I used to, and I've been striving to go to bed early (or at least as far before midnight as possible, with emphasis on before).  My life is better for it; I don't miss being out late.  That said, there is the rare exception, and last night was one.  

I'm led to reflect on another such exception, which took place a year ago.  The local Young Single Adult stake was having a dance to celebrate New Year's Eve, and I didn't want to go.  I was happily attending my family ward, where I had grown up.  Life was comfortable, and I didn't want anything to do with singles wards.  But thanks to a few good friends and their encouraging texts, I eventually found myself at the Salt Lake Community College Institute building, met with a host of unfamiliar faces and awkward moments on the dance floor.

Truth be told, I had a great time that night.  I found my friends, played some fun games, and yes, even danced a little bit.  But I had no idea at the time how life changing it would end up being.

After the new year was rung in and the celebration settled down, the stake president gathered us all together and gave a brief message before having us clean up and sending us home.  I don't remember everything he said, but I do remember the challenge he gave to us: to do hard things during the year of 2012.  He promised that if we left our comfort zones and faithfully pushed ourselves, this new year would be a time of growth and many blessings for us.  I felt great strength as I listened to that challenge, and I accepted it.  I resolved to do hard things in 2012.

With this resolve came my first consideration--ever--of actually attending a singles ward, and actively participating in it.  I was nervous about the transition, and had all sorts of worries over who I would know and whether I'd even be noticed in my new ward.  It was a really hard thing for me to do.  But I jumped in with both feet.  I had my records moved, and the first Sunday in February, my name was read in.  Later that month, I asked a cute girl in the ward on a date... but more about that in a bit.  ;-)

This ward turned out to be a wonderful blessing in my life.  I made new friends and received inspired leadership.  Opportunities were given to me to serve in the ward, and with every assignment to play a musical number or teach Sunday School or visit a ward member or a myriad of other things, I grew.  I felt like I was making a difference, but more than anything, this ward, these friends, these leaders and opportunities, were making a difference in my life.  There was no way I could have foreseen this a year ago, when I was so against having anything to do with a singles ward.  Oh, what I could have missed out on if I had taken the comfortable route!

I met challenges to grow outside of church, as well.  At the start of the new year, I was working hard at my job with UPS.  It was a good job, and one I was lucky to have.  And in May, I accepted a promotion.  My job responsibilities expanded greatly, and there was much to learn in a short time.  Some of it was overwhelming.  But I jumped in with both feet and did my best, and got a lot out of it.  I learned a lot about leadership, teamwork, and communication.  I learned how far my limits actually stretched, and how to increase them.  It was an excellent opportunity for me, and I'm grateful to have had it.  I grew a lot.

But another hard thing was soon to follow.  Over the summer I realized that I couldn't keep up the workload I had both at work and at school, and that something would have to give--especially if I wanted to graduate anytime soon.  The decision took much prayer and consideration, as well as time.  If I had ever faced a more difficult choice, there certainly would not have been many of them.  Yet I trusted God, and despite the sting of lost income, I came to know what the Lord wanted me to do.  I chose my education over my job, and refocused my efforts at school.  I do miss the paycheck, but I've learned more and more to put my trust in God and keep an eternal perspective.  And this spring, I'll be graduating with my associates degree.  The Lord has provided me with my needs, and things are going well.

As for the cute girl I mentioned... well, she's the one who really made the year for me.  I couldn't imagine my life without her, and in just a couple of weeks, she and I will begin our new life together.  It's taken a lot of faith and a lot of work for both of us, but it's been a fantastic experience, and I'm so happy with where it's taken us.  Valerie is my greatest blessing.  She has taught me to love more deeply than I have ever loved.  She has helped me grow in ways I just can't describe in a blog post, because what words really are adequate?  I am a better man today than when I started 2012, and it's because of her.  She makes me want to try harder, do better, be stronger, and no one brings me more happiness than she does.  Just imagine what I could have missed out on if I had chosen to remain in my comfort zone!  Where would I have ended up?  There would be a hole in my life and in my heart that never got filled, and I never would have known the joy I know now.  Life was good before; it was comfortable.  But this... this is so much better.

So, I'm really happy with how 2012 turned out.   It wasn't an easy year, but challenges became opportunities, and it ended up being my very best so far.  And 2013 is looking even better already.  I'm excited to see what life throws at me, and to rise to the challenges it brings.  Happy New Year, friends.  Let's go and do some hard things.

Forgiving Alma

This is probably one of those obvious little things that everyone (for all I know) may have already noticed.  But it really hit me today, and it was just a great big aha! moment.  So, I feel like sharing it, because I thought it was worthwhile.

Anyway, this has to do with Alma the Younger, from the Book of Mormon.  You know, that guy the Book of Alma is named after (which, it turns out, happens to be the longest section of the entire Book of Mormon at 63 chapters).  I like to think of him as one of the most amazing people in the scriptures--a sort of hero.  He was the chief judge over all the people of Nephi, as well as high priest over the whole Church.  He sacrificed his position in the government to go out and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because that's how important the Lord was to him.  His sermons on topics such as faith, repentance, and the Plan of Salvation are well-loved and relatable, and continue to be frequently quoted in the Church today.  Alma's just a spiritual rock star.  

Yet at one point, Alma couldn't have been farther from any of those things.  He undoubtedly came from a good home, and had been taught the right way to live--after all, his dad was the prophet, and had first organized the Church among the Nephites.  I'm sure Alma had awesome spiritual support growing up.  But he was wicked.  As in, completely-try-to-destroy-the-Church wicked.  The scriptures don't tell us exactly how long this was going on, but the footnote in Mosiah 27 suggests a possible time frame of about eight years.  Even factoring some time at the end of the chapter for Alma's missionary work post-conversion, I personally find it reasonable to imagine that his phase of wickedness would easily have occupied several years of his life.  

Here's what hit me, though: 

The record we have of Alma's righteous service is incredibly detailed--I mean, look at how thick his book is. But in the narrative of the years of his life before that ever happened... we only have three verses and one line:

Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities. 

And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them. 

And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king— 

And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood....  (Mosiah 27:8-11)

That's it.  Later on, in Alma 36, Alma relates the story again to his son.  But he doesn't include any particular detail there, either, of his actions before he was converted.  

The focus is on what happened after he repented.

Read Mosiah 27 and Alma 36.  If you don't have a Book of Mormon handy, you can read those chapters here and here.  Pay attention to how much of each chapter is devoted to testifying of the cleansing power of Christ's Atonement.  You get a few verses mentioning what happened in the past... but then the rest of it is about the change, the healing, the cleansing that happened, and the kind of man Alma became after that.  And then we get the whole rest of the Book of Alma, filled with his own Gospel teachings and stories of his own ministry and the people he touched.  Alma the Younger became the Lord's prophet.

Do you think some people might have struggled to forgive Alma after he was first converted?  I might believe so.  Were there some who might have chosen not to trust him because of what he had done?  I wouldn't be surprised if there were.  Alma did some terrible things.  

But Alma also sincerely repented.  Why don't we have a detailed record of the mistakes he made?  Because they just don't matter anymore.  What truly matters is what he did, what he became, after he turned away from his former life of sin.  

Well, that's fine.  We all know how great Alma was.  But do we always see the modern Almas that surround us?  When we're hurt, offended, disgusted, inconvenienced, or otherwise unimpressed by someone else, do we allow that person to change?  Do we allow them to repent and make things right?  

If someone has committed some great sin, do we deny them the blood of Christ for which they so desperately thirst?  Do we deny them the forgiveness the Lord has already promised if they would repent?  

Do we do that to ourselves?  

The story of Alma teaches us that there is nothing we can do that can ever disqualify us from the healing power of the Atonement.  The scriptures are full of vile sinners... who were forgiven.  Consider that person who may have offended or hurt you, and is doing their sincere best to turn it around.  They could be a Paul, if you gave them the chance.  They could be an Ammon, or an Aaron, or an Omner, or a Himni.  They could even be an Alma.  You could be, too.    

  

  

The Lord's University

I can't describe how quickly the time has flown.  It was four years ago this morning that I first entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah--the first of many unforgettable experiences that would fill the two years I would eventually serve where the Lord had called me.



As I look back on the four years that have passed since then, I am amazed at everything that has happened in my life, and how very much has changed.  With everyone I've met and grown close to, everywhere I've been, and everything I've done and become, I could very well write volumes.  Perhaps another time, soon, I may dedicate a blog post to reflecting on where the path of life has taken me so far. 

But tonight I just want to take a moment and remember the MTC, and what it taught me.  Never have I had another experience quite like it.

In a very real sense, the MTC was like a spiritual "boot camp."  Every day was strictly regimented; every single hour had a specific purpose.  We were trained in a foreign language and how to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Morning, day, and night were devoted to the study of scriptures and the betterment of ourselves and our relationships.  And just as much emphasis was placed on feeding our spirits as there was on feeding and caring for our bodies; so we ate very well and exercised every day, too.  There were also regular opportunities for service in the cleaning and maintenance of the MTC buildings and grounds.  Really, I can't even paint a detailed enough picture to show what it was like... but everything we did there built character and testimony.  The Spirit of the Lord was there in great abundance.  It was very much the Lord's University, or His own little city upon the earth.  The closest thing I can relate it to is actually living in the temple.

I loved it.

I won't take too much time tonight, because it is late and I am very tired.  So, I'm just going to say this quickly, and you can think about it.  These are things I experienced in the MTC that strengthened me and that I want to remain in my life:  daily, diligent scripture study; strict obedience to high Gospel standards; adherence to a schedule that facilitates the study and application of truth; opportunities to grow through service; fine-tuning the spirit by caring for the body; the frequent bearing of testimony; practice in the Spanish language; regular temple attendance; appreciation and respect for the counsel of wise leaders; and the promotion of a healthy, balanced life by keeping oneself productive physically, spiritually, socially, and intellectually.  Through all of these things I have found true happiness, and I would invite you to try any of them.   

One last thought:

Jeffrey R. Holland gave an excellent talk last night on living righteously in the 21st century.  What struck me the most in his remarks was near the end, when he mentioned how when the Savior comes again, he wants to be caught living the Gospel.  I just love the way he put that, and it's what I want, too.  When Christ returns, we're all going to be in the middle of things.  He's not going to politely wait for us to finish what we're doing.  So, I want to make sure He finds me living the Gospel.

Want to be happy?  That's how it's going to happen.  I guarantee it.