Seminary Commitment

Big time slack!  One teacher came in 4 minutes after the hour, the Security at the other building never did show up.  What's happening???  Where is the "to the end, commitment?"  I couldn't leave one building until all the teachers were in their classrooms.  Elder McQuivey had to go unlock three iron gates on the outside, and 4 doors to another building, and then he had to go back to lock up after Seminary an hour later.  
The gospel is true, we mortals are fallible,but we needn't be, we are God's Army of Saints who know from whence our blessings come.  I am venting, sorry!  But while I was waiting outside the building in the parking lot for that late teacher, I saw a most beautiful sunrise...that big orange ball seemingly rising up out of the ocean.

Three Sacrament Meetings

A beautiful day for filling my bucket of blessings from my Heavenly Father.  Two Sacrament meetings on the Healing Power of the Atonement was presented by High Councilors and two Returned Missionaries.  One High Councilor was trying to express his testimony of the Atonement so desperately in his broken English, when he stopped and said, "are you understand me?"  I understood and felt the power in his testimony.  I knew he knew he Savior.  Another speaker shared how several people he taught on his mission, were brought back to activity in the church, and another was truly converted.  These are precious moments that I will always carry with me, and I got to share it with my companion right beside me. What a treat!

OCEANS

Thanks to the French. The photography, filmographers did a fabulous presentation of this movie.  I actually sat there in the theater and thanked the Lord for such amazing beauty and power that He created.  It made our study more poignant of how EVERYTHING in the whole wide world is controlled by HIM, but HE does not control us.  We are HIS creation too, but HE has given us FREE AGENCY, that we are supposed to use to be able to get the rest of the blessings HE has in store for us.  We have also been given this beautiful universe to manage, and we are not doing a very good job of it.  The ocean creatures do a good job of managing their own realm, without us making a mess of it....with our greed and waste. 

It's not easy Being Green

We heard a wonderful talk today by a young man using some of these lyrics to
prove his point, to personal revelation.  It was a powerful message of how hard it is to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  While I don't personally think it's hard, I know that these young people face a world out there that challenges them every day to keep the commandments.  They are the soldiers on the frontlines.  We teach them, and send them forth to fight the enemy of all enemies. 
We have or own challenges, but it is mostly with our own failings, in maintaining humility and showing forth charity. 



It's not that easy being green

Having to spend each day the color of the leaves

When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold

Or something much more colorful like that



It's not easy being green

It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things

And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're

Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water

Or stars in the sky



But green's the color of Spring

And green can be cool and friendly-like

And green can be big like an ocean, or important

Like a mountain, or tall like a tree



When green is all there is to be

It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why

Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful

And I think it's what I want to be

Happy Birthdays

Yesterday was Elder M's birthday, and today I enjoyed my birthday by first Skyping our Needham   ohana.We both served at the PCC today with wonderful guests, and other wonderful missionaries who work so diligently there.   Then Jay and I went to see the movie tonight ""The Last Song, another Nicholas Sparks screenplay and book.  As always, its a tearjerker, but great storyline about relationships.  And someone said tonight, "someone always dies".  I'm sappy too, so I shed a tear or two. What a great way to celebrate a birthday.  We actually celebrated two birthdays while on this mission.  Now we are ready to go back home to Utah.

HE IS RISEN

It is indeed a blessed day for General Conference.  To wake up early and listen to our wonderful leaders give us poignant and inspiring messages of what we feel today....the gratitude we feel for our Savior's love for us, by giving His life for all of us.  I watched a TV program the other night on a Christian TV station, of the life of Christ.  I was overwhelmed with emotion, as I was here in our apartment alone.  I shed tears for my Savior as he was being scourged, spat upon, mocked.....all I could see was Satan's influence on the Redeemer of the world, and I said aloud, "Oh Father, would I have been one of those dispicable people had I been alive in that time?"   And I wept even more.  Today, as I listened to our Prophet Thomas S. Monson, I felt his comforting words, and burned with a faithful testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ evermore, as Jason.....When counseled by his father, to never lose his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ....NEVER! was his firm reply, and said no more.  I know my Father lives, and loves us too.....that His Son Jesus Christ is alive again, and we will be able to live again.

Good Friday

It is Good here in Hawaii.  When in Utah, we don't have Good Friday....every Friday is Good!  There are lots of people on the roads, at the parks.  Not a good day to venture out.  But it is good indeed, to have a day off, to observe the glorious weekend for General Conference and the Easter Sunday.  We taught,or were taught by our wonderful Institute students last night as we discussed Helaman 1-4 from the Book of Mormon.  I watched a depiction of the last days of Jesus Christ, as he entered Jerusalem for the last time as a mortal..on a Christian TV station.  I kept asking myself, aloud, "would I have been one of the faithful, or one of those mean, stiff-necked Jews, who crucified him."  Such evil abounded there, and oh how he endured all of that.   It is a Good Friday for the rest of the Christian world, because they remember how he died for us all.  We remember how he arose, and was Resurrected, and gave us all, Life.  We indeed worship a Living Christ.   

April Fools jokes...

.......we had two of them today, and we bit, both times.  We are not so clever, I'm afraid.  We are so focused on other things, like teaching Institute tonight, that all our thoughts have to be coordinated so we can be in tune with the Holy Spirit.  It's a great time of year, Easter, General Conference and all.  So beautiful.  Things are green here anyway, so no spring blossoms to remind us that there is a Renewal of all things.  We feel that way everyday.  No joke!