General Conference

General Conference is coming up! It's this Saturday and Sunday. The first session on Saturday starts at 10:00am MDT. Here is a link for a website that will stream the conference talks http://radio.lds.org/?lang=eng.

General Conference is held twice a year. At each conference we are given inspired counsel and guidance to help us through the challenges of life. Since the creation God has given us advice to help us with our struggles and to come closer to Him and our Saviour Jesus Christ. He lets us know His will for us, commandments that we should obey, and reveals new things. How God has done this is through, "His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). Each prophet gave specific counsel to the people of their time. As Latter-Day Saints we know and bear witness to the world that God has again called prophets to lead and guide His children preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah. We are so blessed to have modern day prophets to help us with the difficult circumstances we are faced with in our lives. Please listen to the messages that will be shared with us this weekend.

And now, my beloved brethren, and also jew , and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. 2 Nephi 33:10

Appreciating Life

Mortal life is such a precious thing. True, life can be very difficult at times. The trials and hardships we face on a daily basis sometimes feel overwhelming. Even though it seems, at times, like mortal life is a punishment it is actually a great blessing. Becuase we are able to experience hard times, trials, and tribulations we can learn and progress from them. The prophet Lehi teaches us in 2 Nephi 2:11 that without opposition we would not know good. Without experiencing something bad we can't fully appreciate how blessed and happy we are when nothing bad has happened. Consider how good you feel when you start to feel better after having a cold. It feels amazing. You don't notice how wonderful it is to go through the day without needing to blow your nose until you get sick and blow till your nose is beat red and in pain. It's a funny analogy but, it's the same way with life. I don't think any of us will fully appreciate the gift of mortal life that our Heavenly Father has given us until after we die. I am very glad that I chose to come to earth and experience both the good and the bad. None of us really know when our time on earth will be finished. Because of this we need to be grateful for every experience we have, both good and bad.

Eternal Perspective

One of the hardest things of this life is looking beyond it. 1 Corinthians 15: 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Because of the Fall we are mortal. Because we are mortal we will die. Because of the Atonement and Ressurection Christ broke the bands of death. (Mosiah 15: 9,20,23). Because Christ did that we can live immortal lives. (Romans 8:16-17). The amount of peace and joy we receive and have after this life depends on what we do in this life. (Alma 34:32-34). This can be related to the difference between immediate gratification and lasting comfort and happiness. All of the commandments that our Heavenly Father has given us are for the purpose of bringing us the most joy in eternity. From our perspective most see the commandments as things we "can't do". I have been asked repeatedly why I can't do some things. My response is usually, "I CAN do these things. I CHOOSE not to becuase I have enough faith in God to know that by living and obeying His commandments I will have joy tomorrow instead of brief happiness today with guilt and shame tomorrow."

Lasting Happiness

All of us could make a very long list of what makes us happy. If I were to make a list of what made me happy, or what I enjoyed to do, two years ago The Gospel of Jesus Christ and sharing it with others would be at the bottom. If I remembered to put it on the list at all. Since I have been out on my mission I've have realized what has made me happier than anything else. That is sharing and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. At times, and overall, it has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I am doing it because I chose to and without getting paid either. I have discovered the peace and joy that comes from "living" the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this is the one thing that can bring everlasting peace and joy into anyones life. That is why I am sharing it with the people I come in contact with. I have discovered the best thing in life and I want to give it to you.

Making Miracles Happen

By small and simple things are great things brought to pass, Alma 37: 6-7. For most of us when we think about acts of God we think of stories from the scriptures about prophets performing miracles. If we look deep enough we find that most everything had a small and simple beginning. A small and simple thing that has changed the entire course of my life is reading and studying the scriptures. Because I started reading I was able to gain a testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Because of the testimony I gained I chose to serve a mission. Because I chose to serve a mission I am now in Penn Yan New York. About 2000 miles from my home and family teaching people how to gain their own witness and knowledge of Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost. All this because one day I decided to read The Book Of Mormon. If you want to change your life for the better stop waiting for a miracle and make a miracle happen. An easy way to start a miracle is, praying every morning and night. If you have real intent and ask in faith to come closer to God he will prepare you for the time when the fulness of His gospel is brought to you. By doing this a great and marvelous work will be brought to pass.

The Scriptures

Throughout school we use books as guides for learning what's required of us to know to pass a class. We also have a teacher or professor that helps us learn the material in the book. The teacher or professor also gives us more specific knowledge pertaining to their class. So when we have a question or are given one by the teacher or from the book, we search through the book to find a chapter or section that is about that specific question. If we have trouble finding or understanding the answer we ask friends and others in the same class for help. If they can't help us then we usually end up asking the teacher. And we can follow this pattern for several different subjects: math, science, history, language etc. What about the subject of life? such as, What is the purpose of life? What happens after we die? Did I exist before being born? Where we find the answers to these questions is from the scriptures. Scriptures are the writings of prophets, both ancient and modern day. So when we have a question about life search the scriptures for an answer. If you are having a hard time finding or understanding the answer ask a friend. That is where I come in. I have dedicated two years of my life to be your friend. I am here to help you find and understand the answers to your questions. If I am unable to help you than you need to ask the Teacher. The Teacher of this subject is our Heavenly Father. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Heavenly Father wants us to, not only know our purpose in life, but also know Him and His son Jesus Christ. We learn about these things through His servants the prophets and their writings called scriptures.

Prophets

The amazing thing about the scriptures is that they are filled with the words of the prophets. The amazing thing about the words of prophets is that they are Christ's own words. The amazing thing about Christ's words is that they are for our profit and learning. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to be happy, filled with joy, and return to live with them. This is why they speak to prophets. So that we can study their words and learn how to be truly happy, filled with joy, and return to live with our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. It has taken me a long time but I have learned to love the scriptures. More importantly I have learned how to teach myself using the scriptures. I'm not the best at it and I'm continually learning how to do it better. I hope that you are able to come to love the scriptures and learn from them. For help learning how to better learn from and apply scriptures to yourself please visit mormon.org or contact me directly through facebook.

Striving to be the best

I read a little about "The House Of The Lord" that Solomon built. It got me thinking about why he went to such great lengths to make it with the finest woods and stones as well as extensive use of gold. For those who are unfamiliar, Latter-Day Saint Temples are very similar to the temple that Solomon built. Similar because of the use of very high quality building materials as well as furniture, decorations, and landscaping. (Check out temples.lds.org for pictures and more). Awhile ago I had the question, "Why do we spend so much money on temples?" The answer is simple really. It is because the temple is not just a building that we worship in. It is "The House Of The Lord." That is why we build them to such high standards. The standards are set by The Lord, not us. In 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 we learn that WE are also temples. Temples that the Spirit of God can dwell in. In Alma 34: 36 (The Book Of Mormon) we learn that The Lord dwelleth not in unholy temples. So in order to have the Spirit of God and The Lord with us we need to be worthy of their presence. Those standards of worthiness are set by The Lord, not us. That is why, as disciples of Christ, we need to continually strive to be the best we can be. How we be the best that we can be is by following the example Jesus Christ gave us, and obeying all the commandments that have been given by our Lord. Please check out mormon.org and look me up on facebook: Elder Myers