Wood Lathe!!

Elder Olsen and I with our Bowls!

Recently I had the opportunity to learn how to use a lathe and make a wooden bowl out of a piece of old pallet wood. As we started the project I thought it was going to be pretty simple and not take that long. We first started by taking our square piece of wood and gluing it on to a circular piece of wood so we could attach it to the lathe. We then started the lathe and turned the square piece of wood into a circular piece of wood. A process that takes some time. After we shaped the wood into a circle we then cut if off the piece of wood we glued it to and we flipped it around so that we could shape the other side. We then put it back on the lathe and at this time we started forming the bowl. At first I had no idea what I wanted my bowl to look like. I just kind of started cutting and went with the flow. Something the man who was teaching us said, "Every cut you make is perfect." As I was making my bowl I would make a few mistakes and accidentally cut in the wrong spot. However, on a lathe everything you do turns out perfect. It was amazing. After Hours on the lathe of forming my bowl and sanding I was ready to flip the bowl again and form the bottom. The Process of making a wooden bowl is pretty tough but the results are amazing.

As you can see we took pretty rough looking wood and turned
it into something beautiful!

I was thinking about this process and I related it to my mission. I feel when I came out I was an unshaped piece of wood. As I have been out here the Lord has been shaping me into someone he wants me to be. A process that will take a very long time. Sometimes we aren't sure why we are going through hard times and trials but the Lord knows everything and when we go through hard times the Lord is just giving us experience and teaching us and 'shaping' us into what he wants us to be. I am so grateful for the time I get to serve the Lord and learn so much. My life has changed so much from just the short time I have spent out here as a missionary.

Finding Happiness!!!

This topic is something that has been on my mind lately. It seems like we live in a world today where there is a lot of sadness, heartache, and disappointment. There is a great scripture in the Book of Mormon that I love. It is 2 Nephi 2:25 "Adam fell that men might be, and men are, that they might have joy." The word that stands out to me in this verse is Joy. Notice Adam fell so we could have joy, Not sadness and sorrow! So how do we do we get this Joy that this verse talks about? There is a talk I would like to quote from and it is titled "Finding Joy In Life." It was a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott in April 1996. First off I recommend reading this full talk. It is amazing. Elder Scott always gives good talks. This is what Elder Scott says how we find joy

"Your joy in life depends upon your trust in Heavenly Father and His holy Son, your conviction that their plan of happiness truly can bring you joy. Pondering their doctrine will let you enjoy the beauties of this earth and enrich your relationships with others. It will lead you to the comforting, strengthening experiences that flow from prayer to Father in Heaven and the answers He gives in return."  

From this quote we learn that our Joy will come from putting our trust in Heavenly Father and His Son. I testify that is true. That the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought so much joy to my life. It has made the hard times easier and it has made me truly happy. The reason I am a missionary is because I want to bring the Joy that I have felt to other people, and that Joy comes from the Gospel.

This Video is about Finding Happiness. It includes parts of a Talk from April 2009 by Elder Scott.

The Bible and The Book of Mormon!!

Many times as a missionary I have heard people say that they have the Bible and that is all they need. One time when I was teaching a lady she brought this up. I explained it like this. The Bible is like Jelly! and The Book of Mormon is like peanut butter. Jelly by its self is great. But when it's put with Peanut Butter there is nothing better. They are great together.

The Scripture in the Bible that really makes this clear is in Ezekiel 37:15-17. It says

 15The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

The Bible and Book of Mormon are one in our hands!

 16Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

 17And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

When we have the Bible and The Book of Mormon together we have the fullness of the Gospel. I am so thankful for both the Bible and The Book of Mormon in my life. I testify that they are the Word of God and we can grow closer to God by reading them and abiding by what they teach us. 

This is a Short Video of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on how the Bible and Book of Mormon go together.

 

Fast Food!!!

One of my favorite things to do is stop somewhere and get some fast food. There is nothing better than a Spicy McChicken and a McDouble with big mac sauce. I love that. However, whenever I do eat out I don't feel to good after. Eating fast food is always good and fun while you are doing it but then as soon as you're done, you wish you wouldn't have eatin it. That is just how sin is. We sin because it's fun and while we are doing it, it seems great. But then when we are done sinning we feel terrible after. Now I am not trying to convince anyone that fast food is bad. But I just wanted to tell about how sin and fast food are related. I love this picture. It says "Do you want lies with that?" A lot of times when we are sinning (eating fast food) we tell ourselves that this isn't to bad. Which is always a lie. Sinning is bad and so is Fast Food. The Moral of this story is that we shouldn't sin! 

Duck Huntin!!!

After a day of hunting

Pintail Duck

One thing I like to do when I am at home is Duck Hunt. I have had some good and some not so good memories out in the marsh. This one particular time me and 3 friends were out in an air-boat on the Great Salt Lake. We had set up hundreds of decoys and had a pretty good hunt. The hunt closed and we began to clean up the decoys, but by the time we were done picking up all the decoys it was dark. We all got into the boat and headed for the canal that takes us back to the dock. We had a very tough time finding the canal because how dark it was and we actually went the wrong way and got stuck. Me and 2 other guys jumped out of the boat and tried pushing and pulling to get unstuck while the other stayed in the boat and ran the big motor. After about an hour of pushing and pulling we were all exhausted. One of my friends suggested we say a prayer. So the 4 of us knelt down in the mud and my friend said a prayer. When he was finished, we had a sudden burst of energy. And within 5 minutes of saying that prayer we were unstuck, and we were able to find our way to the canal and make it back to the dock.  It was an amazing experience. I know that God helped us get unstuck. There was no way we could have done it by ourselves. That experience really strengthened my testimony of prayer.

Us out on the Lake!

I was able to relate this experience to our lives. Sometimes in life we get off the path and we feel helpless and stuck. And a lot of times it is really hard to get back on the path. Most the time we can't do it alone. But I know that if we pray to God that he will help us through anything.

Humility!!!

         The Christlike Attribute this week is Humility!! Humility is willingness to submit to the will of
the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished. A Scripture I love about this is when Jesus is in the Garden Atoning for our sins. (Mathew 26:39) The opposite of humility is pride. To be prideful means to put greater trust in oneself than in God or in His servants. It also means to put the things of the world above the things of God. Prideful people take honor to themselves rather than giving God the glory.
        As a missionary there has been times that I have been Humbled. This is a hard job and it really requires the Lord's help. As a 20 year old man doing missionary work it is really tough. I know why the Lord calls such young men to do his work. It is because we are so inexperienced, and we have to rely on the Lord and the Holy Ghost to lead us and help us. (D&C 12:8) There have been times where I forget to recognize the Holy Ghost and I think that it was because of something I thought of or something I said to help the person out. Which yes I was the one who said it but it's not me doing the thinking there. It was the Holy Ghost giving me thoughts, and the Holy Ghost telling me what to say. I love these scriptures that talk about the Holy Ghost. (D&C 100:5-8).
         I Know that those Scriptures are true. I know that as we Humble ourselves before the Lord that he will bless us with the Spirit and with the Spirit we can do all things. I Know that this church is true and I love being a missionary. There is no better calling or job in the world than being a missionary! I will end with my favorite scripture on Humility. (D&C 112:8)

Patience!!!!

The Christlike Attribute for this week is Patience! Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated or anxious. When we are patient we are able to hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Everyday there are things that will test our patience. Some of them are traffic (especially for me), relationships, work, and pretty much all aspects of life.

A quote that I love about Patience is from President Thomas S. Monson, it says "Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be a unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required."

One of my favorite stories from the scriptures is found towards the end of Mosiah. It is when the people of Alma are being persecuted. We learn from Mosiah 24:15, that they submited cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. That is amazing. They were going through a very hard time, and they turned to the Lord and exercised patience.

When we are going through hard times in our life we need to be patience. Because everything will all work out. Heavenly Father knows everything and he will be able to bless us in his own time. I hope we can all have a little more Patience in our lives.

Here is a link to President Uchtdorf's Talk from the video. Continue in Patience.