Landmarks to Get Home

If you were dropped out in the middle of nowhere and someone told you to walk for a couple miles in one direction to see if you could make a fairly straight line, you could do it if you had something to focus on, right? For instance, in this picture with a tree, you could fix your eyes on the tree and walk directly toward it. As long as you could see the tree, you could walk toward it and your path would be fairly direct.

Suppose you were dropped out in the middle of a field and told the same thing. How would you make sure that you walked a straight line for miles? 

It would be very difficult if there were no landmarks of any kind. In fact, there was a study done by researchers* where people were dropped in the middle of nowhere on a cloudy day and told to walk in a straight line. They ended up walking in circles, and even crossed their own paths at several points. There were others who were dropped off on a sunny day with a clear landmark in the distance and told to walk a straight line toward that landmark, They were able to walk almost a straight line toward the landmark. 

If we have landmarks in our vision, we are able to walk toward them. If we have nothing to set our sights on, we can wander around aimlessly for a long time. 

For spiritual growth, we have been given landmarks by the Lord. He gave The Ten Commandments to the people of ancient days. He gave the Holy Bible for us to use. We have a church with inspired leaders to help guide us. We can ask in prayer for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can pray directly to God, our Heavenly Father and close our prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ." We can seek other holy writings. These can be our landmarks to help us walk a straight path.

I testify to you that God lives. His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of us all. He is the light and the way. He is the only way that we can return to our Father's presence in heaven. Whether we believe it, or see it right now, or not, this is fact and we cannot alter that fact no matter what we do. It is our responsibility to follow Him and do those things He has asked of us so that we can eventually become clean enough to enter into His presence. This is more of a reality than what we see around us every day. I promise. 

With love, I wish for you only the best, and comfort when you need it. I may not be there with you right now in person, but if my words ring true to you, then please pray that our Father in heaven will send to you a way to get those landmarks you need to return to His presence. Remember to close your prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."  Jesus is our way back home.

Love.

*Sorry I cannot cite the study, but I heard this report from Elder Bednar, a very reliable source.

Come Back to Jesus All Ye Saints

If you have left the Lord's church, I would like to extend this invitation: Won't you please come back and re-jon us? We are not perfect, but we love you and we miss you! We also need the wisdom that you have gained by leaving and hopefully returning.

Here is President Gordon B. Hinckley's very last time he shared his testimony. How appropriate that he served his mission in the British Isles and he was permitted to share his last public testimony on earth in the British Isles!

Click here ------> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noDM2zmNy2c

We all loved President Hinckley. We know we could trust him and he would never be dishonest.

I know there have been things that you have found on the internet and by talking with other people. Many of you feel that even if the church started out on the right foot that now it is not being led by Jesus Christ.

If this is you, consider two things. Let's recognize that the the world is managed by the Lord. In our miniscule understanding of the world, we cannot assume that our view is what is really going on. As we learn more, our new perspectives help us gain greater understanding of what is real. I testify to you that when Jesus said he is the light of the world, and he is our savior, that He was telling the absolute truth, We cannot wrap our heads around that. It's way bigger than we are. We have no clear understanding why we even need a savior. Yet, that is all true.

Over the past few years, I have been watching videos of the near-death experiences of people who were atheists. They talk about Jesus and describe him the same way he talked about Himself as was recorded in the Bible. You can find these yourself online. Some of the ones on Christian shows seem hokey, but there are some that make you say "wow!" 

Another thing is that there is a girl named Akiane who was a young child of atheist parents when she started drawing and painting pictures of a man she said was Jesus. You can also search her art to see the pictures. She had never been taught about Jesus and started these art renderings at a very young age. Pretty credible.

There are evidences all over the place that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Let's first recognize that he is the Master, and is on the same team with God, our father. They have the same purpose - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

So, if Jesus and God are in control of the world, then most likely they will make sure that faithful followers of a church with his name will not be lead astray.

What is the second thing to consider? Maybe you messed up. Maybe you disobeyed and then the Holy Spirit had to leave you as a constant companion. So, maybe everything you are trying to figure out now is just made-up stuff. That is not a good place to be in. Some people say that they felt like they were in a bubble when they lived the Gospel. Well, yes, that bubble was your protection. It was meant to be a blessing. What is real IS the eternal perspective. Every thing else is mortal and has an ending. So, may I please remind you of what you need to do? Repentance.  Four steps: 1) Recognize that you messed up and are now walking away from the Lord instead of toward Him. 2) Ask forgiveness. 3) Make things right. 4) Make a sincere vow to change your ways.  Is any of that easy? Oh no, it sure is not. It may take time and a series of trials and errors until you get it right. But please walk toward your Savior and not away from him.  He loves you enough to sacrifice his life for you. Isn't that just too much to comprehend?

Please come back, dear brothers and sisters. Nobody meant to offend you. We are all just doing what we can to be good. And we all know how hard that is!!   We love you. We want you to come back. We don't care if you have done stupid things because we all have. Please come back to Jesus.

And by the way, if I didn't love you simply because you are my brother or sister, I wouldn't take my time to write this blog. I love you and I haven't met you in this mortal life. Can you imagine how much our elder brother, Jesus, loves you? He is giving you a gazillion chances to come back to Him. Please do it now.

Love.