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All of the following quotes are from President Russell M. Nelson:

“Now Is the Time to Prepare”, April 2005

Now is the time to prepare to meet God. Tomorrow may be too late. … Now is the time to enroll our names among the people of God. … Now is the time to align our goals with God’s goals.

"Now Is the Time", April 2022 (emphasis in original) 

"The future is always uncertain. Weather changes. Economic cycles are unpredictable. Disasters, accidents, and illness can change life quickly. These actions are largely beyond our control. But there are some things we can control, including how we spend our time each day.

"I like this poem by Henry Van Dyke, posted on a sundial at Wells College in New York. It reads:

    The shadow by my finger cast
    Divides the future from the past:
    Before it, sleeps the unborn hour
    In darkness, and beyond thy power:
    Behind its unreturning line,
    The vanished hour, no longer thine:
    One hour alone is in thy hands,—
    The NOW on which the shadow stands.

"Yes, we should learn from the past, and yes, we should prepare for the future. But only now can we do. Now is the time we can learn. Now is the time we can repent. Now is the time we can bless others and 'lift up the hands which hang down.'"

"Peacemakers Needed", April 2023 (emphasis in original) 

"... now is the time to lay aside bitterness. Now is the time to cease insisting that it is your way or no way. Now is the time to stop doing things that make others walk on eggshells for fear of upsetting you. Now is the time to bury your weapons of war. If your verbal arsenal is filled with insults and accusations, now is the time to put them away. You will arise as a spiritually strong man or woman of Christ." 

"The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again", October 2024

“Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.”

Childlike Civility (A Poem)

To be like a child,

brave, loving and humble.

Free of most worries

which make adults stumble.

Christ as your bedrock,

the world is your oyster.

Be not ye tempted

your kindness to cloister!

Friend, family or stranger,

it mattereth not.

"Love one another"

is what Jesus taught.

The Eye of the Storm: As 2021 Draws to an End

This is a poem that came to mind today, seemingly out of nowhere. I hope you find it meaningful, insightful and/or enjoyable.

 

2021, the year of “relief”;

Though to many it’s brought nothing but grief.

2020 was considered by most “a year to forget”,

But I can’t shake the feeling we’ve seen nothing yet.

While this year has seemingly flown right by,

I find myself oft gazing up at the sky.

And I wonder, “When the time comes, will I be prepared?

Will I be ready to fight for what’s right? Or will I be scared?”

For lies abound throughout all the earth,

Confusion and fear reign while up is down.

Can you hear the evil one cackle?

“Worship me”; Satan is seeking his crown.

We know how this ends; for the scriptures foretell,

No matter what comes, Christ will prevail.

The Master of ocean, and earth, and sky

Will assuredly come, for He cannot lie!

Though the season seems dark, I continue to pray:

“Let me not be led astray.

Life as we know it seems lost and slipping away.

Please, Lord, come to save the day.”

"Guilty" as Charged

Ever since we had the lecture on music (2 months ago now), I have been thinking about writing this post. The song "Guilty" by Newsboys came up in the playlist I was listening to on my iPod last night and with Easter Sunday this weekend I believe this to be the perfect time to write about this topic.

Christian Rock/Pop is my favorite music genre. Before I served my mission I was under the impression that this genre was really stigmatized, but maybe that is because I grew up in the "Mormon bubble" of Utah County. I never understood why it would have such a bad reputation and looking back I really wish I knew! I think the genre is awesome!

Most of the music I listened to in high school was whatever came on the pop radio stations, which turned out to be a lot of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Nickelback, Ke$ha, Jason Derulo, Bruno Mars and OneRepublic (to name a handful). Not all of their music is terrible, but many of the artists I have listed here had hit songs that I would not exactly consider "wholesome". Unlike many of the songs that become so popular they are known by almost everyone, I have never heard a Christian rock/pop song that has ever caused me to second guess what I was listening to. I wish this uplifting music (which in my opinion can be just as catchy as "Poker Face", "Hot n Cold" or "Just The Way You Are") was as well known in popular culture!

When we were discussing music in class we talked about tone vs. lyrics. One of the studies we talked about in class found that lyrics had more of an effect than tone did, which I found intriguing. At that time I remember realizing why I like Christian music so much: The tone gets me pumped, grabs my attention and makes me want to listen to a song over and over, but when I really pay attention to the lyrics I often find them very inspiring.

At the end of that lecture we watched the music video for "Soldier" by Gavin DeGraw. I was captivated by the song immediately and bought it off iTunes as soon as I got home that afternoon! The beat (tone) caught my attention early, but the lyrics really touched me.

The first time I heard "Guilty" by Newsboys I had the opposite experience. When I heard the first line of the lyrics I was hooked! After listening to the song for a little longer, the tone hit the spot for me as well.

Verse 1 of the song goes as follows:

"When did it become breaking a rule,
To say Your name out loud in school?
When Your name's the only one that sets us free.

When did it become incorrect,
To speak the truth about life and death?
When Your life gave us all eternity."

All of my favorite Christian songs strengthen my testimony of the Savior and the Gospel every time I listen to them. In my honest opinion, many of these songs are as powerful as the LDS hymns. I love the message of "Guilty" for that reason. The overall message of the song, at least in my interpretation of it, is that our belief in Christ should defy anything that mortals may impose on us to restrict religion. Even though all the Christian artists I listen to are probably not LDS, I find great strength in the testimonies they express through their music and I can always find a line or theme that agrees with the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to give a very special shout-out to my good friend John Kunz in New Jersey for being who I consider the person that introduced me to this wonderful genre of music. I am grateful for how this music has impacted my life in many positive ways and it makes up the majority of what I listen to on a regular basis now. Thank you John!

Happy Easter everyone! Jesus the Christ lives and truly set us free from the bonds of physical and spiritual death. I do not believe God will allow America to sink to so low a point that "serving [Him] is against the law of man", but if that day should ever come I hope to find myself among the "guilty".

I Love Donald Trump! (Though not for reasons you might expect)

Changing The World Starts With You
Jay Shetty explains why changing the world begins with us.
Posted by The Huffington Post on Friday, February 26, 2016

I never thought I would say this, but I actually learned to love Donald Trump tonight. And not because I love how crazy he is or because I found something he said extremely funny. The love I discovered for him tonight is Christlike love.

The video above sums up many of my of the thoughts I have had over the past few years really well. And it addresses one of the questions I believe the most difficult to answer: How do we change the world? The answer is: by starting with ourselves!

The greatest debate in America right now is easily the presidential race, and the majority of the comments I hear/read on the topic are about how terrible Donald Trump is as an individual, businessman, and/or potential president. Before I say anything else, let me be clear that in no way am I intending to express support for Donald Trump as president by this post. However, as much as I may disagree with some (OK, a lot) of the things he says, Donald Trump is not a perfect human being (and neither are any of the other remaining candidates for that matter).

Have we all forgotten what the ONLY PERFECT INDIVIDUAL to walk this earth taught us? In Matthew 7:1-5 (as well as 3 Nephi 14:1-5), the Savior of mankind taught us that we are all hypocrites when we judge others. Believe it or not, the Son of God sacrificed Himself for Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders just as much as He did for you. As soon as I realized the undeniable truthfulness of this fact, I felt the love of Christ for each of these individuals in a powerful way which certainly surprised me! 

So next time you feel the urge to bash on one of them, please remember this post and "first cast out the beam out of thine own eye" (Matthew 7:3; see also 3 Nephi 14:3). You may be surprised what happens...

Media as a Tool in the LDS Church

Like many others, I watched the Face2Face event with Elder Holland this past Tuesday. It only took me a few minutes to realize that I should definitely take notes and write down thoughts that came to mind. I really enjoyed watching it and greatly appreciated the advice and wisdom shared by Elder Holland, Elder Hallstrom and Sister Stephens!

After it ended, I found myself reflecting on the use of media involved with the event. Technology truly is incredible and it affords us so many great opportunities! I am grateful that the Brethren are so in touch with modern technology and that they utilize it so effectively. I have no doubt that technology advances (such as the ability to broadcast internationally via satellites and the Internet) develop for the benefit of the Church and to further its purposes. The prospect of how the media will be used in the Church in the future excites me, especially when thinking of the idea that people all over the world will have opportunities (in more ways than are currently available) to communicate so personally with Apostles of the Lord.