No Coincidences

Tag: gratitude

The Glory of the Sun

I recently finished a book that was so packed with wisdom I couldn’t come close to taking it all in. Every page provided a new insight. Every thought was provoking. It is amazing to walk through the minds of men and women so in touch with the spirit or some form of knowledge I don’t yet have. It’s my favorite part of reading. From reading his words and thoughts I could feel his closeness to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and therefore come closer to them myself.

The name of the book was The glory of the sun which refers to 1 Corinthians 15:41:

“There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”

Doctrine and Covenants 76:70 reads:

“These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.”

Sterling W. Sill, author of this book, was a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was asked to share a series of gospel messages each week for a year over the radio. The series was called “Sunday Evening from Temple Square.” Those 52 addresses were put into this book. It’s amazing to see that so many unique and powerful messages can come from one individual.

Sterling W. Sill

Every message was so good, I could randomly turn to a page and share an important thought. There was one in particular I found pertinent to our current moment in history.

Elder Sill shared his messages at the height of the cold war so there is an emphasis of freedom and liberty throughout.

In one of his addresses titled “Five grains of Corn” Elder Sill reviewed the custom of Thanksgiving. Elder Sill pointed out that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. It is a day we give thanks to our ancestors who bravely came here and suffered through much hunger, affliction, and death. He reminded me that during Thanksgiving we give “deep gratitude.. for the rich productivity of American soil.”

I believe it is important for us to remember the blessed nation we are fortunate to live in. The United States of America is a chosen land. One thought Elder Sill presented was the idea that we live more lavishly and comfortably today than any king in history. He pointed out that if we had to live as King Solomon, even in all the glory of his palace and kingdom, it would be a great hardship to us.

What a thought! The average person in America lives with more comfort than any historical king! How blessed we are and how often we take for granted this great nation we live in. It truly is a promised land.

What has always separated America from any other nation is our freedom – the freedom that gives us the ability to worship our God however we please. If you look at the short history of the United States it becomes quickly apparent what separates us. It is the freedom we enjoy, particularly religious freedom. It saddens me that as a nation we are turning from the God who has so blessed us. It is part of the agency God has given us, the freedom this nation is founded on, that currently allows so many to turn from God.

This paragraph from the book rings so familiar to our current landscape that I will quote it in whole. Elder Sill says:

“In the United States we have just gone through a great political election to decide who would represent us in the governing councils of our country for the next four years. We have been sharply divided on issues and people. We have settled the matter by an appeal to the ballot box. No blood was shed, no life was in danger, no one had any thought of trying to liquidate his opponent. No one even pounded with his shoe or threatened to throw it at anyone. Now all Americans will settle down and give full support to the government that they, under God, have created. Now we will all unite in building a greater America and help to carry out our divine mission to promote freedom, justice, and happiness in the world.”

Election day is tomorrow. It is my sincere prayer that we as a nation can unite and support whoever wins this election. It is my prayer that there is no bloodshed, danger, threats, or pounding of feat.

The final and important point Elder Sill gives in this message is about our faith in God that I have already mentioned. Specifically, the devotion to His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Mayflower Compact, written by those coming to settle a new America reads, “We whose names are underwritten have undertaken for the glory of God to establish in Virginia the first colony for the advancement of the Christian faith.”

The New England Federation Compact Agreement reads similarly, “We all have come into these parts of America with one and the same end, namely to advance the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I hope we can remember our Thanksgiving for this promised land. I hope we can remember the freedoms and liberties we enjoy, and how great it is to be a part of the democratic process. Finally, I hope we can remember who it is our ancestors came to America to serve, who’s kingdom they wished to establish.

“America was established as a kind of laboratory or experiment station to show what would happen to any people who cared and dared to follow Jesus Christ.” – Elder Sill.

How blessed our ancestors were and how blessed we’ve been as we’ve looked to Jesus Christ. I hope that can continue.

November 2, 2020
Sunday Meditation and Basketball

In November of 2019 I started meditating every morning. I’m not doing anything real impressive. I spend the first 10 minutes of every day laying on my back on the ground. I started by listening to guided meditations on YouTube. Now I have the Calm App on my phone which I highly recommend. I rotate between guided meditations and simply laying with my eyes closed, in prayer and thought. Early on I found meditation to be extremely beneficial. My days would start off right. I would be calmer and more patient with any challenge that arose throughout the day. I know this is hard to gauge and measure. Maybe I wasn’t calmer or more patient, but I felt more calm and patient. That has to be almost as good.

When I started meditating, I immediately noticed answers to prayers. Those 10 minutes have become the most important 10 minutes of my day. I look forward to that time to spend with my own thoughts and with God. It’s an opportunity to slow down and think about what I want to accomplish; in life and for that day. It’s time to stop and consider all that I have to be grateful for.

I think I’ve written about his before, but when I was coming back to church, initially a big help was basketball on weekend mornings. For years my weekends were spent out late. When I was trying to stop drinking and stop going out as much, Saturday morning (7am) basketball became critical. It was something I could look forward to. It motivated me to stay in on a Friday night so I could get up early and play. I also played Sunday mornings. They were my two favorite days every week.

Weekend Warrior

Sunday morning basketball never conflicted with church. I was in the Young Single Adult Ward which didn’t meet until 1pm. I could easily play 7am-10am and have a few hours to shower, relax, read, study, and pray before church began.

One Sunday morning I got up to play like I always did. I was walking around my room getting dressed. It was time to walk out the door to leave so I bent over to pick up my gym bag. As I started to stand up the craziest thing happened. My back completely gave out. Luckily, I was near my bed (which still resided on box springs on the floor, like I liked it) so I literally fell sideways onto my bed. I was in excruciating pain. I called my mom and she said to take some ibuprofen, the basic mom guidance stuff. I still had it in my mind that I could go play. I was 26 years old, surely, I didn’t actually throw my back out…right? I quickly realized, I did.

Me that weekend

As I laid in my bed, I wondered what to do. I loved reading my scriptures, especially Sunday mornings after basketball and before church. So, I pulled out my scriptures and continued to read where I’d left off in the book of Alma.

I remember reading the story of the sons of Mosiah that morning in Alma 17-27. I remember being struck by one thing: the sons of Mosiah were offered the kingdom. They were each individually asked to be the king of their people. They were asked to rule, to have power, to have the comforts and honors of the world given to them for the rest of their life. Instead, they chose to forsake worldly possessions and go on a mission to the Lamanites. One by one they chose to reject kingship and go to a land of people that were open about their desire to kill any Nephite that came into their presence, let alone a Nephite set to inherit the Nephite kingdom.

What inspired Ammon and his brothers, the sons of Mosiah to forsake the kingdom and instead choose to preach the gospel? They saw an angel. I can’t describe exactly what happened to me that day, studying in my bed. Something happened. I was so filled with the spirit. I felt like I was floating. It was the most uplifting and edifying scripture study I’d ever had. I grew so much that morning. I haven’t played basketball on a Sunday since. That morning, along with learning so much about the sons of Mosiah and who I wanted to be, I also learned the value of keeping the Sabbath day holy.

I don’t think basketball was the worst thing to do on a Sunday morning, far from it. I think those first few months of Sunday morning basketball had a huge impact on me and helped me stay away from activities it was important for me to stay away from at that time. That morning though, I came to a crossroad. The temptations of prior months had lessened. I was immersing myself in the scriptures and praying daily. That morning I learned how much I could gain on Sunday mornings.

I haven’t played basketball on a Sunday since that morning I threw my back out. Instead, every Sunday morning I try to pray, read, and study. My study isn’t as good as it has been in the past, I can always improve. But, staying in on Sunday, preparing for church, praying, pondering my blessings, being with my wife, has become my favorite part of every week.

In November 2019 I started meditating every morning. I meditate 7 days a week. There’s a strange phenomenon I’ve experienced during this time. I meditate every single day. But, on Sundays, something is different. I don’t meditate with the hopes of becoming emotional. I enjoy it when it happens. I enjoy feeling the spirit so strongly that, as I lay on the ground in gratitude to my Heavenly Father, tears sometimes come to my eyes. It happens every so often. What I’ve noticed is it happens mostly on Sundays.

Without fail, as I lay and meditate on Sundays, I will be moved by the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of my Heavenly Father. I will contemplate the Atonement of my Savior. I’ll consider the suffering He went through for me. I’ll think about where I’ve been and where I am now. I’ll wonder how God can love us so much.

Grace of Christ

I bear testimony that Sunday is a special day. It’s not special because it’s specifically Sunday. That’s the day we, our society, have set aside as a day to worship. It could be Monday or Friday, doesn’t matter. What matters is it’s a day for the Lord. It’s important because it’s a day set aside for God. He has given us all our days, our lives, what is one day a week in return? I know that the Sabbath day is a special day. I know it holds power. I know it gives rejuvenating strength in a world that unceasingly sucks our spiritual resolve from us throughout the week. I know it because I’ve experienced it.

I would invite everybody to spend some time every Sunday morning in prayer. I promise you will feel something special. The Sabbath day is profound. Keep it holy. It was a long journey for me to truly appreciate the power of the Sabbath. I know that we’re blessed for keeping the Sabbath holy. In the scriptures, keeping the Sabbath is said to be what separates God’s people from the world. Keep the Sabbath holy and I promise God will pour out blessings on you. I know because he has on me.

August 7, 2020
Open Minds

Coincidences. God puts people in our lives and around us for very important reasons. Our encounters in this life are not by chance.

What would have happened if the first day I wanted to go to church my roommate Chris said, “no, go on your own, I’m not going to that place”? I probably wouldn’t have gone. I may have never gone back. That would have altered my life in profound ways.

Chris was raised a certain way. I think he was raised or taught, at least to some extent, to have an open mind. When I asked him to go with me to my church his reaction was, “sure, why not?”

I have a friend who got baptized about 5 years ago. I came back to church about 4 years ago. That person has become one of my closest friends, especially in the church. We were able to grow together in our testimonies. Early on, we had things in common, namely: sports.

What would have happened if that friend didn’t get baptized? Would I still be here? Without someone to talk about the struggles, challenges, ups, and downs of returning to church, or in his case joining a church, would either of us have had the strength on our own to continue? Of course, if it wasn’t this friend someone else may have stepped in. That’s the amazing part about life. The butterfly effect is a phrase we use. Switch one event, one minor detail, and where are we?

This friend’s mother lived across the country so I hadn’t had a chance to meet her for the first part of our friendship. I was always so excited to meet his mom. Why? Because I wanted to meet the person who raised someone that was so open minded to investigate and research a church and find truth. People completely open to truth, in whatever form it comes, are rare today. When I met her I was not disappointed. She was an open-minded, positive, and powerful woman.

What would have happened if she didn’t raise her son this certain way? What if 5 years prior he was introduced to the church and, because of moments throughout his life, he instead developed a closed-off approach to new things? What if he said, “I don’t need a church.” If he didn’t get baptized 5 years ago, would I be here?

Dominoes. Butterflies.

There are all these moments, countless moments that impact us. We’ll never know in this life how tiny moments in our life have profound impacts.

I know that God laid forth this plan and every moment is important. We’re here to grow, we’re here to learn. I firmly believe God put us in the best possible position to accomplish those things. There are no coincidences in God’s plan.

I’m grateful for people with open minds. I’m grateful for people with closed-off minds. I’m grateful for people in between. We all have something to teach each other and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be here and to develop relationships, to learn to love, and to learn what is most important. Every day is a new opportunity to learn and grow and I’m thankful for that.

July 10, 2020
Freedom

Let’s take a quick trip through history. Bear with me on the history recap, I swear it will be brief.

The Revolutionary War started in 1775.

Some rag-tag colonists decided to stand up to and fight for independence from the greatest power in the world. I’ll say that again, a group of mostly untrained men decided to take on the greatest military force on earth at that time. Louder for those in the back, a group of settlers stood up to THE world superpower.

Can you believe how truly insane that was? Just that they revolted was crazy. Surely that got smashed into submission…right? WRONG!

They won! Independence. How? Tons of stories from that time point to divine intervention. We can save those for another day.

244 years ago, July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence was signed.

1777 The Articles of Confederation were written. This would be the first constitution of the United States.

1787 The Constitution we have today was written.

1791 the Bill of Rights was written for the United States.

Amendment I of that Bill of Rights:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

1805 The Prophet Joseph Smith was born.

1820 God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith.

1827 Joseph Smith received the golden plates.

1830 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christ’s restored church was re-established on the earth.

Fourteen short years after the Bill of Rights was established and set forth the freedom of religion in this choice nation a prophet was born. 29 years after the established freedom of religion Heavenly Father appeared to His prophet. Four short decades after the Bill of Rights was ratified Christ’s Church was restored.

Think about that for a moment. Human history spanning thousands of years. Yet, somehow, within 15 years of a free nation set forth the guidelines for free religion, a boy was born who 15 years later would claim visitation from God the Father. He would establish a church from meager means. Within 200 years that church would have millions of members across the globe.

Talk about all the coincidences.

It was less than 40 years after freedom of religion was established in the United States of America that the Church of Jesus Christ was organized.

What spectacular timing.

I know there aren’t coincidences in God’s plan. I know he reared up and prepared inspired, God-loving, intelligent men to establish this great nation. Men who desired freedom above all else. I know that soon after they did their part in establishing this free country it was finally time in God’s plan to establish His Church. There had to be a place for the Church to be restored first. There was nowhere else in the world the Church of Jesus Christ could have been established.

God works in miraculous and spectacular ways for His purposes.

I know the exact timing of Joseph Smith’s birth and the exact timing of the freedom of the United States were no coincidence. They were planned out long ago.

On this Fourth of July I’m grateful to our founding fathers.

I’m grateful to Joseph Smith.

More than anything I’m grateful to God for His perfect plan.

I’m grateful for a country where I can worship whom, how, and where I please. I’m grateful that I can pray in private or public. I’m grateful to be born in a country free. I’m grateful that I’ve never been truly persecuted for my religious beliefs. We live in a special country. We live in a country founded on true principles: freedom, liberty, and equality. I know it took some time for those principles to be truly established and I know we’re still working on some of those principles. But the principles are there. There are still parts of the world, many parts of the world, where freedom, liberty, and equality are not even considered.

The most important principle of all that this nation was founded on: faith and belief in God.

I know right now America is in a predicament. We have turned from God. God gave us this great nation and helped its establishment. Now we spit on Him and marvel at our own great strength and power. We’re American! THE Global Superpower. Doesn’t that sound familiar. We know what happens to global superpowers that rely on their own strength.

If we don’t humble ourselves and confess to whom we owe all, God in Heaven, He will take back His land. We are only as strong and powerful as our faith in God allows. Like England during the Revolutionary War we will fall if our pride is not removed. We must return to God. He founded this country and it will continue to degrade until we return to the source of all strength. It’s time to repent.

I love this country. I hope we can return to our principles and be better. I hope we can love God and keep Him here with us.

GOD Bless the USA

July 4, 2020