I think the most important thing I can say in this blog post is to remember the Savior's words when asked what the greatest commandment is.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
So I want to focus on the three commandments. "wait, three? but there are only two..."
Well, I want to expound a bit. It says:
1. love the Lord thy God
2. Love thy neighbour
3. as thyself.
Love yourself! Don't forget that! God loves you so love yourself. There's only one you in this world. I get mad at others for hating themselves. Don't do that! Why? It's so destructive and gets nothing accomplished. Be kind to yourself. Take some time to do "you" stuff.
Improvement is important, and you can do so most effectively with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and believing in Him and in yourself. Say positive things. "I can do this. I am awesome." Please help others remember who they are too, and give them the confidence they need to endure through times of hardship and times of improving. Most people when improving need support. You improve yourself if you help others improve.
Faith in Jesus Christ will help us to endure the hardest of challenges. Build your faith. :)
This controversial battle between improving your weaknesses and changing who you are is worth talking about. Please comment. I would love to hear from anyone and everyone.
I get so excited whenever I see the Temple off of the beltway or as I drive up Beach Drive in Kensington. If you are with me in the car, I will usually exclaim in a high falsetto-voice,
Yeah, I am still a kid at Hart... Heart! (oh my Hart puns...)
The time on my mission is flying by. I have realized a few things as I am nearing the end of my mission. One of the things I continue to learn is that my body is a temple for my spirit to dwell and for the Holy Spirit to dwell.
Elder Thornton, my roommate, is pretty conscientious of what he eats and how he works out. He understands that his body is a temple.
As I am going towards my 22 month mark of my mission, I realize I will be home shortly. I want to look good. I have admired Elder Thornton and his good decisions in how he treats his body and I have tried to follow him sometimes. I feel good when I do things like push-ups, sit-ups, eating vegetables and fruit. I seem to have more energy if I eat fruits and vegetables with my meals.
We can CHOOSE whatever we want to put inside our bodies. If we want, we can eat a whole chocolate cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it is better to fuel our body with a well balanced diet.
Remember this: Your body is a temple.
Rexburg Idaho Temple
There are things WE KNOW are harmful to our body such as Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs. There are many things that we might be tempted to put into our body.
But remember: Your body is a temple.
Boise Idaho Temple
At these neat places called tattoo parlors, we can permanently put ink in our skin into a cool design that doesn't wash off.
Don't forget though: Your body is a temple.
Brigham City Utah Temple
When we read the scriptures, our spirit is filled with light and it effects how we act. When I read the scriptures, I seem to be more grateful for the life and the body God has given me among other blessings. When we read garbage, we feel like garbage. Don't read garbage. Your mind is part of your body.
and remember: Your body is a temple.
Salt Lake City Utah Temple
Knowing that my body is a temple reminds me that I need to keep it clean. A temple is a house dedicated to the Lord. It is HIS HOUSE. We won't live in these mortal bodies forever, but while we are using them, we should keep them neat and tidy. Organize, clean, prioritize. The Savior Jesus Christ can dwell in these temples.
Here's a way to put ***LIGHT*** into your "temple."
I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON!!! :D
If we prepare our lives for the Holy Ghost to be there with us, He will be with us.
God has given us a body to live this mortal life with the GIFT of a physical body. We can't change bodies with someone else, unless this is SUPER-the-future and I am oblivious or ignorant to the fact that we
can switch with someone else. In my day, kids were trading pokemon cards and these days, they are trading bodies? WHAAT?!? That's messed up man.
(The above italicized words are not church doctrine. They may not even be funny. Oh well, I tried. Sorry if my thoughts are disturbing. I am weird sometimes.)
So yeah, the whole point of that was... we can't just trade with someone else. We have to work with what we have been given.
Here's something else. I think many people are very judgmental to others just because of the body he or she has. People make fun or tease because of how fat, skinny, dark, light, ugly, pretty, short or tall others are.
Matthew 7:1 says Judge not, that ye be not judged.
There is NO NEED to put others down for us to feel good. We do not need to feel better than anyone else. We all are special.
Remember: EVERYONE'S body is a temple, and everyone deserves to be loved.
Your Father in Heaven loves.
So show love. It's a commandment.
God expects us to treat our bodies (his gift to us) with respect.
God loves us and wants us to be happy.
That's why He gave us commandments.
God has given us commandments such as to Love Him, to love your neighbor, to honor your father and mother, to keep to word of wisdom, to live the law of chastity and to keep the Sabbath day Holy. We need to have Faith to try to keep the commandments or even one commandment. When we keep a commandment, we receive the blessings God has attached to that commandment. Keeping commandments will bless our lives spiritually AND temporally.
Try it and watch the blessings come. I promise they will. God never shirks on His end of the deal.
Try it and you may like it! :)
God gave us a power to create life. That is a sacred power.
God has set the bounds for which this power should be used. Those bounds are in the law of chastity.
Get and Stay in those bounds and you will be happy.
A friend of mine once asked me a couple of months ago, "What does the Atonement mean to you?" At first, I thought, "That's easy, it means everything!" Then I realized that I couldn't effectively communicate my feelings regarding the Atonement of Jesus Christ . I had to think about it a lot. I tried over and over to put it into definite and simple words, but they wouldn't come as easily as I thought they would, but with my Zone Leaders Workshop and a little inspirational Fireside from Lindsey Stirling(My mission allows me to rub shoulders with celebrities sometimes more than once!). I finally have my answer. About a month before the Lindsey Stirling Fireside, our Zone Leaders set up a workshop for us to learn titled, "Lay it at the Saviors Feet". An awesome Sister Missionary(Sister Rowley) wrote about her own experience from it here.
The workshop was about us learning to lay our regrets, our problems and our worries at the Saviors feet. When they asked us to think about our regrets and what we could have done better, I couldn't think about anything I honestly regretted, sure, things that I could have done better, but life is a work in progress!~ A verse of scripture that did come to mind was when Peter asked Jesus what John the Beloved would do,
"If I will that he[John] tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." (John 21:22)
In this case it said to me, "Well, what does it matter if I want someone else to take the spotlight or to be center stage? Right now I want you to follow me." (I realize it's a bit out of context and in reality Jesus was talking about how Peter was to follow the Savior in martyrdom, but at this time, that was what the verse was saying to me) I pondered on that for a couple days. What does it mean to follow the savior? The Atonement of Jesus Christ is something which strengthens me. It cleanses me of my sins and regrets. The Savior felt everything that we have felt, as it says in the Book of Mormon, "...that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people..." (Alma 7:12) These are the facts of the Atonement but my friend had asked me, what the Atonement meant to me... which I was still struggling to put into words and as Albert Einstien said,
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Let it be known, I now appreciate Lindsey Stirling. She is a fantastic public speaker. This past Wednesday, she came to the Visitors' Center(on her day off, I might add) to speak those who wanted to listen. There's a Deseret New's article on what happened 'here'.
Lindsey opened the fireside with this statement, "What does it mean to finish at the wrong finish line? Absolutely nothing." She went on to relate to us one of her experiences as a cross-country runner in high school, in typical Lindsey flair(I can't really communicate that in plain text... So I'll just give a summary).
In this particular race, the men's and women's courses were right next to one another. She had been running near the front of the pack, yet she had lost sight of the lead runners. Soon she caught sight of the finish line and ran with all her might! Though to her dismay, she quickly found out that it was the men's finish and she had just led everyone who was following her to it. There were many interpretations you could get out of the story but she went on to tell us about how our own definition of a finish line might be a little different from Gods definition for us. Next, she told us about her experience in America's Got Talent, when she auditioned after thinking and praying long and hard about it.
She got past the auditions and in her own words said, "After that, I started attaching my happiness to doing well[in America's Got Talent], just getting to the next round, saying to my Heavenly Father, 'If I just make it to the next round, then I'll be happy'"
To finish her story, she told us about the end of her Live Television Debut. I don't remember the exact words which she used but it was heart-wrenching enough. The celebrity judges gave her 'the giant X' halfway through her performance then afterwards proceeded to tell her she would never amount to anything.
I'd read about her experience before she spoke to us but coming from her in person, it became a real event to me. I hurt for her.
Lindsey's confidence was shattered and she felt like she would never perform again. To finish her story, she related a quote from a movie, "Cool Runnings", (I've never seen it, but apparently it's super good stuff).
Coach Irv was a four-time Olympic gold medalist yet for his fifth, he cheated, was caught and had his medals stripped from him. When he was asked by his trainees years later why he cheated, he said about the medals and their confidence in themselves, "If you're not enough without it, then you're not enough with it."
Lindsey wanted us to understand that our sense of self-worth can't come from the world. We can't attach that self-worth to something which is transient.
She then told us about her service as a Sister Missionary.
"Confidence comes from the Spirit", she said, then she referenced D&C 121:45, which states,
"...let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God..."
You might be wondering, "Is he just including all these references to Lindsey Stirling so he can brag about it?"
No, I am not.
I am including this because of what happened after the fireside which allowed me to state in simple terms what the atonement means to me.
You see, I haven't had much interaction with celebrities of high caliber(big surprise, right?). Well afterwards, she was basically mobbed (in the nicest sense of the word) by her besotted fans, who rushed up to her like children who had just heard that cotton candy was free at the Carnival for only five minutes.(I really wish I got a picture of that...). I stood back and watched.
What really surprised me was that Lindsey didn't act annoyed, didn't tense up, didn't do anything which told me that she was frustrated with her fans.
She did the exact opposite.
She posed patiently with each person. She tried to talk with them(sort of). She kept posing with people once she had been told that the Visitors' Center was closing. The lights were turned off and everybody was told to get going and even as she was leaving to the backstage, she still took pictures, apologizing profusely that she had to leave.
It was interesting. Yes, you can make the argument that she's a celebrity, she's just doing her job, but for me, it was the catalyst of my thought process.
As I was watching all of these people, a scripture came to mind about the Savior when he visited the people of America,
"...he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them."3 Nephi 17:21
Lindsey, whether she realized it or not, was emulating the Savior(from my viewpoint).
As Mormons, we are supposed to remember the Savior at all times and in all places, trying to be like him and do what he would do. Earlier in the fireside, she had referenced "The Lion King", when Mufasa came to Simba in a vision telling him,
"You have forgotten who you are, and therefore, forgotten me."
We are to remember that we are children of our Heavenly Father and that he loves us. His Son, Jesus Christ, came to the Earth not only to show us an example of how to live but to perform the Atonement, to make sure that we could return to our Father in Heaven.
From that, my mind shifted into high-gear, jumping from idea to idea like a kangaroo hyped-up on caffeine-
As we remember who we are, we remember our Father in Heaven.
We remember the Savior and try to be like him.
Memories are important
As we make choices and learn from the mistakes we remember, character is formed
Confidence is gained as we follow the commandments and as we, "...let virtue garnish our thoughts..."
The Atonement helps us change ourselves so that we can be confident in the presence of God.
Missionaries are super-confident sometimes. (okay, pretty much all the time, at least to the public...)
Eureka.
To me, choices have become a pretty big thing in my life as I've written before. I've always got a choice, though it may be more difficult, depending on the circumstances.
Then it made sense. The atonement means so much to me because I can choose. I make mistakes. I mess up. I trip and fall, then get back up.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ means I can make choices in confidence. I am free to act. I don't have to be afraid that I'll be shut out of the presence of God because I made a mistake. I know that as long as I am sincerely trying to move forward and take the appropriate steps of repentance, I can be confident before the Lord. I can't choose my consequences, true, but I can choose the best course of action according to my beliefs. I can make choices to determine my character and try emulate Jesus Christ. The Atonement means that I can one day stand before Heavenly Father and, "though [my] sins be as scarlet", because of Jesus Christ "[my sins] shall be as white as snow" Isaiah 1:18
It was a fantastic step forward for me~
So, yeah, it was good.~
In other news: So not only was Wednesday a happy day, it was also a sad one; it was transfer meeting! My trainer, Elder Radford finished his two years of service and headed home. My trainee, Elder Elliott is training a brand new missionary, fresh from the MTC whose name is Elder Hamblin. I've included a picture of all four of us in one final shot... A lot of people whom I respected and looked up to finished their service on that day.
(Left to right)Elder Hamblin, Elder Radford, Me(!), and Elder Elliott
This was the friend of mine who supplied the picture of Lindsey Stirling speaking at the Visitors' Center.
It's been a while since I've seen her so it was great!~
So to sum things up:
Due to a lesson which my leaders gave to us and a small fireside by Lindsey Stirling, I can say with confidence why the Atonement of Jesus Christ means so much to me.
Enjoy a complimentary video about the Atonement where the Apostles testify of Him!~
When I was younger (Age:9-12ish) and getting angry, I used to yell at speakvery politely with my mother,
"You're making my ANGRY!"
"I can't make you do anything," she would respond, "that's your choice!"
Looking back, I've come to appreciate the fact that, though we may not have much control over the circumstances we are in, we always have choices, no matter the situation.
That small lesson from my mother had lasting consequences.
I know that because of that, I can choose for myself how I react, even if the situation is not in my favor.
My choice is to get up when I feel down, to continue when all seems lost. I want to keep going, to keep moving, I don't want to stay still and admit defeat. I don't want to be beaten by the natural man, my internal voice which says, 'I can't'.
Sometimes it's a battle, sometimes, an easy victory, but every step forward is in the right direction.
I know that my Father in Heaven has given me the opportunity to change, to choose and if we truly want it bad enough, we can move forward because,
If we want to progress. We can push on. God will always put at our fingertips resources that we can use to change ourselves or use so that we can continue to progress. We just need to look around us.
Even if we no more desire to change and/or progress, our Heavenly Father will help usfind the proper tools. There's a scripture that I think about whenever pause to ponder about change/progression:
"...behold, if ye will awake[!] and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, yea, even if ye can no more than desireto believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can believe..."-Full Reference-
If we believe that we can do it, or at the very leasttry to believe, it could happen! (Believe in the me that Believes in YOU! [A gold star to whoever gets that reference])
I'm not saying that every challenge can be overcome by pure willpower or the resources that God puts at our disposal. Sometimes, we have to simply endure.
"Many of the challenges we face in life can be solved and overcome; however, others may be difficult to understand and impossible to overcomeand will be with us until we pass on to the next life. As we temporarily endure the challenges we can solve and as we continue to endure the challenges we cannot solve, it is important to remember that the spiritual strength we develop will help us successfully endure all the challenges we face in life." [Emphasis Added]
By enduring our Earthly Trials, we grow spiritually. We become more than we were before.
I guess one of the tricks of life is determining which trials are the ones that we can change and which ones we can't.
"Jesus is not some magical repairman who you call when something is broken(whether it be physical or just the situation). He is our Savior and Redeemer."
We can call on Him when we are in trouble, it's true, but he is with us from the beginning and will strengthen us to face our problems way before it even comes to the point where all we have left is Him.
I'm not a physician or a psychiatrist so I'm just relying on my own perceptions (so I could be wrong), but from what I've seen is that God gives us trials based on us individually. They are very personal to us, and are there to help us become stronger and learn to rely on Him.
Because we've overcome those trials and gotten stronger, I think it must be Human Nature to want to help others surpass similar circumstances.
We want to help others who are going through those hard times, but we can only see their troubles through the filter of our own experiences. That doesn't mean that we do not have something constructive that could help them and their problem. We most certainly could but everyone is different(If only just a little bit)!~
We don't know their thoughts, we might only be seeing the tip of the iceberg, for all we know, they could be fighting the hardest battle of their life.
That's why I think it's important that we do not compare our individual trials to another persons. It can lead to thoughts such as, "Why is this so hard for me when others can do it so easily," (for those undergoing said trial) to "Everybody else is so weak, I went through it and I'm fine!" (for those undergoing a similar trial, but past it with little effort).
From what I've seen, the best help someone can give is just listening, giving support, and being there for someone. (Of course, everybody is different so that might not work for someone else; Remember the Languages of Love!) Sometimes, well-meaning advice can be harmful without us realizing it. We might not have a grasp on the entire situation.
I really like the way this comic below portrays advice given without fully understanding the situation, (I think it was specifically made with reference to Depression)
Personally, I think advice is always welcome[!]~ but sometimes it's important to try and see it from another point of view before passing on the advice...
To Conclude:
I know that we have a choice. It may not be a choice that we like, but it's always going to be there. I know if we are in too much pain, we can cry out to our Heavenly Father and He will send help. He wants us to succeed in this life and in the life to come.
I do know that we can look up during our trials, our personal tests, and search our hearts for the answer,
because we are all Children of our Heavenly Father[God] and he will never leave us comfortless.
Have you ever had trouble making decisions? I have trouble all the time. I feel SO indecisive some days.
Decisions sometimes are really important like whether or not you get married, or who you get married to.
Sometimes the decision does not make a huge impact on your life. Choosing to eat cheerios over cap'n crunch might be that decision. (Sorry if you are very opinionated about your cereal and I just offended you.)
In this life we have decisions to make.
I had to make a decision whether or not I will take time out of my day as a missionary, stopping work in the area I am in, to go see two of my friends from one of my past areas get baptized. I counseled with my mission president. He wants me to stay in my area. I talked with one of the two friends who are getting baptized. He wants me to go to his baptism.
Have YOU ever needed to be in TWO PLACES in ONE TIME? The sad fact is I can only be in one place at a time. I feel like this happens to me SO OFTEN. I'm just glad I'm not making a life or death decision.
I feel like these decisions are the hardest to make because most of these decisions really are just choices between doing something great or doing something better. UGH! Hard choices.
We choose what we say... every day... What we say is really important.
We choose what we do.... every day....What we do is really important.
We choose what we think every day... What we think is really important.
~All these things effect who we are and who we become~
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life,
through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and
death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh
that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
Joseph Smith was a 14 year old boy who wanted to know how to be saved. He had a decision to make. He was trying to decide which church to join. The video is great at explaining what happened to him. God answered Joseph's prayer. I know he will answer yours.
Maybe it will help you know which church YOU should join. :)
If you're my friend and you truly need something: I'll try to get there as soon as possible (whether metaphorically or physically).
Of course; I'm also kind of forgetful. And easily side-tracked.
If I don't write something down, it's out of my head within five minutes, so sometimes I just forget... I've let down a few people because I've forgotten something important...
But that's not the main point of this post!
With that said; the stage is set(!) Let the post begin~
Something that I've noticed; That the company we keep has a great effect on who we are(usually the effect happens over time). Sometimes we act differently around different people, sometimes we act a certain way to get a certain response.
It's almost like we're playing a part in a play. When we're around our 'friends', we play our part; but once we're off the 'stage', we take off the mask and resume life as usual (or maybe we move to another stage!)
That's something I've been trying to improve myself over the past couple of years, being who I am, no matter what company I keep.
The scriptures have examples of pretty much everything, even this-
There was a King in The Book of Mormon, his name was Noah, and he decided to go against the commandments of God, so he made a lot of bad choices in his life and in his kingdom. I guess you could say he surrounded himself with people whom he thought of as his friends (I call them Henchmen or maybe Cronies)
A prophet named Abinadi was preaching to the people, telling them to that they had turned from the right way. They didn't believe Abinadi and brought him before King Noah.
He began to preach to King Noah as well and the king was suitably cowed (as one would be when facing a prophet)-
"And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him."-Full Reference-
But then, sadly, King Noah's buddies began to speak up-
"But [his friends] lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain." -Full Reference-
In about two seconds, King Noah goes from letting Abinadi go, to deciding to kill him(!) all because of his friends.
I think that's why we've been given council to watch what friends we keep from a religious and psychological standpoint. Whether we want them to or not, they affect us, they define us, they 'help' us define our moral compass.
Not to say we should shun those who don't share our beliefs or standards, but just be aware that there will come a time when you must choose for yourself what you believe, even if you don't choose to hang around those who do not share your beliefs...
Scriptures have got examples everywhere~ You just need to know where to look!
This is a question which plagued me at many points of my life.
Who am I?
What's the point?
Why should I?
It's a question I think all of us make war with.
As for myself, I found comfort looking up at the starry (sometimes) night sky. Back in my hometown, there's some light pollution, so it's not exactly prime stargazing material, but that's the quality that actually helped me understand the answer.
It was early December, I was waiting for a close friend of mine at the Bell Tower (an important landmark in the city of Muncie). I took a seat at the base of it and looked up at the sky wondering what exactly was in store for me...
When you look up at the sky, especially in a city, it's quiet. It's dark. Just a couple really bright stars here and there, maybe Venus or Jupiter, but besides that-
Nothing. Just empty night. It's black, unfriendly, and cold (especially in the winter).
What I found was that, as I waited (patiently), my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw what was once hidden, the stars which were concealed by the glaring lights of the city.
It was a huge step for me.
You may be thinking, "How in the world does this relate to his original question!?"
In this world, we have lot's of things telling us what to believe.
Magazines telling us what to wear, how to act, how to treat each other, etc...
T.V. showing us what 'reality' is like.
Games showing us who's who in a galaxy that's waaaaaaaaaaay too far away. (not speaking against them! I love those games)
For me, that was the empty night sky so full of questions and not enough answers- the light obscured the beauty and majesty of the universe created just for us by a loving Father.
I could see the stars, not all of them nor their full beauty, but I could see them.
My mind made the connection for me as I sat back and enjoyed the view in the brisk December cold.
You see, I was listening a song performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, My Shepard Will Supply My Needs, it's a beautiful song.
I realized that I would always have questions.
I know I am my Heavenly Fathers' Son. He wants me to learn and grow and sometimes, that means I'll make mistakes. Sometimes, that means I won't have all answers, I might not even know the question I want to ask but I am His son. That was enough for me.
The next realization that I had; I had to wait for a moment, let my eyes see what was really there, not just freak out if I couldn't immediately discern anything. I had to 'tune' out the light to see those stars.
Likewise, we have to stop for a moment. We have to pay attention to those divine messages we get. The world can get pretty distracting and obscure the bigger picture but if we want to see those stars, we have to sit still for a moment.
I sat there for a few seconds, shocked at the way my mind put two and two together.
My friend came a few minutes later. I shared the insights with her and we took a moment to enjoy the quiet peace as we listened to music...
~~~~~
That experience helped me appreciate the wonderful plan that our Heavenly Father has for us and the tools he has given us to learn more about it...
So the summary of what I learned was this;
Sometimes we need to stop our lives, put them on hold for a second, so we can learn about the bigger picture from God, the source of all Truth.
After all, in the scriptures many times in words of comfort, he says,
(Yes, I am still in the process of discovering of who I am but with this was a major step in that process. Like my parents always said, "Remember whose you are")
"Just a bite! Not that much, I promise," Elder Stevenson never gives up when it comes to food, especially when it comes to pizza, "C'mon, pleeeeeeeeeease?"
At this point, Elder Hart and I start paying more attention and since he's more of a peace keeper, he tries to make some sort of compromise.
I just stand back and watch, enjoying the little escapade(having faith that it would work out, of course[!]). Elder Hart talks,
"Elder Mecham, What would the Savior d-"
"He would expect me to take care of myself, so I can help others!" At this point Elder Mecham was getting exasperated. Elder Stevenson jumped on that,
"Is a bite really going to make that much of a difference...?"
"Look, if I had enough money, I would buy ALL the microwavable pizzas in the D.C. area, then I would share freely and we'd have enough food to last us for the next transfer!" He took a bite out of his pizza, "Y'know, it's kind of like, 'I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give',(We quote scripture at each other all the time) just like King Benjamin says!"
As this is going along;
On the inside, I'm laughing like a maniac.
On the outside, I am completely stoic, straight-faced, and serious.
I could tell he was at his turning point, so I wanted to push just a little bit more(being the mischievous person that I am)...
"Well, that doesn't mean anything, giving means so much because we don't have an infinite amount."
I paused for a second, thinking about what I said.
That's exactly why giving means so much. We don't have an infinite amount of time or resources, it's a sacrifice if we give something to someone else, it means more if we have less (usually). Just like the widow's mite, that Jesus used as an example,
In the end, Elder Mecham didn't give Elder Stevenson a piece of his pizza.
I'm not speaking for or against that, I just want to say this;
We all have choices in our lives, in fact, this life is a time for us to learn to make choices!
One thing that I've noticed through my own time on this Earth is that when we make sacrifices to include God in our life(whether it be time or resources; [remember the languages of love!]) we are blessed for our decision.
