Are We Remembered?

     Have you ever wondered how big the Universe is? What about how many stars or lights there are in the sky? It is safe to say that the Earth is just one small planet that occupies a very small piece of the Universe. We are extremely insignificant compared to the Universe or existence in general. Have you ever felt like you were of little or even no importance? Is there really anyone that cares about me? As a representative of Jesus Christ, I testify to you that God; the Eternal Father, loves you and cares about you more than we can ever comprehend!

     President Dieter F. Uchtdorf; an outstanding leader for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints taught, "And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters." This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it."

     When I heard him say this, I felt in my heart that it was true through the Holy Ghost, also known as the Holy Spirit. It may not seem so at times, but we are of such great importance to God and he is always thinking about us. I would like to share an experience with you that may help me support this statement.

     I have always enjoyed playing sports; they make me so happy! I was not too good at any sport I played and compared to others I was unskillful and uncoordinated. I was very discouraged at times because It seemed like I would never be a great athlete. It took a long time for me to understand this concept but I started to grasp the concept that It does not matter how bad I am or how much athleticism I had. All that mattered was that I was trying and being true to myself. Heavenly Father still loved me and it did not matter to him at all if I was an incredible athlete. He would rather me be a good person and a someone that is trying to be obedient to his commandments rather than the Super Bowl MVP!

     I know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and it does not matter how rich, pretty, or educated we are, what matters to him is that we are just trying to do our best and follow his son Jesus Christ. He loves us and we really are everything to him!

Coping With Disappointment: Using Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin

    
   
       I have always loved the Peanuts gang, an American classic it truly is! Nothing beats the constant misfortune of Charlie Brown, the witty comments from Linus, and the comedic shenanigans of Snoopy and his yellow pal Woodstock. I remember that there was a really good selection of Peanuts comics and books at the South Weber Elementary School Library. One of my favorite Peanut tales is The Great Pumpkin! To those who are not aware of this amazing tale, Linus believes that every Halloween night, the head honcho named, The Great Pumpkin, comes out of the local pumpkin patch and declares glad tiding and good joy to all of the believers. Everyone thinks that Linus is insane and Linus ends up spending all of Halloween night sitting in a pumpkin patch and never to meet the infamous Great Pumpkin.

     Everyone who live or who will ever live the on Earth will go through some sort of disappointment during their stay here similar to young Linus here. I know that I have sometimes asked the question, "Why does disappointment occur when I am not doing anything wrong?" Linus, was a good kid and he never was into any mischief in the neighborhood. He had a strong hope that the Great Pumpkin would appear to him but instead he became a laughing stock to all of his family and friends!

     Disappointment is just going to happen but always know that there is a loving Heavenly Father who is there to comfort us. Disappointment and discouragement in our own life can lead to a stronger relationship with Heavenly Father in the Eternities. If we come to God in broken hearts willing to hear His words, we will gain more love and appreciation for him. A scripture that witnesses to me that God loves everyone is in the Book of Mormon. It states, " For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." (2 Nephi 26:33).

     Heavenly Father loves us and he understands our disappointments and we can feel his love if we turn unto him and we will be filled with warm peace that will reassure us Heavenly Father is going to make our burden light. So next time we get disappointed; or in other terms, pull a Linus, remember the invitation is there for us to come to Heavenly Father.

The Fam: Eternal Families Make Eternal Joy

     This picture was taken on May 6, 2011 in front of the Salt Lake City Temple. In the picture is my dad (Mike), my sister (Bailee), my brother (Derek), my mom (Jane), and the happy couple (Tanner&April), my brother and sister in-law. It is probably a good thing that I was not there because the picture would go down in value. It is kind of hard to not have been there because this is the very first family portrait that I was not in. I love my family deeply and  have so many memories with each one; except my sister in-law April, but we will chill and get to know each other later. I remember getting baseballs thrown at my head by Tanner when I was first learning to play baseball. I remember all of the social gatherings that I was able to be apart of with Derek and the rest of the Pandit Association. I unfortunately remember being dressed up by Bailee and posing as a jazz dancer. I remember going on drives with my mom and listening to classical jazz. I remember going to the driving range with my dad and spending good time with him!


     I love my family so much and to know that I can be with them again gives me so much serenity and comfort. What gives me the serenity and comfort the most though, is that if I live my life the way God wants me to live it, I can live with them forever. In the last two verses of the entire Old Testament of the Bible, the prophet Malachi writes, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6) This prophecy did occur when Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on April 3, 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio. He gave them the keys to seal what is on earth to heaven creating a way for families to be together eternally. That is a reason for why there are temples on the Earth, it is for a man and woman to promise to live their life in a way to where they can live with each other and their children forever. My brother and sister in-law had the privilege of doing that and anyone who is willing to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ can as well. Whey wouldn't you want to be with your family forever rather than just death do us part?


     I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that we can be able to live with our family forever and the way we do that is by being apart of Jesus Christ's church. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the restored church of Jesus Christ's church a long time ago! You can know for yourself by praying and asking God if that is true. It is a simple way and God wants to make it simple because he does not want any of us to stumble in the dark!


     I hope you have a great day and hope to chat with you later!

Building Strong Spiritual Muscles

    
      Strong man competitions have always intrigued me because it is absolutely incredible to see someone lift up extraordinary amounts of weight just from their own body. It is incredible that they can lift things that are twice and sometimes 3 times the amount of weight that they are. The most incredible concept about competitive lifting though is that these superman like athletes didn't always have huge biceps or bulging necks. They were born with a normal body that was just like another normal human body. The difference though that made their bodies so much stronger than an average human is all the time in the weight room and all of the sacrifices they had to make to be able to endure the physical labor that they endure. They had to pay the price by putting in the time and effort. I believe that with the incredible things these brutes can accomplish, they have paid the price.

     Most of us will probably not be as strong as these select strong men or be able to have the ability to lift tree stumps, but we can be "spiritual strong-men." I think a spiritual strong man is more impressive than a physical strong-man. Having a solid testimony in Jesus Christ and knowing that his purpose in his life was to help us have a resurrected body and give us the chance to gain eternal life is more important than looking like Arnold. The way we gain spiritual strong-man status is by reading the scriptures, serving others, trying to gain Christlike charity, and keeping the commandments. We will have to pay the price but I know that we can one day all be spiritual strong-men and we will even intimidate the physical strong-men!


 
     I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he loves so much! He appeared to young boy named Joseph Smith who brought back the holy priesthood that would bring back Christ's Church on the Earth. Heavenly Father loves us and he cares for us so much! If you would like to learn more about Joseph Smith or Jesus Christ's Church being back on the Earth, contact me on facebook (Elder Sam Stout) or check out www.mormon.org and click on missionary request on the top right corner. Have a blessed day.

Remembering 9/11

    

     I vividly remember being woke up by my dad on a beautiful September morning in the later part of the year 2001. He told me with a sound of sadness and shock in his voice that the World Trade Center has been hit by an airplane. Me being half-asleep, did not really understand what was going on but I followed my father into his bedroom and on the television I saw a lot of smoke foaming around a gigantic skyscraper. I stood there in shock and awe and was thinking to myself how could something like this happen. We later found out for sure that it was a terrorist attack and it was scary to think that people did not think so kindly of us Americans. It was really difficult for an 11 year old such as I was to think that someone would hate someone else so much that they would do something that serious.

     The after effect 9/11 was very damaging and the whole country was in complete sadness and shock. There was so much hardship that effected the families of the victims. I can't imagine all of the pain that they had to go through. There really is only so far we can go on our own when it comes to coping with such a huge loss. The way to fully cope with something is to rely on the Savior and allow him to help you feel his true and unwavering love. This video shows how a 9/11 survivor had the Savior help him through the grief of what happened.

     I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he can help us through our problems even if they do take time! Heavenly Father knows and understands what we are going through and we just need to keep on keeping on!

Football: The Gospel Does Apply Here

    

     I have always been a really big fan of college football and it is life down here in the South! Where I am serving right now, everyone is getting all of their Tennessee Orange out and ready for the first game of the season. It is so funny that there may not be a lot of commonalities that I have with other people down here, but everyone can relate to football! Nothing beats the sweet smell of short grass and guys getting the chocolate knocked out of them by a 300 pound man! I truly believe that football and the Gospel of Jesus Christ relate together and it really helps me know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us and it includes Jesus Christ suffering for our sins!

     
WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF COACHES TO HELP US

     First off, there is a coach for every team who makes the call on what is best for the team on and off the field. He spends countless hours planning strategies on passing routes, blocking assignments, audibles, and where players line up on the field. He leads the team by showing them the way. He has other coaches there to help him help the team in the best way possible. It is up to the players though to carry through with what he taught them to do. They have their agency to listen to the coach or not. They will suffer the consequence for what they choose to do. The Gospel teaches us that our coach is Heavenly Father and he has set out a game plan; Eternal Life,  to follow while we are here on Earth but it is our choice to follow it! He has given us other coaches to help us such as his son Jesus Christ and Prophets that show us the way to follow through with Heavenly Fathers game plan.


WE ALL GO THROUGH TRIALS AND TOUGH TIMES

      Secondly, It is very difficult to see a young men get hurt while he is playing the game. Football Injuries can range from pulled ligaments to broken bones. Some injuries can make a player not play for the rest of the season. It is always sad to have dreams of a great season or career shattered when the player had no intention to get hurt. While we are on the Earth, we will go through trials that make it so sometimes we can't handle the outcome. Heavenly Father gives us these trials because he knows it can help us become better.



WE CAN DO IT

     Finally, the greatest thrill from college football comes when your team wins a game, rivalry, bowl game, or best of all a National Championship. It gives you a good feeling in your heart to know that your team overcame the unpredictable. There are always so many people cheering at you and congratulating you for your heroic feat! Heavenly Father wants us to work hard and make wise decisions in this life so we can return to him again! If we do what is right and follow the Saviors example set for us, we will achieve Eternal Life, which means that we can live with Heavenly Father and our families for us! there are so many people cheering us on and when we make it, just imagine the feeling of VICTORY!!!!!!!!!

     Heavenly Father loves us and he wants us to be the great players that he made us to be. We all are apart of His team and we can do it!

Are Mormons; Latter-Day Saints, Christians?

     As Elder Waltman and myself have been out proselyting and trying to share with people the Book of Mormon, It seems that there are folks who believe that we don't believe in Jesus Christ the way that Christians do. That really shocked my brain because I thought that I was a Christian. A Christian is defined as one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. This blog entry is to answer the thought provoking question of if Mormons are Christians? I am going to share what The Church of Jesus Christ beliefs are and if they do or do not support if others think we are Christian or not.

• The name of our church has as well as supports Jesus Christ's name. As a missionary, we were black name tags with these words on them because we believe we are representatives of the Savior Jesus Christ.

• On the front of the Book of Mormon, it says is smaller print, another testament of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon testifies that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that his incredible example touched the people living in the American Continents during the same time period that the Bible took place.

• The Mormon belief is that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins by being chosen to be our Redeemer and Advocate. He was sent to Earth to be a sacrifice for sin because all of us sin and make mistakes and no unclean thing can stand to be in the presence of God. The only way we can return to Heavenly Father is through the Savior Jesus Christ.

     I know that Jesus Christ is real because he has been there in my life when I needed him! Without his compassion and love, I would not be on a mission and I don't want to even think where I would be in life. I have been taught about Jesus Christ ever since I was a young lad and I always remember the respect and love that was talked about him whenever someone in church talked about him. It does not matter if someone does not think that I'm a Christian because of my religion. The fact of the matter is is that I know Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World and he has given me opportunities to learn of him. I believe in Christ!