a new day...

There is an age old question that was asked by Job in the Bible. "If a man die, shall he live again?"

I think that every single person has had to ask themselves this question at some point in their lives. Whatever one chooses to believe, it's something that we naturally ponder when we know we will someday face death.

In a talk titled "Life is Eternal" from President Ezra Taft Benson, he states this so perfectly:

“What mortal being, responding to that mystical instinct that earthly dissolution is at hand, has not contemplated what lies beyond the grave?

“What mortal being, upon whom has descended that strange and serene resignation that life’s journey is about at an end, has not thought about that eternal destination and what might be there?"

Along with thinking about death as we approach old age, I think we also ponder death and what's next when we have someone near to us pass away. My dear family friend Brendon passed away last week at the age of 20 and it really made me stop and think about this matter. Brendon had his whole life ahead of him but, does that mean it ended if he left his mortal life? I testify to you that the answer is no. I know that Brendon is still living. 

What does it really mean to "pass away?" Where is Brendon right now? 

When someone passes from this life, their body stays here on earth. But what happens to their spirit? Their spirit enters into a place called the spirit world. The spirit world is a place of learning and preparation. Our memories from this life will follow us there. In the spirit world people either live in a state of happiness and rest or in a state of torment based upon the decisions that they made in this life and whether they chose to follow Jesus Christ and used His Atonement or not. Although death does not change your personality or desires, for those that never had the opportunity to learn of Christ and His gospel here on earth, will be given that opportunity in the spirit world. Heavenly Father has prepared a way for all of His children to learn of Him and choose to follow His Son Jesus Christ to return to their home with their Father. I know that Brendon is in the spirit world right now learning more about His Father's plan for him and that he is in a state of happiness and rest.

But then what? Let me give a brief explanation of this glorious part of God's plan...

Jesus Christ will one day return to this earth and after this takes place, we will all be resurrected. When Jesus Christ was crucified and died on the cross, His spirit went to the spirit world and His body rested in the tomb. Three days later He rose from the dead- His body and spirit were once again reunited. His body was in it's perfect form and was free from physical death ever again. Because He did this most wonderful thing, we all will have that same blessing. After death we will one day be reunited with our bodies and we will live forever. Immortality is a gift to all. How lucky are we?? We truly are loved. We then are judged by God according to our actions and the desires of our hearts. We then hopefully receive eternal life and live with our Father and families once again if we prove ourselves worthy of that blessing...but I'll explain more of that another time!

I want to testify that I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that because He lives, all of those that have passed on live as well. The prophet Abinadi in the Book of Mormon so beautifully testifies of this in Mosiah 16...

"And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.

But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ."

The grave will have no victory over us. I know that there truly is life after death. Just like we will always have a new day here on this earth, I know that death is just another new day into the next part of our eternal lives. Death is not the end, it is the beginning. 

I know that Brendon still lives and I find comfort in knowing that his family will see him again. Although there is sorrow in losing a loved one, most of all, there is hope.

you were only waiting for this moment to arise...

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these sunken eyes and learn to see. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise."

Growing up, one of my favorite songs was "Blackbird" by the infamous Beatles. I loved the soft melody of the song and the imagery of learning to fly. It wasn't until a few years ago that the song was much more than that and I realized that I could completely relate to that little blackbird. The song now means so much more to me and it is an example of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Let me share my story of how I came to find this new meaning...

I was born and raised into a Christian home with a firm belief in Jesus Christ. Growing up we sang songs about Him in church and we learned about His life during Sunday School but I only ever had a shallow understanding of Him and His role for us. As a teenager I lost interest in church and by the time I was off at school and on my own it was never a priority or a desire and I lived my life the way that I wanted to. I lived my life in a way that I thought would bring me happiness.

Well, years later I finally came to the realization that nothing I was doing was bringing me real happiness. It wasn't until I was backed into a corner when I truly had a desire to look to God, rather than myself, for the things that I felt were missing. I found myself praying and going to church again and I felt like I had found the true path to happiness. I got to a point where I had to leave my old way of living behind and trust in my Heavenly Father and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Within this experience I had the scary but incredible opportunity to leave my past behind and change by turning to Jesus Christ and repenting. This is when I truly began to understand that Jesus Christ is more than this person that we read of in the scriptures. He is truly our Savior and Redeemer. 

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly..."

Through this experience I felt myself giving all of the broken pieces of my life and of myself over to Him, and with time He mended and fixed every last piece. With these things being fixed, I had the ability AND the desire to go and continue on my path to my Heavenly Father.

"Take these sunken eyes and learn to see..."

Before this piece of my life, I didn't really have anything to hope for. I was kind of just living day to day and never had a thought for tomorrow. Through Jesus Christ, my perspective of life was changed. I truly was looking at everything through new eyes. I was able to see past my trials and tribulations and see that God had much more planned for me. There is so much joy in this life and in the knowledge that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven.

"You were only waiting for this moment to arise."

Whether they realize it or not, I feel like everyone is seeking this in their lives. They are seeking to be fixed. They are seeking to change. They are seeking to be truly happy. Jesus Christ will always be the only and true way to finding all of these things. Because Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for each of us individually, He knows what we're going through and feeling. He knows how to comfort us and uplift us. (Alma 7:11-12 in the Book of Mormon) Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we are cleansed from past transgressions and we are enabled to change and carry on through this mortal life with power. Coming to understand and truly feel this was something that I had been waiting my entire mortal life. It's something that I'm still learning to understand and feel more and more each day.

Christ knows the way out and the way up and if we truly give ourselves to Him, He will make us whole. I testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has the ability to change lives and to change hearts. I testify that we come to know who Jesus Christ is to us personally when we give ourselves to Him. When we finally grow tired of carrying our burdens and our struggles, there is one who will ALWAYS take them from us. He will always be there. He will always be our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So go on and give yourself to Him and start flying little blackbird.

Homeward Bound

Last week as my companion and I were leaving an appointment out in the country, it started to get really dark and there were a lot of windy roads so, naturally I turned the brights on. I immediately was like, "WHOA! I can see so much more now!" This is something so silly but I am always amazed how our vision and our sight increase in the dark once we turn those brights on. 

I relate this to how so many of us lose sight of our purpose and what the heck we're doing here on earth. Just like our vision increases as we turn on our brights at night, our eternal vision increases as we remember where we came from.  When we take time to think about who we really are and where we were before this life, we can more fully understand our purpose and our potential. 

Before we came here to this earth, we lived as spirits with our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. We grew and developed. Because Heavenly Father loves us so much, He created a plan for us to become more like Him and live up to our divine potential as His children. Part of that plan was us coming to earth to gain a body like Him and to obtain experiences and trials that would help us grow in character and in faith. We chose to follow this plan and chose to follow our Savior Jesus Christ before we came to earth.

There is a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that so beautifully explains our experience in our pre-earth life and what might have been going through our minds as we made the decision to come here.....

"We do not know many details about life in that premortal sphere, but we do know some. Our Heavenly Father has revealed to us who He is, who we are, and who we can become.

Back in that first estate, you knew with absolute certainty that God existed because you saw and heard Him. You knew Jesus Christ, who would become the Lamb of God. You had faith in Him. And you knew that your destiny was not to stay in the security of your premortal home. As much as you loved that eternal sphere, you knew you wanted and needed to embark on a journey. You would depart from the arms of your Father, pass through a veil of forgetfulness, receive a mortal body, and learn and experience things that hopefully would help you grow to become more like Father in Heaven and return to His presence.

In that sacred place, surrounded by those you knew and loved, the great question on your lips and in your heart must have been “Will I return safely to my heavenly home?”

There were so many things that would be out of your control. Mortal life would be hard at times, filled with unexpected bends in the road: sickness, heartbreak, accidents, conflict.

Without a memory of your previous existence—without remembering that you once walked with your Father in Heaven—would you still recognize His voice amid all the noise and distractions of mortal life?

The journey ahead seemed so long and uncertain—so filled with risk.

It wouldn’t be easy, but you knew it was worth every effort.

So, there you stood on the edge of eternity, looking forward with unspeakable excitement and hope—and, I imagine, also with a degree of worry and fear.

In the end, you knew God would be just—that His goodness would triumph...

And a great step forward …

And here you are!

You have, each one of you, embarked on your own wonderful journey back to your heavenly home!"

This image that President Uchtdorf painted so wonderfully helps us understand that this life is truly a journey, a journey back to our Heavenly Father.

There was a period in my life when I did not recognize God or have an understanding of who He is. That was not something of importance to me. I will never forget the part of my journey that led me back to that knowledge of where I came from. It gave my life a whole new meaning. Shortly after receiving this sweet testimony I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel when their song "Homeward Bound"scratched across the record player. I sat and pondered on the title of that song and I immediately had this overwhelming feeling that I was finally back on my path to my Heavenly Father. I was truly "Homeward Bound." 

I want to bear testimony of what President Uchtdorf shared above, Heavenly Father has truly revealed to us who He is, who we are and who we can become. My favorite part of the hymn More Holiness Give Me, are the words, "..more longing for home." I invite each of us to truly take time to remember where we came from and where we want to be- back with our Heavenly Father- and to truly feel more longing for our eternal home with Him.

 Life is full of windy roads like the ones here in the South. When we think about where those windy roads are taking us, that's when the brights turn on and we are better able to make it home safely.  May we all make the decisions and live in a way so that we can truly be "Homeward Bound."

Papa, can you hear me?

This past week I have been putting a lot of thought into who God really is. I think the most important thing we can recognize and come to know is that God is our loving Heavenly Father. Wait what? God is our Heavenly Father? Then that must mean that I am a child of God! Whoa. Let's go a bit further into this truth shall we?

I love how beautifully our former Prophet President Gordon B. Hinckley puts this profound truth:

"I believe without equivocation or reservation in God, the Eternal Father. He is my Father, the Father of my spirit, and the Father of the spirits of all men. He is the great Creator, the Ruler of the Universe. … In His image man was created. He is personal. He is real. He is individual. He has “a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (D&C 130:22).

In the account of the creation of the earth, “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).

Could any language be more explicit? Does it demean God, as some would have us believe, that man was created in His express image? Rather, it should stir within the heart of every man and woman a greater appreciation for himself or herself as a son or daughter of God. …"

This is something that is so important for us to remember every day- that we were created in the image of God. There have been many many times in my life where I get down on myself and I just feel so imperfect and so weak! Then the Spirit reminds me that I was created in the image of my Father in Heaven, which means that I have the potential to become like Him someday through His Son and my Savior Jesus Christ.

Another really important thing we understand when we know who God is to us personally is the importance of prayer and the blessing that it is! For some reason when I think about talking to my Heavenly Father I can't help thinking of Barbara Streisand in one of her movies singing "Papa, can you hear me?"  And in answer to her question in an eternal sense, yes Barbara, God hears you and your prayers!

Just like our earthly fathers here want to hear from us and know how we're doing, what's going on in our life, our questions and concerns, our Father in Heaven wants the same. Prayer is how we communicate with our Heavenly Father and tell Him the things of our hearts. Prayer is how we can gain a testimony that He is really there. I testify through my own personal experiences that Heavenly Father truly hears our prayers and answers them in His own time.

I have had experiences in my life of what life is like when we know that God is our Heavenly Father and when we lose sight of that. When we remember who God is and who WE are as well, life has purpose and more meaning. We have hope.