The Prayer to Pass

I was asked to share a spiritual experience I had from this past semester at school in Sacrament meeting, but Church was canceled due to snow. So I posted what I was going to say here on my Blog! It's not very long because it was only supposed to take up 2-3 minutes.

At school I learned a lot. I learned about the duality of matter, and quarks and totally bizarre theories about relativity. I learned how to analyze artwork and after this past semester I can say that I can dance a pretty mean polka. All of these things are great, but I also learned things on the spiritual level, but specifically prayer. Although prayer is a pretty simple concept, I learned there is much more to it than closing your eyes and bowing your head. Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 states "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” At school I learned how this scripture applied to my goals. If I studied hard, I could call upon the Lord for the help I needed. I took a math class this past semester and the entire semester I was flirting with the pass/fail line. It got to the point where one final test would determine whether or not I passed the class. I started studying a week in advance for this test and on the day of the test I studied for 4 hours before I took it. I got to the testing center, pretty confidently (I had spent countless hours going over the material), got my test, found a seat, took out a #2 pencil and finally looked at the test. I wanted to cry. I looked at it and literally thought I had gotten the wrong packet. This wasn’t math, this was Egyptian. At the top of the packet listed the course name and the professor so I was really out of luck. At this point, the only thing I could do was pray. So I prayed and prayed hard. I wasn’t asking for an A, just a passing grade. As I prayed the scripture from D&C came to mind. “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say.” The best part of my situation was that I had done what the lord had said, therefore, I qualified for his promise. I finished praying and started on the exam. There were 20 questions and I think I only had to guess on about 20 of them. I finished my educated guesses and walked downstairs to see my score and I stand before you today and testify of the power of prayer. Not only did I pass the test, but it saved my life, my mom would kill me if I failed a class. I know that my prayer to pass was answered because I had kept the Lord’s commandments. I testify to you that for any situation, if you keep the commandments to live worthily of God’s promise, then He will bless you when you call upon Him. Prayer is much more than asking to “nourish and strengthen us,” it is asking the Lord to fulfill his promise because we have lived worthily. Amen.

With Every End Comes a New Beginning

It has been incredibly hard getting myself ready to depart from my current residence at BYU. I have had such an uplifting experience here in Provo and it just kills me that I have to leave. I've learned so much, not only academics, but spiritual knowledge, as well as knowledge about myself. I've come to appreciate the ancient words of the prophets as well as the words of the prophet today. I feel so indebted to my Heavenly Father for my countless blessings. I have had so much fun, met amazing people, and learned so much. I'm getting ready to leave for a mission in February and I know this is a way I can express my gratitude toward God, by extending my service to my fellow children of God. My experience here as a Freshman in college has been such an enlightening one, I can only thank the Lord and my parents for it.

On the topic of gratitude, I feel it necessary that I need to be more grateful. I need to appreciate people for who they are and learn from what they have to offer. My roommates have taught me this lesson. By observing the other guys my age, but from different backgrounds, I have learned so much. From Curtis, I learned the value of listening. More often than not, it is easiest to avoid conflict by letting some one speak their mind without interruption. From Conner, I learned organization. Organization leads to less stress and anxiety. From Alec, I learned determination. Practice makes perfect, and when you struggle if you're just starting out, keep at it and eventually you might be decent at whatever it is you set out to do. From Jordan, I learned the value of an embrace. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of giving hugs, especially to other dudes, but Jordan taught me to be there for someone if needed.

I am at a loss of words to express how I feel at this present time. I am filled with more grief than I am worry. However, I am so grateful for the time i have been able to spend here in Provo and I can't wait to get back. But in the mean time, I know that I need to prove to my God that I am truly grateful and that I am his servant.

I want to optimistic about being away from school and not on a mission for the next two months, so I will do all that I can to better myself. I'm going to study my scriptures and improve my handwriting. I know that I need to keep myself busy or else I will just sit and stew. If anyone has any ideas as to how to make 2 months fly by. Let me know.

Again, I am filled with so much gratitude for the time I have been able to spend here at BYU.

Adiós

Christmas!

Like in so many other ways, my older sister Ashley inspired me. So I am going to make a Christmas List on my blog!

To get it out of the way,
WORLD PEACE


I love Star Wars and this is the newest and coolest Star Wars game! Gotta have it!


I would also like a pair of these bad boys

But if I don't get those I could settle for these

"Just Dance" is probably one of the funnest games out there, so Just Dance 2 should be even better!

We used to have one of these waffle irons when I was a kid, so I think it would be great to get a new one! I love mickey!

But I would REALLY like one of these for all my classes...

Well there you have it! Santa you better be watching! I've been real good this year!