On This Day 11 Years ago. . .

    Today is the 5th of July, 2014. Yesterday was my 3rd favorite holiday (behind Christmas and Mothers Day) Independence Day. Every year, this day for me usually entails picking up fireworks in the street from last night, and relaxing and sometimes going boating. But the 5th of July that has been most memorable for me was the one 11 years ago when I was Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

    So 11 years ago today I just turned 8 years old on the 16th of June. Now for kids that grow up in the Church, turning 8 years old is a big deal, they all look forward to it and can't wait for it, because when they turn 8 that is when they can be Baptized.

    The reason why it's 8 is because that's the age that Heavenly Father knows that children are ready to be accountable for their own actions. Christ taught us that "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." So Children are those who will enter into the kingdom of Heaven, and those who become like them. And the Prophet Moroni in the Book of Mormon tell us why that is. That a doctor doesn't come to heal people that are healthy, but the sick. And Christ didn't come to save those who are without sin, but the sinners. And really think of the last time you held new born in your arms. Could you see, feel, or think of anything that this little one that would make them not worthy to enter into God's presence? Truth be told, I've only held one baby in my life, it was my baby niece right before I left, I was scared out of my mind I'd drop her. But the point is, that she is is perfect, and doesn't need any forgiveness.

    So anyway, when I as 7 turning 8 my parents, being the super awesome people they are never once imposed that I was going to be baptized when I turned 8. It was always my choice. It wasn't a "we're going to talk to the bishop and figure out when you are going to get baptized." kind of thing, or even a "when do you want to get baptized thing." they always made sure that it was my choice and something I wanted to do. Even though they are extremely strong members of the church, and they know that that is what I needed to do, they never once did anything like that. They taught me about Christ though, and why he was baptized. And about Joseph Smith and the Priesthood being restored. And about what was so important about Baptism and why we need it.


   I remember a few days after my 8th birthday I actually went to go ask my mom about my baptism, because I knew I needed to be baptized. I learned about it in Primary and from my Parents. And I wanted to be Baptized. I asked her something like "Mom, why haven't you or Dad talked about my baptism?" and She said back "Well do you want to be baptized?" I said, "Well yeah, I was wondering why we hadn't talked about it." The conversation went something like that, I can't quite remember it all, I was 8 years old, give me a break.

    So we got my baptism all set up and I only remember a few things of my baptism. One of them was that my older brother Andy was the one to baptize me. Another thing that my parents let me chose, who baptized me. Looking back I wasn't thinking at all. I don't know why but I didn't think at all that I should have my dad baptize me. But my first choice was to have my oldest brother Dave baptize me, but he was out of town working in Alaska at the time, and no I haven't really forgiven him yet for not being there for my baptism. But so he wasn't there so Andy was the one to do it, which was awesome. I remember practicing (out of water) with him in my parent's bedroom before hand. Another thing I remember was how weird it was going into the font and wearing long pants, it was thee weirdest feeling on my legs to go into water with pants on, another thing that proves I was only 8 at the time. Then I remember when I got the Holy Ghost, how many people were in the circle. My Dad was the one that Confirmed me. And in the Circle were my grandpa's, my uncles, and I'm pretty sure Brother Bovee was there, if not I really hope he was. But I remember how great the feeling was in that circle.

    So that is the story of my baptism. Now I don't remember all the details, but I do know that I was baptized by the proper authority of God. Now what I want to do next is to stop writing. This Monday (when us missionaries get to email home) I'm going to ask my mom to write what she remembers about my baptism, and find some pictures of it. I'm sure her account will be a lot more detailed (and factual) and I'm sure it will be a lot more meaningful. So I'll get that up soon, and I really hope that you read that one, a lot more then I hope you read this one.

   Love you all, be encouraged. Have fun. Be Nice.

Have Miracles Ceased?

    I was healed by the Power of God.

    Acts 3: 1-8
1. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered int other temple;
3. Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4. And Peter, Fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7. And he took him by the right hand, and lifter him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 
8. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

    So here we have a tale from the Bible of a Miracle. A man, due to his mortal imperfections could not walk. But after the act of a man who held the Power of God, He Walked. 

    How Is This Possible?

    Nothing in natural science could possibly explain this, that a man who was crippled since birth could suddenly one day walk with out the need of surgeries, therapy or any kind of medical assistance. But simply a man walked up to the cripple, took him by the hand, helped him up, then he could walk. It Doesn't Make Sense!?! How Could It?!?

    The Power of the Priesthood
    

    In the Church of Jesus Christ, we have our core beliefs which are found in the 13 Article's and Faith written by Joseph Smith. 13 Articles of Faith. The Seventh article states that "we believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth." I have seen my brother healed by the Priesthood, after he fell onto a cement driveway onto his head, I've seen a close friend of mine healed after he fell 6 feet onto his head breaking a vertebrate in his neck (he's now walking and serving a mission in Japan) and now I want to add my testimony and experience to theirs.

    A Miracle

    So as we all know missionaries on their Preparation Days love to get together and play basketball. And if you've had a missionary out, then you would know that basketball is the cause of most missionaries injuries. So we were playing basketball on a Preparation Day and I went up for a rebound against good old Elder Howell and I got bumped in just the wrong way to dislocate my shoulder, again. I'd done it once before about a year ago, and once it's out the first time, it's really easy to pop it out again. 

    Now if any of you have popped your shoulder out of socket before, then you know. It's extremely painful. There's no other way to say it, it hurts a lot. And the kicker of it is that it is a constant pain. It doesn't reside, it just stays there until you get it put back in. 

Shoulders should not look like that

    So when I got bumped and it came out of place, and we had to figure out what do, the first thing was have the other Elders there give me a blessing. Now blessings are not given by out by our own will. It is only through the Lord's will that they come to pass. So when giving a blessing, having the Holy Ghost with you is a must, because he puts His words, in your mouth and then you know what to say and what to bless and promise with the blessing. For more information on blessings Elder Oaks give a great talk on it. So all the Elders got in a circle around me and placed their hands on my head, and the Elder acting as voice for the blessing gave an amazing inspired blessing. He blessed me that I would be healed, that I would be able to continue to function and work the rest of the day and the rest of the week. He said a few other things, then closed in the name of Jesus Christ. 

    My companion and I went to the urgent care center and got it put back in, not pleasant let me tell you, and the doctor there set me up for an appointment with his surgeon, a very well educated and experienced surgeon, to have him look at it to see if there was more we needed to do. I had to wear a sling around for two days, which wasn't a lot of fun, but I dealt with it because I wanted to make sure everything went right. We went to the surgeon and he worked with me for a bit and said that I would need surgery to tighten  my tendon's to keep it in place and it wouldn't be a permanent problem. And we know that  Haitian's Floss could work but would be only a temporary fix. But the real kicker was that the whole time I was thinking, "You got a Priesthood Blessing, and in it you were promised by the Spirit that you would be healed." I decided not to go with the surgery, and that I would do some therapy to strengthen it. But what I was really saying to myself was that I would put my trust in God's Power to help me.
everything up so that It wouldn't be a problem in the future. The surgery would have involved about a 5 day recovery where I really couldn't do anything, then a 5 week recovery of being in a cast, which means no bike riding (and if you've read about

    Now in logic sense and in most all circumstance I would completely agree with what the doctor said and agree with his judgement. And I am not saying to openly disregard a professional's advice, and counsel. They're smart. They've gone to tons of school for these things and they know what they are doing. Take there advice.

    But in this case I was promised by someone who was ordained and set apart as a servant of God and who was given " power to heal sicknesses" (Mark 3: 15) and the next day I woke up, took my sling off and haven't had to use it sense. I've been a little sore and stiff, but It's been almost two weeks and I've been riding my bike, out working all day, and even playing a little basketball (but definitely nothing very extreme). The only reason I can explain that this is possible is from being healed by the power of God.

    Does this seem miraculous? Is it coincidence? Is is the Power of God? or me just being stupid? In my opinion, it's a combination of all but the second one.

    God still heals us, Spiritually and Physically. I was healed Physically, so I can go out and help others be healed Spiritually. In our Zone Conference a few days ago we had another General Authority talk to us and he told us a very simple divine truth, that everyone dies spiritually and it is ONLY through God we can be healed, and that truth of being Healed is incredible. And it can only be fully accessed though Baptism into Christ's Church though his Authority.

    I am a missionary for Christ's Church, and my humble plea is to invite all to enjoy the full blessings that can only come through Christ's Atonement. If you are a Member of the Church then you know about this already and have already taken steps towards that. My invitation to you is to help those who are not yet on the path, by Inviting Them Into Your Home to Meet the Missionaries. If you are not a Member of Christ's Church, then my invitation to you is to Meet with Missionaries, ask them your questions, tell them your thoughts, and then listen to what they have to say.

    Feel free to contact me personally through Facebook.