What to Hunt For?

This week I would like to tell a story about Eric. This story about Eric took place hundreds of years ago, about 420 years before Jesus Christ came to earth. Eric loves to hunt! Since he loves to hunt he thought he would go to his favorite forest to hunt in. As Eric was out hunting he admired the many things in the outdoors, the trees and the birds singing, the slow trickling water running in the bottom of the valley. He decided to stop and think about how all these things were made, and how they all moved so perfectly without anything making them move.
Eric's dad was just a good man! In fact a prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ! He loved the Savior and tried to teach his family and all those around him about Christ. He helped other whenever he could. He taught his son, Eric, many of the things which were to come and how believing in Christ can help him.
While Eric was hunting in his favorite forest, he pondered the many things that his father taught him. He thought long and hard about how it applied to him. He decided to kneel down and pray to his Heavenly Father. As he did he had what he called a wrestle before god. He went back and fourth about the things his father taught and how they can really help him. This is what the spirit taught him! The spirit taught him: How to repent and as he did it, he felt the spirit testify that he was forgiven. After he was forgiven he asked the Lord, "Lord how is it done?" And the Lord said "because of they faith in Christ whom you have never seen." He learned that it was because the Lord will come and atone for his sins, like he has done now for us all! After Eric learned this, he decided that he wanted to help all others feel the same thing he did!
 This is one of my favorite scriptures "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." This is too my testimony and my purpose! To help others come unto Him and come to know him just as these children are coming to know Him!

We too can have this same experience. We can all share this experience as well! It is fun to share what you know about Jesus Christ and what he has done for you and your friends! Jesus Christ loves us all! He really died for us and after all that has been said the most important Knowledge of Christ is, That he lives! I know he does! He wants us all to return and enjoy life with him!

Holy Holiday

As this Easter season has been coming to a close, I have been pondering upon the things that God try's to teach us and how often he teaches us those things. As I was thinking one day i thought what is the purpose of Easter? Then I thought to think of Christ.... then I thought what is the purpose of Christmas then? My answer that came in my head was "to think of Christ." I thought wow how often does god help us think of his son Jesus Christ? As I thought about this I realized every national holiday can be tied to Jesus Christ and his Atonement. The first big holiday of the year is New years day a time to "start over new" in one word that means "repent" next would be valentines day. As Christ was asked in matt. 22:36 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" He replied in 37-40 "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 we are to truly remember what love is, and to love our neighbor as our selves. 

The next holiday is St. Patrick's day which is about "the luck of the Irish" or in the gospel terms "the blessings we get." Next is Easter about the resurrection and being "reborn again", it is interesting to me how in the space of only tree or four months we need another reminder of repentance. Mothers day will be the next one I can think of and it is to help us appreciate what our mothers do. All through the scriptures you see that women and especially mothers are important to god and he loves and takes care of them. The next is fathers day, this helps us remember our fathers hope fully pointing us to god, who is our father in heaven. There is memorial day  to remember our kindred dead, and a reminder to do our family history work. July 4, is to find Joy in our country and the constitution and remember the hand that god had in the founding of our nation.
I will just list a few other main holiday's and tell their purpose, there is Veterans day a day to remember to fight for the things we love. The Book of Mormon says "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole." (Alma 46:12) Which rallied his troops to fight for righteousness and they were so great an army that not one died among them. Thanks giving to help us give thanks to god for the blessings we have received, Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ, and look to the many gifts he gave to us! Then on to new years again! God has given us all these holidays to remind us that he is there and that he wants us to live his doctrine which is: Faith, Repentance, Following the Holy Ghost, being Baptized, and Enduring to the End. With these holidays all through the year it allows us to choose to serve God or to serve mammon (Matt. 6:24; 3 Nephi 13:24) if we remember what the holiday is really here for then we can have it help us serve God, if we forget why we celebrate these holidays it takes us one step farther to serving mammon. "O how great the goodness of our God!" (2 Nephi 9:10) He remembers to remind us to remember him by giving us these great holidays throughout the year! How have you recognized the hand of God in your holidays this year?