The Finished Product

Once upon a time there was a poor starving college student who had the desire to become a great artist. He wanted to move people with the beauty and style of his art. So he signed up to take a pottery class…figuring it would be an easy art to master. The first day he sat down on his potter's wheel, took a ball of clay in his hands, and went straight to work. He molded and worked with it for hours, feeling the rhythm of the wheel, forming a shape in his hands, and smoothing out the uneven spots.
At the end he was covered in clay but he had FINALLY made a pot. The teacher came, studied the pot for a moment, and said "That's good, but I know you can do even better." Then in one dramatic moment the student watched his teacher smash the pot! The teacher didn't want to teach the student just how to make a pot—not to make a common product—but to make a beautiful masterpiece fit for a King’s castle.
Do you ever feel like that art student? Going throughout life, trying hard to do what's right? Trials come, mistakes are made, and your clay pot gets smashed! It’s all a part of enduring to the end…..enduring those smashing-of-the-pot moments because you KNOW that with the Lord’s help, He can make your life better.
Jesus Christ is our Master Teacher. He taught that through faith in Him, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and then ENDURING TO THE END…our lives will be beautiful, and the end product will be a masterpiece. Then, like the clay pot, we will be FIT to dwell in His kingdom forever!

The Heavens Opened

I love the beauties of New York! When it rains and the air is thick, blankets of clouds draw close to the ground, as if the heavens have come to rest on the earth.

Do you ever wonder if the heavens are opened, if the Lord can speak to us today? God does love us and He answers our prayers. Many think that the heavens are sealed, that God cannot speak to us. But He can!

There once was a boy named Joseph who was told that the heavens were sealed.

In a grove of beautiful New York trees, he knelt and prayed. He pleaded the heavens would open, that God would answer his humble question: Is there one true church on the Earth? As he was praying, he saw a pillar of light over His head. In amazement he looked up and saw two glorious beings. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared and spoke to Joseph. Through this answer to a prayer, Heavenly Father restored the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth once again. Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, to speak for God, and the heavens were opened.

I know that through the words of a living prophet and by our own personal communication with God we can know how to find heaven on earth.

M. Russell Ballard said, “Perhaps the most important lesson young Joseph learned in the Sacred Grove is this significant eternal truth: the heavens are not sealed. God loves us. God does communicate with mortals. What comfort that sweet assurance provides in a world filled with confusion and discouragement! What peace and security come to the heart that understands that God in heaven knows us and cares about us”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWAoKTj7Y30

The Secret

So what is THE SECRET to happiness? People say that they have found the ultimate "formula" to lasting joy and success. You can read books upon books and flip through endless amounts of magazines. You can buy all the free DVDs and CDs that the experts have to offer. Some say it's all in your look...get on your glam! Others exclaim it's found in a successful business making millions. There are those that think it’s in the power of your thoughts or self-awareness. Several say it starts in the comfort of a loving home, surrounded by family and friends. It is true; all these things can bring happiness to the seeker. But TRUE happiness—the feeling that lasts through the good, bad, and crazy parts of life—has one simple formula. True happiness = Jesus Christ


"The gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers to all of our problems. The gospel is not a secret. It is not complicated or hidden. It can unlock the door to true happiness. It is not someone’s theory or proposition. It does not come from man at all. It springs from the pure and everlasting waters of the Creator of the universe, who knows truths we cannot even begin to comprehend. And with that knowledge, He has given us the gospel—a divine gift, the ultimate formula for happiness and success."–Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Through Jesus Christ we can be happy! Through Jesus Christ we can be free from our sins! Through Jesus Christ we can live with our loved ones for eternity! Through living His gospel and keeping his commandments we can become free from the heavy clouds of the world. I know Jesus Christ “the secret” and He invites everyone to come into His arms and receive His joy.

All For Freedom

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
--Franklin D. Roosevelt

I stood there, with my hand over my heart as I watched the casket go by, draped in red, white, and blue. I could not stop the tears from swelling. I did not know her, but I loved her. She was one, among thousands, who had given their lives for this great country of America. All for our freedom, for our families, and for our happiness. I dedicate this to her.
She was a young woman who was killed overseas while protecting this country. It yanked at my heart strings because she was my age, starting the beginnings or her life. Yet, she gave me the opportunity, the GIFT, of FREEDOM.
Freedom isn't free! Someone has to pay the price. It is not bestowed upon us, but it is achieved. When I get down on my hands and knees tonight I will thank God for her choice to serve. I will thank Him for all the valiant men and women who fight for our liberty, for the mothers and fathers who wait strongly for their return, and for the wives, husbands, or children who sacrifice their most loved and cherished ones.

I am grateful for a Savior, who paid the ultimate price of freedom. I know that He died, that we may live. I know He made a sacrifice for sin. He made this sacrifice so we can see our loved ones again, and dwell forever in happiness.
This Independence Day, may we all thank God for the men and women who lay down their lives for freedom sake. And may we all thank God for the freeing power of his Son, Jesus Christ.