You Never Know When Someone is Watching or Listening

I'm at a Global Leadership conference in Turkey. I was talking with an influential man from Texas and he asked if I was Mormon, I responded, "yes".

He then complimented me and told me the following story. He said, "I was at a restaurant one day and noticed a group of clean cut young men, they were all wearing suits. I knew they were Mormon missionaries.  This seemed a little out of the ordinary so I decided to sit nearby and listen to what they were saying. I was so impressed by their conversation. They were upbeat, positive and talking about how to serve others. I was amazed that young men would have that type of conversation!"

He couldn't say enough positive things about "the Mormons".

I'm grateful that those missionaries decided to be positive and uplifting that day. They could just as easily complained about their area, an investigator, or anything else. They never knew that someone was listening in on their conversation. Those missionaries will never know the influence they had on this man as a result of that conversation.

How many of our actions, conversations, and ideas are actually observed...when we think nobody is watching or listening?

This is a good reminder to be ever vigilant and try to adopt the lifestyle of the Savior at all times.  We may never realize when our word or action makes the difference in the life of someone else, for good or for bad!

Book Suggestion

I don't do this often, but I'd like to recommend a book which was recently recommended to me by my sister-in-law. Unfortunately it is a bit pricey and I could only find it at Deseret Book. In the first few pages, I quickly realized it was worth it.

It's a compilation of scripture, with no intermediate interpretation. It takes verses from the first four gospels, the BOM, D&C, and the JST - it combines select verses from each book and combines each of these together in a chronological sequence. It's about the same length as the four gospels combined.

This is a powerful book and shows what happens when you combine modern revelation (D&C) with the BOM and New Testament. It's amazing how well they compliment each other!

How to Find Protection from the Adversary

Elder Scott recently stated to the youth “Immerse yourself in searching for your ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple, and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. As you grow older you will be able to participate in receiving the other ordinances as well. I can think of no greater protection from the influence of the adversary in your life."

I agree with Elder Scott.  

Why does this combination of searching out those who have gone before, then taking those names to the temple carry such power, for the youth as well as adults?

I have had several personal and great experiences, I would even go so far as to use the word "miracles", while searching out the names of our family and taking them to the temple. These were far more powerful experiences than mere coincidence.

If you want some wonderful and sacred experiences, search out your ancestors and take their names to the temple - those experiences will come. Is all it takes is a little desire and a willingness to actually do something (act). If nothing else, just login to the website below and start going through your history.

A good start is to login to www.new.familysearch.org.

A Cool Video

This is a pretty awesome video. Someone once said, "If the hand of the Lord wasn't involved in the church, its young missionaries would have destroyed it a long time ago!" It was said somewhat jest-fully,  but the point is accurate. The Lord uses young men and young women to accomplish a significant portion of his work.

When you look around the world at what the majority of 18 and 19 yr olds are doing, this is actually quite amazing! Kudos to whoever made this video from Olympus High School. What a band of brothers and sisters! It's fun to watch a testimony of the gospel and atonement begin to grow within my own children.

Enjoy the video.