NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION.

res·o·lu·tionˌrezəˈlo͞oSHən, noun: 

A firm decision to do or not to do something. Not as cool as...

rev·o·lu·tionˌrevəˈlo͞oSHən, noun: 

A forcible overthrow of a government or social order for a new system. For our purposes we'll go with the definition: A forcible overthrow of [our old bad habits] for a new system [that we can feel totally better with].

 

You read it right, I'm proposing a revolution. I've heard of New Year's "resolutions" but I have two problems with that: 1. that doesn't sound near as cool and/or as hard core as a "revolution" and 2. I think that New Year's "resolutions" has been used up and doesn't quite have the same power as a "revolution" does. But a revolution is a great thing when those things that are tossed forcibly out of our lives are bad things. Bad habits make it hard for us to enjoy life, have a sense of well being, and be conected with those we love. Things like being with family, expanding our worthy talents, and serving others are always great things to do and show our love for one another.  



Stick it to the devil.

God, through his prophets, has always encouraged us to revolt against those things that tear us away from Him and bring us sorrow. Because "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24) Just like in political and military struggles all throughout time; there are sides, and we have the ability to choose which one we are on. Luckily there aren't a whole lot of choices, theres just two in fact; the good guys: God and Jesus Christ and His followers and the bad guys: the devil and his followers. I know that we need to make a constant effort to keep the devil away from us, our friends, and our families. The steps are simple and the rewards are priceless.  

Through learning more about Jesus Christ and His great example we can receive great protection and help from God. In our revolting against the devil we also need to remember to become closer to God. A prophet in the Book of Mormon counseled that we need to "[become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]" (Mosiah 3:19). Our lives may not always be comfortable or easy but I know that when we persevere with patience, love, and humility we get a sense of peace; that feeling that everything is going to be okay. I know because I've been in places that weren't comfortable or easy for me to be in, and I've been able to have that peace with me. I know that pretty much everyone has had a time in their lives that wasn't comfortable or easy and that its hard when you don't feel any hope. But I know that Christ is that ultimate source of hope and direction. 

So feel free to join with me and start, or continue, the revolution against the things that take us away from what's important! The devil is lame and has got nothin' on the great feelings and experiences that come to us as we stay close to the Lord.   

 

 

 

Merry Christmas! ...Christmas Post 2011...

So... Merry Christmas! Congratulations, we made it to another Christmas day and Christmas season. And what a sweet season it has been. I know from my experience that as I strive to think more about the Savior I feel a greater sense of peace and a greater sense of what I need to do to feel more at peace. I know that peace is something that God wants us to feel and He has given us the way that we can feel all the peace we need. It's through His son, Jesus Christ. He gave us the teachings, and the perfect example, and that atonement that makes it possible for us to be, and feel, "at one" with God, our Father. I'm so grateful for that. I'm grateful for our elder brother, Jesus Christ, and His strength and His testimony, His Death and His life, and for the hope that one day we may all return with Him to our Father in Heaven. I know He lives. I know He is real. He has always invited us to come closer to Him, and He will continue to do so, forever and ever. I offer that same invitation to come closer to Jesus Christ, not only at this special time of the year, but always. For that is the right time given to us to bring ourselves closer to Him: always. I leave this with you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Rez Pez



Before Poplar



So a couple three weeks ago I was sitting in the computer lab and another missionary offered me a piece of delicious chocolate pez candy. Now, at the time I was day dreamin' of my time when I lived on the Fort Peck Rez, back in Poplar. Back in the day when McDonalds was a basic food group, Rez Dogs were our entourage, and where people could use suran wrap as a windshield. You know, the good times... I heartily accepted his generous offer and as I glanced sideways my Rez dream ladened mind changed the lettering on the wrapper from "Pez" to "Rez". My mind started Rezzin' out things in automatically. It was awesome.  Then I started to think what if we started to do that in the Gospel? The gospel offers us great teachings and, as we live them, they will just become a natural part of what we do. Jesus said "if ye love me, keep my commandments"



After Poplar

 (John 14:15). He also said, later in that same chapter, "....he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14:21) I love the Rez. So I do Rez'd out stuff and I think Rez'd out stuff. I also love Jesus Christ, and I know that when we fill our heads and our hearts with the teachings and love of Christ we too will have those automatic thoughts of the gospel. We will do Christ-like things and think Christ-like thoughts. Stay firm in your love of Christ (and of the Rez) and we will go from thinking and doing to knowing and becoming!

Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome: Marine motto or eternal principle?



Improvising, adapting, and
overcoming since 1775.

Marines are pretty hardcore; they are in a lot of situations that require them to look at what they have to work with and overcome the challenges in their way. One of the unofficial motttos for some U.S. Marine units has been: "Improvise, adapt, and overcome." It seems to work for the Marines pretty well, so I thought I'd adapt it to a lesson in the gospel. 

We'll start off with improvising...

  

 



 

Not the kind of Marine I'm talking about.

Improvise

 So what can we take from this motto to apply in our lives? While there are some other principles that God has given us lets focus on a couple-three of the basics. Time to see what tools that you have at your disposal. While Marines have months of physical conditioning and weapons ranging from anti-tank guided missiles to sharp sticks, God has given us spiritual tools that are life changing and powerful. Below are some basic principles and ideas.

Prayer: Prayer is huge. Prayer is the way that we communicate with God. Through prayer, whether silently in our hearts or out loud with others, we can express our thanks to our Father in Heaven. We can also use prayer to ask God to help us with a struggle we face or to help us to find an answer to a particular problem. 

Reading the Scriptures: The Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God. In them we can find advice and guidance from a divine source. When we make scripture study part of our lives we become more receptive to God's Spirit and we become more sensitive to His promptings. We can also search the scriptures to find answers to our prayers.

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy: Sunday is a special day. It is the day that God set apart to help us to remember Him. Blessings come to us as we keep God in our thoughts and remember to utilize His teachings in everything that we do. Attending Church is a wonderful way to remember God in our lives, grow our faith in His teachings, and experience more of His peace and love.

Adapt

 

A UNSC Marine explaining to Master Chief
 how to adapt to trials.

Adaptation is an eternal principle. We live in a world where things change all the time and while we do know that God has a plan for us sometimes we may not know the finer details, sometimes it feels like we don't know any details, and it can be easy to get lost or discouraged. But fear not, God knows whats going on in our lives and the principles that He has given us are eternal in nature, (principles like prayer, searching the scriptures, and keeping the Sabbath Day Holy) which pretty much means that they will work in any situation. Not only do they work in any situation but when we use them they help us to qualify for God's blessings! You may be thinking, "That's sounds awesome Elder Wood, but I don't have a belief in some of those things." Well, you're in luck, because God has provided a way for us to know for ourselves. God does not want us to follow His commandments out of blind obedience. He wants us to develop faith in Him and in His principles by living them and seeing for ourselves the blessings and happiness that follow using intelligent obedience. He has provided us the ability to think and to feel for ourselves that the truths that He gives us are true.



Overcome




Christ was able to overcome all
 things and, when we abide by
His teachings, we can too.

I know that when we are able to incorporate these and other truths from God in our lives that we can receive reliable, specific, careful guidance from God. I also know that when we do we can overcome any trial, hardship, challenge, or temptation that comes our way. I know this not only because I have heard of others who have been able to do the same thing, but because I have tried it myself and I know its true.









General Conference unwrapped...

So you may have heard of it. Its called General Conference. But what is it and how can you get the most out of it? Well, rest assured that is just what this blog is all about. So if you are reading this before a General Conference or if you're reading this after a General Conference just happened I can assure you that there'll be something that can help you to understand what it's all about.

So what is General Conference? General Conference is a time when the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are able to address the entire Church, and those that may not be members of the LDS Church that are interested in listening, all across the world and takes place two times during the year, once in April and again in October. The Conference center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, near the Salt Lake temple. Speakers at General Conference prepare talks and messages to share with us months in advance and they seek direction from God to share things that will best help us not only until the next General Conference but also for the rest of our lives.



The First Presidency of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Left to Right: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, President
Henry B. Eyring, and President Thomas S. Monson.





Why does this all matter? General Conference is important because its a time that we can hear the Prophet and other leaders of the Church. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we believe that we have a living prophet upon the earth much like Moses, Noah, and Abraham. And Just like those prophets of old we believe that the prophet and other leaders of the Church receive significant revelation and direction from God to give to us. What a wonderful opportunity to hear the words of God! So as you listen to their words remember that those are the same words which God would share with us.

So we know what Conference is all about and we know that it has some important messages in there for us, so how do we get the most out of it? Well, just keep readin'. President Uchtdorf, one of the top leaders of the Church, gave us some counsel to help get the most out of General Conference. I'm going to shorten the information up a little for your reading pleasure but you can read the full version here.

1.) General Conference is a time to receive answers and direction from our Father in Heaven.
We can prepare questions that we want answered ahead of time and listen for the answers as we watch General Conference.

2.) Don't discount message because it sounds familiar.
If something sounds basic and like its a no-brainer maybe its something that needs to be worked on. Most often times I find myself looking for answers to other questions when really I need to work on something so simple and fundamental.

3.) The words shared at General Conference can act as a guide for the coming months.

The words that will be shared with us will be from God and we have the opportunity to hear them and to try them and see if they are true. So remember those things that you hear and remember to try them out during the coming months, I can promise that you will find great blessings as you do so.

So I'm excited for General Conference and for your opportunity to be able to view and experience it. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that God does have a prophet on the earth today that leads and guides this Church under Jesus Christ's direction. I know that if you follow the counsel that you receive that you feel a greater sense of peace and direction and with that I close with some words from President Uchtdorf himself. "Our merciful and loving Heavenly Father has not forsaken and will not forsake His children. Today, as well as in times past, He has appointed apostles and prophets. He continues to reveal His word to them. What a marvelous privilege it is to hear God’s messages for each of us during general conference! Let us prepare well for this great blessing of divine guidance delivered by His chosen servants."

Why Do Anything?

 

WHY?!?



There have been few times in my life where I have questioned what this life is all about. Why am I here and why should I do anything? Sometimes it may feel like anytime we do something it won't really matter in the end. Well, the Restored gospel offers us hope in that in everything that we do there is a purpose.



     There are some pretty good questions floating around out there like the ones mentioned above. But, we are also all individuals with our own unique set of questions that we want answered and also goals that we want accomplished. Some of mine were: Why am I out here in Montana? Why did I make the choice to sacrifice two years of my life to serve a mission? And finally, why would I give up my regular life to live life in the Jolly Swagman Inn?

 

Our actions help us to keep our...

Those are some pretty good questions that have some pretty intertwined and intricate answers. But one thing that I think helps clear up the decisions I have made, and that we all can make, is to look at what we, as individuals, desire to become. We all have desires, things that we want or things that we want to become. But what role do these desires have in our lives? Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."

I believe that serving a mission is the right thing to do for me. I know that there are blessings associated with such service and that through my missionary experience I will have been made stronger. Now, how the heck could expect such things even though I haven't even finished my mission? Well thats where a little bit faith comes in...

Through the restored Gospel we find that faith is incredibly important. We find that the Savior Jesus Christ needed faith in order to perform the Atonement successfully. Faith is something that is necessary for many of the things that we do every day. But what does faith lead to? Well, faith inevitably leads to action. You have faith that your car will start, you turn the key, and it starts. You have faith that when you put batter into a heated oven it will become a cake, you do it and it cooks. I have faith that a mission would benefit myself and others, I started serving one, and it has. 

If you're lucky you can combine cake AND cars...

Whenever we use a desire or a want for something and exercise our faith in it enough to put it into action we are able to see the fruits of our labors.This is not just a physical phenomenon that only works when baking cakes or starting cars or even just in physical laws. It is an eternal pattern that is based on eternal principles and eternal laws that extend past the physical and extend on into the spiritual. But how can we know when we do something whether it’s true or not? Jesus Christ said, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." -John 7:17. It is here that Jesus counsels us to try out gospel doctrine and see if it is true. And when we try out his doctrine we will be able to have his Spirit to be with us and then we will be able to know that it is true. When I was first learning about Christ's gospel I wondered what the Spirit felt like. Luckily, the Apostle Paul helps us out and tells us a little bit about it. Here’s what he says: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." -Galatians 5:22-23. I know that I have been able to feel those things as I have done my best to follow the commandments. What a blessing it is to know that when we exercise faith in a principle of the gospel we are entitled to receive a confirmation of that goodness.

So the reason why we do anything is to work towards being something that we want to become. I know that our Father in Heavenly is mindful of us individually and will give us that portion of strength that we need to overcome the trials in our lives and to help bring ourselves closer to Him and his Son, Jesus Christ.

Mountain biking and the Gospel.

When thinking about the Gospel I often find patterns occur and we can often make parables to help us understand. Jesus Christ himself often taught in parables and if its good enough for Jesus, by golly, its good enough for me. And I continued to think and ponder and wonder what I should make a parable to, and you know what? I came to the conclusion that I really love mountain biking. Like, a lot. So I figured I might as well go with something that I know a little bit about. And for the most part everybodys ridden a bike before. And if theres one thing that makes mountain biking fun is pushing the limits while still staying safe. Mountain biking is supposed to be fun, not get you killed. Likewise I think of our life here on Earth. We have this big beautiful world that we are privileged to spend a little time on and God sent us here to be able to learn and to progress. When we are able to make some mistakes and learn from them we are able to bring ourselves a little bit closer to God. The old addage "live and learn" literally comes true. Likewise, mountain biking really wouldn't be too fun if we hit a jump and then crashed. But you know what? It gets less and less fun when we don't try to improve and we eat dirt every time we hit a jump thats about the same size and shape.

Mountain Biking getting less fun

But when we learn and our experience grows we can jump all sorts of obstacles; berms, rocks, logs, tree roots, everything that the trail can throw at us. It even prepares us to hit bigger obstacles, which at the time may be scary but afterwards will be a good tale to tell the kids. Likewise, I know that "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32) and when we exercise our faith in Him as we go through our trials we can become closer to being what we need to be, and, also what we want to be.  


   

Darn blogs...

So lately during the past couple three weeks I have been wondering what I could write a blog on. I have been putting it off for some time now and I needed to come unto repentance so as of right now I am going to redouble my efforts in my blog writing. I think of my past experience with blogs and I'm like, "Man I hate blogs..." But now I get to blog about the most important thing there ever was, the Gospel, not my feelings and insight on how I think Shakespeare shaped my childhood by writing "Hamlet". But one thing that I know to be true is that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith is able to help anyone in any phase of life. How? Because God loves us and knows what we need and he has provided us with the principles and ordinances that will bring us closer to Him. I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that the way that we can know of a surety is by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. In John chapter 7 Jesus' kinsmen doubt that he is the son of God so Jesus says
"My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." So if we want to know if anything that people say is true we put it to the test. So thats what we do, we invite people to put the Book of Mormon to the test and read and pray and ponder its message. I know that as you sincerely do so you will be able to know that it is true.

The People Around Us

I love people. People are the sprinkles to my donut, the frosting to my cake, the Michael to my Tito, and the Batman to my Robin. As I have been in the mission field I've had to seperate myself from people that I have known for a while. My family and ward back home, friends from highschool, my friends from college. People just in my everyday life. But you know what? When I find myelf in a new place, a new area with a new missionary to work with it's just one huge opportunity. Who of these people I now see can be my new friend? We are spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father. Surely we can aspire to love and befriend others as he loves and befriends us? One of the best scriptures that tells us of this is found in Matthew Chapter 5 Verses 44-45. Its here that he tells us to love our enemies and bless them that curse us and in verse 45 He says that we should do these things that we may be the children of him, our Father who is in Heaven. I always think, "if he asks us to bless them that curse us how much more can we do for someone we just met!?" So, in closing, people are awesome, Jesus Christ is a inspired teacher and I have faith in Him and in His teachings. I know that by following his counsel and being a blessing to lives of the people around us we can make the people around us our friends. The people that I have served and served with are my friends. I love them and I care for them. They are good people who are, like me, striving to better their relationship with our Father in Heaven and our elder brother, Jesus Christ. It is my hope that we can all better ourselves and be that good friend and blessing to those around us!

Among the Things I've Noticed

Some things that I have noticed as I have been serving as a missionary are that people are weird. Like, really weird. There are so many differences between each and every one of us. All of us have a trait or something we do that someone else thinks is just the weirdest thing they've ever seen. But another thing I've noticed is God's love for all of us. It runs so deep that it permeates all people, all differences, all life. What gladness this gives my heart! What a connecting link we all share! We are of course imperfect, but God loves us perfectly anyway. The love that we show to others around us is just an extention of the love that we have for God. So, at the very least we can love God, and when we love God, that love boils over to everyone. What a simple concept.

My Trusty Ensign...

So today during my personal study I was able to read and soak up the wonderful stories and experiences in the new February 2011 Ensign magazine. As I was reading through all the stories there was one story that caught my eye and a truth that it really helped me to see (it can be found on pages 36 and 37 in the Questions and Answers section). It tells of the story in Matthew chapter 22 where Jesus is talking to the layer and the lawyer asks: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” To which Jesus replies, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The article goes on to say that verse 40 can help it all click together. It says, “On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.” Loving the Lord and Loving our neighbor is the basic foundation of all the commandments we are given. If we can try to do these two things we can increasingly become closer to God and feel his presence in greater abundance. The articles ends with, “If we can live by these two rules, our light will shine so brightly that our goodness will far outshine our greatness.” I love the way that it ends. Let our good be an example of our love for Heavenly Father and for our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ.

First Post = getting started...

So, I'm getting started with the blog. its sounds like its going to be fun but I thinking that I probably may not post on here too much but being able to post blogs may be something I may get into. But I'm thinking not. But thats beside the point. The point is that you read my blog and then feel closer to Jesus Christ. So remember, that as I write about experiences and blog about stuff that the purpose is to help us all come closer to God and Jesus Christ. So, as you may or may not know, I'm am currently serving in Poplar, MT as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church. I have been in the mission field for about 7 and a half months. Before I came here to Poplar I served in Browning, Cut Bank, and Shelby for 6 months. The Montana Billings Mission, the mission in which I serve, has recently received permission to use Facebook and blogs for missionary work. Our purpose online is to invite others to come unto Christ and to be more availible to answer questions and concerns. Because, hey, thats just what we do... So feel free to contact me through Face Book or to visit Mormon.org to learn more!