The Sacrament

Matthew 26:26-28: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Every week we have the opportunity to partake of this sacred ordinance which Jesus performed when on the earth. Symbolic of His death. We remember Him and the things He has done for us. His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, and dying on the cross. Such wonderful love he has for us.

Now what does he expect of us?

In Moroni 4:3, Moroni gives the prayer for the sacrament. He prays:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them.

So he lists things we should do.

1. Willing to take the name of Jesus upon themselves

2. Remember Jesus and the things that he's done for us

3. Keep the commandments

If we do these things we will always have His spirit to be with us. I know the sacrament to be a very important part of church and why we actually go to church. As we do the things above our lives can be filled with joy. True joy and happiness. Not as the world gives but as God does. In the name of our savior Jesus Christ Amen.

The Dunes

Back home I did quite a bit of ATV riding. I rode my dads Yamaha Raptor. It was a good wheeler. Did most of my riding with family and friends. But mostly friends.

There is a place in Utah just outside of Nephi called the Little Sahara. When we would get enough money we would travel out there and go ride for the weekend, or whenever we had the day off.

On top of the dunes is where all the fun is. We would look for some jumps to show off on. Find some bowls to top out our ATVs on.

When your riding on the sand you never know whats going to be in your path or destination. There are lots of potholes and unlevel ground which can make you wreck. It's very humiliating, especially in front of friends. It has happened way too much in my experience. But these things only make you a better rider. Because next time you know how to handle, or avoid the situation.

So how can we relate this to our lives?

We are the driver on the ATV. The sand dunes is our life thats ahead of us. We have lots of smooth riding, we have fun, and enjoy the presence of friends and family. But sometimes we hit those potholes in life. We get injured and hurt. We'll wreck in front of our friends and be embarrassed. But these potholes in our life are there for a reason. They help us learn and grow. So next time your in the area you know what to avoid. Just like trials. Some you can't help. Your always going to find new ones. But we can avoid the ones that we've seen and experienced. I know that God has a reason for putting trials and tribulations in our lives. It's to help us learn. That's what this earth life is about. We can have fun in life. You just can't focus on the wrecks and injuries.

The Kite Of Life

Monday is our preparation day. That is the day we get things done like laundry, cleaning, etc. Afterwards we all went and played basketball. Elder Cabral getting bored of being schooled in basketball decides to fly a kite. But when he had it all unraveled and let it go, it didn't fly. Scratching his head he figured he needed some wind. Without wind the kite won't go anywhere!

This is relative to our lives. Without adversity we can't go anywhere. Lehi explains this while speaking to his son Jacob...

Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.

With those adversities in life God can help us reach our full potential. It is hard. Never said it would be easy. Satan is always unleashing his temptations on us. He makes us think that things aren't possible. With God all things are possible.

As we rely on Christ the rock of our salvation. We can fly high!

May 21, 2011

I've been hearing this date for a while now. May 21st 2011. I'd like to share something out of the New Testament that Jesus shared himself...
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

We will have to wait and be prepared because we don't know when he'll come. He can come tomorrow for all we know. Jesus said "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only".
Just be ready!

The Leap of Faith

Might I say that Travis Pastrana is an amazing motorcycle rider! It's unbelievable some of the things that he is able to perform on a dirtbike. I used to watch a television show called Nitro Circus of which he is the main star. Watching in aw as he jumps from roof to roof having hundreds of feet below him. As showed in the picture on the right popping a backflip over a helicopter! Who is this guy? Is he for real? Never in my dreams could I do something so daring or spectacular. It seems when he is faced with a new jump or challenge that he steps up and nails it.

How i'm going to relate this to our lives today is building faith and testimony. Travis started out from the bottom. He didn't magically gain this power. He started from the ground to the top learning "line upon line and precept upon precept"(2 Nephi 28:30). I'm sure when he started out he wouldn't dare to jump a helicopter. It's simply little by little.

It's the same way with our faith. We have to learn one step at a time. Ways to strengthen our faith would be first to have scripture study,second, pray continually and build a relationship with our Father in Heaven, and third, to do good works always. As stated in James ch. 2:17-18 "Faith without works is dead". I'm sure Travis read a couple books on the scientific part of motorcycles and learning the best way to jump. But mostly he learned by going out and riding his dirtbike. Same thing with us we must go out and do good works and that is where our faith will grow most. For with God nothing is impossible. I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ amen. 

Mothers Day

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving
I love you so much mom. I'm grateful for all the things you help me with in my life. I'm counting the seconds till I can talk to you guys! I miss you lots.
Love your firstborn son, Elder Geoff Merrell

Halo

Taking a journey into the world of Halo. When you play Halo you are Master Chief. He is a character in who kills a lot of alien critters. You play through many different levels in the game. Some that you breeze through and some which want you to throw the paddle on the floor and break your television.
Something that has risen to my mind when playing campaign mode is those awful little creatures called "Grunts".

While your playing the game they are really easy to kill. But they are usually persistant. Groups of them will come at you and that is when things become frustrating because they are easy to kill but yet you just can't survive.
How I relate this to our lives is the little things that come up: a person at work looks at you weird, your friend says something rude that you take offensively, your kids dont clean up their rooms! But as we solve these things with patience and take them one at a time we can become less angry with people and ourselves. As we read and study the word of God we can feel free and happy. Find a sanctuary of safety and peace to pray and ask for help. So lets always have a sniper ready to head shot the "Grunts" in our lives!