It Goes Both Ways

My post today is short, and the message is direct.  All of us have people in our lives that we consider friends.  Some of them are the people we go to school with, ones that we work with, and some are even our family members.  Some of us might not just care about those we call our friends, but we may even love them.  The question is, do they know?  President Thomas S. Monson once said, "often we assume that they must know how much we love them, but we should never assume, we should let them know."  Relationships should not be one sided.  Both sides must put in the effort.  When I say effort, I mean that it shouldn't always be one person initiating everything that occurs in the relationship.  How can we expect it to last if only one person is trying?  If you want to hold on to that friend, family member, or loved one, you better start doing your part.

"Put your troubles aside and start living."

I listened to a song the other day called Yeah 3x by Chris Brown and the phrase "Put your troubles aside and start living" stood out to me.  Who in this world doesn't have troubles?  Aren't we here on this earth to learn and to grow?  In order for us to progress, we must experience trials.  If we are to become better as a result of a trial, it is important to handle them correctly, to endure...according to the teachings of the Gospel.  Although trials are a huge part of this life, as Chris Brown states, we must start living.  President Gordon B. Hinckley said that "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."  Even though a portion of our lives may not be pleasant at times, we must live.  All of us have been richly blessed to live in this day and age.  Count your blessings and start living!    

Staying Strong

There is a point in each one of our lives where we realize that we have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  What we do with that testimony is another thing.  Once we have that precious gift of knowledge, do we cherish it, or do we let it fade?  After serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have observed those individuals that I taught, both strong, and those that struggle.  What must we do to secure our Spiritual safety?  I'd like to pose a few questions for you to think about.  Do I pray daily?  Do I read my scriptures on a daily basis?  Do I attend church every week?  Think about that for a moment.  If we don't do these three things weekly, how can we expect to continue in a successful journey toward the Celestial Kingdom?

What Matters Most

Whether it is a family member, or a friend, we all have someone in our lives that we love.  The question is, do they know that you love them?  In the movie, My Best Friends Wedding, George tells Julianne, "If you love someone, you say it, you say it right there, out loud.  Otherwise the moment just passes you by."  William Shakespeare said, "They do not love, that do not show their love."  Why don't we tell people how we feel?  Are we afraid?  What do we have to lose?  At the end of the day, what do we have?  What do we want?  Think for a moment about your life.  Are you where you want to be?  What matters most to you?

Retail

The employee rang up the seemed to be irritated customer which only took a minute or two.  This was the second time the employee had helped the woman that day.  You could tell that the woman wasn't very happy.  It was as if each question that was asked, got the woman more and more upset.  Is there something wrong with someone doing their job?  Or asking a few simple questions?  For this woman, that seemed to be the case.  The transaction was finished, and even though the employee was very nice during the duration of the transaction, all he received in return was the evil eye as the woman walked away.  When we walk into a store, what kind of experience do we expect?  I would say that most of us have something that we are looking for, a want or a need.  Material things aside, we want good customer service.  We want to feel like we are a valued customer.  But what about the employee that is there during our visit?  What kind of experience do you think they expect, or would like to have?  I'm sure that all of us have had positive and negative experiences in the retail industry.  Keeping that in mind, I think it would do all of us some good to take a step back and not only observe how we are treated as a customer, but how we treat the employee of the establishment that we are visiting.  Even though "the customer is always right," it's not all about us.  How would you want to be treated if you were in their shoes?.

The Birth We Call Death

As some of you may know, my Grandpa passed away this summer.  It is something that I knew was coming, but I don't think anything can ever fully prepare you to lose a loved one.  When I found out that he had passed, all I wanted to do was be with my family.  I wanted to be close to those that I loved.  I find it interesting that when someone that we love dies, we naturally want to be with people that we care about.  But what about that person that isn't with us anymore?  Will we get to see them again?  This event in my life caused me to reflect on my beliefs, my desires, and my actions.  As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that this life isn't the only one that we will live.  There is life after death.  I will get to see my Grandpa again.  When we die, we fulfill a part of The Plan of Salvation, we start a new life, and we progress.  Death is not the end.  I read a book once called "The Birth We Call Death."  It helped me understand that death is a transition, something that we must accomplish.  In order for us to be with those that we love forever, we must live our lives in a way that will grant us that desire.  Dallin H. Oaks 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."  Now the question is, what do you desire?  And are your actions going to help you make that desire become a reality?  I hope so.