Prepare....

I just wanted to post something on here that I feel really strongly about, especially with the increasing economic problems that our country is facing and the horrible things going on around the world from Myanmar to China. It's not going to be very long, but it is important for all people (regardless of what faith you pertain to) to be aware and listen to the guidance that the leaders of the church have given us.

I'm talking about emergency preparedness.

Recently I helped Sean and Mike prepare a presentation about the avian flu at a church emergency preparedness fair. While there, i walked around the whole church building and didn't realize until there how unprepared I was for a disaster. In fact any disaster. I have enough food storage for about a week and water but after that I'm doomed! We are advised to have at least a three month suply. This frightens me. Alot of young single people are in debt, we don't have enough food storage, we're not prepared if an earthquake hit. Do you know where your extra contact lens' are, is your passport easily accessible, do you have an extra credit card handy, do you have an extra cell phone charger in a back pack with your toothbrush, batteries and flashlight? I didn't think so. I certainly don't..... YET!

So to kick start your emergency preparedness, here is a guide for all of you. Click on all four links as they will all be of help to you. And it doesn't matter if you're single or have 5 kids or just an older couple. This will benefit you. I promise!

Family Home Storage/ Emergency Preparedness

meow

What is there to lose?

A conversation I had with a friend of mine inspired this post, and I want to give him the credit (thank, Justin!)

Essentially, the question regarding my faith, or any organized religion, is "why?" Why believe? Why do the things you do? Why follow what looks like someone else's rules? Why "limit" yourself? And when you strip away all my personal convictions, feelings, and experiences, there is something basic: "why not?"

Everything that I choose to do, inspired by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is good. Everything that I have changed or let go as a result of following the commandments, have caused me to improve myself.

So I don't drink alcohol, smoke, drink coffee/tea, or do drugs... that's not a bad thing.
So I don't have sex before marriage... that's not a bad thing.
So I don't watch R-rated movies... that's not a bad thing.
So I don't swear... that's not a bad thing.
So I commit my life to service... that's not a bad thing.
So I spend 3 hours every Sunday at church... that's not a bad thing.

At the end of the day, the things I do are not bad things. They do not harm myself, and they do not harm others. (I would like to suggest that they help others... but I'll leave that to someone else) I hope it is safe to say that these things are positive. They have improved my health, they have helped prevent a lot of heartache, they have saved me money, they have motivated me to help, and 3 hours a week is not much of a sacrifice.

I have only experienced positive things in my life as a result of my conversion and the choices I have made. I have been happier, experience greater self-esteem, enjoyed greater success at school/work, greater harmony at home, and have made more friends. I am grateful for the life I have been given, and the choices I am able to make.

Tithing

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:8–10.)

Tithing is such an important commandment that when the Lord appeared on the American continent after His Resurrection, He repeated those same exact words. And the Lord said in our day, “Those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually.” (D&C 119:4)

The Lord said, “Prove me now [or test me now] … , if I will not open you the windows of heaven.” (3 Nephi 24:10)

"Consider, for example, ten apples. Now, all ten of these apples actually belong to the Lord, but He asks us to return to Him only one-tenth, or one apple.
Are you offering only a small bite of that apple and keeping 90 percent? Are you willing to offer the Lord such a small portion?
Are you ashamed, or do you try to patch up and hide the bitten portion of the apple and then offer that to the Lord?"
-Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi

I want to share my testimony, not an explanation, of the law of tithing. Tithing is not payment to the Church. It is neither required nor requested as a member. Tithing is a divine law, an expectation from God since the beginning of time. God gives us everything we have- we do not inherently deserve anything we have. We have them because God blessed us with it. However, I want to make it clear that blessings do not indicate the degree of God's love or awareness of you. All the trials and blessings we receive in this life are all for our benefit, and for our good, so that we can learn the lessons we need to learn so we can be the people that God would have us be. Some people need to learn to take down their pride, and are therefore given less. Some need to learn generosity and are given more. It's not that cut and dry, but there is always a reason, or a lesson.

What I really want to talk about is the blessings that one receives when one is obedient.
The blessing of the law of tithing is promised with the words "opening the windows of heaven". I have experienced that in my life very recently. Ever since I was young I have wanted to be financially independent, and have enough money to help my family out when bad things happened. And now, I am graduating in 2 weeks and I found an amazing job that pays double what I thought I was going to make my first year out of college AND I have an incredibly amazing apartment (just signed the lease yesterday) that is a very low price, in the best part of Pasadena. All my prayers for temporal blessings have been answered in this. I am independent. And it's amazing.

I know the law of tithing is divine. If we are generous with our money, and if we recognize that everything we receive is from God, we will be blessed.