A Phone Call from God

When I was preparing for the A.C.T. I took a specialized class that helped me get ready to take the test. I sat in the back of the class as the teacher stood at the front going over each section and what we needed to work on. Zoning out during the science section, I noticed something on the table behind me; it was the teachers cell phone. As she wrote out problems on the white board, I grabbed her phone quickly, and nested it in my lap before she noticed. Saving my number into it as "Heavenly Father," I threw it back on the table without her noticing. I commenced to send her random text messages through out the week that would put a smile on her face, I even called her a few times during class, even though she didn't pick up.

Later I thought about how many messages and calls we receive from God that we leave unanswered. We pretend that we are unavailable or busy, but in all honesty we are afraid. 

"And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;" 

-Jeramiah 7:13

Elder Eyering said, "Just as God called you and will guide you, He will magnify you. You will need that magnification. Your calling will surely bring opposition. You are in the Master’s service. You are His representative. Eternal lives depend on you."

I hope to never miss another call from the Lord, I want him to know that I will ALWAYS answer, and respond abruptly.

What calls from him have you missed lately that you need to call back? 

Mind Games in the Lava Tubes

I had never been spelunking before. I half expected it to be like the movie batman; waterfalls, bats, swinging around on cables, you know what I'm talking about. But it was much different; we started out walking through very round caves exploring holes and looking at the hard magma that solidified as it dripped down. We were climbing through lava tubes, actual hardened lava from volcanoes in the past that created miles of mazes that wrapped in and out underground.

It was fun to walk through them, but then the path started getting a little tight. At times we had to crawl through tubes to get to the next opening. I was grateful for the knee pads and a helmet that protected me from being scalped and puncturing holes. About a half hour into it, we came to a section that required us to crawl. About ten feet further it was so tight we were unable to crawl, but had to worm our way, inching our bodies forward. The space was so tight, I couldn't look up without hitting my helmet on the roof. Just then my thoughts were, "Wow, I am in a very tight area. . . Under MILES of dirt. . . If I were to have a panic attack, no one could get to me and I wouldn't be able to get myself out. . . " I started panicking as my thoughts suggested. INSTANTLY I changed my thoughts to distract myself, and I was fine the rest of the day. 

I did a lot of contemplating on the drive home about my experience and I came to the realization of the power of thoughts. EVERYTHING is preceded by thoughts: who we are, what we do, who we become, and where we go. 

President David O. McKay said, "We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions; we sow our actions, and we reap our habits; we sow our habits, and we reap our characters; we sow our characters, and we reap our destiny.”

It all starts with thoughts. We are not born into this world with solid habits or with grounded character. Instead, Heavenly father has given us the freedom and agency to choose for ourselves who we want to be.

When I studied body language before my mission, I learned that we process on average 550 words a minute in our minds, but we express only about 150 of them. So what happens with the other 300? They are expressed through our body language. What we think is always shown through the way we move. Our thoughts become our actions before we are able to realize it! 

Elder Delbert L. Stapley said, "We need to ask ourselves, 'Are my usual thoughts and present actions worthy of eternal life? Am I setting my sights on eternal goals and working to obtain them?' Anything short of our best isn’t good enough, especially in the service of the Lord."

Our personal goal in life should always be to develop Christ-like character, and this comes as we control our thoughts. ALWAYS keep your thoughts optimistic, you become what you think about the most. 

"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not!"