Matt's Message #7: Why Heavenly Father Allows Suffering

A Confuzzling Question

Today, I attempt to answer the question that perhaps humanity has wondered about more than any other. It is a question that ordinary folk and renowned philosophers have attempted to answer. It's a question that has puzzled billions throughout time: Why does God allow suffering in the world? Many get confused about this and think that God must not love them, or that there is no God at all. The best way I know to answer this confuzzling question is by examining the sources of trials: Our decisions, other people's decisions, the fallen world we live in, and Heavenly Father.

Note: The credit goes to my old seminary teacher, Bro. Shepard. This post is based very heavily off of a lesson he gave that really stuck with me.

Disastrous Decisions

The first two sources of trials (our own and other people's decisions) have a common factor, poorly used agency. 

Here's a scenario: Once upon a time, I took my beat-up 1992 Buick to Costco to get some muffins. Once I arrived, I bolted for the muffins and my mouth started watering. Overcome with the joy that Costco muffins can bring, I decided I wanted to have one right then. I quickly tore a box to pieces and plunged my face into a delectable blueberry muffin. I let the chompers fly, creating quite the scene. Five muffins later I looked up and saw two Costco workers staring me down and walking briskly in my direction. I followed my gut instinct; I grabbed as many boxes of muffins as I could carry, and bolted for the fire escape door that was just down the aisle. Before I could even get back to my car, I found myself being tackled by two burly police officers who cuffed my hands behind my back.

So, the results of this disastrous decision: A night in jail, a $250 fine, swollen wrists, the loss of my job as McDonald's janitor, a hungry and embarrassed family that was unable to fend for themselves because of my job loss, unhappy lawyers, $1000 spent on court proceedings, and two disgruntled Costco security men.

Can you see how poor choices have negative effects on yourself and others? I spent a night in jail, paid $250, lost my job, let my family go hungry, and dealt with swollen wrists from cuffs that were a tad too tight. My family was embarrassed because of me and went hungry. Two Costco security men were annoyed. McDonald's was embarrassed to have me seen working in their store so they fired me, losing their best toilet cleaner. Some lawyers had a stressful day, and the nation had to spend $1000 on my court proceedings.

So clearly, trials come from your own misused agency and the misused agency of others. But why does God allow that to happen? Why doesn't He force us to make good decisions so we don't have to suffer?

Heavenly Father's goal is for us to return back to Him. He wants us to live with Him and be like Him for eternity. If we were forced to make good decisions would we ever learn? No. We would have no idea what it's like to forgive others, fix relationships, or feel guilt and sorrow for sin. If we don't understand what these things are like, could we become God's? No, because "God[s] comprehendeth all things." - Alma 26:35. If God were to take away agency it would be a direct contradiction to His Plan of Salvation. It is better to let His children endure suffering (even extremely terrible, heart-wrenching suffering) than to deny them the opportunity to re-enter His presence. The good far outweighs the bad.

Natural Causes

What about things like sickness, natural disaster, and other trials that aren't affected by agency?

These kinds of things are a product of the fall of Adam and Eve. They bring opposition into the world. 2 Nephi 2:11 teaches that there needs to be opposition in all things. A world full of opposition is the perfect place to learn in. It makes it so we can experience so many different trials, challenges, and emotions all for both good and bad. These things aide us on our journeys to become like God. Mortality is the perfect place to learn how to forgive, what to do with your time and a whole slew of other things. Mortality is the perfect time and place to change. It certainly assists the process when we experience pain. It humbles us. It gives us the motivation to become better and to become more God-like. Heavenly Father doesn't want us to hurt. But He understands that some suffering now is a much better option than never giving us any motivation to repent or change. He knows if we don't sufficiently repent we will have an eternity of suffering, an eternity of just wishing we had done better so we could have all of the joys of God's Kingdom. 

From Heavenly Father (Maybe)

This is a tricky one. I am not aware of any scripture or quote from a prophet that says Heavenly Father deliberately puts trials into our life. I'm not going to make the call on if He does or not. What I do know is that Heavenly Father helps us learn from our trials. When the prophet, Joseph Smith was suffering in Liberty Jail, he received a revelation that no matter what he goes through it can be to his benefit. The Lord listed out 10 jillion gruesome trials then said, "know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." - Doctrine and Covenants 122:7. The God of Heaven is teaching that no matter what we go through - whether it be depression and self-harm, the death of a spouse, sibling sexual abuse, crippling phobias, paralysis from a serious injury, watching your parents divorce, having $60,000 of student debt, schizophrenia, being convicted or falsely convicted of a serious crime, living in an abusive home, OR ANYTHING ELSE - we can use those experiences to our benefit. Are these experiences good? No. Does God want them to happen? No. Can we use them for good? Yes.

What Can We Do About This?

1. Ponder how to use a specific trial for good.
2. Explain these doctrines to someone who wonders why they're suffering.
3. Pray for strength to keep the commandments in order to not hurt yourself and others.

Matt's Message #6: They Whisper the Words of Their Creator

My Adventures

I've been on quite a few adventures over the past year or so. Some of the places I've been recently include Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, the sand dunes and mountains near BYU-Idaho, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Racoon Creek State Park in Pennsylvania, the Colorado Rockies, and Lake Powell. I'd have to say I've recently found a much bigger love for nature and adventure than I had before. I crave to get out and explore the earth. I love to see all the amazing sights there are to see in this world.

I'm not generally the type to take lots of pictures, but out of what I've got, here are some of my favorites for your enjoyment! These were all taken with my crappy cell phone camera; I don't know about you, but I'm impressed with the results!

Right outside my tent on a Priest's Quorum camp.

The Snake River from Cress-Creek Trail

Delicate Arch

Navajo Arch

Double O Arch

At a cabin in the Rockies during a family reunion. There's nothing like holding a wild chipmunk!

My favorite picture I've ever taken!

It Didn't Have To Be Pretty

As I hiked around observing so much of Heavenly Father's and Jesus's beautiful creation, I've thought quite a bit about the love they must have for us. I imagine it would have been much easier to create a world where there were only the absolute essentials for human life. God didn't have to put all of His beautiful creations on the Earth. As far as I know, all of God's children would still be able to progress just fine if there were no colorful sunsets, no magnificent arches, no large rivers and steady streams, and no cuddly chipmunks to hop in your hand for some almonds. So the question is, why did God create these things?

I'm sure there are many scholars that can find deep doctrinal answers to that question, but here's my rather simple one: Because He loves us. Because He cares about the details of our lives. Because He wants us to be awed on our hiking trip. Because He wants us to have breathtaking moments. Because He wants us to be filled with that mind-boggling peace we experience when stargazing around the campfire on a cloudless night.

When I'm out in nature, I can't help but feel the divine in everything around me. It seems as if God's creation whispers to me the words of its Creator. "Matt, I knew you'd hike down this trail at this time in awe of the flowers, and the critters scampering to and fro. I knew you'd be astounded at the reflection of the sunlight glimmering off the water onto the red-rock walls of this weathered cavern. I knew you would gaze up at the stars on this very night, on that very sand dune, in amazement of the divine grandeur of the heavens. My son, I did this for you."

What Can We Do About This?

1. Have a scripture study session about the creation
2. Get into nature and ponder God's love
3. Plan a hiking or camping trip!

Matt's Message #5: Matt's Mind Awakens

Back At It

First things first, I haven't posted since January 29 of this year. I've slacked off and I'm very sorry about that. I'm now recommitting and I hope to post regularly until I go on my mission.

My Unexpectedly Awesome Life

Well, I think it's a pretty good idea to get everyone up to speed on my life, and it works out great for a Matt's Message because there is an awesome lesson to be learned from one of my recent experiences!

Soooo... First big thing that has happened since I last posted. I got a letter from President Monson addressed to ELDER Matthew Hunter Richins! Off to the Nebraska Omaha Mission! WOOOOHOOOO!!!! 

The next thing that happened was a huge game-changer. (In a good way.) I got a call from my bishop one day, and he said there may be some delays on my mission call. You see, the missionary department had got a hold of a tidbit of information that came up when I was scheduling a doctor's appointment and immediately put my call on hold. They found out that I wasn't getting the full dose of my daily Costco muffins. I didn't realize that this information was a big deal, and it didn't even cross my mind that it could affect my mission call. Long story short, after a bunch of paperwork it was decided that my call would be canceled. I'll still be able to go on a mission, but I'm not sure when just yet. (And ok, I was obviously kidding about the muffin part. But the rest of it is all true. Just please let me have my privacy when it comes to my health info. :))

Here is where a very important lesson comes into play. Remember how I said this was a game-changer in a good way? You'd probably expect that I'd be devastated by the news, right? I was about to have such a wonderful thing happen. I was about to go dedicate two years of my life to serving God! But then it was snatched away from me like a sneaky seagull on the beach swooping down to snag my sandwich. That's actually not how I thought of it at all. When I first received the information that my call was canceled, I was devastated for approximately 2.3 seconds. Then a big wave of peace swept over me and I knew that all would be fine. I felt a strong spiritual assurance that this was all part of God's divine plan for me.

As life has continued from that point forward, this hiccup in my mission plans has proved to be a big blessing. I've since developed some amazing friendships! I have a much longer time than the average pre-missionary gets to have the blessing of being involved in all the ordinances of the temple. And I'm at what has proved to be the best college in the world!!! BYU-Idaho!!! Yaaaaaay! Furthermore, it seems that my Heavenly Father is better preparing me for my mission. I think He knew that I would have been a successful missionary when I had originally planned on leaving, but He saw my potential and knew I could have an even greater impact in His kingdom if I got some experience surviving in the "real world" first. He knew that it would be helpful to give me a little longer to develop a more loving, service-oriented heart. He knew that I would take an incredible mission-prep class up here that would teach me more than just how to do missionary work; it would teach me how to become a missionary.

I firmly testify that God knows what He is doing. He knows each of us better than we know ourselves. He sees our potential and does everything He can to make use of it. We have our ideas of what is best for us, but sometimes God vetoes them because He knows better than we do. Like a mother who doesn't let her energetic four-year-old eat ice cream for dinner, God has a better plan than us. He loves each of us and gives us experiences that help us become like Him. From this experience, I've truly learned that God has the master plan. I know He is the supreme creator of the universe and He does everything He can to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. (Moses 1:39)

What Can We Do About This?

1. Pray for direction in your life and be willing to act on it no matter the answer.
2. Have a few scripture study sessions where you study how God brought about unexpected changes in the lives of prophets and the blessings it brought.                            -For example, Lehi was asked to leave Jerusalem which led to the colonizing of             the promised land.
3. Ponder the ways you have been blessed when you've walked by faith rather than sight.

Matt's Message #4: Revelation and Racing

Can I Find Truth?

Moroni 10:5 states, "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." ALL things!? Really!? The Holy Ghost can tell me if ANYTHING is true!???!

Here's the answer: You betcha. The answer to that question is a complete, definite, absolutely undeniable YES!

Revelation and Racing

Last Friday I had my last region swim meet. I'm in my senior year of high school so it was the last meet I would ever compete in. The team arrived up at the South Davis rec. center at least a good hour earlier than we actually needed to, because that's what we like to do for big meets. We sat in the hall, ate lunch, and played card games for a while. Then we changed into our suits and got ready to warm up.

The pool looked crisp, clean, and crystal clear; we were all pumped and ready to go. But as I was kicking down the pool during the warm-up, something bad happened... I accidentally inhaled a little too much water. Pretty quickly I started feeling that queasiness that chlorine water gives you. I finished the warm-up but I wasn't feeling too good. I was hoping the feeling would go away by the time I had to race but as my race got closer and closer it wasn't getting much better.

I was getting more nervous about it so I decided to pray. I asked God what I could do to get feeling better. Was there something I could eat that would help? Maybe finish my Powerade? Well, His first answer was to go ask my mom for advice on what to do. So I went down into the stands where she was sitting and asked for her advice. She didn't have any ideas for what to eat or drink but suggested I do some relaxation exercises. I thought it was pretty sound advice but I felt like now that I had obeyed God's prompting I should ask Him what to do again. As I prayed the answer came that I should do 2 pretty specific things. 1) Go fill your water bottle but only drink it small sips at a time. 2) Eat half of one of the PB&J's in your lunch box but again, just take little nibbles at a time. I thanked God for the revelation and did exactly that. As I sipped and nibbled away, I did indeed start feeling better. I never got back up to feeling 100%, but because I followed God's direction I did get feeling much better.

Once I drank my water bottle and half of my sandwich was gone, I put my cap and goggles on, swam a small warm up, and I was ready to race. It was the 100 butterfly, my best event. Soon enough the buzzer sounded, I dove in, and had an awesome race! I shaved almost 3 full seconds off of my previous best time! I went from a 1:08.74 to a 1:05.90! It made me happier than eating a Costco muffin!! Now as a side-note, I don't take the credit for that great race. The credit goes to our Father in Heaven. I am confident that I couldn't have done that without Him.

Now back to the beginning of this post. Through this experience, it became more crystal clear to me than the pool we swam in that, "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." If God can tell me to snack on a sandwich and slowly sip some water so I can have a super solid swim, then certainly he can tell you and me anything. Absolutely anything.

The Eternal Perspective

If we take a look at the Plan of Salvation we can see why the Holy Ghost can tell us the truth of all things. We know that God designed his plan for us to have the maximum amount of happiness possible. What if the Holy Ghost could only tell us the truth of things gospel related? That would mean we would be missing out on some things and not have all of the happiness possible. The Holy Ghost will testify of ALL truth, not just some of it.

It is important to realize however that just because the Holy Ghost CAN tell us anything, it doesn't mean that he always WILL tell us anything. We know that sometimes for us to be happy in the end we have to go through hard or confusing times now. In fact, if we were just told everything we wanted to know, that would defeat one of the main purposes of life, to learn and grow. If we ask God for knowledge often times he does let the Holy Ghost tell us. We just need to realize that God's will for us is better than our own, and because of that, his will is what's going to be done.

What Can We Do About This?

1. Pray for revelation about a question you have.
2. Practice aligning your will with God's.
3. Learn even better what the Holy Ghost feels like to you.

Matt's Message #3: The Power of the Hi

About the Hi

Imagine this: you're walking down the hall at school, church, the store, or anywhere else (whatever applies to you most) and you see someone you know. As you pass by this person you hear one word. "Hi." Or maybe it's, "Hello, how are you?" or even, "What up homeslice." How are you feeling right now? If you're like me, you're feeling pretty good.

A few days ago I was in the temple and saw a kid also named Matt that I've had a few classes with over the years at Bingham. I knew who he was and he knew who I was but in all honesty I'm not sure if we had ever even talked before. As he passed by me something completely unexpected happened. He said, "Hey Matt, what's up!?" as if we were good friends that hadn't seen each other in a few months. As you might expect, this made me feel pretty great and I instantly thought a little more highly of Matt. He just jumped from a Sam's Club muffin to a Costco muffin.

So what is it about being greeted that makes us feel good? Perhaps it's the meaning behind what we're saying. Think about it. If someone says hi to you what does that mean? Maybe it means "hey I noticed you, and you matter enough to me that I acknowledged that." What about a "Hey, how are ya?" I think it means something like, "I noticed you and I care enough about you to want to make sure everything is going okay in your life." Being said hi to definitely may mean more to one person than another, but I truly believe everyone appreciates it to some degree.

In Alma 37:6 we read, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." If saying one word to somebody isn't simple, then I don't know what is. It's crazy how easy it is; all you do is move your mouth and vibrate your vocal cords. But let me promise you something... that vocal cord vibration can work wonders. It will bring to pass great things. It can make the sad happy, it can give the depressed hope, and it can leave the happy feeling even better. It can start new friendships and lead to new opportunities. Just. Because. You. Said. Hi.

I do my best to say hi to as many people as I can. It's something that I've been working at for over a year. I can certainly still get better at it, and I've been talking to myself just as much as you in writing this post. But let me tell ya, giving the simple service of saying hi to people has changed me. It doesn't just make the person you're talking to happy; it makes you happy as well. As I've followed the example of the Savior in this way, I've come to know Him better. I've learned to serve more like He does and it's been an awesome experience.

What Can We Do About This?

1. Say hi to someone you don't know.
2. Text someone and ask how they're doing.
3. Begin a habit of greeting everyone you do know.

Matt's Message #2: Thoughts on the Theme

The 2017 Theme

With the turn of a year, there's a change in the theme scripture for the youth. For any who don't know, the theme scripture for this year is James 1:5-6. It reads, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

Let's Break it Down

For this post I want to help you realize just how fantastic this year's theme scripture is! I think the best way to do that is to break it down into bits; you have to eat the elephant one bite at a time. So here we go.

If any of you lack wisdom 

Let me make a big long list of all the people I can think of that don't lack wisdom:

1. ...

Oh shucks, I couldn't think of anyone. Every single one of us lacks wisdom. Every. Single. One. Clearly, this scripture is for everyone. However, I think there may be a special message for the humble who WANT to learn from God. Let me explain. Notice the verbiage the scripture uses. It says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God," It doesn't say, "Everybody should ask God." I'm quite certain there's a reason for this.

I'm aware of people that go through life thinking they don't need God and they don't need religion. Their thought process may be something like this, "I'm getting along in life just fine. I've got a decent job, a nice house, and friends that make me happy, so why in the world would I waste time going to 3 hours of church every Sunday when I'm doing just fine without God in my life?" If you asked one of these people if they need wisdom from God in their life they would probably say no. They just don't have a desire to get wisdom from God.

Now consider Joseph Smith. At first Joseph searched a whole bunch of different religions for truth. He attended many different churches looking for the true one but felt it was impossible to find when each sect seemed to disagree with each other. When Joseph came across James 1:5 he wrote, "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did." (Joseph Smith History 1:12) Clearly, Joseph had a GIGANTIC desire to learn from God.

So, the first group of people that don't care to learn from God... Well, they'll go on and probably live a fine life. But without a desire, they will never know just how amazing the blessing of relying on God is. They'll continue to think that the Oreo is the best cookie out there without ever trying a homemade, hot, fresh chocolate chip cookie.

Now Joseph Smith again... After reading James 1:5 he went to the woods and asked God which church was true. He found that none of them were and went on to restore the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He became the first modern-day prophet of the church and performed tons of amazing miracles. Doctrine and Covenants 135:3 says, "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it." Wow. Bam.

So what's the difference between Joseph and the group I mentioned? I'd say the big one is each of their desire's to learn from God. It is those who want God's wisdom that are going to get it.

Let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not

To begin this one let me list a few basic things that everyone should know about our Heavenly Father.

• He loves you.
• He wants to bless you.
• He wants you to talk to him.
• He answers your prayers.

With these things in mind, why on Earth wouldn't you want to ask Heavenly Father for knowledge!?!?!?! Heavenly Father loves you so much that his whole goal is for you to be happy! (Oh man, if only girls liked me that much!)

Now to provide a little perspective let me define liberally. Liberally: In large or generous amounts. -Google. With this definition in mind it's easy to see that God will give us the information we ask for. He knows that having more knowledge leads to happiness and happiness is exactly what he wants for us. Now, on the footnote for 'upbraideth' it says, "reproaches, censures." So when the scripture says 'upbraideth' it basically means that God won't express disapproval to us and he won't judge us for our need of knowledge. Infact, he will be happy we asked. There's no need to feel uncomfortable like I do when I need to ask a question in math class. God will just be happy we asked.

And it shall be given him

Well this one is simple. God will give us knowledge if we ask for it. I can't even tell you how much knowledge God has given me. He has helped me learn about countless scriptures, he's given me guidance on many different life decisions. He has even helped me through swim workouts when I've asked for it, and helped me learn how to do my math homework. (Infact, I don't think I would've earned an "A" in math 4th quarter last year if I didn't have my Heavenly Father helping me.) He will give you what you need if you ask for it. I promise.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering

"Faith is a principle of action and power. Whenever you work toward a worthy goal, you exercise faith." -True to the Faith. When we ask God for knowledge we need to ask in faith. This means that we need to search out the answer for ourselves. We have to put work in. We can't just halfheartedly hope that God will tell us what we want to know. When we put our work in, that's when God will help us out. If we don't do this it's like asking your English teacher to write your essay for you. That's preposterous. You have to write it yourself then your teacher will probably be willing to help you perfect it. Going back to the example of my math homework- I had to start working on it and do my best, then God started teaching me and helped me to learn much faster than I could without his help.

For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

If you don't have faith, you're going to waver. A hard decision is going to come up and you'll end up going with the crowd. You'll head right to the great and spacious building only to find that everyone there is mad, unhappy, and confused.  In the gospel of Jesus Christ faith is a necessity. It's no coincidence that faith is the first principle of the gospel. (Articles of Faith 1:4.) Faith in Christ will get you to your goals and keep you on the straight and narrow path. If you don't believe me, well good thing Helaman 5:12 backs me up. "it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." It's worth it to build on the foundation on Christ. I'm 100% sure. Trust me.

In a Nutshell

James 1: 5-6 is for everyone because God wants all of us to ask him for wisdom. However, it is those who want to approach God for knowledge and help that are going to get it. Heavenly Father loves his children so he will be very happy with us as we go to Him for information. It's just like any parent whose kid asks for advice. They would be happy that the kid came to them rather than googling it or asking a friend. He wants to give it to us and will as long as it will be good for us. When we ask we must have faith so that we will do our part to find answers, then God will help us out. If we don't have faith we will end up lost and confused and far away from where we would like to be.

What Can We Do About This?

At then end of each post I want to start including suggestions about what you can do because of the post. Like I said in my first post, this blog is about inspiring you, so I really hope you'll accept one of the challenges from as many posts as possible. Will you accept the challenge!?!?!?!

1. Ask Heavenly Father for the answer to a gospel question.
2. Pray for a desire for knowledge.
3. Exercise faith by trying harder to achieve a goal and ask Heavenly Father to help you.

Matt's Message #1: Getting Started

Let Me Introduce Myself

This is me.

My name is Matt Richins. I am 17 years old. I live in South Jordan Utah and I'm a student at Bingham High - the best high school in the world in my opinion! I participate on swim team there and love it. I am the 2nd of 4 children. I have 2 brothers, 1 sister, and ultimately, a great family. I like good food, (like seriously, buy me a Costco muffin and I will love you forever!) good weather, and spending time outdoors.

But let me get down to what REALLY matters about me…

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints AND I LOVE IT!!!!! The gospel has changed my life. I wouldn’t be the generally happy person I am if I didn’t have the gospel, and that’s why I’m starting this blog…

You see, as I’ve strived to do my best to keep the commandments, repent when I don’t, and follow Christ’s teachings, the blessings have been crazy!!!!!!! My favorite blessing is the happiness it has brought me. But the thing is, I want everyone to find the happiness and blessings I’ve found! (Who doesn’t want to be happier?) I’m not going to keep it to myself!!!

Hence, the blog. The primary goal of this blog is to inspire, motivate, uplift, and help YOU. I think that I have lots of interesting thoughts and am full of good advice. My hope is that the things I have to say will inspire YOU... to do something better, to be better, to be the best you that you can be, because that's what life is all about.  Ultimately, I want to help you return to our loving Heavenly Father. These are the things that will make you happier, both in this life and the life to come. I know it.

So, here’s what I’m going to do about it: I will post a spiritual message at least once every week. (I’ll try to post more often, but at least once per week.) It could be some thoughts about a gospel doctrine or principle; maybe I will expound on a scripture or scripture story. I could write about something I learned in seminary or at church or relate an experience from my life to a gospel principle. Basically, I will post some sort of spiritual message by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. every week.

How did I get this Idea????????????

I stumbled across a blog written by a guy named Giancarlo. He is the Senior Class President at Bingham. I haven’t had the chance yet to talk to him in person, but as I started reading his posts I was quite interested in his thoughts and ideas. He has some great things to say. As I read more and more it occurred to me that I could do something similar. I soon decided I wanted to start my own blog. So there ya go. Giancarlo’s blog was my inspiration. Giancarlo, if you ever read this… THANKS!!!

Today’s Spiritual Message

For my first message, I feel impressed to share my testimony of the atonement. So that’s just what I’ll do. Let me begin by saying that I know Jesus Christ loves us more than we can possibly imagine. That goes for you and me. His love extends to the janitor at McDonald's, the Queen of England, and everyone in between. He expressed his love for us by going through the atonement. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he took all our sins upon him. This means he suffered for every mistake we’ve ever made so we wouldn’t have to if we would simply follow Him. But there’s more to it than that. He went through everything we've ever experienced and felt, not just the sin. This means that he understands us perfectly. He knows exactly what is best for us and how to help us. He knows exactly how to comfort us. He will always be there for us. Furthermore, Christ died and was resurrected. Because of this, we can be resurrected as well. We will have perfect bodies so we will never have to suffer any physical pain or sickness ever again. That means FOREVER, for ETERNITY, INFINITY. Think about how amazing that will be. I think my testimony of Jesus Christ and the atonement can be boiled down to four basic words, and here they are: I KNOW CHRIST LIVES.

A Few Disclaimers…

Disclaimer #1: I am not a prophet or apostle. (Obviously!) But this means that you shouldn’t instantly accept everything I say as pure truth. Now don't get me wrong, I will do my best to stick to doctrine and things I know to be true in my posts. However, I understand that it is possible I could accidentally slip an opinion or maybe something that is mostly true, but not completely, into a post. So, if you’re not too sure about something I say, then just go ask God about it. He has all knowledge and will tell you what you want to know. Find the truth for yourself. It works. I’ve tried it. Trust me.

Disclaimer #2: I am going to keep my writing mostly light and casual for two main reasons. First, because I want to keep my posts entertaining and interesting. Second, because I want it to sound like… well… me. I don’t want it to sound like the boring books we high-schoolers have to read in English class. But at times I will get really serious to try to prove a point or help you feel the Spirit.

Disclaimer #3: If I see something about this blog that needs to be changed, then I’ll change it. I’ve never tried blogging before and this is totally a shot in the dark for me. So if I think I need to change something about it then I will. I have no idea what God might inspire me to do with this so I won’t be surprised at all if I change it up as I go.

Disclaimer #4: None of my posts are intended to offend or hurt anyone. If I accidentally offend someone, well... sorry in advance. I don’t think I ever will, but it feels right to add this to the list.

Disclaimer #5: Ok, well this last one isn’t really a disclaimer. It’s more just something to keep in mind. I will do my absolute best to stay in tune with the Spirit as I write. I titled this blog Messages from Matt’s Mind. Yes, they are from my mind, but you’ve gotta remember the Holy Ghost is putting them there.