Welcome! I am Samuel Young, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This website, previously a blog about my experiences as a missionary, is about my post-mission life. If you have questions about anything, feel free to ask me! You can send me a Facebook message or leave a comment. The things that I write or post here are my own views and are not authorized or official statements of the Church. Make it a wonderful day!
Many times in the scriptures, God commands His people to remember things:
"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation..." (Helaman 5:12)
"But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:17)
"I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old." (Psalms 77:11)
Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, "The scriptures also enlarge our memory by helping us not forget what we and earlier generations have learned. Those who either don’t have or ignore the recorded word of God eventually cease to believe in Him and forget the purpose of their existence" (see "The Blessings of Scripture", Ensign, May 2010).
King Mosiah and the Jaredites
One Book of Mormon story shows how scripture saved an entire kingdom.
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as
They appeared to Joseph Smith in the
First Vision
I thought I would share some of my beliefs about God that are really
special to me. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and that He
loves us so much, more than we can imagine. I know that Jesus Christ
is His Only Begotten Son and that it is through Christ's Atonement
that we can live with Heavenly Father again. I know that the Holy
Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to
teach me truth, comfort me when I am feeling down, and warn me of ways
I need to improve myself.
Through sincere prayer and through reading the Bible and Book of
Mormon, I have come to know that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and
the Holy Ghost are three separate Beings that are one in purpose. That
purpose is to help us be saved and return to live with Heavenly Father
as part of His family forever. These three Members of the Godhead work
in such perfect unity that the scriptures sometimes describe them as
"one God." I know that I can have a personal relationship with each of
Them.
I know that God's purpose is to help us achieve "immortality
and eternal life" (Moses 1:39). I am a child of Heavenly Father and thus I have the potential to become like Him. I know that He has placed us in
families to learn and practice the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know
these things are true, but more importantly, you can know for yourself
that they are true. I promise in the name of the Lord that if you
sincerely read the Book of Mormon, ponder its teachings and pray to
know it is true, you will receive a spiritual answer from our Father
in Heaven. You will know for sure.
We visited someone who had overcome an alcohol addiction and recently been baptized but then fell into his old habits and stopped coming to church. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is so important because many of us fall even after we make sacred covenants and promise to live the commandments.
A stake president in my last area said that life is like a single tennis match. The outcome of this match decides your destiny forever. You have been playing for three or four years, but on the other side of the court is Satan, who has been playing for twenty trillion years (figuratively). You cry out to Heavenly Father for help because there is no way you will defeat Satan on your own. Heavenly Father promises you two things: first, he will send Jesus Christ to be your partner on the court (like a doubles game). Jesus Christ will catch all the hits you miss. Heavenly Father will also send the Holy Ghost, which can tell you where the tennis ball will go before it gets there. If you use this help, you cannot fail.
Two ways Heavenly Father helps us become free include:
Avoiding addiction in the first place, or preventing it from happening again (the Holy Ghost).
Recovering from addiction if you mess up (Jesus Christ's Atonement).
After we repent from sins, we often sin again and again. Heavenly Father understood and planned for this possibility! He gave us commandments knowing perfectly well that we would sometimes surrender to temptations, be weak, and rebel against His commandments. Just as Satan's temptation isn't turned off in this life, we also must not turn off our efforts to repent each and every day. While the Atonement doesn't give us license to sin, it can help us recover.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints runs an Addiction Recovery Program for anyone who is struggling with any kind of addiction. It is based from the Twelve-Step Alcoholics Anonymous program but includes gospel principles from the scriptures and prophets and apostles in our day.
And
when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And,
behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship
was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to
him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save
us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of
little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and
there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of
man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
The beautiful chorus shows Jesus' assurance that with His help, we can be calm and overcome any tempests in our life.
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still. Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea Or demons or men or whatever it be, No waters can swallow the ship where lies The Master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, be still; peace, be still. They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still.
I
know that Jesus Christ is far more powerful than Satan will ever be.
Through His Atonement, we will overcome all challenges if we follow His
commandments, just as Joseph Smith and Jesus' Apostles did.
In the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni talks about how we must exercise faith in God before receiving His promised blessings. In Ether 12:6, we read:
And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. (Underline added.)
When we talk about Joseph Smith's First Vision, we focus a lot on the fact that Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ both appeared to Joseph Smith and not as much on the intense tribulation that immediately preceded Their visit. Joseph Smith had decided on a time and place to ask God about what church was true, the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York being the place where "the place where [he] had previously designed to go" (JS-H 1:15). After beginning to offer his prayer, Joseph Smith was attacked by Satan, who did everything possible to prevent Joseph from asking God the question that would lead to us having Jesus Christ's true Church on the earth again (JS-H 1:15-16):
...I kneeled down and
began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done
so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely
overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my
tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me,
and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden
destruction. But,
exerting all my powers to call upon God...just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light
exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended
gradually until it fell upon me.
Only after enduring Satan's trial did Joseph Smith see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I too occasionally have experiences like this on my mission. I will feel terrible and discouraged in the morning, which leads to feelings like those of depression. Often I won't want to do any work at all but will still feel horrible sitting in our apartment. Many missionaries (probably most of them at some point) will experience serious trials of faith. But by exercising faith in Jesus Christ, praying for strength through His Atonement, and getting up to work anyway, we can and do overcome these discouragements sent from the devil. Once I start working, I always feel much better. First exercise faith, and then the blessings follow.
In the October 2013 General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland described the pattern we must follow to obtain the Lord's help: "If you had appendicitis, God would expect you to seek a priesthood blessing and get the best medical care available. So too with emotional disorders. Our Father in Heaven expects us to use all of the marvelous gifts He has provided in this glorious dispensation."
For example, if I were to take an
examination in school, He will not--indeed, He cannot--help me earn a
high grade on the test if I pray for success without first putting forth my honest effort to study
the material. He simply will not cheat for me. To learn academic
truths, I must humble myself and not only pray but also sacrifice time and effort to read the
course material, practice doing problems, and ponder the truths I have
learned.
To learn spiritual truths, I must humble
myself and sacrifice time to read the scriptures and the words of modern
prophets, practice and apply the principles described in those words,
and ponder what they mean. In other words, only once I am taking action
can I expect Heavenly Father to answer a prayer about whether the things
I am reading and learning are true. As President Spencer W. Kimball
once said, "You must go to the spiritual laboratory, use the facilities
available there, and comply with the governing rules. Then you may know
of these truths just as surely, or more surely, than the scientist knows
the metals, or the acids, or other elements" ("Absolute Truth", Ensign, Sept. 1978).
For example, how can we know that the Book of Mormon is true? Heavenly Father would expect us to read from the Book of Mormon and then pray to Him and ask Him in prayer what we have read is truth. The more specific our questions are, the more clear the answer will be.
We were talking with a man (I'll call him John) the other day who was
uncomfortable with the Book of Mormon. John opened his Bible, which in
the first few pages contained annotations and maps and historical notes
about events in the Bible and effectively said to us, "When I open my
Bible, immediately I have maps showing missionary tours of the Apostles
, I have historical dates, I have archaeological evidence of Christ's
life, and much more. When I open your Book of Mormon, none of that is
there."
In other words, "Where is your proof that your
Book of Mormon is true? Where is the evidence? Where are the dates and
the history? Why should you expect me to blindly accept as true a book
of scripture supposedly translated by one man? Why do I need to have
blind faith in the Book of Mormon when my Bible is replete with
evidence?"
The answer is that God doesn't require blind faith. He expects you to read from the Book of Mormon and then sincerely pray and ask Him if it is true and if the Prophet Joseph Smith was really a true Prophet. One of the answers given on Mormon.org puts it very clearly:
Over my lifetime, I have heard countless theories concerning Joseph
Smith - his intellect, his integrity, his sanity, everything about him.
Some of the stories about him being a prophet sounded convincing... but
then, some of the stories of him as a criminal sounded convincing, too.
Then I read about Joseph Smith's visitation by the angel Moroni. Moroni
told him that his name would be "had for good and evil among all
nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil
spoken among all people." Well, that was certainly a true prophecy. So,
it seemed, whether Joseph Smith was a prophet or not, tons of
accusations and slander would be said against him anyway! That
realization made me understand that only God could confirm whether or
not Joseph was truly called of him. I got a strong confirmation of that
truth. When others tell me that they "know the truth about the Joseph
Smith," I always question their sources - it's usually a book or
magazine article, possibly even by an esteemed, intellectual person. But
I cannot and will not question my source of the real answer. -- Mike
As missionaries, our calling is not to prove to you the
truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Instead, we invite you to find out
for yourself by going straight to the Source of all truth: God himself.
Only through praying to our Heavenly Father and receiving an answer
through the Holy Ghost can you know for sure, beyond any doubt, that the
Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
I often have a lot of trouble sleeping at night and my missionary companion has trouble waking up in the morning. Nevertheless, the Lord has called us to be missionaries for His Church in this area and though we have had some slow weeks, we are blessed with teaching appointments and the ability to share the gospel. We are teaching a man who has muscular dystrophy and has grown up in a very rough life. Nevertheless, the Lord has helped him overcome his weakness and blessed him with good business skills and a desire to recover from his past mistakes.
...It seems that in every family, if not in every person, some physical conditions exist that require special care. A pattern for coping with such a challenge has been given by the Lord. He said, “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; … for if they humble themselves … and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” [Ether 12:27]. Stellar spirits are often housed in imperfect bodies.
All of us have different weaknesses. For example, I have a lot of trouble concentrating on the scriptures and missionary lessons during studies in the morning. I also have a tendency to let conflict build in my mind without discussing it with my companion, which makes it difficult to concentrate and be happy. But as I think about Christ and the love He had for all people, it makes me able to put myself aside and begin to love them in the way He would.
I think of the examples of people who have disabilities much more challenging than mine. A woman who lost both of her legs continues to work and even swim:
Also, a man who has muscular dystrophy has nevertheless grown up into a successful businessman and father:
Sometimes people ask us why baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is different from other churches. We believe in being baptized by immersion, just the way Jesus Christ was baptized, by proper priesthood authority. Something else we believe is that baptism by immersion is only half of the equation -- we must also receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. One without the other is sort of useless. After we are baptized, we receive the Holy Ghost during a normal Sunday meeting. Someone who holds God's priesthood authority will lay their hands on our head and confirm us a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and give us the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
What is the Gift of the Holy Ghost and why is it so important? The Holy Ghost is one member of the Godhead (which also includes Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ; these three are separate beings but are one in purpose). Basically, all people can receive guidance from God our Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost to help them in their lives and help them come closer to Him. Many people throughout all of history have prayed and received answers to their prayers this way.
But after we receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we can have not only fleeting or occasional guidance from God but the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. If we try and follow Jesus Christ and pray and follow His commandments, we are not only allowed but entitled to have the Holy Ghost's influence in our lives.
Let me give an example. One time in school, I was doing an assignment for a math class. Part of the assignment was to write short computer programs that would show we understood the math, and even though I mostly understood the math, I would often make small errors on the computer and lose points for it. One week we had an assignment due a day earlier than I thought it was, so I was scrambling to get it done in time.
In the grand scheme of things, it probably wouldn't have made much difference to Heavenly Father whether I got an A on the assignment or not. But I really wanted to reach the right answers and make up for some bad grades earlier. I prayed multiple times at the computer and asked for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help me understand the problem and how to put it into the computer. Gradually, I was able to see what the professor wanted us to do and write the computer code the right way. At one point, I felt like I should look at a certain line of code and found an error I had made. Things worked as I had prayed. I ended up finishing that assignment much more quickly than previous assignments and I got a great grade on it.
Which tells me that Heavenly Father loves me. Although that assignment probably won't make the slightest difference in the big picture, He wants me to know that He loves me, and He can do that by sending guidance and revelation through the Holy Ghost.
As I've come to feel and understand the Holy Ghost, my view of life has changed and I'm able to see beauty in so many parts of my life, even those times that seem unbearable. I appreciate the sanctity of live and I'm more grateful for my experiences. This gift is not something Latter-day Saints try to lord over people. We want all people to be able to have this in their lives. Jesus Christ's gospel and His Church give us so much happiness and we just want to share that with others.
A few days ago we had to drive to the mission office to take care of some business. I was the assigned driver of the car, which means I am supposed to drive the car and my companion is supposed to give an extra set of eyes to watch for dangers on the road. Usually I am the only one to drive unless I am injured or impaired, in which case he would drive.
From the few times my companion had driven the car, I had quietly decided in my mind that he was an inferior driver. I didn't like the way he accelerated or turned or braked (notwithstanding the fact that he had been on bike his whole mission and didn't have the ample opportunity I did to practice driving). During our visit to the mission office, I was afraid he would ask me if he could drive the car and started thinking about his flaws and how he might get us into an accident.
I was fatigued that day because of lack of sleep while my companion was not. While driving on the way home, I myself zoned out for a minute and ran a red light with a camera. After spending about ten minutes stressed out after I additionally missed the freeway entrance, I finally pulled into a parking lot and acknowledged that in my state of mind there was no way I would be safer on the road than he would be and let him drive home. Had I not acknowledged my pride, I may have harmed my companion and other people as well.
To be prideful is to place more trust in ourselves than in the Lord or to put the things of the world above the things of God. Pride is competitive; those who have it presume they are better than others. It is strongly condemned in the scriptures and impedes our spiritual progress. (See Preach My Gospel [2004], p. 120 or the online version.) Proverbs 16:18 is a wonderful summary of this: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Ether 12:27:
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their aweakness. I bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my cgrace is sufficient for all men that dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make eweak things become strong unto them."
In this scripture, Jesus Christ is speaking to the prophet Moroni. He is saying that all people will have some weakness or deficiency in this life. This is necessary because we must all humble ourselves before Him in order to return to His presence. The Lord also shows us how we can overcome our weaknesses: we must have faith in Him. Having faith in Jesus Christ means we must trust Him enough to follow His commandments even when we don't completely understand the reason for following them. It also means that we believe that He loves us.
Some people have difficulty in school. Some people struggle with significant physical limitations. Some people have addictions to drugs or pornography. Some people have trouble feeling that they are loved or worthwhile. But all of these weaknesses can be overcome through Jesus Christ's Atonement if we will humble ourselves and have faith in Him.
I am Elder Sam Young. I'm a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in Orange County, California. We share the message that Jesus Christ lives and that the church He formed in His lifetime has been restored to the earth today by a loving God through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through His restored church, we can come closer to God, find happiness in our lives and families, and come to personally know Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is convincing evidence that Jesus Christ's gospel has been restored. I know for myself that this message is true and we invite you to hear
this message and come to know for yourself that it is true. One way to do this is by reading The Book of Mormon and asking God in prayer to know if it is true. I have done this and have received an answer that it is true.
My mission is using the Internet to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others to come unto Christ. This website is a place where I will share special experiences I have as a missionary and spiritual messages that can uplift others. Please feel free to comment on my posts, but don't post inappropriate or defamatory comments.
Everything that I write or say here is my own view and my posts are not authorized or official statements by the Church.
