Fish Story & the Spirit

I haven't fished very much, so I'm not too experienced. I don't always know how to read the signs that fish give. A few weeks ago I had a line in the water, rigged for catfish. First came the little tug, and I set the hook. That was something I had done before. Then the fishing line did something I hadn't seen before: it zoomed straight away from me, really fast.

I thought, "Huh, that's a fast fish." Then the fish hit the end of my line. "Woah! That's a big fish!" It was a stronger tug than I had felt yet. As it turned out, it was only big to me, the biggest fish I've ever caught, a little under two and a half pounds.

The speed of the fish would have told an experienced fisher that it was a good size. I had no idea. But the tug the fish gave left no doubt for me, even though I couldn't see it.

There can be a spiritual comparison made here. Some of the signals that the Spirit gives us need experience to understand, like the speed of my fishing line showing that I had hooked a big fish. Some signals cannot be misunderstood, like the strength of the fish when it reached the end of my line. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it was bigger than the other fish I had been catching.

If you worry that the Spirit never talks to you, give yourself time. It can take experience to recognize the little signals the Spirit gives us. Don't underestimate the importance of the messages that you have understood in the past, remember them and treasure them. If you think you have no experiences at all, wait. The fish will bite eventually.

If you have felt the definite tugs, as the Spirit has talked to you, listen! Don't ignore them or let them fade from memory. Follow those tugs. The Spirit is there to guide us closer to Jesus Christ. We all need that.

Eventually, if we keep our line in the water, well get our fish!

Ninja Must Pray

When I'm conscious of how I pray, I ask for better things and get stronger answers. Example: Imagine a six year old boy on Halloween night looking for his ninja sword. He can't find it in his toy box, under the table, or in the closet. His Mom hasn't seen it. His sister doesn't have it. What can he do?

Well, I'll tell you what I did when I was a six year old sword-less ninja just minutes before trick-or-treat time. I prayed. I asked Heavenly Father if he would please help me. I wanted to find my toy sword so I would be a real ninja on Halloween. Then, I got up from my knees and went back to looking. After another ten minutes or so (longest ten minutes of my life) I found that sword lying in the grass in the front yard.

Since this happened, God has answered many, many more prayers, some much more serious than that early prayer.

I said that to say this: Heavenly Father wants to give us blessings, but He waits to give us some of those blessings until we ask for them.

Don't forget to pray. He is waiting to hear from you! The richest blessings come by asking. Be sure to ask for the right thing; if I had asked God to bring my sword to me, instead of asking Him to guide me to it, maybe I wouldn't have found it. We need to ask for the right things.

God lives, and He hears and answers our prayers. My prayers go out to everyone that reads this. May you find the things that matter most, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

And Now a Message From Our Sponsor

Hijacked! Ha ha! I, Elder Ramstedt, the companion to Elder Crites, commandeer this this blog for the sake of adding a second witness to the things that Elder Crites has spoken of. As it says in 2 Corinthians 13:1 "...In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."


I could go on with a lengthy biography about all the activities I have done that compile me, or I could just be lazy and send you to my Mormon.org profile. 


Now for the doctrinal and uplifting meat of the post. I want to talk about faith, specifically a common lie that is being published by many, believers and unbelievers alike. I invite you to pay attention to the feelings of your heart, for the Holy Ghost will testify to you the truth of all things if you are willing to listen. As an old bishop once told me, "A truth is a truth, no matter what source it may come from."


If you must know one thing about me, I am extremely analytical. I glory in logistics, graphs, numbers, facts and in finding the right answer. I also love musing and philosophizing about life's problems. However, I have found that applying only those thought processes to religion, I begin to encounter some problems with religion as a whole. Folks who pursue this course tend to end up very confused (ironically often claiming enlightenment) or atheist. 


While there is nothing bad about these standpoints, a foundation of faith is needed before any of these ideas can be expressed. When applied properly, faith and secular ideas build strongly on each other. I found it funny in college when taking theology classes that the professors often tried to prove the scriptures through scientific evidence. Remember, theology means the study of faith, not the proving of faith. 


While my professors had good intentions in mind, and I learned quite a bit that helped build my faith, they show a trend that is disturbingly prevalent in today's society.  People think that 'seeing is believing'. In the Book of Mormon, the last prophet and the compiler of the entire book said that if there was one thing that he could show to the entire 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." Ether 12: 6


I testify of the truthfulness of the words of Moroni. I invite all to come and believe before you see. I invite you to read the Book of Mormon and ponder the message it contains and then allow not a man, a fact, figure, or opinion to tell you what they think of the book, but to let God, even your Eternal Father, tell you the truth of these things. I know he will send his spirit to tell you of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of Jesus Christ, for I have had that divine communication myself. And now I can say as the old song says, "...(I) was blind but now I see." -Amazing Grace, John Newton 


In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. Happy Easter everybody!!

Role of a Prophet 2

The Old Testament has the story of a man named Caleb. He was one of the twelve scouts that Moses sent into the promised land to check it out and report on how strong the nations were there. Well, they were strong. Very strong. Ten of the scouts were so discouraged that they told the camp of Israel there was no hope of taking the land. Joshua and Caleb spoke up:

And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.


The people didn't listen to Joshua or Caleb. They were about to stone them, when the Lord entered His tabernacle, "And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel."


The Lord stated that because the camp of Israel had not had faith in Him, and had not had courage, they would not enter the promised land. They would pass away in the wilderness, and their children, one generation later, would take the land. Except, He said, for the two righteous scouts.


Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.


I said that to say this: Caleb "followed [God] fully", by following the prophet. God gave Moses instructions, Moses instructed the people, and the righteous obeyed him. But, God said Caleb followed God, not Moses, in following Moses' instructions, because God gave them first.


At the age of 85, Caleb walked into the promised land, "as strong this day as [he] was in the day that Moses sent [him.] He inherited a land called Hebron, "because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel."


(Someday soon I'll tie in all the links to the scriptures I'm quoting.)


I declare that it is self-evident from the scriptures, that obeying the words of a living prophet is obeying the Lord God of Israel, and worshiping the Lord, not His prophet. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.