Footprints in the Sand

    One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
  
    When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that at times of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that these were the lowest and saddest times in his life.

    This bothered him and he asked the Lord, "You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. Why, when I needed You most, did You leave me?" The Lord replied, "My son, I love you and would never leave you. During those times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I was carrying you."

The Seven Dwarfs

I love the classic Disney tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a tale of a run-away princess that stumbles upon a little cottage filled with seven dwarfs. The dwarfs have names very much describing their personalities and attitudes. You have Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy, Grumpy, and Dopey. Each have their own positives and negatives about themselves and they all have something we can learn from them about ourselves.

What about the Seven Dwarfs of the Gospel? Could there be seven dwarfs of the gospel? Could they somehow connect to Snow White's seven dwarfs?

First, we have Doc; the older, wiser leader of this clan of dwarfs. Likewise he relates to the Christlike attribute and dwarf of the gospel Knowledge. The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15) The more knowledge we have the better we are able to make decisions. The more TRUE knowlege we have the stronger our testimony of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ becomes. We must remember the plea issued to us in the Book of Mormon, "O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:12)

Have you ever noticed that there is a lot of unfortunate stuff that happens in this story and that the dwarfs have to do a lot of things that don't seem like a whole lot of fun? Have you ever noticed that despite that this dwarf is always happy and cheerful through the whole story? I think that's a good lesson for us. A lot of times our Heavenly Father asks us to do things that don't sound like a whole lot of fun. He might even ask us to do things that don't make a whole lot of sense at the time. Our job through all of it is to be obedient. Not just obedient but cheerfully obedient. Conveniently enough, as we are obedient to the laws of the gospel, happiness follows. "Conditions of great happiness coming from righteous living."

This shy and always embarrassed character was a little bit harder to connect to church. I was thinking of something along the lines of "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," but that didn't really seem right. What kept coming back to me over and over again is the quality of virtue. Virtue is a quality that is dropping further and further from society. Our Savior was perfectly virtuous in all of his thoughts and actions. In today's world you cannot even see a commercial without being bombarded with lude, suggestive and nearing pornographic adds and shows. Wouldn't it be nice if we were this, "Bashful" and it was as offensive to us as it would be to this dwarf...and to our Saviour. "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (Article of Faith 13)

Ahhhhh-chooo! This poor guy can't even get a sentence out without having to let a sneeze go. Having a situation such as that requires the next of the Seven Dwarfs of the Gospel; Patience. Jesus Christ was the ultimate example of patience. He endured everything and endured it well. From the taunting of the Pharisees to the crucifixion of the Romans he took everything that came his way and never lost his patience. We don't have to go through any of that, nor do we have to outlast endless sneezes. Couldn't we practice a little more patience with our fellow man. In your patience possess ye your souls. (Luke 21:19)

I hate the yawns. I also hate being tired. This dwarf is always tired, no matter when or where he just wants to curl up and take a nap. It sounds like the perfect dwarf to talk about diligence. There are many times in this life where we will be tired. Sometimes we will be physically tired, others mentally tired, emotionally tired, spiritually tired but we still need to keep on trucking. We are still expected to live a certain way. Fatigue is no reason to become lax in the way we do things. Remember the exhortation from the scriptures, "Be not weary in well doing". As we fight through the fatigue we will actually find a physical renewal that comes from obedience to the Lord. I promise. I have seen it.

 Oddly enough I would have to say that Grumpy is my favorite of the Seven Dwarfs. The question is, "What does Grumpy have to do with the gospel?" Jesus Christ wasn't grumpy or grouchy. Grumpy is our example of what not to be. He was always irritated and knew that he was always right. We need to show the opposite traits of what Grumpy embodies. We need to be cheerful and humble. Willing to do what we need to do as it comes and as our Lord sees fit.

 You have to love Dopey, if for no other reason than that he loves everybody and doesn't know any better. That is my final of the Seven Dwarfs of the Gospel. Love is so crucially important. Jesus Christ had perfect love for all of us. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) That is exactly what Christ did for us. He layed down his life that others may live. We should love those around us and most importantly our Savior if for no other reason than that He loves us.
"We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) If only we could be a little more like Dopey. Love everyone because we don't know any better.

I can promise you that as we strive to associate with the, "Seven Dwarfs of the Gospel" that we will be happier in our lives and will see the blessings of the Lord flow freely.

A Special Family

Family. What do you think about when you hear this? A lot of people think of family dinners or holidays. Maybe you think of crowded houses and arguments. Regardless, everyone has a family. The question is, how do we make our families closer and more loving? It seems to me that our families should be something more than merely 4, 5, or 6 individuals that just happen to share a last name and live under the same roof for a few years. But how do we do it?

"The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children." When we come to the realization of this then we understand more how important it is to build our families. Having a loving close knit family takes effort. Making a special family takes a special effort. Since families are central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny and happiness for us the adversary is taking extra steps and strides to try to tear families apart and make it harder for them to succeed. If you don't believe me just look at the divorce rate in this world.

So once again the question sits before us...How do I do it? Well, here is your answer.

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."

My friends and family I don't know what else to tell you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fulness and simplicity is once again the answer. Not only is it the answer to success in our individual lives, it is also the answer for success in our families.

So what do we do? What are our actions in this? I promise you that if you sit down with your family and read from the scriptures (Bible and Book of Mormon), have family prayer, have family dinner, go on family activities, have a designated night as a family night, go to church you will have a closer family. I know that if this is not something you have before done it may not make sense. I can testify the truths of it to you because I have seen the blessings in my family as we made this simples steps. I have also seen the consequences of not doing it. My family is not a perfect family, but we are an eternal family and a loving family and it is because of following the simplicity of the teachings of the prophets.

I love you and leave this testimony and promise with you as an authorized representative and disciple of Jesus Christ.