Feast on the word

As many of you may know to day is New Years Eve, and this is a time for new year's resolution. One of mine is to try out a promise in the Book of Mormon, more fully the promise that I am talking about comes out of 2 Nephi 32:3;

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

That is probably one of the coolest things in the Book of Mormon, I know, through the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of all things all we need to do is feast on the words of Christ. But what does it mean to feast on the words of Christ? Well what do you do in a normal feast? With me I eat and eat and eat and I enjoy it. I think that it is the same way when we feast on the words of Christ we don't need to read 40 captures to feast on the words of Christ. We just need to take a lot in. I have learned that if you want you can spend a whole hour on one verse of scripture.

So the next time you have any question what so ever try asking your scriptures by feasting on them.
Elder Matthews

Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful

Christmas is now over Jesus Christ has been born, but it is never to late to, come and adore him.

Oh, come, all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him
Born the king of angels:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
Glory in the highest:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be all glory given!
Son of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing!
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Elder Matthews

JESUS CHRIST IS BORN!!!

In sunday school a week or two ago we were talking about what the angles did when Jesus Christ was born. They were so happy that they came out of Heaven to tell people. So my question to you is who are we more excited for: Santa Clause or Jesus Christ? Santa does give us toys and fun things like that but Jesus has given us more than anybody else can, the ability to repent and return to live with our Father in Heaven. I can tell you who I am more excited for. I am going to go do what the angels did and tell everybody, "that unto us a child is born!"

Luke 2
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Jesus Christ is Born!

Elder Matthews

Courtesy of Elder Holbrook

As the companion to a District Leader, I've had the opportunity to sit back and twiddle my thumbs while they did good work on Facebook and wrote inspiring blogs. I've been very impressed with their ability to resist the urge and temptation to talk to their friends and families, and to come up with thought provoking blogs. It has shown me that this idea of online proselyting, which I questioned at first, actually is a good idea, and can be beneficial. I have heard many stories, and witnessed for myself, the effectiveness of online proselyting. People open up more through online chat or comments than they would face-to-face, and it allows us to say things that we might not say face-to-face either (don't worry, nothing bad... just being a little bolder than we're comfortable with). At first I questioned, and was even against the idea, saying that if I get that opportunity, I'll pass (at least on Facebook), but now I have changed my attitude about it. It is a wonderful tool, and I am glad we have this opportunity. I've been hearing this quote ever since we first started this online deal, and that is "The adversary has had control of the internet too long. Let's take it back." So, with all of your support and efforts, we can take it back. We can't do it alone, we need all of you to help us. Share these blogs with your friends. There are dozens of missionaries making blogs; peruse them, follow them, pick your favorites, and refer your friends to them. You can make a difference, and it's quite simple. You just point your friends where to go, and we'll take care of the rest.

With that being said, I'd like to move on to a spiritual thought. As missionaries, that's kinda what we do. We won't leave a house, member or non-member, without something. So, technically you have let me into your house, so I'll give you a spiritual thought:
As a full-time missionary, I have the great opportunity each morning to set aside an hour to study the scriptures, and whatever else may benefit myself as a missionary. I love it, and hope to continue this process after my mission. There's always something new to be gleaned each time you read the scriptures, and no matter how many times you read it, you can always take something away that you had never noticed before (I've noticed this when people tell us "they're very familiar with the Bible", and we bring up something to which they respond "huh, I never noticed that before"). So, this morning, I was reading in Alma chapter 32. To members of the church, this should sound pretty familiar. In verses 38 and 39, it says:

38But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
 39Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

However, I'd like to think that people who aren't members of our church may also recognize a familiar ring to it. My mind was instantly taken to Matthew 13, and the Parable of the Sower:

3And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.     UAdd a Note 

7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:     UAdd a Note 

8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

If we have faith, that faith is like a seed: it's small, but if you nourish it and take good care of it, it will grow, and bring forth fruit. And what is that fruit? The fruits of our labor. If we nourish that tree and let it grow, we will want to good do things, to follow the commandments, and follow the counsel and example of Jesus Christ. I'm reminded of another scripture, Matthew 17:16:

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Think about this: someone gives you a puppy. New born, adorable little puppy, cutest little thing in the world. Are you going to take good care of it, feed it the necessary food, take it for walks, teach it not to piddle on the carpet, and train it? Or are you just going to ignore it and let it fend for itself? Of course not (at least I really, really hope not). You would take care of it and help it to grow from an adorable little puppy to a regal dog. Our faith is that little puppy. It needs care and nourishment. We can feed it by feasting on the scriptures (2 Nephi 32:3), we can exercise it by praying (Luke 18:1), and teaching it to be obedient and follow the commandments (Jarom 1:9).
The more you do these things, the more the seed (or puppy) will grow, and the stronger or more fruitful it will be. I am reminded of yet another scripture. Matthew (again) 17:20 says:

20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Now, why a mustard seed? There are lots of seeds that he could have said. He could have said a sunflower seed, or an olive pit, or a tulip bulb. Why did he choose a mustard seed? That seems obscure. Well, it wasn't the first time he did that. We turn back a few chapters, where in Matthew 13:31,32 it says:

31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field.
32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

So there ya have it. A mustard seed (which, if you've ever seen one, is indeed tiny. Easily mistaken for a grain of sand) can grow into a large bush, or tree. Our faith is the same as that mustard seed. If we plant it, and nourish it, fertilize it, water it, and keep the weeds away, then our faith can sprout forth from a tiny little mustard seed to a large mustard plant.
So, my question to you is: Do you have a green thumb?
Love, Elder Holbrook

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Look to the Light

Sun Burn

A few weeks ago in Sunday School, the lesson was on testimonies, and the teacher was talking about how there are two kinds of testimonies. The first one is a candle. The candle is good, it gives light and for a very long time that's how people would light up there houses. A candle burns hot and it can help start something bigger, but it can also, with a small gust of air, be blown out. He compared that to somebody's testimony of Jesus Christ. Is that something that is a candle? Is that something that somebody can blow out?

The next thing that he talked about was the Sun.

The Sun is very big and very bright. It lights up the earth, gives us energy, can burn us really bad, and is so bright it can blind us. I do not know how to put out the Sun. I don't know if anything can put it out. Then he asked "is this how your testimony of Jesus Christ is? Can somebody put it out? Or is it strong enough to stand up to anything?" Then he turned to me and said, "Elder Matthews, what is your testimony of Jesus Christ like? Is it a candle or is it a sun? Have you been spiritually sun burned?" So I stopped and thought for a second, and right then it clicked: I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and there is nothing that can change that. No matter what anybody says or what anybody does, I will always know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
In 3 Nephi, there is a story about when Jesus Christ was born and what happened on the Americas during that time. 3 Nephi 1:19 says:
And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.
Have you been Spiritually Sunburned?
Elder Matthews

My Father

When I turned 5 years old, my dad and I started to do something on the fourth Wednesday of every month: we would drive 30 minutes to Sandy, Utah, go to Led Robster (Red Lobster) for dinner, then get our hairs cut. Then when I was 7 years old my Father got called into the Bishopric of a BYU singles ward. He was also a banker so he was gone a lot, but that never stopped him from spending time with me. I remember when I was very young he would get home at 2 or 3 in the morning and I would wake up while he was making himself dinner. I would come out and he would make both of us some food. Then when I turned 12 years old and got the Aaronic Priesthood and was able to pass the sacrament for the first time he made it so the he was the very first person that I would ever pass the sacrament to, and even though I have never told him, I thought that was one of the coolest things that I have ever done. Then on the day of my 16th birthday, something happened. The barber that we went to retired, so we had no place to get our hairs cut so we started to look for a new place. We tried lots of different places and got some good hair cuts and some bad, but I could not care less what my hair looked like. All I cared about is that I got time to spend with my dad. I don't know what I would do without him and I don't know where I would be if I did not have him. He has played a big role in my life. Even though we yell at each other a lot and often argue, if you ever need a light switch changed, or a new toilet or kitchen sink put in, my father and I can turn it in to an all day job.
I love you, dad.
Elder Matthews

Christmas Spirit

Last year was the first time that I saw this video and it helped me remember what Christmas is really about. all you need to do is drop the last 3 letters to remember Christ in Christmas.

A Great Debt Paid

This is a story that I found while I was walking around. I thought it was good, and helps us know what Jesus Christ did for us.
Czar Nicholas of Russia would sometimes walk about his military camps and barracks dressed as an ordinary officer, in order that he might anonymously know first hand what was going on. Late one night, Nicholas was making one of these tours of inspection and noticed a light under the paymaster's door. He opened the door quietly and stepped inside. There, a young officer, a son of an old friend of Nicholas, was seated at the table, his head resting on his arms, sound asleep. Nicholas thought to awaken him but changed his mind when he noticed a gun on the table along with some money, a sheet of paper, and a pen which had fallen from the hand of the sleeping man.
    Nicholas looked at the paper which contained a long list of gambling and other debts accumulated over a period of time, totaling thousands of rubles. The paymaster had realized how impossible it was for him to pay the debt he owed. His only way out, so he thought, was suicide, as he could not face the disgrace which awaited him for having used army funds to cover his debts. Weary with sorrow and remorse, he had written below the terrible total:  "WHO CAN PAY SO GREAT A DEBT?"
    Nicholas' first thought was to have him arrested. The nature of the crime was such that it could not be ignored. But as he pondered the matter he thought of his long friendship with the officer's father. A feeling of compassion gripped him. He took up the pen and wrote, "NICHOLAS."
    The young officer awoke soon after Nicholas had gone, intending to end his life, but noticed the name "Nicholas" below his question. He was astonished and could not believe what he saw. He compared Nicholas' signature with that on other papers on his possession, and there was no doubt about its genuineness. Joy and shame filled his heart as he thought of the fact that Nicholas knew all bout his dishonesty and recklessness and yet was willing to pay his debt. True to his word, the following morning money arrived from Nicholas just enough to pay "so great a debt."
     I thought that this story was a very good one. We have done something that we can not make up for, we have all sinned. But Jesus Christ a friend, a brother was willing to come to this earth and die for us so that we can be forgiven of our sins. That is something that I am eternally grateful for, and that is something that I know that he did for us.
Elder Matthews

Snow and Sin.

Today as I was trying to think of something to blog about when Samantha (from the Montana State University Ward) started to chat with me, so I told her my problem and she gave me a good idea and this is what it is.
     The past couple weeks have been very cold and snowy, and if you know Bozeman at all, Bozeman gets a lot of snow. The snow has piled up and up in front of people's houses who don't use a snow shovel. As missionaries, we use sidewalks a lot and we know when people don't use snow shovels because it makes things a lot harder for us. We have to walk around, and then when we do walk through it we get snow in our shoes and it makes our feet cold.
     You might be asking yourself what does this have to do with Atonement? I'll tell you. As Sam brought up, the snow is like sin. If you are in Bozeman it is going to snow, and if you are on this Earth you are going to sin. You cannot get away from that. As I said before, when you don't shovel the snow off your sidewalk you hurt more than just yourself, just like when you sin. It hurts the people around you, also. Nobody is perfect and we all get the snow on our sidewalk, but we all have snow shovels and can get rid of that snow. We all have Jesus Christ's Atonement. We can all get rid of our sins, the question is: will we use the "shovel"? Do we know how to use the "shovel"? Are we going to make our "sidewalk" clean? We all have the tools to do so, all we need to do is pick up that "shovel" and get to work.
Elder Matthews