Line upon Line, Link by Link

Have you ever heard the phrase 'keep your eyes on the prize'? It's a phrase I would usually think associated with sports or some other competitive event, but it applies to almost every aspect in our life if we think about it. It means remembering the ultimate goal of whatever we are working towards. Staying focused and diligent so we ultimately obtain the focus of our labors. Imagine our life is a long chain of metal links working together, from the beginning of our life to the end of our life, left to right. Each period of our life is a little link, that can either be strengthened through righteous actions, or weakened from sin. If we look too far ahead in our life we start pulling in that direction, to the right, and previous links start stretching as the weaker links that you have not yet reinforced are strained due to the tugging. The same thing happens when we go the other way. If we spend too much time in the past we pull the chain in that direction, to the left, and once again the links we have not yet reinforced are weakened as they stretch due to the strain.

Listen to the warnings of Book of Mormon prophet: "But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble" (Jacob 4:14). The mark that the Jews looked past was that of the long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ! Many had become caught up in hopes of a redeemer from their temporal circumstances so that they looked past the mark, or took their 'eyes off the prize', and missed their spiritual Redeemer when he was among them. Instead of reinforcing whatever link they were at in their life, they started pulling their chain in other directions, weakening their faith and rejecting the Savior. Before we are so quick to judge, how many of us do the same things? This is a lesson my dad taught me. So often we are always looking forward to the next thing, the next 'link' you could say, whether it be the next job, or next class, etc. We get so caught up in looking forward to something else, or looking back on opportunities missed, that we forget the gift of time with which we have been currently entrusted and the things we need to focus on now. There will be times that we sin, that we look beyond our Savior, the mark, in our own lives, but as we humble ourselves and repent the Lord gives us this promise: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all mean that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" (Ether 12:27).

What Do Our Hands Say About Us?

I have never blogged before. I have never enjoyed any form of poetry, or writing, or English for that matter. Quite frankly put, words are not my forte. What I do enjoy though is my Savior Jesus Christ and everything He has done for me. For that reason I "labor diligently to write, to persuade... [my] brethren, to believe in Christ" (2 Nephi 25:23). I wouldn't like to say that there will be any definite theme or motif to my blog, I feel that establishing a theme will limit my ability to write, but if I had to choose a theme, or one beginning message to define what I hope for from my blog, it would be from this following story.

Before I came to Tennessee to serve a two-year mission for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS or 'Mormon' Church), two of my favorite hobbies were running and playing the acoustic guitar. My days were filled with miles of pavement pounding and hours of harmonious chords and frets.
If you have ever donated blood before you are familiar with the process before they draw the blood. If you aren't familiar I'll elaborate. Before they actually draw the blood from you, a nurse will go over some paperwork with you, take your pulse, and take a sample of your blood by pricking the end of one of your fingers. Every time without fail I was asked one of these two questions: "Do you play guitar?" or "Do you run a lot?". The callous on the ends of my fingertips was a result of my hours of practice, my extremely low pulse revealed my passion for running. As little as the nurses had known about me, the majority of my lifestyle was revealed through a simple touch of my hands.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" (1 Nephi 21:16). What do the Savior's hands say about His lifestyle? What do the marks in his hands, his feet, and his side, say about His unending love for us and His dedication to serving us? The theme of His life was written in His hands, to draw all men unto Him, to have faith in Him, repent, be baptized, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end!
 Our hands can reveal a lot about what we do with our life. If people could see our spiritual hands, what stories would they tell?

Christ's hands told the story of His life, as our Savior and Redeemer, and through my hands I write to the best of my capabilities to testify of Him. He lives and loves us!