Amazing Latter-day

Just submitted my mission papers online

2009-09-06T20:19:00.001-04:00

I just submitted my mission papers online! I put December 21st as my availability date to go on my mission. It might not be on that exact date though, but I would like to leave before Christmas.

After submitting the papers online, the website took me to a "What to Do after Your Recommend Is Complete" page.
It told me basic stuff that I need to do in order to prepare for my mission. It also said that I will need to meet with the Bishop and the Stake President to review my recommendation form.

The very last thing that the site said was this:

At Church headquarters, your recommendation form will be reviewed by the Quorum of the Twelve, who will assign you to a mission. Thereafter a call letter from the President of the Church, accompanied by a call packet with information about what you will need to do to prepare to begin your mission, will be sent to the address you specified in your recommendation form.

It's neat, thinking that the Quorum of the Twelve in Salt Lake will actually be reviewing me. I just cant wait to get that letter from Thomas S. Monson, telling me where I'll be serving for the next two years =]

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Starting School Tomorrow...

2009-08-23T16:38:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow I start my first classes as a college student. I'm only taking two basic classes, ENC 1101 and MAT 1033. Don't really have time or money for anything else.
I havent bought any books yet, because they're all sold out at the bookstore, and I'm still not even sure what I need. I'm going to rent my books from Chegg after I find out what I really need.
It'll also be my first time waking up pretty early. My English class starts at 7:30, then I get out at 8:45. THEN I have work that starts at 10. I wonder what I'll do between school and work... probably hang out at the library. Tuesday I start my math class, which is 8-9:15. I'm really not looking forward to math, because I've already had this teacher in high school. She kinda speaks like an old withered elephant, and she shows no mercy. I'll just have to kill her with kindness.
Hopefully I'll do really well in these classes. I'm trying to boost my GPA before I leave for my mission in December. I want to boost it so I'll have a better chance at getting accepted to BYU after I return.
Well, wish me luck! I'll most likely need it.

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Why temple marriage is so important:

2009-07-16T20:33:00.002-04:00

I'm at institute, and the subject is on Temple marriage. Here's the scripture that we're reading:

DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 131

IN the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;

2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];

3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.

4 He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.

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A Father Indeed

2009-06-25T22:31:00.010-04:00

I know Father's Day was a few days ago, but I just watched the Church's YouTube video on Fathers. I think the world has twisted the view of what being a father really means, and this video reminded me of how important and special being a father is. I'm currently only 18 years old, but this is the type of father that I would like to be one day.

I invite you to watch this, if you already haven't done so.

Fatherhood is something that's very special. I think about it all the time, about the responsibility of being a father to my children; they look up to me. It's an honor to be a father. It's a special opportunity that our Heavenly Father has given you the responsibility over these spirits that He sent down into your home. To watch over them, to nurture them, to give them blessings. Blessings are a very important thing that families need to have. I think a lot of families don't realize the importance of a father's blessing. I am very thankful that I am a father, that I have the opportunity of providing for my family.

http://amazinglatter-day.blogspot.com/

I'm graduating!!

2009-05-26T22:24:00.001-04:00

Guess what? I'm graduating this Saturday!! I've been done with classes since last week, but I don't officially graduate till Saturday morning.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I want it to be over with, but yet I'm realizing that... I'm done with school. Or at least until college.

I remember at the beginning of this year I kept on saying that I don't feel like a senior yet. I still really don't. Senior. That's me. Graduate. That'll be me also.

Around the time that I get my diploma, and as I'm wearing my cap and gown, then I might start to feel like I'm a senior.

I'm also graduating from Seminary on the same day! It's later in the day though. I'll be graduating twice!!

It's going to be a big day for me and my family. I can't wait!

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Last day of classes tomorrow!

2009-05-19T22:09:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is basically the last day of school for me! I have to take two exams. Photoshop & American Government.
After those two are taken, I have no more classes!!!!
Wish me luck on the exams!

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Screenshot with TWO monitors

2009-05-10T19:22:00.002-04:00

Just finishing some photoshop stuff. I hooked up my 22" monitor to my laptop, and it makes so much easier to work with.

And I've always wondered what would happen if you took a screenshot with two monitors attached.... now I know.

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Three cheers for failure

2009-05-03T22:37:00.001-04:00

I'm actually pretty ticked off at myself, because I just realized that my GPA is too low to get into a college like BYU. That kills me. And it's not because I'm dumb, it's mostly because I procrastinate and get sidetracked on everything that I do, because I have ADD.
I even made sure I missed as few days as possible in seminary this year, and did other required stuff, to better my chances of getting in.

I hate watching people get better grades then I do when they know nothing. They know how to cheat really good, and I sit here struggling to keep a C in my class.

I killed english with a F at the beginning of this year, and a D in math. I've taken Spanish about seven times because I haven't passed it yet.

And do you know what sucks even more? When all of my friends get invited to these nice scholarship nights, and I don't. No one wants to give me a scholarship. I won't ever get a scholarship. They don't care about me. I'll just sit here and struggle some more.

My dream was to get into BYU. I wanted to get a nice scholarship so I could continue my education. I actually wanted to make a few good friends in the church, live in the mountains, walk through the halls of BYU. Well because I've screwed up so many times, BYU would laugh at me even if I tried to apply.

I can't even get my associates degree over the summer, because it would take me a whole year to get it.

I just hate trying, and getting nothing. I try so hard to battle my ADD so I can do good, but it's got the best of me.

If I had the chance to go back in time and redo high school, I would do it in a heartbeat.

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Parking tip for all of you new drivers:

2009-04-29T20:17:00.004-04:00

Always try to park next to the most expensive car in the lot. If you can park inbetween TWO expensive cars, that's like double protection. I parked next to an $80,000 Land Rover today, and I felt pretty safe.

The owners of the older cars don't care if they bash your car when they swing open their door.
Now, these people driving Range Rovers and Dodge Vipers, they won't even touch your car.

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Reposting 'Living Above the Standards of the World'

2009-04-29T08:31:00.001-04:00

I don't know why I'm exactly doing this, but I'm going to repost one of my first posts that I blogged about almost a year ago.
I think it's wonderful, and I would like more people to read this.
Feel free to leave comments on the original post, too:
http://amazinglatter-day.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

I've come to realize how difficult it is to uphold church standards, and how easy it is to slip into temptation and sin.
Everyone's trials and weaknesses are different, but a weakness of mine is school.
Now, its not school itself. I can tell you that Algebra isn't tempting me towards sin. I'm talking about the people that are in the school.
Every single day I am presented with immodesty, vulgar language, drugs, sexual references, and more. I find it somewhat hard to concentrate on schoolwork, and its hard not to let these temptations influence me.

I've found a few things that help me stay on the straight and narrow path, without wandering off:

Pray,
Read my Patriarchal Blessing,
Listen to church hymns/EFY music,
Read the scriptures.

So these are great activities to become closer to the spirit, but sometimes I can't read my Patriarchal Blessing in school, or start listening to uplifting music in the middle of class.
One thing I do is pray.
After I've done that, I preoccupy my mind by thinking of good things- my future, what new products Apple will announce, what my schedule will be like after school, and other things like that.

Its just a fact that living in this world is troublesome. We came here knowing that we would face great trials and difficulties, but also knowing that we would be blessed beyond our knowledge if we strive to live the Gospel.

My seminary teacher recently reflected on the Great and Spacious Building. Some people weren't exactly doing pure evil things- they were being human. I learned that being human won't get you far in the next life. We may find joy and think that our lives are going perfect, and that we don't need to worry about going to church or keeping standards of the Church in our lives. But this kind of joy is only temporal. Being human doesn't prepare us to live once again with our Heavenly Father.

We need to become extraordinary beings, we need to live higher than the world's standards, and we need to excel beyond being human. Being human is not good enough, and we drift away from what we really should be focusing on in this life.

I also find it annoying when other people discover that I'm LDS, and don't want to understand what we believe in, but rather put words in our mouth and tell us what we do and don't do for us.
People often say, "Wow, his religion is stricter than ours!" or "I forgot that you can't do anything, you're a Mormon."

I don't find that my standards hold me back at all. They lift me up above the ordinary, above the crowd. How are things like not being able to go to parties on Sunday a restriction? The only thing that it restricts me against is living below my standards. It doesn't restrict me on ever having fun. I found that our 'restrictions' don't hold us back, they push us forward. We are able to focus on bigger, better things, compared to living in the world's standards and living as a human.

I hope that everyone that reads this will be inspired to live above the standards that are so prevalent in the world today. I challenge you to identify what your weaknesses are, and find your own ways to help defeat those weaknesses that threaten our spiritual lives.
I hope and that we can live as extraordinary beings, and not as just humans. If can live above what the world views as their standards, I promise that we will be greatly blessed by living a more spiritual life.

I would like to leave with a quote from one of my most influential people, Gordon B. Hinckley, who once said, "...when good men and good women face challenges with optimism, things will always work out! Truly, things will work out! Despite how difficult circumstances may look at the moment, those who have faith and move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out."

I believe that things will always work out, no matter what the circumstance.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave comments with your thoughts.

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Ninja

2009-04-29T06:16:00.001-04:00

Has anyone else read the product description for the update to the Google Mobile App? It's pretty funny.

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Wonderful weekend

2009-04-26T23:27:00.001-04:00

Well the weekend is over. I had such a wonderful one, too.
Prom was really amazing, and I'm glad I was able to attend.
Today I actually got up for church! I thought I wouldn't be able to wake up, since I went to bed at like 2 am.
But it was indeed a lazy Sunday. I took a huge nap after church.
Well tomorrow is Monday! Hopefully this week will be great =]

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Finally going to bed =]

2009-04-26T02:49:00.001-04:00

Tonight was so much fun! I invited Sam Green, and she was my date for the night. We ate at Ruby Tuesday's, and I had a yummy meal. Afterwards, the whole group piled into a huge Ford Excursion stretch limo. That was really neat. First time I've been in a limo.
We all went to a wonderful park on the river for prom. The school reserved the second floor of a recreational building in the park, and we had a nice view of the river. I've never taken so many photos in just a few hours in my life!
It was very windy out, so the temperature was nice and cool.
After the dance, we all piled in the limo again to head to our cars.
I drove Sam over to my work so she could see the office, and then we drove to the downtown area and walked on the dock. Surprisingly enough, we found some other friends and hung around downtown till midnight.
After that, I took Sam back to my house and watched a few snl skits on hulu before I had to drive her home.

I had a great to d at prom tonight! =]

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Gettin ready for PROM!

2009-04-25T14:56:00.002-04:00

This is so exciting!
I just got my hair cut, and it's not covering my face anymore!
I picked up a corsage and boutonniere, and now I'm going to go wash and vaccum the car out.

I'll keep you updated, and I'll twitpic the event, too =]

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Tomorrow is going to be big.

2009-04-24T22:51:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow! I'm waking up around 6:30 so I can make it on time for the Day if Service. After that is the haircut, then prom!
It's going to be so much fun! =]

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Spanish is OVER!

2009-04-23T21:39:00.001-04:00

YAY! I'm done with Spanish!
I'm pretty certain I passed the class. I'm so glad I'm done with it. I've been trying to unsuccessfully wrap my brain around the language for a few years now.
And this means that I have one less class to deal with. I don't have to stay at school from 2 - 3:15 anymore! =D

Well tomorrow I have to really get ready for Prom.
Right now I'm debating if I should go to a hair stylist and pay like $30 and get a nice hair cut, or chance it at the barber's for $9. I really don't know.
AND I INVITED SAM GREEN TO PROM! It's going to be so exciting! We really got a limo and everything. It's going to be the best (and last) prom ever.

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Dead tired.

2009-04-22T22:21:00.001-04:00

I am so worn out. Just finished Spanish assignments, and I've got by final exam in that class tomorrow.
Hopefully after the exam I can focus on PROM!
My friend got our group a limo to ride in! It's going to be so exciting! I've never been inside a limo before.
Tomorrow I'm going to go get my hair cut by my favorite stylist, and then maybe get some prom clothes picked out. For the sake of saving a lot of money, I might just wear my church dress suit. It's got matching pinstripes on the jacket and on the pants. Oh! I should go buy a new tie though. I'll do that too.

Well I'm going to bed before I pass out, lol

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Dramatic Aftermath Video

2009-04-21T22:17:00.001-04:00

Click here to download:

Aftermath1.wmv (11552 KB)

Well, I just made this video. It's just stuff that I like to do for fun.
I found this content on my computer from almost a year ago, and I just mashed it all together to create this amazing video. Enjoy.

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Today's been great =]

2009-04-21T19:45:00.002-04:00

Today was so busy, but it was equally exciting!
I started the day taking an American Government test. Not fun. It wasn't too hard though, I just don't do well with fully memorizing key terms for American Government. OH! And has anyone watched the Schoolhouse Rock video about how a bill becomes a law? Well we watched it in class yesterday. It's kinda funny, and it pretty much sums up how bills become laws.
Here's the YouTube video if you still don't remember:

So after the test first block, I had some time before I had to go to my Spanish class at 2pm.
In between that time, I picked up my graduation tickets AND my prom tickets!
I still had a bunch of time left, so I finished my Spanish project, and then went out to lunch at Taco Bell with a bunch of friends before returning to school for my Spanish class.

Spanish class was pretty easy today, too. We just went over our projects.
After that, I drove to work, which went by quick.

AND as I got home, my replacement Virgin Mobile phone was waiting for me!
If you don't know, my current phone is a little... floppy? Not the way it should be?
Well Virgin Mobile, being the amazing cell phone company they are, sent me a free replacement phone.

SO now I have a nice new phone. I like getting replacement phones, it's almost like starting over again from the beginning.

Today was a good day =]

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Sneaky.

2009-04-21T17:50:00.001-04:00

Mmm looks like one of the Elders snapped a picture of their name badge on my phone.
The only problem is.... its a name badge. Elder Smith didn't get away with this one, lol

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Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:54:00.007-04:00

It's Easter! My family did the Easter egg hunt on Saturday, so today doesn't really feel like Easter to me. I think this is kinda sad, because Easter shouldn't only be about the eggs and candy.

I noticed that the Church posted a wonderful YouTube video on what Easter really is about, and I'd like you to watch it =]

Happy Easter!

http://amazinglatter-day.blogspot.com/

BYU!

2009-01-31T19:11:00.015-05:00

I've always wanted to go to Brigham Young University for college, but I just didn't know if I wanted to move from Florida all the way to Utah.

People are always asking me, "Where do you want to go for college?", and I reply that BYU would be my first choice, and some local college here in Florida would be my second choice if I couldn't get in. After I tell them that, they usually smile and say, "Oh, I'm sure you'll get in to BYU. You'll like it there."

Would I?

I was just recently doing some research on BYU's website, and I'm really getting excited about it. I've always liked BYU, but now that I'm doing research on what this University is all about, I'm beginning to enjoy the thought of living in Utah and going to college at BYU.
I really liked the on-campus housing, especially Wyview Park. I looked at all of the photos, pricing, and the different rooms and accommodations. I remembered that being LDS cuts the cost of tuition basically in half, and that attending Seminary also boosts the chances of getting accepted.

I also thought of what campus life would be like. The idea of going to school with people who share the same standards as I do sounds amazing. Life would be so much simpler without having to go to a school where other people may influence me and distract me from school and religious activities. I wouldn't be pressured from others to do things that I wouldn't want to do anyway. I'd imagine that at BYU, everyone encourages and lifts each other up.

I've noticed that going to Seminary before school really sets my day off right. Even though school doesn't have the same atmosphere as Seminary does, it still helps me make it through the day. I can only imagine what the atmosphere would be like in BYU. Right now I'm imagining it as if Seminary, EFY, and combined youth activities were all rolled together into a University.
It would be so incredibly amazing if I had the opportunity to go to BYU.

I looked at the campus map, and I just found out that the Provo Utah Temple is right next to the school! Wow. Just wow.
One of my friends currently goes to BYU, and he told me that he got to attend General Conference in person. I would be so thrilled to go to the conference center to see and hear the Prophet in person! There just isn't any other college or university out there that can match up to what BYU is.

I think that going to BYU would be one of the best things that could ever happen in my life.

Dorm photo from http://www.byu.edu
BYU campus photo from http://www.flickr.com user Spaz Du Zoo
Provo Utah Temple from http://www.ldschurchtemples.com

http://amazinglatter-day.blogspot.com/

Bringing back my blog from the dead... again

2008-12-21T17:48:00.003-05:00

I've decided to bring back my blog posts.
I haven't been posting mostly because of how busy I am, and also because I thought I had nothing 'inspirational' to blog about.
But then I looked at the title of my blog, and it read "[Sharing] my experiences as a LDS youth, pursuing everyday trials, and still finding the joy in each day.."
I think I'm going to do just that.
I've always put off writing posts because I thought they had to be super inspirational, and Conference-talk quality, and I could never sit down every week to basically write down a talk.

So from now on I'm just going to type what's on my mind, and what's happening in life.

http://amazinglatter-day.blogspot.com/

Its empty in here.

2008-10-12T17:45:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry that I haven't posted a blog in almost two months, but so many things are happening that are keeping me busy.
I started my senior year of school, turned 18 in September, enrolled at a new school where I'm taking college classes, continued marching band, and tons more. In fact, I'm behind in almost everything I can think of right now.

But as soon as I get a minute of free time, I'll write a wonderful new blog! I think I'll share my experience at the Joseph Smith birthplace, and I'll even share my other experience of handling an original copy of the Book of Mormon at Dartmouth College, along with some amazing photos.

I really hope I can get the time to write these along with other wonderful days, like temple trips, school, and even band.

As for right now, you can follow my daily happenings at twitter.com/zoovroo, and even look at pictures that I have uploaded over at my Flickr account.

I have to go study for a test now, but I hope I'll be able to write again soon!

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

2008-08-22T08:31:00.015-04:00

I've been mesmerized by this old hymn: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.
When I first heard of this hymn, it was at this past EFY session, where the session director played a little movie titled Reflections of Christ.

There's always at least one big spiritual moment for me at EFY, where I find myself surrounded in my Savior's love. Its where I find myself with a purpose, and that my Heavenly Father truly loves me and cares for me. It builds on my testimony so much.
Well this year's big spiritual moment was when I watched the Reflections of Christ video. As I watched it for the first time, I felt the spirit so strongly in me. I know that everyone has different ways of reacting when they're affected spiritually, but I start shaking, and I can't control the tears that run down my face. To me it feels like my whole body is just full of the spirit, so much that it feels like I can not contain it all in me at once.

When I watched the video, I felt something other than what others might say. I've already said that the Church is true, and I know that it is. But this time, sitting in my chair, feeling the spirit swell inside me, I felt and knew that the Lord has a marvelous plan for me, and that He wants to see me succeed. And it's not just a plan for me, I believe that He has a great plan for everyone on this earth.

After watching the video, I wanted to know more about the song that was played.
I did a Google research on some of the lyrics, and found out that it is an old Christian hymn. I didn't know this either, but it was included in the Hymnals 1948 edition in the Church.
When I watched the video again, I felt an even better feeling when I followed along with the lyrics.

I would like to share this amazing video with you in this post. And as you watch it the first time, I encourage you to watch it full screen (), and listen to what the spirit is trying to tell you, and to remember what feelings you got out of the video.

After the video is done, play it a second time, not full screen this time, and follow along with the lyrics below the video.

I hope you enjoy it.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Credit: Reflections of Christ/ http://www.reflectionsofchrist.org/
Mark Mabry/ http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/

EFY!

2008-08-11T12:03:00.009-04:00

Sorry for the late post on EFY, my life has been completely full of busy activities this past couple of weeks.

Well for people who don't know what EFY is, it's a "week long youth-oriented seminar focused on fellowship and teaching the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" -Wiki
Its basically a week long LDS youth camp, from ages 14-18, that is usually hosted at a college or some other sort of facility.

Here I'll share with you my journal entries for the whole week. Now these journal entries are done at the end of the day each night, so I'm pretty tired most of the time, but I'll explain what happened in detail that day.

Monday:

"So my first day, fourth year at EFY! My sister got to come this year, and I think she's going to have a great experience. So my roommate is pretty neat, we registered previously together so we wouldn't have to guess or find out who our roommates would be. And we brought a lot of food. I brought Root Beer and Chips, and Justin (my roommate) brought everything else.
My counselor's name is Michael. He's alright, but he isn't the best counselor I've had. I've seen a few people from past years, and one old counselor. Everyone seems to be leaving EFY and getting married, that is, for the counselors.
We've got a bunch more girls than guys this year, which is good.
Well, tomorrow is going to be fun, and I'm really glad I'm back here at EFY =]"

Monday is register day. That day I got my EFY wristband, which lets counselors know that I'm an EFY participant, and my food wristband, which gets me into the cafeteria to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also received an EFY participant handbook, which is what I used for my journal. It also included Family Home Evening lessons, activities, and hymns. It also comes with an agenda of the whole week.
I also received my EFY lanyard, which has a name card thing at the end that has your name and where you are from printed on it, and I got a an EFY CD with the 2008 EFY theme song, and other wonderful songs inspired by EFY.
I also got my key to my dorm room! Like I said in my journal entry above, my friend Justin and I both registered together so that we'd be dorm room buddies. If we didn't register together, we'd both get someone random guy as a roommate, which is fine usually.
I've only had a random roommate once before, and he left me to go into another room.
Ever since then I've gotten roommate buddies. Its preferably better.

After we get all situated, unpack everything into our rooms, and meet our roommates, we all meet up into our company spot. Everyone at EFY is divided into companies, and they usually consist of two counselors, a guy and a girl, and then about 18-40 guys and girls in the whole company. The guys and girls are separated when we meet up in our dorm halls, of course.
We had Family Home Evening, which was held by our Session Director.

Tuesday:

"Today was fun! I attended some really great lessons in the afternoon. We (some friends and I) went to go look in the new dorm rooms during free time, and then we had a dance that night. To tell the truth, this year of EFY hasn't been my favorite so far. We never got to know the girl's names, I don't know who our girl counselor is, and we just haven't been as a whole group together this year, which makes me a little disappointed. The past EFY's, our groups have always felt like family. Its not so much like that this year, but this doesn't really matter because I'm here for myself, and I'm going to listen to some great speakers tomorrow. And I'm still going to strengthen my testimony all on my own."

You can see that I was getting a little stressed out that this year's EFY wasn't feeling like the others that I have had in the past, but then I realized that I'm not going to stress out that EFY isn't perfect for me. I was going to focus on what I need to learn to strengthen my knowledge and testimony by listening to the speakers as I attended classes that day.
It actually turned out to be a good day. We got free time after classes, and I used that time to visit the college's new dorm rooms, which were really nice.
Then we got ready for the dance, met up with our company, and escorted the women to the dance. The dance really wasn't that impressive either, because they used to have a real DJ with party lights. This year's dance was being played off of a Dell laptop running iTunes, with the fluorescent lights on most of the dance. But still, I didn't let it bother me, because I was having fun despite the changes and differences of other EFY's in the past.

Wednesday:

"Today was really great. I didn't worry about my company, and instead I listened to what I was being taught. I wrote down a bunch of notes and references, and I've also found a different way of reading the scriptures: I used to read the scriptures as just references, but now I'm seeing the scriptures as an actual story. Its a book that I want to read now that I look at it as a real book instead of looking at it as a textbook.
Tonight was also pizza night, which was a lot of fun. I hooked up my iPod to Justin's speakers and blasted great music while we ate pizza and had fun playing games. Well tomorrow is spiritual Thursday! I'm sure its going to be a great day, too!"

I attended more classes today, and took a bunch of notes. After free time, I gathered with my company to create a banner and a cheer for games night. Our company was called Glory of the Moon, and we designed a really neat banner to go along with our company name. We all made up a good cheer to sing and preform to the judges at Game Night!
At game night, all of the companies showed off their cheer and banner and competed with other companies to get points. We also played a bunch of games that involved the whole group.
After we were all done, everyone went back to their dorms and had a pizza party! I had tons of fun that day.

Thursday:

"Today was a great day, and I've learned so much. I've mostly learned about the priesthood and how we need to be worthy to hold it. I believe that I have a greater understanding of what the Lord has in store for me, and how important it is to be clean and worthy.
They played a slide show with pictures of Christ, and I realized how much I love him and how much he loves me.
I really want to live my life in a way that Heavenly Father will be proud of, so that one day I can live with him again. Even though I don't have a perfect knowledge of understanding, I want to live righteously so that the Lord can reveal his mysteries to me, so that I will be able to understand things better.

I bore my testimony tonight, and so did my sister. I'm really thankful that I have such a good friend (my sister) with me always that has chosen to live the gospel.
And it turns out that my company and counselor really aren't that bad at all. After testimony meeting, we all had a devotional where we all had the chance to add on to what we said in testimony meeting.
I found out that I really want to be the person that I want to be, and that I want to live in a way so that the Savior may be able to say "well done" when I return to live with him again"

So that whole journal entry just summed up my whole day.

Friday we just had a dance, did a service project knitting hats, and have a formal banquet and dance as our last day of EFY.

I am really glad that I attended EFY, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to go and learn so much from leaders and speakers, and that I could strengthen my own testimony.

Camp Mosiah

2008-06-26T13:15:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity of attending Camp Mosiah at the Deseret Ranch Rodeo Grounds. I was there from Wednesday the 18th all the way to Saturday the 21st.
All Aaronic Priesthood holders from a great number of Florida stakes and wards were invited to attend a great camp experience.
The first day that I arrived, a huge thunderstorm came and poured down on us for atleast a half hour, while everyone took shelter under the rodeo's stadium seating. I quickly set up my tent in a large field along with others as soon as the rain let up.
Thursday and Friday were activity days. The activities ranged from volleyball to shotgun shooting, and all of the activities were separated into groups of Deacons, Teachers, and Priests.

My favorite experience was on Thursday, where Dean R. Burgess was able to come to the camp grounds and visit everyone. Dean R. Burgess is the First Counselor in the Young Men's General Presidency. The first time I saw him, I was helping prepare the lunches for everyone that day. He came over and shook everyone's hand, including mine, thanking everyone for their hard work and dedication, and how much he appreciates all that we've done.
Later that night in the rodeo stadium, everyone got to listen to some amazing speakers. There was a current missionary who had spoken, along with a senior sister missionary. And then I got to hear President Burgess talk!

He gave a great talk, describing how important we are, as Priesthood holders, to the future of the church. He also described a personal experience when he was in High School, where he had to choose to go on a Mission, or to continue with his very successful high school basketball team. Of course, he decided to serve a Mission. He said that serving a mission was one of the most important decisions that he has ever made, and that it has blessed him in his life in so many ways. I'm sure that he would have done great in basketball, but that hobby wouldn't have taken him too far, and I'm sure he wouldn't have received as many blessings as he did serving a mission. This was a great talk, because it reassured and showed me the real significance of serving a mission, of choosing to serve the Lord for two full years to bring His truth to the World.

After the program, I was able to thank President Burgess personally for his words, and how much they meant to me. I found that President Burgess is a wonderful person: I first thought that he'd be busy, and that as soon as I thanked him he would want to move on and get through the crowd. But instead as I thanked him, he put his arm around my shoulder and talked with me and my friends for awhile. He told us how important it is to go through our Priesthood callings as a team, and that we can't fulfill our callings alone. He also told us to go to members who might feel left out, or those who might not be as active as some of us, and that its important to go out and find those who have wandered off. I thought this was great advice, because I had been somewhat recently called as second counselor for the Priest's Quorum in my ward.

Right before we left to go back to camp, he told each of us that we can accomplish anything if we set our minds to it. We can be anything in this world that we want to be, and that the only thing that stops us from becoming who we want to be is doubt. I completely agree with his statement. We really can be the person that we dream of becoming. We just have to be sure that we don't doubt ourselves. If we just set our minds to what and who we want to be in the future, we truly will become that person. There really is nothing that holds us back from that.

I was really glad that I was able to have a great camping experience, and that I was able to listen to such a motivational person. It really was an amazing week.

Living Above the Standards of the World

2008-05-12T16:37:00.000-04:00

I've come to realize how difficult it is to uphold church standards, and how easy it is to slip into temptation and sin.
Everyone's trials and weaknesses are different, but a weakness of mine is school.
Now, its not school itself. I can tell you that Algebra isn't tempting me towards sin. I'm talking about the people that are in the school.
Every single day I am presented with immodesty, vulgar language, drugs, sexual references, and more. I find it somewhat hard to concentrate on schoolwork, and its hard not to let these temptations influence me.

I've found a few things that help me stay on the straight and narrow path, without wandering off:

Pray,
Read my Patriarchal Blessing,
Listen to church hymns/EFY music,
Read the scriptures.

Amazing Day

2008-04-21T18:02:00.001-04:00

We (people at church) found an old plastic bag hidden in the library in the church, and we found out that it had old construction photos of the actual church itself, being built in 1989.

I love construction photos.
Its like seeing your grandparent's childhood pictures
except with a building that you've grown to love for years

Seeing it being built a year before I was even born was amazing.

To think that so many people dedicated their time and hard work to an amazing building that we use today, knowing that it would bring people together; that it would be for the benefit of other people's lives for years to come.

I love my church so much =]]]]