Through His Grace

The story of Christ washing the feet of his disciples is one of the most impactful of his ministry

Following the pattern of the way he lived his life, he put others first

Jesus was about to be crucified

He knew what was to come only a few hours later in the Garden

He knew this would be the last night he had with his disciples. They very men who left it all to travel and serves alongside the Savior for those 3 years

Despite all of those things, Jesus put aside his needs and comfort to be of service yet again

It didn't matter that he was about to die

It didn't matter that he was soon to experience every pain and every sorrow ever to be felt by mankind

None of that mattered

Jesus wanted to serve

When we are going through trials and tough times in life, the best remedy is learned from the example of our Savior

Jesus wanted to serve

"Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not." (1 Nephi 9:5)

How many times in our lives do we receive a commandment or a prompting from God that we don't understand?

How many times upon receiving those commandments/promptings do we question the Lord with why?

I was in my class this morning with Elder Brad R. Wilcox and he talked about God's Wise Purposes

Elder Wilcox shared that majority of the times that we recieve this kind of inspiration from God, the time has not come for us to know the purpose. This moments are intended for us to exercise the faith we have in the Father

When the time comes for us to gain a full understanding of God's purposes, he WILL make it known unto us. And we WILL understand God's perfect plan and we WILL be able to see how his had was involved the whole time

Merry Christmas Y'all!!!

My heart is full this beautiful Christmas morning with gratitude for the gift of a Savior

I was thinking back this morning to a conversation I had with one of my roommates a couple weeks ago regarding the Wise Men and their role in the Christmas Story

We know that the Wise Men brought gifts to the Savior of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But, there is more to this story...

We know from the Bible that the Wise Men arrived to Jesus when he was roughly 2 years old. At this same time, King Herod sent out a decree that all male children of the age of 2 were to be put to death. My roomate and I had a great discussion about God's timing and the likelihood that these gifts brought by the Wise Men were used to pay for the swift journey to Egypt made by Joseph and Mary to protect Jesus

Like the gifts brought by the Wise Men, we've all been given gifts that have the power to bless the lives of others. The Wise Men likely didn't know the impact these gifts had on Mary and Joseph

Likewise, we may never know the impact our gifts have on others but it can be life changing

Today, amidst the giving and receiving of gifts, let's reflect on the ways we can use our personal gifts to bless and serve those around us

Merry Christmas Y'all 🎄

FAITH > FEAR

How often do we let our fears get in our way? I know I've fallen victim to this before.

Fear is such a natural thing that as humans we all experience, but what would happen if we let faith take over fear?

When Peter made the conscious decision to step out of the boat, he put his faith first. HE TRUSTED JESUS! However, when the winds began the blow and the waves began to crash, fear took over. He let his fear overcome his faith

But what do we learn about Jesus here? HE STEPS IN!!

Jesus is worthy of our faith. He deserves our trust.

Peter didn't sink because the Savior reached out and caught him.

His hand is outstretched to us as well. We only need faith enough to take hold.