The Three Ways to Live

           Soren Kierkegaard was an 18^th century Danish philosopher who focused in on how we live our lives and why. To Kierkegaard, he perceived that there were three mutually exclusive ways to live your life: the aesthetic life, the ethical life, and the religious life.  The differentiating factor between these three ways of life is the purpose in which you're perform your actions.  Although the actions themselves are important and a key to understand who we are, more important than what we do is why we do it.  Subsequently these three categories are divided due to the motivation of our actions rather than our actions themselves.

            The Aesthetic Life is a life in pursuit of interest, often sensual in nature. These people will seek out adventure and interest, their actions are guided by the all important question: “Is this, or will it be, interesting?” The Ethical Life is very much reason based and driving, often societal based, it is a life of ethics, commitment, and self sacrifice. In the minds of the ethical based they sacrifice sensual pleasure for a more lasting enjoyment. The Religious Life is a life motivated by faith in God, the question that motivates their actions is can be seen as the platitude “What would Jesus do?” Everything revolves around what God would have them do and how “this” action will affect their relationship with God. Often these choices are neither logical nor sensually beneficial. Although these categories are in Kierkegaard’s philosophy are mutually exclusive it is possible to belong to different categories of living at different point in your life as long as you belong to only one of the above categories at one time.

            Having outlined Kierkegaard’s philosophy of living we naturally introspectively ask ourselves: “Who am I? What motivates me?” For different people come different answers; our perception of ourselves often is not our reality.  Many would like to think of themselves as living ‘religious’ lives, or living a reasonable “ethical life’ but often we allow our desires cloud our perception of who we really are.

            In my self analysis I perceive that I live an ethical life style. In my attempt to objectively view my actions and motivations, I noticed several indicators that were either inconsistent with a religious or aesthetic life, or were supportive of an ethical life. I will examine each life in turn with examples that illustrate my alignment or dissidence with the said categorical life.

The Aesthetic Life

            In my personal life I abhor dramatic or theatrical displays of emotion or conflict. When there is emotional dissonance in my life I seek the fastest and most efficient solution so as to eliminate the emotional turmoil. I am forthright and blunt with my feelings seeking for solidity and “the bottom line”.  These actions eliminate much potential “interesting” living; many people who live the aesthetic life seek out and revel in such emotional unsurety and bore of uniformity.

            Another indicator that I am not living an aesthetic life is that I gain power and motivation from commitments. I construct personal commitments and account to myself in their completion because I feel the need to have that structure in my life. Those who live the aesthetic life shy from commitment preferring to be free to indulge in spontaneous interesting activities rather than be tied down. Their ambition and commitments are like the ocean, constantly revising the moving depending on which way the wind is blowing today. They will constantly look to see what, or who, is more interesting than what they are currently occupied with.

The Religious Life

            Although I personally am religious (meaning that I have a belief in deity) I do not believe I live a religious life. I have faith in a God, and that he is striving to communicate to me. My first reaction to conflict or dilemma is not “what would my God have me do?” but “what makes logical sense? What will ultimately bring the greatest quantity of long term happiness?” For one who lives a religious life is not concerned with their desires or well being or with his fellow man but for his Deity and the relationship that exists therein.

            If God asked me to do something that did not make sense to me, such as Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac, I do not think I would do it based purely on faith, at least not initially. It might trigger a change in me to live a religious life, but currently I think the first thing I would do is ask “why”, which is rational, not faithful. A true religious liver, or as Kierkegaard coined “a knight of faith”, would act without question.

The Ethical Life

The Ethical life if venerated by Georg Hegel as the greatest, or highest, form of living. It is reason based. It is a system of weights and measurements, the person is always calculating what will be most beneficial for him and his fellowman. Commitment and sacrifice are employed to achieve a greater end.

This afternoon I was in a cafeteria and was hungry. I went to the various food establishments to view their goods. I saw many choices, and as I viewed the selections aromas triggered in my brain intense hunger. As I surveyed the food I had a desire to eat it, but as I viewed the prices I was forcibly reminded of last night when I was in the grocery store. The pricesfor the food was much higher for the amount of nourishment here than it was at the store, so I left the cafeteria and decided to forgo lunch for a few hours until I returned home. This is an example of living an ethical life. I sacrificed what I very sensually wanted for logical reasons. I believed that practicing self sacrifice then would greater benefit me in the future.

As mentioned about I commit myself to principles and values which is a sign of the ethical life. Often times I will ignore chosen aspects of living because I am not yet ready to commit to living them. When I learn I feel an obligation to apply through commitments, and when I commit I feel it almost impossible to discard the commitment. I do this because I believe that by binding down ourselves in actions we ultimately can have greater freedom and pleasure in the long run.

In reflection of Kierkegaard’s philosophical standards I feel confident in my assessment I would be considered currently to be living an ethical life. This knowledge allows me to better understand myself, understand others, and apply that understanding (in my ethical way) to best benefit myself and my fellow man. Through this I can understand and better predict what and why different people do different things, I can more accurately select friends, associates and environments which will support and augment my personal characteristics and endeavors. By understanding others you better understand yourself.

Seventy-Six and Counting

Crescent Valley, Nevada: one square mile, one elementary school, one gas station, two hundred people, seventy-six stop signs. It was the densest concentration of nothing within fifty miles in the middle of the waste which is northern Nevada. Fortunately for these people, God loves all his children and sent to them two willing, young men on a mission.

Speeding down the I-80 in a 2006 Mazda 3, my cruise control was set to 83 miles an hour, just 8 miles over the limit that way if the cops were to catch me with their radar guns they would not pull me over since I was not even going 10 miles over the limit. It was 10:15 in the morning and there was not a cloud in the morning sky. I squinted down the road as the sun glared back at me off of the blacktop. There was no denying it; even with the air conditioning maxed out it was a hot summer morning which only promise was a hotter afternoon. Gently droning from the car speakers was the enthused voice of a man lecturing. I glanced over to my passenger, he wore a white shirt and tie with a stark black name tag over his right chest pocket His seat was reclined, sunglasses askew with his mouth draping open. His hair, shaggy, brown, and unruly, hid his forehead from view while his eyes remained shut and motionless. His hair was way too long for missionary regulations. He just did not realize how important it is to be obedient. I turned back from my sleeping companion to survey the road ahead of me. There was one thing that was for sure: being the senior companion had its drawbacks. Most notably in my mind at this moment was the responsibility of driving.

On this particular trip our destination was the aforementioned Crescent Valley. We were currently exiting of the town in which we were stationed, Carlin Nevada. The town was really only good for one thing: gold. What else would lure 3,000 people to a little town with no natural resources or beauty in the middle of a desert? Everyone in the town was working for the gold, whether directly or indirectly, their efforts were to support the extraction of this shiny substance.

            We, as the missionaries in the area, covered a huge geographical area a little over 8,000 square miles. That is about the size of New Jersey. However, unlike New Jersey, which has thousands of cities and a population of around nine million, this desolate portion of Nevada consisted of only three small towns: Carlin, Crescent Valley, and Eureka, each of which were significantly distant from each other and which collectively was home to fewer than five thousand people.

I looked out my window to the left; there was nothing but a cluster of rolling hills and a vast panoramic horizon. I thought I could see a point of reflected light shining in the sea of brown, it must be a shed or possibly a small trailer home.  Being stationed in Carlin defiantly afforded me a lot of opportunity to dive. I would have dreaded driving if I didn’t enjoy it so much.

As missionaries we do everything together. We eat together, read together, travel together, shop together; we even sleep in the same room. As a rule we were to never be apart from our companions. This can become very stressful at times. You do not get to pick your companions, and sometimes you just need to be alone for a while. These regular trips afforded me the opportunity to have some solidarity. As we would prepare to go on one of these trips I would slip in the Mazda, crank up the air conditioning and pop in one of my favorite lecture CDs. This served a dual purpose: firstly I really did enjoy listening to Truman Madsen speak of the Life of Jesus Christ, and Hugh Nibley speak of the ancient prophets but also because it quickly and effectively placed my companion in a comatose state, allowing my mind to wander and be freed from the constant confinement of companionship.

 As I turned off the main road onto the car rumbled and swayed as we started down a narrow gravel street. My companion jerked awake. He quickly readjusted his seat and then fixed his glasses. He looked around; there wasn’t much to see. The rolling hills were behind us now, the view now was nothing but flat, treeless desert, which was littered with mobile trailers and a few small houses. A few dozen meters ahead was a fire-red stop sign caked in dirt, an utterly useless precautionary measure as you could see a car coming down the road from ten miles away. As I approache I scanned the horizon: not a sign of life in sight. I continued on through the stop sign. It was illegal but I blame my audacity and dissonance on the fact that I am a second child. Second children are notoriously free willed and natural rule breakers. It was not a big deal.

We took a right onto a smaller, less-well maintained gravel road. A sign proudly proclaimed the roads name: Hillbilly Lane. A short while later I threw the car into park, unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door. I was greeted by a scorching vindictive cloud of trailing dust, two dogs and a half-dozen young boys. This was our first stop.

            An hour later we returned to our car, which in our absence had been turned into an oven. After it had cooled we continued on our journey. Five minutes later we were passing the crown and jewel of the community: the Elementary school. It is a huge school for the number of people who attend it. The grounds were pristine and held a monopoly in the city on grass. You see, because of the gold mines and the low populations of the area, the cities receive huge sums of money from the mines which goes into the public facilities of the area. As I approached the school I glanced at a sign at the side of the road: School Zone: 15 miles an hour. It was an hour since school let out. There was no one in sight. I continued at 45 miles an hour beside the school. Ahead was another stop sign; I slowed to 30, looking around. I saw in the distance a bus traveling very slowly. I continued on through the stop sign. We just had one more stop, and then we would start on our way home. We approached the trailer, walked up the constructed stairs and knocked on the door. There was no reaction. After about fifteen seconds longer and a repeated attempt to notify the occupants, we returned to our vehicle.

As I slammed my car door behind me I fell back into my seat, my head tilted towards the roof, my eyes shut. As I sat up and turned the key in the ignition I surveyed my surroundings. The horizon was a tapestry of purple and red. How stunning it was to see the darkness creep into the sky. The sinking sun bred long shadows from behind the far blue mountains, texturing the otherwise barren landscape. Maybe Nevada did have some redeeming beauty after all.
My companion turned to me; “Hey, we need to go to the Holts and pick up some milk before we go home.”

“Right.” I replied.

I turned from the view and we drove off towards the Holts’. The Holts were an extremely nice family who were members of our church. They supported us by feeding us when we came to Crescent Valley, telling us who needed to be visited, and giving helpful suggestions and information. They also owned a couple of milk cows and offered free milk to the missionaries.

As we pulled up next to their high fence and walked in through their driveway we saw Brother Holt was outside doing some chores. Brother Holt was a middle aged man in his late 40’s. He was about 5’10” with salt-and-pepper hair, slightly overweight with thick large rimmed glasses. He was wearing jeans and a tight striped collared shirt. I smiled and waved to him, offering a salutation.

“Brother Holt! How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, how are the Mission Mormonaries doing?”

After a few moments of talk he looked deep into my eyes. I could tell that something was coming. Brother Holt was known for several things, one of those was for being forthright and opinionated. There was something in those eyes that told me that I was now the focus of his opinionated displeasure.

“I have a bone to pick with you two!”

“What is that?” I asked

“Who is the driver?”

“I am.”

“Well then I have a bone to pick with you! Do you believe in obeying an honoring the law, Elder?”

I didn’t like the way he used my title, nor did I like his aggressive tone of voice. This was a rebuke, I knew it, and the use of my title was merely an attempt to manipulate me. He was also citing an Article of Faith, a pillar of the Latter-day Saints doctrine.

“I do.” I replied

“I don’t l know if you know, but I am a school bus driver. This afternoon as I was returning to the school with the bus I saw you blow past a stop sign in a school zone going forty-five miles an hour! We are trying to show the people in this town what kind of people we are by the kind of lives we live, and it’s tough when you go and blatantly disregard the laws. I have it all on camera on my bus.  The footage now belongs to the school, they can do with it what they want, whether it involves you getting a ticket or not.”

Walking away from that conversation I felt a spectrum of emotions. We grabbed our milk and started the long trip back home. There was no CD playing, I was very concerned about getting a ticket.  Missionaries do not make money, all I had was the money I had earned from work back home as a cabinet installer, which was already in use to support me on my mission. On the way home my companion attempted to console me. He told me of how Brother Holt was being unfair and how he doubted I would get a ticket. Shortly after, he fell asleep, leaving me in the solitude of my own thoughts driving towards the failing rays of light emitting above the mountains. It was ridiculous the way he reacted, who is he to lecture me? He is just a grumpy old man. He has nothing better to do then to harass the people that were trying to do some good in this deplorable town. There was no logical reason for the laws, no one even lived there! There were more four wheelers on the road then cars, what is the point? It was unreasonable! I felt a passionate wave of anger towards the man. I had a strong desire to speed past that same intersection going 80 miles an hour with Brother Holt standing on the corner. That would be satisfying, that would be justice. I would show him what I thought of his tirade. I smiled at this, as the final rays of sun disappeared. I felt closure, I felt a simmering pleasure laced with vindictive fury. As I sped down the highway I looked over to my right at my passenger; his seat was reclined, glasses askew, mouth draped open. His shaggy hair hid his forehead from view while his eyes remained shut and motionless. I looked out my window to the left; I stared at the silhouette of the mountains eclipsing the bright shining stars for a long moment.

 I closed my eyes and whispered to myself; 

“He was right.”

View Larger Map

P.S. Pictures taken by Lynden.  The families name has been changed, though it seems pointless as if anyone in that area were to read this they would know who it was.  If anyone in that area or family does read this know that I have great respect for that man/family.

The Escape of the Island Adventurer

As a boy I lived on a small island on the North Atlantic Ocean. It was just off of the eastern coast of Canada and was called Prince Edward Island. In my mind it is the most beautiful place on earth, not only because of the stunning physical features but because of the accompanying nostalgic memories that flow with them.

At the age of seven I was inquisitive, energetic, and unruly. I had an incurable appetite for exploration, adventure and the unknown. Unfortunately my parents did not fully support me in this my passion, and my dreams of adventure and exploration were in jeopardy due to their tyrannical rule. To any reasonable person the boundaries they placed on me would be ridiculed. They placed proximity on my journeys, which was no more than one block from our residence. For this cause I had to take matters into my own hands.

One bright summer day I was in the act of exploration with my friends. We were atop our bicycles and were ready for anything that the world could throw at us. From previous reconnaissance we knew of a location of exploit, which in those days was commonly called “The Monkey Tree.” This was a place of mystery and wonder because we did not fully understand its origins. We presumed that a long time ago some big kids, perhaps teenagers, had taken wooden planks to this tree and created a tree fortress in the limbs, and wooden steps leading up the tree, the latter having deteriorated notably. As we circled the block we came to the off-road the led to The Monkey Tree. My friends, who had reasonable parents continued onto this road while I paused on the edge of the street in a dilemma. The choice was before me: my parents, or my friends; the circular block, or the winding path to the escape and adventure. This was my hour, my choice! I pedaled quickly to catch up to my friends.

Less than fifteen minutes later I was in my house, tears in my eyes, a yell in my throat as my father bent over and poured a clear burning liquid over my foot. Hastily thrown on the floor was a single shoe and sock, their partners remaining secured on my unscathed foot. Meanwhile my father continued to busily treat the laceration inflicted by a carelessly discarded nail. As he did so he practiced his rhetoric and scolded me.

“If you hadn’t left the block this never would have happened to you!”

But I knew better, it was a mere coincidence, it could have happened to anyone anywhere. This was but another attempt to douse my ambition and break my spirit. It did not work.

-----

p.s. Since I have looked for monkey tree on Google Maps, street view. It no long is in existence.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

New Church Song Covers

I have recently recorded a few church related primary song covers done by myself. Yesterday I put images to them. They are also posted on face book by " Lynden Jensen". All were made using A Peavey Raptor II plus Electric Guitar, A 2002 SE Acoustic Takamine, and the GNX4 effects pedal.

1 - Book of Mormon Stories

Elizabeth Fetzer Bates (Original Words and Music)

Lynden Jensen (This Cover)

2 - We'll Bring the World His Truth

Janice Kapp Perry (Original Words and Music)

Lynden Jensen (This Cover)

3 - When I Am Baptized

Nita Dale Milner (Original Words and Music)

Lynden Jensen (This Cover)

My Homecoming Talk - Discipleship

Hello guys,

This is a personal/religious article that I am posting so be warned! I am not an official spokesmen or representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or affiliated with the church, what I say in this article does not represent my churches official position, nor does it necessarily represent the general beliefs of the members therein.

This article was designed for a LDS audience. In it, I assume that the Old Testament, New Testament , Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants are inspired by God, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsofficial doctrine is legitimated and its claims true.

This is the talk or sermon I gave in my church on January 10th, 2009. My church is a Lay Ministry church, and although we have a hierarchy, generally on the weekend services in the first portion of the meeting (called Sacrament Meeting) members are asked to give a talk or a sermon to the congregation on a specific topic. This is my first talk that I gave to the Maple Ridge Ward(Congregation) since returning from a full time two year mission for the LDS Nevada, Las Vegas Mission. Enjoy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Good morning brothers and sisters, for those who do not know me I’m Lynden Jensen, I just recently came back from a two year mission from the Las Vegas Nevada mission which covers the eastern side of Nevada.

As a missionary there are a couple things that I had the opportunity to do more then the large majority of people, that is study the Scriptures (2 hours a day plus religious discussion or lessons(average 3 times a day(1hour a piece)) missionary meetings, and church), Pray (Minimum of 14 set times + lessons (average of 7))(Overall Average 20+), engage in Religious Conversations with people of a variate of beliefs, some pleasant and accepting and other not so much. When I left I imagined my friends, many of them atheists or agnostic, thinking that I was going to my fantasy land, immersing myself in myth and an unreality. On my mission I was closer to reality then I had ever been, it made everything so clear, I saw people of all walks of life, to the multimillionaire to the drug addicted pan handler on the street. From world renown publishing scholars to the illiterate farmer. I talked about religion to every major religious devision. I could see the hand of god so clearly, many physical evidences but overwhelming spiritual evidences. I feel closer to the savior, I feel that I walked in his shoes, if only for a few steps. I was never crucified but I was reviled. Today I want to speak about discipleship. The first question is obviously:

What and who is a Disciple?

The word disciple has roots in several languages and is tied with the idea of learning, being a student and practicing discipline; the concept that there are sacrifices that are to be made to achieve a higher level of understanding. A Disciple is a student.

We are to be students or disciples of Christ, we are to learn of him and apply what he has taught. We are all on the path of discipleship. And what is our study? Christ and his teachings. This knowledge is our key to become disciples.s a child I was fascinated and confused by miracles, I read about all theses amazing larger than life people doing things that don’t seem to happen anymore; parting the red sea, pillars of fire, walls falling down at the command of God, mountains moving, healings, raising the dead, walking on water. I wondered if this was possible, I wondered why I couldn’t do it if they did. I read about accounts of God talking to people like Nephi (Helaman 10:4-10) when he said:

“(4) Blessed art thou, Nephi... all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt notask that which is contrary to my will.”

I wondered how people had this power and honestly why crazy things didn’t seem to happen much at all, because I know that if I could do ANYTHING at my whim I would defiantly use it. There is a simple reason why I don’t have that power, and I just demonstrated why. On the next line it reads

“(4)...for thou shalt notask that which is contrary to my will.”

This is our purpose of our discipline, of our practice, to receive this power, to apply the atonement. The only way we can access the power of God is through emulating his Son Jesus Christ, by being a disciple of him. This is the destination of discipleship; to fully apply the atonement of Christ.

This scripture demonstrates the fulfillment of the atonement in Nephi’s’ life, the word Atonement is an interesting word. It is used only once in New Testament in the book of revelation but you can’t go into a Mormon church for any period of time without hearing this word, though many other churches do not use this word frequently. What does it mean? It is not as many people think Greek or Hebrew word, it is an English word, a compound word “At-One-Ment”, it is the act which Christ preformed to save us, to bring us back from out estrangement to be “At One” with God. Christ teaches us of his role and of the atonement in his great intercessory prayer (John 17:20-21) saying:

“(20) Neither pray I for these alone(speaking of the twelve apostles), but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;(21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Here Christ prays that we are all to be at one with Christ and God, no physically but as Nephi was, at one in mind, in heart, in purpose, to come to point where we would do nothing but the Lords will. The true power of a disciple comes when we know what Christ wants us personally to do and to follow that at all costs, to fulfill our callings here on earth, whatever they may be, to be able to say as Bruce R McConkie said:

“I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my Master and he has chosen me to represent him. To stand in his place, to say and do what he himself would say and do if he personally were ministering to the very people to whom he has sent me. My voice is his voice, and my acts are his acts; my words are his words and my doctrine is his doctrine. My commission is to do what he wants done. To say what he wants said. To be a living modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous latter-day work, how great is my calling!”(See Source)

We have been called to represent Christ, to “stand in his place”, the disciple is an extension of the master.

When a student enrols or begins apprenticeship he takes on the name of the tutor or school, the Greeks, the fathers of philosophy, were very fond of this noting with pride their masters name, and creating great schools for the great philosophers of the day, today the most prestigious institutes are named after people, people who the school tries to represent, and people who live on in the education of their institutes pupils. When tour master takes on us and we covenant with him we also bring upon ourselves his name.

As we just heard in the Sacrament prayers (Moroni 4- 5) we ourselves are in the process of taking on the name of Christ. The way that we accept Christ is through Ordinances and Covenants; these will allow us to return to God’s presence. Most of us have already started the process of taking on the name of Christ through the initiatory ordinance of Baptism. Each week we recommit ourselves by coming to this chapel and take the sacrament (Moroni 4) where we:

“(3)...Witness unto God, the Eternal Father, that [we] are willing to take upon [us] the name of his Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments...”

As we continue to progress in the gospel we also continue to promise and covenant to the lord to further take on ourselves his name, until all we are is his, until our voices are his, our acts are his and our words are his.

To do this we need to know the will of God;(John 17:3)

“ (3)this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

This is the purpose of life, to know God and to do his will, or in other words to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ at all times, all things, and all places, all else is secondary. Thomas S. Monson said

“The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out it was the fulfillment of someone's prayer or someone's need. And I always want the Lord to know that if he needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for him.”

I have a testimony of this principle, on my mission I covered an area that had in it one of the largest hospitals in Las Vegas, usually once ever week or so we would get a phone call from the mission office or maybe an individual asking us to go by the hospital and give a blessing to someone in need. One night around 9:30-9:45we had just gotten home from along hot 120F (50C) degree day and finished out nightly plans for tomorrow when we got a phone call that there was a woman who urgently needed a blessing in the hospital. We grabbed the other Elders in our apartment who had a car and drove to the hospital, we went in the emergency entrance, two met us there and we quickly made our way upstairs, one man was the woman’s husband, a non member, the other his member friend who had suggested that he call us. They were visiting Vegas from Hawaii, his wife had just had a heart attack and was in trouble, as we walked into the small room I, even with no knowledge of medicine knew she was in trouble, the small room was crammed, there were doctors and nurses bending over her doing things which I had no clue about. The woman had a bunch of tubes and needles, and was unconscious with her eyes lying open, the machine showed that he vitals where down, the doctors and nurses gave us room, four 20 year olds, we anointed her and blessed her with a blessing of full healing with about 15 onlookers, as we finished a nurse said to me “that was very interesting”, as we left her vitals where much closer to normal then they had previously been. The man thanked us so much for what we had done and seemed to be more at ease. As we left I had faith that the blessing we gave would be in effect, but inside of me I wondered how. A week from that point we were sitter in a sushi restaurant with this couple who had paid for all out meals, they were well and joking, they thanked us for what we had done.

We did not do it, the Lord did through us, through the faith of the receiver and the administrators. We all have periods of test in our life, times where we question. Times when we are unsure, the key to leading a successful life and to get through the moments is to have a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ and his voice, and have the courage to act on it. My goal is to know and trust the Lord so well that I will follow without hesitation; he is my source, not the Bible, not the Book of Mormon, not Thomas S. Monson. My first and final source is God himself and what he tells me, not what he has told others. Nephi was asked to kill Laban when the law clearly states thou shalt not kill but he knew God and what God wanted for him, and trusted that over what God had given the people through Moses.

The path of discipleship is the path to Christ, taking upon ourselves his image and his name until his we become even as he is, as John said: (1 John 3:2)

“(2) ...now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

We need to be loyal to the truths that God gives to us, we need to be fearless in our following of those prompting. Elder Hamula of the 70 said this”

”There is only one rule in this church, that is the rule of the spirit; you do what you feel it right.”

I know that to have the spirit in our lives we must first find out who God is, what he wants us personally to do, then do it! Christ Taught that "If any man will do [My] will he will know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself"(John 7:17) I can testify that this is true, "God is not dead nor doth he sleep"(I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day), he is working in this world around us, but we must have eyes to see and ears to hear. For "no ear can hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in".(O Little Town of Bethlehem)

I know Christ is there, it is not an argument for me, for it is first hand experience, a true lunatic and a fool is one who denies what he has seen. He has helped me so much, and for that, and so much more, I will be eternally in his debt and his service. A Disciple of Christ. I say these things in solemnity, through his Holy Name, Jesus Christ Amen.