Do Hugs Not Drugs

DO HUGS 

not drugs

“I must also say a word concerning illicit drugs. You know how I feel about them. I don’t care what the variety may be. They will destroy you if pursued. You will become their slave. Once in their power, you will do anything to get money to buy more. ”

-President Hinckley

You always have a choice......

 “I was amazed while watching a television program to learn that parents introduced drugs to their children in 20 percent of the cases. I cannot understand what I regard as the stupidity of these parents. What future other than slavery for their children could they see in them? Illegal drugs will utterly destroy those who become addicted to them.”

-President Hinckley

While serving a mission I have been able to see MANY people with addictions. It is truly the hardest thing for those we teach to overcome. The addiction runs their lives and controls them completely. It can be anything from alcohol, cigarettes to hard drugs. President Hinckley is right when he says you become a slave. Recently, we taught a family about the Word of Wisdom. At the end of it they brought us all of their cigarettes. We gladly took them so it was no longer a temptation. Even though the temptation was gone they have still had problems, the addiction overcomes you and you feel you can not say no.

       I have been able to teach the Word of Wisdom a lot throughout my mission. After praying about a particular woman we were working with I had a dream. In my dream we had sat down with her and she had put all of her cigarettes on the table. One by one we took a sharpie and we wrote things that she was missing out on life because of her addiction. When I woke up, I realized that was my answer. Later that day we wrote on the cigarettes with her and in the end it helped her to quite smoking. 

If you feel the need to try something that you KNOW you shouldn't, stop and pray. Ask your loving Heavenly Father to give you the strength to overcome the temptation...Don't become a slave to something that will only cost you. 

My Little Brother Max and I... a hug is my drug :]

“My advice, my pleading to you wonderful young men and women, is to stay entirely away from them. You don’t need to experiment with them. Look about you and see the effects they have had on others. There is no need for any Latter-day Saint boy or girl, young man or young woman, to even try them. Stay clean from these mind-altering and habit-forming addictions.”

-President Hinckley

www.mormon.org

http://lds.org/churchmagazines/2001/Jan2001Ensign.pdf

Pictures with a Price

$ Pictures with a Price $

“And while I speak of such matters I want to give emphasis again to the matter of pornography. It has become a $10 billion industry in the United States, where a few men grow rich at the expense of thousands upon thousands who are their victims. Stay away from it. It is exciting, but it will destroy you. It will warp your senses. It will build within you an appetite that you will do anything to appease. And don’t try to create associations through the Internet and chat rooms. They can lead you down into the very abyss of sorrow and bitterness.”

-President Hinckley

 We complain about prices of gas, clothes, food, and housing. Now I am going to complain about the price of pornography. I love what President Hinckley said about it, you will do anything to appease that addiction, that is a price that we CAN NOT afford to pay. The addiction of pornography is a scary one, it is not worth the heart ache that comes with it. Not only is the person who is committing the sin harmed but family members and friends.

The addiction starts with the simple things, the curiosity. We need to make sure we are staying away from things that can arouse those feelings and that addiction. I know that many families don't even keep underwear adds in their house because it can trigger that curiosity. Try and keep yourself as far away from the adversary as you can. I know it sounds hard! However it starts with one bad movie or song, something which seems so innocent which leads to a price that is much too high to pay.......If you have an addiction now, its not too late, seek help from parents, bishops and your loving Heavenly Father.

www.mormon.org

Tats, Rings,& bling

Tats, rings, & bling

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:16–17).”

I conducted a tattoo experiment. I will not lie, I have always wanted a tattoo. My companion drew this one on me, and I wore it for a day. It was SO distracting. I noticed it a lot! At first I thought it was so cute, and I loved it. As the day went on I realized how often I would see it and how it reminded me of the blessings I would be missing out on. Thank heavens it was just pen and I could rinse it all off, and it was not permanent. 

"I promise you that the time will come, if you have

tattoos, that you will regret your actions. They cannot

be washed off. They are permanent. Only by an expensive and painful process can they be removed. If you are tattooed, then probably for the remainder of

your life you will carry it with you. I believe the time

will come when it will be an embarrassment to you.

Avoid it. We, as your Brethren who love you, plead

with you not to become so disrespectful of the body

which the Lord has given you"

-President Hinckley

My Brother and I...Bling Night

"May I mention earrings and rings placed in other parts of the body. These are not manly. They are not attractive. You young men look better without them, and I believe you will feel better without them. As for the young women, you do not need to drape rings up and down your ears. One modest pair of earrings is sufficient."

-President Hinckley

Palmyra New York Temple :]

All I can tell you is that we do NOT need these things to look beautiful. What we want is to enter the House of the Lord or the Temple. It is in there that we can make promises that are everlasting. The Temple is something beautiful and we are instructed to keep ourselves pretty like a temple. It always comes down to the bigger picture. A tattoo or earring might look good while you are young, but in 30 years...think again. If you have tattoo's already that is okay, but you can start now and commit to not get anymore. Take out the extra earrings, show the faith and receive blessings. Remember it is a principle with promise, when we do what we have been asked to we WILL BE BLESSED :] 

www.mormon.org

Endangered Entertainment

Endangered Entertainment

“We live in a world that is filled with filth and sleaze, a world that reeks of evil. It is all around us. It is on the television screen. It is at

the movies. It is in the popular literature. It is on the Internet. You can’t afford to watch it, my dear friends. You cannot afford to let that filthy poison touch you. Stay away from it. Avoid it. You can’t rent videos and watch them as they portray degrading things. You

young men who hold the priesthood of God cannot mix this filth with the holy priesthood.”

-President Hinkcley   

 

Sister Carver, my past companion, and I formed a band titled Lemon and Linoleum...(think about the Book of Mormon...Lamen and Lemuel...we are the obediant ones :). We decided to use some of our talents so that we could start filling the world with good entertainment :) All I know is that this video is funny and awkward, but what it comes down to is President Hinckley is right, the world is full of filth and we should not just stand and take it. We need to be our own advocates and stand up for what we believe. Don't just sit in a movie when it’s bad get up and go and make your own! Remember we get to do what we want, but we don't choose our own consequences. You can watch what you want but you cannot control what it does to you.

REMEMBER THAT :]

Enjoy the CLEAN video...

THE CLEAN TEAM

BE CLEAN



I know DIRTY...My Freshman dorm room!



I cleaned out the drain freshman year..gross!



President Hinckley's next B is..."BE CLEAN"... his segment on being clean covers many different things. So I decided to break it down into a few different posts. I can tell you that being CLEAN is so important because when you are not, not only can people tell but God can. As you can tell I have not always been the cleanest person, and I know I am still working at it. However President Hinckley was a Prophet called of God. If he says we need to do, then we need to do it!



One of my EFY groups inspired
the CLEAN TEAM

  

This is what the next few posts will be titled...

Endangered Entertainment

Tats, rings, & bling

$ Pictures with a Price $

Do Hugs Not Drugs

So your hot…whatever

http://www.mormon.org/

 

Get Smart



Can you feel the Sacrifice?



BE
 SMART

“Sacrifice anything that is needed to be sacrificed to qualify yourselves to do the work of the world. That world will in large measure pay you what it thinks you are worth, and your worth will increase as you gain education and proficiency in your chosen field.”

-President Hinckley

I know I have talked about Education before, however I want to focus on the sacrifice that comes with it. I love what President Hinckley said "SACRIFICE ANYTHING." During my Junior year of College at Utah State. I was taking one of my Computer Programing classes and a Math class. I was having the hardest time balancing a social life with studying and it was showing in my grades. At church one Sunday the teacher had said that we have been counseled to focus on our education because it is the only thing we take with us into the next life.

That was a huge wake up call!!! I realized I was slacking on my education and so I needed to sacrifice some fun for some learning. I made a plan to stay in during the week and study, and as I did I started to see my grades improve and also the quality of my education. I had to sacrifice what is important to a college student...Nights out on the town, parties, dates, and even sporting events however the education and the products I was able to make were completly worth it in the end.



Fixing Photo's is the best :]



"Be smart. The Lord wants you to educate your minds and hands, whatever your chosen field. Whether it be repairing refrigerators, or the work of a skilled surgeon, you must train yourselves. Seek for the best schooling available. Become a workman of integrity in the world that lies ahead of you. I repeat, you will bring honor to the Church and you will be generously blessed because of that training."

-President Hinckley

Its black and white, either be smart or dont :]

I am so happy that it does not matter what we CHOOSE to learn about. It can be anything from desiging things on the computer, photography or raising a worm farm....Just remember that it all comes down to just "BE SMART."

www.mormon.org



***FALEMINDERIT***

BE GREATFUL



I am GRATEFUL for the Restoration

"Be grateful. There are two little words in the
English language that perhaps mean more than all
others. They are “thank you.” Comparable words are
found in every other language, such as gracias, merci,
danke, obrigado, domo.The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman." -President Hinckley



I am GRATEFUL for my Savior

"Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank
the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who

has done for you what none other in all this world
could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His
tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand
to lift and help. Think about the meaning of His
Atonement. Read about Him and read His words in
the New Testament and in 3 Nephi in the Book of
Mormon. Read them quietly to yourself and then
ponder them. Pour out your heart to your Father in
Heaven in gratitude for the gift of His Beloved Son.
Thank the Lord for His marvelous Church re-
stored in this great season of history. Thank Him for
all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and loved
ones, for parents and brothers and sisters, for family.
Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your day and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results."- President Hinckley

I am GRATEFUL for my Friends :]

Recently I have realized how LUCKY I am. I get to serve where the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to earth again. I get to go to the Sacred Grove on a regular basis where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. I get to teach people about the Restoration at the actual birthplace of it. I just want to share with you how grateful I am. President Hinckley taught me that I need to pour out my heart for everything and anything. If we were to just stop for ONE second and think about what we are grateful for we would see how lucky we are. One of the things that I have tried to do on my mission is to say one prayer a day that is all about what I am grateful for. I can not tell you how hard it was at first to not ask for anything, but as I practiced I found that I got a lot better at it and I also recognized how much I had in my life. It really helped me to forget myself and help others...Can you do it? Can you say one prayer a day that is only about being Grateful...

I dare you to try :]

I promise you will see things change!

http://www.mormon.org/