Baseball Miracle

     2 guys were walking along the street talking.  One was a baseball player, he was the starting pitcher for a university, we'll call him Benny, the other man was planning on going to university very shortly, we'll call him Scotty.  After a few hours they picked up some abuse in the form of a young group of boys around 14-17 years old that started following them and yelling the 3 words of profanity they knew again and again at the men.  Eventually they started throwing rocks which Benny and Scotty pretty much completely saw coming as they continuously tried to walk quickly and diligently away from the neighborhood.  

     They hurried down the street but Benny lost his cool as the children chased them, it might have had something to do with getting hit with a rock or two.  He stooped and picked up a rock.  Scotty was about to express his concerns for the situation but then it was too late.  As the abuse escalated and the shouting intensified, Benny pivoted, and threw the rock as hard as he could towards the children.  BANG!  as the rock hit a stop sign right in the dead center and left a large gash in the metal.  The children went absolutely silent.  The throw had been so fast, and so accurate and unexpected.  For weeks after this, whenever the men would walk by, the children would run out and bring rocks to Benny so they could watch him throw them.  

     This story is one that I love!  To me I learned from it that a lot of incredible things in life come from difficult beginnings.  The men were persecuted and went through a hard time.  But out of that situation, because it was handled in a good way they were able to become friends with the kids.  If you think about this story, the children would have never found out about Benny's incredible throwing arm if bad things hadn't happened first.  

     Bearing that in mind, I wanted to talk about what is called the great apostasy which led into a restoration.  From my last post I said that an apostasy is a time when there is no prophet on the earth.  This is a difficult situation comparable to the story.  After the death of Christ and the apostles, there was an apostasy.  The priesthood authority was lost, there was no longer a prophet of God on the earth to maintain the standard of worthiness and receive revelation on behalf of the world.  From this apostasy many churches were created by men.  Eventually truth seeking men and women realized there was a problem and called for change, they were known as the reformers.  

     These people recognized that they were not prophets but called for change, some even recognized the need for an eventual restoration of the gospel.  As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I believe that Christ's church was lost from the earth, but now has been restored by God, that he has called a living day prophet, and a quorum of 12 apostles just like the organization that existed in Christ's original church.  From a difficult situation, a lot has come. When we handle difficult situations correctly we often have miracles in unexpected ways.  

A Type and Symbol of Christ

     So this week I wanted to talk about Christ, I find it interesting with this that there are a ton of types and symbols of Christ.  You can draw parallels in many places where they may not have been even intended.  The first ones that come to my mind are; Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia, Moses holding up a brass serpent, Gandalf from Lord of the Rings (especially in the movies),  Superman, Harry Potter, the list goes on and on.  The reason for this I feel is because what Christ did was the most heroic act of all time.
     By following his example and trying to develop more Christlike characteristics we show our love for God.  While in London I have seen many good examples of Christlike people.  As a mormon missionary I was once teaching a man who was in very humble circumstances just outside of London, his name is Paul.  His wife had left him and he was in a difficult place for money.  He received help from the government and one month pulled out his money for the next 4 weeks and headed home on his bike.
     What he didn't know was that his wallet fell out of his pocket.  So when he arrived home the money that was meant to feed him, and keep his gas and electric going for the month, was all missing.  About 200 pounds which is around 400 dollars.  With no heating, food, or gas to cook food, he felt very hopeless.
     We stopped by with a man who is a local member of the church.  As we stepped inside the member asked about Paul's problems, recognizing that it was very cold in the humble home.  Within 20 seconds he had figured out what the problem was, and asked for the gas and electric key for the home.  (a gas and electric key is basically a card that gives you pay as you go gas and electric, you top it up at a shop and then stick it into a machine back at your house to use the credit.)
     He returned in about 10 minutes and turned the heating on with around 18 pounds on the card and a bag full of groceries.  Paul asked if he wanted to him to repay his selfless act when he had the money.  The member said that he didn't want to be re-payed,  and at this point Paul lost control of his emotions and repeatedly thanked him.
     The nice thing about Christ is that his love, like this members love, is selfless.  He came and payed for our sins so that all that is unfair about life can be made right.  His atonement, or his suffering in Gethsemane, death on the cross, and resurrection, make it possible so that all of us can one day return to live with God despite our many short comings. Christ did many things during his mortal ministry, always demonstrating that love.  He also set up a church and established his doctrines, he called 12 men as apostles and gave them authority to preach his message.  I'd like to just leave also my favorite quote about this subject; "Live in such a way that people who know you but don't know Christ will want to know Christ because they know you."

One Ring to Rule Them All...

     One of my favorite family activities as a kid was when we would float down different rivers wearing a life preserver.  I don't think my mother liked doing it herself because there were always a few perils involved.  First off the whole idea was to float down a stretch of river, feet pointed down stream for safety, in an area that had decent sized rapids.  You had to guide yourself down and avoid the more treacherous looking parts of the river.  Then you had to book it back to the car and beg my mom to drive us to the top, but she wouldn't let us in the car because we were soaking wet.   So, what we had to do was run bare foot to the top ourselves.  I remember one occasion specifically, not because it was one of the times that someone injured themselves on a rock, but because it was a little more symbolically meaningful to me.

     My dad went into the rapids about 30 feet ahead of me and we both came out to our spot of more calm water that we had decided was where we would get out of the water.  It was very dark and muddy in the shallows where we got out, and my dad had forgotten to take off his ring.  As he reached down to steady himself, then mud sucked it right off his finger.  

     At the time I didn't notice it, or maybe he didn't show it, but he was definitely panicking on the inside.  We scrambled through the mud looking for the ring for about 15 minutes with our hands in the dark, murky water, praying we would feel it.  The number of Gollum/Smeagol Lord of the Rings jokes I could have dropped was almost unbearable, but my dad didn't seam in the mood.  My memory isn't perfect, but I do think we ended up finding the ring after quite a bit of prayer and searching.  

      A prophet is a man chosen by God to act on his behalf for the salvation of his children.  Prophets receive revelation about the true nature of God and about how we can draw nearer to him.  If people do what the prophet says, then God blesses them.  But when people don't follow the prophet, they don't receive those blessings.  When this happens widespread it is called an apostasy, and if it gets bad enough, God takes away the prophet.  But because God loves us, he will always send another prophet.  This pattern of apostasies (no prophet on the earth) and dispensations (period of time with a prophet on the earth)  goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.

     Just like the ring was in my dad's possession but then was lost and subsequently found, so is the pattern that happens with prophets.  But just like the ring has deeper significance than it's surface value (namely it is a symbol of my parents marriage)  Also having a prophet of God on the earth has deep significance.  For example: it means the authority of God to do things like baptism is on the earth (priesthood), it means that we can receive guidance from God through the prophet on current day challenges, and it means that God is still communicating with us today.  Having a prophet doesn't take away from our personal relationship with God, we still must seek that through prayer, reading scriptures, etc.  But rather, following the prophet strengthens our relationship with God. 

Knowledge is Power

     Johnny wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, or the sharpest tool in the shed, or even the smartest suit in the closet.  What I'm trying to say is that Johnny often made poor judgement calls.
     Johnny's father loved to hunt and was a staunch and proud redneck.  Johnny's father lent him his extra bow and some arrows once so they could go hunting for deer together.
    After a few hours they set themselves up for an easy catch, Papy (Johnny's father) was at the bottom of a hill and scared a few deer up the hill to a waiting Johnny.  As the deer entered the clearing near Johnny, Papy saw him pull back, release and..... the bow snapped in Johnny's face.
     From reviewing what happened, Johnny said, "I held the arrow in place, pulled back the string and let it fly hoping it would catch the arrow along the way, and carry it on through."  Papy was furious at it all, Johnny, hadn't nocked the arrow on the string but just hoped the string and back of the arrow would line up.  From dry firing, the bow snapped because of this horrible misuse.
     Often an incorrect view of God shakes or destroys our faith, just like the bow in this story.  That, or sometimes we expect God to do all the work for us.  For him to scare the deer, knock the arrow, and even pull back the string.  But God has given us this mortal experience to learn and grow. The purpose of this life is not to be pampered, but to be prepared for the life after this.  As we do the small and simple things necessary such as prayer and try to learn more about God, we can come to know him.