Below Zero

     Growing up in Texas I didn't experience very cold temperatures and it definitely never got below 0! In fact I didn't really know that it got below 0 anywhere. It just hadn't occurred to me. Well during the last year I got pretty familiar with temperatures that had a negative sign in front of them. I really didn't want to experience the cold; I enjoyed the heat and wanted it to stay warm because that is where I felt comfortable. I felt like I had never been so cold in my life when the winter arrived. I didn't think my body would ever be able to handle temperatures below 0, but somehow I survived it and I'm still alive and kickin'. Plus I learned an important life lesson.
Often times we want to stay where we are at because it is familiar and we are comfortable. We don't want to go through the "refiner's fire", or in this case the refiner's freezer, because it won't be easy. But that's not what our Heavenly Father wants for us. He knows that we all have imperfections and it often requires us doing hard things in order to become better. That's what this life is about. We face opposition and things that we may not be comfortable with but they give us experience and end up working for our good. So if you feel like you are having to do things that you don't want to or like life is just too hard, remember that I, Elder Huntsman, was able to survive an Eastern Montana winter. If I can do that then you can face any hard things you may face, especially when Jesus Christ is on your side.

Heard of Joseph Smith Before??

Many of you may have heard of Joseph Smith in your history class or from a friend that is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but you may not know much about what he did or who he really was. This movie goes through much of the life of Joseph Smith and will give you an idea of who he was, what he did and why we refer to him as "The Prophet of the Restoration." Enjoy it, I know I did.

Take Advantage of the Blessings Available to You

     During this time of year in Wyoming we get a fair amount of mosquitos and they drive me nuts. I have never really liked them and I don't think I ever will. As we got home the other night I was thinking about those nasty bugs and on my desk was a bottle of permethrin, an insect repellent that we had been given to protect ourselves from the mosquitos and other bugs. I thought to myself, "You have what you need to avoid the mosquitos, you just have to use it!!" And then it hit me...

     To be able to avoid the mosquitos would be considered a blessing to me and if I would use the tools, like permethrin, that I had been given then I could have experienced the blessings of no mosquito bites.

As followers of Christ, our Heavenly Father has given us many good tools to help us experience the full blessings of this life. Some of these tools include the scriptures and prayer just to name a few, but how often do we leave those tools unused and then miss out on those blessings available to us.
Would you want to get bit by mosquitos if you could avoid it so easily?  I wouldn't! So why not use the spiritual tools we have and see the blessings that come from taking advantage of them.

Use those spiritual tools you have been given, such as prayer, and experience the happiness that comes through following Christ.