Ch-Ch-Changes!



Yup.  It was time for some Spring cleaning--I revamped the blog.  I hope you like the new layout and new face of what was previously "He Hath Filled Me With His LOVE", now A Christian's Mormon Mission. 

Turn and face the strange!

It's been a time of change for me as a missionary and as a person.  I've come to a new area (Sebastopol, California), I'm with a new companion (Elder Darion Bevan, who was actually my first companion!), and I've got new responsibilities.  I'm visiting new people, driving to new places, and trying new things.  It's all been a whirlwind affair, but it's been great. 

I really like what Thomas S. Monson, a prophet of God, has said about change.  He sums it up really well:

At one time or another we’ve all heard some form of the familiar adage: “Nothing is as constant as change.”

Throughout our lives, we must deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected passing of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure. But most of the changes take place subtly and slowly.

...

Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes. (General Conference, October 2008, emphasis added)

I've thought a lot recently about the changes I've made as a missionary and especially as an individual these last 18 months.  I think about who I was, what got under my skin, what I liked, what my thoughts were back then compared to now and I have to stop and thank God for the help He's given me.  Like he says, the changes have come slowly, almost imperceptibly, but they have come.  I know that there are lots more changes to come in my life, especially when I get tossed back into the "real world" when my time as a missionary is through, but that's OK!  I know that with the changes come the blessings.  Sometimes they're hidden, sometimes they don't come right away, but if we are trying our best and leaving to God the rest, we'll come out alright in the end.

Life changes.  Things change.  People change.  The world changes.  God's love never changes.  And for all the changes that do happen, I'm thankful for that constant. 

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Go, Go, Joe! (Part II)

Joseph's story is the ultimate tale of rags-to-riches.  In a nutshell, here's what happened:

He's loving life, enjoying his dad's praise and love.  He gets this totally awesome coat for no reason other than his dad thinks he's great. His brothers get ticked because he's favored and literally sell him to the gypsies (boy, if I had a dollar for every time I was threatened with that as a kid!).  He tries to be a nice guy, gets a sweet gig cleaning house for the captain of Pharaoh's guard, but his boss's wife tries to put the moves on him and he gets framed and thrown in prison.  While in jail, Joseph relies on God to interpret the dreams of some of the other prisoners, which gets Pharaoh's attention.  Joseph gets an even sweeter gig as "Pharaoh's Number Two" and eventually saves a bunch of people from famine, including all Egypt and his brothers who'd tried to kill him, returning their spite with kindness, and everyone lives happily ever after!

Pretty great, right?

You know, each of us has a story.  We, like Joseph, go through ups and downs along the journey--we've all got "prison cells" in our lives as well as times when we're on top of the world!  It's up to us to make those "rags" moments into "riches" moments.  Jesus can help with that.  He's restored information about who we are, why we're here, and how we can overcome through a prophet--a man who speaks with God and can help us find God's will in our lives (like Joseph!  he was a prophet, did you know that?).

From rags...

...to riches!

Click around the links on my blog (especially the links to my facebook page and mormon.org)--it's my privilege as a missionary to help people find God's strength and love in their lives.  There are resources to help you out.

Much Love, 

Elder Spendlove

FAQ Fridays: The Word of Wisdom

I LOVE '80s music.  Love it.  My mom thought it was funny because the songs I was listening to when I graduated high school were the same songs she was listening to when she graduated high school.  One of the songs I love most is "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant.  As we drove up to my college, my mom and I were talking about the social scene back in 1983 when this song was actually popular. She remarked to me that she and her friends would get asked something similar to a line in the song that says, "don't drink, don't smoke--what do you do?".  I thought it was interesting that not only our musical tastes paralleled, but also our obtrusive aversion to harmful substances upon which most of our classmates were avidly experimenting (though 25 years spanned us).  What is it about Mormon kids that make them different in that regard?  Why don't we engage in those habits and vices? Are we just a bunch of "goody two shoes"?  We don't drink, we don't smoke--what do we do?




Are Mormons just a bunch of "Goody Two Shoes"?


You may have wondered why your Mormon friends pass up the cocktails at business parties, the coffee in the break room, and never seem to have a light.  It isn't just because we're the designated drivers; our feelings regarding the use of certain things are rooted much more deeply than that. 

We believe that our bodies are sacred gifts from God.  Paul says our bodies are "temples of God", where the Holy Ghost can dwell if we don't defile them. Heavenly Father wants us to take good care of them by not using substances that damage them or rob us of our ability to choose.  That ability to choose is one of the most precious tools He has granted for us to keep His commandments and be happy.  Kind of hard to do that if you're a slave to a bottle or a little white stick.  Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, God has revealed what we should and should not put into our bodies--we should avoid coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol, and harmful drugs because they damage us and take away that ability to choose; on the other hand, we should eat nutritiously, choosing grains, fruits, vegetables, and meat sparingly.  (**Note: nowhere in the Word of Wisdom are we forbidden to drink sodas or caffeinated beverages.  We are counseled by the prophets to abstain from things to which we may become addicted--caffeine is an easy one for many people.  Myth Busted)  We are promised incredible blessings of health, strength, knowledge, and above all, spiritual safety
if we remember to keep this "principle with a promise". 

I'm thankful for these guidelines because I have been able to enjoy a happy, healthy youth, free from a lot of the problems that early smoking, drinking, and use of drugs bring.  I am also thankful because it is evidence to me that God cares so much that it even matters to Him what I eat and drink!  That's so cool to me.  So I (and my totally hip mom--she's even on facebook, I'll have you know!) don't drink and I don't smoke.  What do I do?  I live a productive, active life, and I get to share these blessings with others.  If you are involved with these addictive substances, the Atonement of Jesus Christ can help you.  He knows what it feels like and He wants to help you out!  Here's a site that may help if you're trying to quit.

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Prophets: God's Chosen Messengers

My last "real" post was about Joseph Smith, a modern-day prophet.  I've also posted previously about the need for apostles and prophets, the foundation upon which the Church of Christ has always been built.  Today I wanted to briefly explain what a prophet is and why Mormons are so grateful for them that we even have a hymn entitled "We Thank Thee, O God for a Prophet"!

Unfortunately for us, we aren't in God's physical presence--much to Cheryl Crow's dismay, He is not just a "stranger on the bus", walking and talking with us.  Notwithstanding, He wants us to do the things that will bring us true and lasting happiness.  How does He therefore communicate those things to us?  He inspires men, starting with Adam all the way down to today, and gives them His word and His law.  In Amos 3:7, we learn that "surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secrets [His will, doctrines, etc.] unto his servants the prophets."  Pretty awesome, right?  Well you and I may think so, but repeatedly throughout time, people have rejected the words of the prophets.  I guess they just didn't like getting told off... Does God then say "Well great!  I sent you my prophets and you rejected them--good luck!  Have a nice life!" and leave us?  Of course not!  He wants as many of us back to Him as will choose.  So He sends another prophet when the people are ready.  (By the way, you can read all bout this process in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon!)  There is this pattern of dispensations (when prophets are preaching the gospel) and apostasies (when people reject the prophets and they're taken away for a time) all throughout the scriptures.  Thus, it is reasonable that God would call a prophet to "reveal his secrets" to us--He loves us just as much as any of His children, doesn't He?  And we certainly need divine help in these crazy times!  (See also Hugh B. Brown, "The Profile of a Prophet", Ensign, June 2006, 34–39)

We can have confidence in God's prophets because they hold His authority, the priesthood.  I've mentioned it before, but the priesthood is the power for prophets to definitively say "Thus saith the Lord".  It's the difference between getting pulled over by a county sheriff versus the ice cream man--one has the authority to write you a ticket and the other doesn't, no matter his good intentions (or his "Good Humor"). 



"Do you have any idea how fast you were goin'?"

I testify that God has always and will always lead us in the right direction through His servants, the prophets.  I testify that if we listen to the voices of the prophets, our lives will be blessed.  We will find our way back to Heavenly Father.  God has not left us alone--He really has called a prophet in these troubled times.  And for that I say "thank Thee, O God, for a prophet to guide us in these latter days!"

Much Love,
Elder Spendlove

For more on prophets, check out this talk and the related ones, from the leadership of the Church!

FAQ Fridays: Do Mormons Worship Joseph Smith?

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we gratefully sing the hymn, "Praise to the Man", which goes, in part:

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!

Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.

Blessed to open the last dispensation [or period of time when the gospel is upon the earth]

Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.



Joseph Smith: Prophet of God



Obviously there is no lack of gratitude among the latter-day Saints for this wonderful, selfless man.  But to many not of our faith, he is a mysterious figure, whose life and name have been "had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds,...tongues,...and people" (Joseph Smith--History 1:33).  Many believe we worship him, or that he is some kind of savior to us.  Others believe we follow blindly the account of his communion with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Who is Joseph Smith, and why is he so important to us?

Joseph Smith was, and is, the prophet through whom God restored the priesthood (the authority to act in God's name--see Matthew 16:19 and Acts 8:14-24) and the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days before Jesus Christ comes again.  He was a man with a special mission from God to restore and share plain and precious truths about Jesus Christ's teachings.  He was led to an ancient record of scripture written by believers in Christ, prophets even, who lived in the ancient Americas--we now have this precious record as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  He was called upon to bear incredible sorrow and eventually give his life as a martyr.  He is no savior to us--that title alone belongs to Him whose church Joseph was called to restore, Jesus Christ.  He is no fanatical or insurrectionist--truly he lived a Christlike and Christ-devoted life.

I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Joseph Smith was in fact a prophet, called like any prophet has ever been called--by God Himself.  Read the Book of Mormon, which is the "good fruit" (Matthew 7) of the Prophet.  Ask God if it is true and if Joseph really was His prophet.  I know God will tell you too!  I add my voice of gratitude as I sing: "praise to the man!" 

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Here's the mormon.org page that also answers this question. 

Simple Testimony

We met with a mother and her two children tonight and talked about how we knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  The kids were baptized in April in Longbeach, CA;  the mom is going to be baptized in November.  I asked her how she had come to know he was a prophet.  "It just feels comfortable," she said.  "There's no way he could have made up something as wonderful as this."  It's so true.  Sometimes we can't see all the reasons or understand all the intricacies of God's will.  But we can feel the truth.  As two of Christ's disciples walked along the road to Emmaus after His crucifixion, they met the resurrected Savior, travelling incognito, Who expounded all the scriptures concerning Himself unto them.  They didn't immediately recognize their Lord, but what they did recognize was the feeling of the Holy Ghost--they asked, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way...?" (Luke 24:13-32). 

It is by that same burning of the heart that I and this wonderful mother and her two amazingly spiritual children know the truth of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith.  Just as I don't need to meet the Savior in Person to know He is the Son of God, so too do I know that Joseph was His prophet for these last days.

MUCH LOVE,

Elder Spendlove

"And He Gave Some, Apostles..."

My super awesome older brother (who finished his missionary service in Peru this August) posted this video on my facebook page today.  It is a really tender and sweet video about the chance that we have to come unto Christ and feel His mercy, love and understanding every day.  I especially love the fact that it is narrated by apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ ("We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth" [Articles of Faith 1:6, emphasis added].  Essentially, the apostles called by the Lord today have the same calling and commission to testify of Jesus Christ, direct the affairs of His Church, and stand as special witnesses of the Savior.); these men, these "special witnesses of Christ", tell of the glory of the Atonement so beautifully and so simply. I am grateful to know that God is a God of Order and has established His Church on the earth once more, built upon the same "foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20). 

Some have said, "well, isn't it enough to just believe in Jesus Christ?  Why do I need some organized religion to tell me how to believe or act?"  The answer lies in the 4th chapter of Ephesians, verses 11 through 14:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man...
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive...

We need these apostles and prophets, teachers and pastors, so we can, like the scripture says, come in the unity of the faith!  It is plain to see in today's world that there is much disunity, especially among the sects of Christianity!  Thus, it is imperative that we rely upon the men whom God has chosen to be our guides, to be our "foundation", with, of course, Jesus Christ as the "chief cornerstone".  And how can we be certain they are actually called of God?  It all goes back to the Prophet Joseph Smith.  He received the priesthood (the power and authority to act in God's name) from Peter, James, and John themselves, fulfilling the declaration "no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron [by the laying-on of hands]" (Hebrews 5:4).  Through an unbroken line following this pattern, the apostles and prophets of today hold that same authority.

I am grateful that there are authorized servants of the Lord upon the earth today.  I know that if we follow their counsel we will be safe and we will be built upon a firm foundation.

MUCH LOVE,

Elder Spendlove

P.S.  Here's some additional reading/listening/viewing about prophets today!