Failure: Requisite for success

I have been continually fascinated by success. By what is is, how our views and beliefs about ourselves and the world shape it, and most importantly, how we obtain it. It involves a great deal of self-analysis, goal setting, planning, and of course work. But there is an important aspect involved in the process of becoming whatever it is that we desire to be that causes us to fail. It causes us to fear our potential. That is failure.

Growth

The past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about the way we learn and grow. As missionaries we exercise for thirty minutes. I'm no body builder, but I've noticed that day after day I've gotten a bit stronger. My companion has a pull-up bar and so at the beginning of the month I started doing pull ups and chin ups each morning and evening.

Exact Obedience

2,060

In the Book of Mormon there is a story about two-thousand and sixty young men who go to war. Their parents had made oaths of pacifism and couldn't produce experienced warriors to aid their country's army. These 2,000 young boys offered their services to their nations efforts to defend their lands despite never having fought before. 

Light and truth

Revelation

Jesus Christ once asked his Apostles who they believed him to be. The people at the time held many different views on who Jesus Christ was, and Christ asked his Disciples to see if they understood his divine commission. To his question "But whom say ye that I am" Peter replied with conviction "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God". Christ then taught Peter that it was not "Flesh and blood" that had revealed it to him, but "his Father, who is in heaven". 

Doubt

Doubt is to consider something unlikely. It is a lack of trust and confidence in ourselves, our relationships with good people, and God. Doubt is a poison that flows from fear. It is immobilizing, crippling, and can lead to despair. It is rightly said that Doubt and faith cannot exist in the same mind at the same time. William Shakespeare wrote  'Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.'.

Doubt is the absolute inverse of faith.

A proper understanding of doubt, where it comes from and how it affects us, helps us to be able to recognise it in ourselves and to change. What I've found is that there are three main motivators for the actions or emotions of people. They are fear, duty, and love.

It is far easier to begin to doubt, or to allow doubt to grow, when we are motivated purely by fear. Our thoughts and motivations sound more like 'I have to go to work or else I'll be fired' or 'I have to get good grades or my dad will kill me'. Fear is a very selfish motivation, and causes us to focus a bit too much on ourselves.

I love the story in the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 46. This is about a man named Amalikiah. He wanted to overthrow the government, and to be a king over the people. He was very sneaky and crafty and started to lead the people to his way of thinking. Many people were deceived into thinking they would be more free under his rule, others wanted power and social status. They were motivated by selfishness and pride.

Then Captain Moroni shows up. He was in charge of the Nephite armies when he was just 25 years old, and many people respected him. He put on his battle armour and made a banner where he wrote the reasons why the people had their freedom. He rallied the people around this banner that reminded them of their God, religion, freedom, and peace, wives, and children—

He called upon a higher motivation  within the people. He pulled on their desire for the welfare of others as opposed to themselves. This banner is called the title of liberty, and served as a rallying cry for the people for years to come. I even have a statue of Captain Moroni raising that banner on my desk.

As we learn to focus on our righteous, selfless desires instead of our own doubts and fears, our faith will increase and we will eventually forget that we even doubted at all.

"Let your faith roar so loud that you do not know what doubt is saying!"

Faith and Sacrifice

Of Faith and Sacrifice

Love is one of the most powerful forces on this earth. By it wars have started and ended and emipires have risen and fallen. Through the zeal of a love of God the world has been transformed by loving, charitable hands, and has been scarred by the overzealous acts of extremists. When bridled it provides a home with an atmosphere of peace and harmony, and when unbridled it is loose to tear the family to pieces.

There are four ways in which the word love is used in greek: Agápe, spiritual love (love of God) ; Éros, passionate love (Romantic interest); Philla, mental love (Love of a friend); and Storge, affection (Parent and child). I speaking primarily about Agápe.
The most famous verse in scripture reads:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Saïd Business School, Oxford University

Last year I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at the Saïd Business School, at Oxford University. The seminar was in honour of Kim B. Clark, president of BYU-I, and a previous dean of the Harvard Business School. There were several other guests that are leading scholars of business and leadership such as Clayton M. Christensen.

At this seminar there was a resounding theme throughout. "We're willing to suffer damage to gain their trust". That is a statement that has played on my mind quite a bit. We suffer for others to gain their trust.

Christ said "If ye love me, keep my commandments". We show love by trust, which comes by way of sacrifice. God loved the world, so he gave. God loves unconditionally, but that love is not associated with unconditional trust. He trusts us with light, faith, revelation, responsibility, forgiveness, and ultimately eternal life to the degree that we are willing to trust (Sacrifice for) him. Where there is no sacrifice there is no trust, and the love of God for us carries no promise.

This is the great secret. 

Eternal life is granted to him that is willing to sacrifice all things. That doesn't mean burn your possessions and forfeit your relationships. But it means that we must do as Abraham. When the lord calls and requires that which we care about most, we cannot withhold. We must be submissive and willing to follow our Saviour and King to the end. Each trial bears a call to sacrifice, and each sacrifice brings forth renewed and invigorated faith, if we can but prove faithful. 

"Trust the lord with all thine heart,... and He shall direct thy paths"

For These are the Things Jesus Taught

I'm trying to be like Jesus;
I'm following in his ways.
I'm trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

"Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught."

The Risen Lord

So Easter has come and past. I love to use this time of year to reflect on my Lord and Saviour, and I would like to share with you my testimony of the Risen Lord.

The Anchor Of Souls

The Parable of the Bike and the Poop

A man once had twin sons. One was extraordinarily happy and optimistic, the other was very sad and depressed all the time. years went by and his happy son kept getting even more optimistic, and his sad son became more and more pessimistic. One day, the father decided that he wanted to do an experiment, to see if he could make his pessimistic son happy, and his optimistic son sad.

The Fourth Watch

 "And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them" Mark 6:48

This is one of those scriptures that will change your life.

Of Ships, Seas, and Storms

Like a... Dish. 

One of my favourite stories in the Book of Mormon is in the first few chapters of Ether. In this story there is a man known as the Brother of Jared. The Brother of Jared and his family were commanded by God to travel across the ocean. He was instructed by the Lord on how he should build boats to travel across the ocean. 

These boats were supposed to be air-tight, like a dish. The sides of the boat were tight, and so was the roof, so that it was like a barge. These barges were completely air-tight so they were submersible. They had plugs in the top so they could get air when they needed it. The only problem was that when they were inside and the holes were stopped there was no light! 

"Why do we fall Bruce?"

Falling hurts. 

Failing is bitter. No one likes it. The mere presence and possibility of failure and rejection prevents most of humanity from meeting their potential. Think about it. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? If someone came along and removed failure from the equation, what would you do with your life? What keeps you from doing that? Fear.

Not Because it is Easy, but Because it is Hard

"We Choose To Go To The Moon!"

 "We choose to go to the moon!" In my opinion, were the most transformative words spoken in the early 1960's. They were part of a speech given by John F Kennedy, announcing the United States of America's ambition to be the first country to put a man on the moon. This wasn't an easy task, by any stretch of the imagination. There were ten preliminary missions to test the functions and procedures required for the first man to set foot on the moon. The total cost of the Apollo program would end up being over 20 billion USD, which now would cost 109 billion USD.

Why Cubby is the most successful teenager. Ever.

My little brother's name is Cubby. And he is a genius.

This is Cubby. He is my little brother. His name isn't really Cubby, but his real name didn't make sense to me when I was four, so I re-named him Cubby instead and it just kind of stuck. This kid is a legend. He is probably the single most effective and successful teenager I have ever met. And I would like to share one of his secrets with everyone. 



Cub has a few nasty habits that make him stand out in a crowd. Whenever he sets his mind to something somehow it occurs sooner or later. He hates losing. He is extremely goal oriented, and he is constantly trying to improve and get somewhere new. Cub is a trumpet player, an imagineer, and races in triathlons as well. There was this one time he was about to go run a cross country race and he was stretching before hand. I asked him "Hey Cub, what's your strategy for this race?" His response was really simple. "Win.".

He won. 

Of Vision, Faith, and Progression

A Picture of Success

I want to talk about a topic that is absolutely vital for anyone that wants to be successful in any aspect of their lives. That is the importance of 'vision'. This is not only a spiritual principle, but a temporal principle as well, and it is a principle that will enable anyone to achieve just about anything they can possibly imagine. Vision is what future success looks like.
There is a passage in 'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carol that I love to use to illustrate the importance of having a personal vision. 

A Foundation for Faith, Pt 2

The Book of Mormon, a Foundation for Faith

"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

The Church of Latter-Day Saints claims that the Book of Mormon is Scripture. But what is scripture in the first place? Scripture is defined as a body of text that is authoritative or sacred. To Mormons, the Book of Mormon is as authoritative as the Bible. This is because like the Bible, the writings contained came by the spirit of prophecy revelation to Prophets. Because the text and the doctrines contained came through the Holy Spirit that means the text is the word of God.

A Foundation for Faith

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

'The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture Comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.' -Introduction to the Book of Mormon

The Answers Will Come

Why doesn't God answer my prayer?

This is a question I have asked myself many times. I always felt that God would answer everyone else's prayers but for one reason or another my prayers went unanswered.

The Secret Power of Faith

I want to share a very personal story today. 

One of the greatest and most important lessons I have learned in my life, is that there is power in faith. I was taught that by the example of my mom, Eydie. My Mom is my absolute hero. There is no person in this world that is kinder or more gentle than she is. She is the greatest example of faith and trust in the Lord in my life, because almost ten years ago she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, or MS.

"Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole"

There are a few stories in the scriptures that have always interested me. One is in The Book of Enos, the other is in the testimony of Mark, in the New Testament. These two stories demonstrate how the atonement can heal us both physically and spiritually.