September 13, 2013

CPR

What is CPR? 

"Short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. An emergency procedure in which the heart and lungs are made to work by manually compressing the chest overlying the heart and forcing air into the lungs. CPR is used to maintain circulation when the heart stops pumping, usually because of disease, drugs, or trauma."

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. 

So what the definition means is that CPR allows someone to continue their life, it doesn't allow PHYSICAL death. 

What is PHYSICAL death?

The separation of the Spirit from the mortal body. When the physical body dies, the Spirit continues to live in the Spirit world. We overcome physical death through resurrection, which was made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Let's take a step back a little bit:

In the Pre-Mortal phase of the Plan of Salvation, we were spirits. When we came down to Earth, we obtained a body. Inside our body is where the Spirit resides. 

What is CPR, spiritually? 

By doing CPR (which will be explained later), we would not go through spiritual death and we will be strong. 

HELAMAN 5:12

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

With Jesus Christ being the CENTER of our lives, we would NOT fall. Jesus Christ is our Savior (meaning He saved the world - John 3: 16) and our Redeemer. 

Build YOUR foundation on Jesus Christ. 

So how do we OVERCOME spiritual death and live a life full of peace, happiness, joy and with direction. Through CPR (in spiritual sense)! 

WHAT IS CPR?

C - Church

Church attendance is absolutely important! We can partake of the sacrament in which you renew your covenants that you have made when you got baptized. Another awesome thing about church is that you can learn about the Gospel and how to follow Jesus Christ through developing Christ-like attributes. 

P - Prayer

Prayer is a direct communication between man and our loving Father in Heaven. We can talk to Him about ANYTHING! He is our LOVING Father in Heaven. He seeks to help us and He WILL, if we ask Him. Through prayer, we can receive revelation and through revelation, we can receive a testimony of the Gospel. 

I have a strong testimony of the Gospel because of prayer. Prayer is one of the most BIGGEST thing in my life!

For the past year, I got a chance to live in Saudi Arabia. Yes, the far-away land of Saudi Arabia! I got a chance to attend this college preparatory high school who excels in every subject and also hold some of the top sports programs in the country. This school is English speaking, which was AWESOME. The downside is that there is a lot of the non-mormon influence there meaning that there is a lot of bad stuff going on such as drugs, cussing, smoking cigarettes and other terrible things. The biggest thing for me was the commute. I got to live in Jubail and the school was in Dhahran meaning that the commute time is ~1 1/2 hours. I got to wake up at 5 am and leave my house at 6 am to make it to school on time. Because of athletics and after-school programs, my bus leaves a hour after school which means that I don't get home until 5:30pm or so. Because I went to a college preparatory high school, I got to do a lot of homework. Because of that, I barely get any free time at home with my family. 

These circumstances were extremely challenging for me because I spend more time around people who always radiates negative things (cussing etc) that I did NOT like to hear. 

Prayer is what got me through. Yes, PRAYER got me through it. Heavenly Father was with me the entire time. I can talk to Him about ANYTHING. Prayer helped me stay on the "strait and narrow path". Prayer is what helped me the most last year. 

R - Reading the Scriptures

"Have you ever heard the old saying that people who get lost tend to walk in circles? Without spiritual landmarks, mankind wanders as well. Without the word of God, we walk in circles...

This is undoubtedly the reason the Lord commanded Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem for the brass plates. God knew that the descendants of Lehi would need reliable landmarks—points of reference—that would provide a guide they could use to determine if they were on course.

The scriptures are the word of God. They are God’s landmarks that show the way we should travel in order to draw closer to our Savior and reach worthy goals." Dieter F Uchtdorf

Dieter F. Uchtdorf pretty much explained why we should read the scriptures! I can testify to you that the scriptures are true. I posted this on one of my posts on this blog. It reads: 

Any of you can find out if the Book of Mormon contains the true word of God and that He really does live. It is found in Moroni 10: 3-5. It reads:

3 Behold, I would exhort that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may KNOW THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS.

When you pray and ask God with sincere faith, you WILL KNOW THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS. He will answer you because He loves you and yes, He really does exist. He is literally our Father in Heaven. I can promise you that everything I just said is TRUE. Don't forget, our Savior, Jesus Christ as well as our Father in Heaven really do LIVE!

CPR 

Church, prayer and reading the scriptures are what makes us yearn to follow Jesus Christ and as a result, we will find peace and pure happiness in our lives. As you do these three things, your spirit will be bright as the sun. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the PERFECT example for us to follow. We NEED to "hold the iron rod" and strive to be like Jesus Christ. 

I ask you, TONIGHT, to pray and ask God with "a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ" and He will "manifest the truth of it unto, by the power of the Holy Ghost".

Please message me on Facebook if you have ANY questions!

Thanks,

Elder McGrath

August 31, 2013

Repentance

"Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in His presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time." - Moses 6: 57

Repent and you will be able to live with Heavenly Father after death. Our body and our Spirit will reunite and our body will become perfected but if our soul is unclean, then we cannot live with Him in Heaven. You will live forever in torment. 

Bruce R. McConkie said, "...There was no man ever born into this world that could have stood under the weight of the load that was upon the Son of God, when he was carrying my sins and yours and making it possible that we might escape from our sins." 

Jesus Christ suffered for our sins too. He knows EXACTLY what we're going through because He went through with it and He WANTS to help you. He really does. Repentance wouldn't be possible if Jesus Christ never atone for our sins. We all should be grateful for the opportunity to repent for our sins. Repentance is a wonderful thing because we can become clean once more after baptism. All of us makes mistakes in our lives, even after baptism. We all are not perfect, we are always bound to make a mistakes. After all, we're humans. Jesus Christ knew that so He atoned for our sins! 

Now, some of you who may be reading this might want to go through the repentance process. It will make you happy and will help you find the peace and serenity in your lives. You will be forever grateful for what Jesus Christ did for us. 

Steps to repentance:

1) We must recognize our sins

We have to recognize that we are doing something wrong in order to fix it. If you don't know that if you're sinning, then you can't really repent.

2) We must feel sorrow for our sins

In order to really repent, we have to feel sorrow for our sins. If we don't feel remorse for our sins then we will keep doing it. In order to have a change of heart and to sin no more, we have to feel remorse and sorrow.

3) We must forsake our sins.

Forsake means to STOP. Dieter Uchtdorf once said in General Conference, "STOP IT!". We can't keep sinning and repenting. We have to stop doing the sin in order to really repent. 

4) We must confess our sins

We have to pray and CONFESS to our loving Father in Heaven. By confessing, we show God that we acknowledge our sins and that we have a desire to change ourselves for the better.

5) We must make restitution.

Restitution means to make amends or to right a wrong. Every action has a consequence and in some circumstances, we are able to make amends. For example, if we steal $5 from a store then we make restitution by returning that $5. By making restitution, we show to Heavenly Father that we are willing to change our actions. 

6) We must forgive others.

This is one of the most important parts of repentance. The Lord will not forgive us unless our hearts are fully cleansed of hatred. 

7) We must keep the commandments of God

The purpose of repentance is to become clean AND to learn from our mistakes. If we learn from our mistakes, then we wouldn't do that action. Heavenly Father gave us commandments and if we follow it 100% then we would not have a problem with sin. Jesus Christ knows that we make mistakes so He atoned for our sins so we can repent and become a better person. 

I can promise each one of you reading this that by repenting, we can become free from our sins and begin to experience joy and happiness in our lives once again. Heavenly Father really does love us and wants us to be successful!

Peace out! Tremonton is absolutely beautiful and I'm glad that I get to serve here!

Elder McGrath

August 28, 2013

Jesus Christ is an amazing brother that we have. He is literally the son of God and He did send His son to Earth:

John 3: 16 - "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved"

John 3: 16 is an AMAZING scripture. It basically talks about how our Father in Heaven sent Jesus Christ down to Earth to save us. TO SAVE US! All He asks of us is just to follow the commandments (Abraham 3:25).

Let's take a step back and think about what Jesus Christ did and what would happen if he didn't:

Resurrection: After death, our Spirit separates from the body to enter a phase known as the Spirit World with subsections: Paradise and Spirit Prison. Because of what Jesus Christ did, our Spirit and our body would be able to reunite! As a result of the reunification of body and Spirit, our body becomes immortal and PERFECT! I'll be able to finally use my ears (for those of you who are reading this and may not know me, I am 100% deaf! Yes, 100%!)! Our body would not be subject to disease, sickness or ANYTHING! We would be able to live in a PERFECT body all because of what Jesus Christ did for us.

If Jesus Christ never atoned for our sins, resurrection as well as immortality would never be possible. We would just be Spirits. Because of this, everything would be made easy for Satan. He will drive us into immoral deeds.

Pain and Suffering: In order to atone for our sins, Jesus Christ has to go through everything every single on this planet would go through. Jesus Christ knew how painful it was going to be. If I would to do it, it would be impossible for me because I would die. Because of what Jesus Christ had to go through, He knows EXACTLY what we're going through. EXACTLY! He WANTS to help us. We just have to ask for it. We need to acknowledge His existence and pray to Him.

If Jesus Christ did not atone for our sins, we would not be able to live with our loving Father in Heaven with our perfect body. I remember my dad always saying: "When you make it into Heaven, you can eat as much ice cream as you can WITHOUT getting fat!" How awesome would that be?! Being able to eat all of the delicious junk food without getting fat.

We need to be eternally grateful for what Jesus Christ did for us. He suffered so much, much more than any of us can go through. All He wants us to do is follow the commandments. That's so little. HE ASKS SO LITTLE OF US! He gives us so much, expecting so little in return. Let's fulfill this!

But all of us makes mistakes in life. That's natural, He expects us to make mistakes. After all, life is all about ETERNAL PROGRESSION! There is a process called Repentance. Repentance deserves its own entry. It'll be the next entry. :)

I testify to each one of you reading this that the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is truly a word of God. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and is a perfect companion of the Holy Bible (Ezekiel 37: 15 - 17).

If any of you want more info about the Atonement, Alma 7 is a WONDERFUL chapter about the Atonement.

Thank you,

Elder McGrath

August 24, 2013

Everyone here on Earth is a child of God. It doesn't matter whether you are Atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or any other religion; you are still a child of God. He loves you very much. One of the main reasons why we have challenges and tribulations in our lives is for eternal progression. Without challenges and tribulations, we cannot grow. As a result, we cannot experience joy, sorrow, or any emotions that may occur. In order to experience happiness in our lives, we have to face obstacles in our lives. It's a blessing for us to have Jesus Christ, our Savior, to help lift our burdens when we need Him to. He is a perfect example for us to follow. He knows EXACTLY what we are going through. He WANTS to help us because He loves us very much. I love being a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's difficult so far but it's going to be all worth it. Two years seem so long but I know it will go by so fast for me.

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#mountains-to-climb

August 22, 2013

The Book of Mormon was written by prophets of old and it was found and translated by Joseph Smith with help from our loving Father in Heaven. Heavenly Father loves each one of us and wants us to be happy; therefore, he allowed the gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored unto this beautiful world.

Any of you can find out if the Book of Mormon contains the true word of God and that He really does live. It is found in Moroni 10: 3-5. It reads:

3 Behold, I would exhort that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may KNOW THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS.

When you pray and ask God with sincere faith, you WILL KNOW THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS. He will answer you because He loves you and yes, He really does exist. He is literally our Father in Heaven. I can promise you that everything I just said is TRUE. Don't forget, our Savior, Jesus Christ as well as our Father in Heaven really do LIVE!

Message me if you have any questions. Thanks!

Have a great day!