The Candyland Perspective

I was asked to speak in my ward's sacrament meeting yesterday. I was given a week to prepare, and that was more than enough time to prepare a talk, especially given the assigned topic:"How the Pathway Program Can Aid in Self-Reliance" Initially, as it so often goes, I had one plan for the way to direct my talk. Then, with prayer and pondering, a different direction came to light. I like when that happens. I like knowing it's not actually all up to me. We still ended up going over a couple minutes in sacrament meeting. Here is the talk I tried to deliver. President Russell M. Nelson said, “Gain all the education you can. For us as Latter-day Saints, gaining an education is not just a privilege, it is a religious responsibility.”   I am an education missionary for the Church. With a lot of love, I’m going to talk to you about education and how furthering our educations can help us become more self-reliant. Elder Robert D. Hales taught, “Education prepares you for...

In one of my online classes I'm taking right now, REL 122, which covers the 2nd half of the Book of Mormon, an assignment asked the following question of me, in regards to  3 Nephi Chapter 11 . Why is it significant to you that the Savior invited the people to come forth one by one to feel the prints in his hands and feet? This is how I responded to the question. Honestly, I think it was a reward for their faith. Jesus had never even been born when many of these people and their faithful ancestors were living the gospel. Sometimes we are given little sweet nuggets to reward our faith, little proofs here and there, that embolden our testimonies, but do not create them. These are gifts not given to those who don’t exercise faith because they mean nothing to them. Also, I believe it was to help them to imprint into their own physical beings the reality of His crucifixion for their sakes. This may sound odd, but I’m running with it. When I was in the sixth grade, I went to...