#IAMSMALLANDSIMPLE

WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION

I may not be too much.

I am Small and Simple.

I may not be the best.

But I can do amazing things.

 I am Small and Simple.

I don't need to rely on myself.

I rely on something more.

I am Small and Simple.

You might think I'm foolish.

You might think I'm insane.

But I know that I can do this.

 I am Small and Simple.

So what does this all mean?
We see these athletes on TV who do things that seem superhuman. We see celebrities and actors and singers and models that are unnaturally "beautiful." We see incredible people do incredible things all around us, and almost always we think that we could never ever be that kind of people.

Well, I don't know about you, But I ain't thinking like that anymore.

 Because I know what I really am.

I AM SMALL AND SIMPLE.

I'm nothing terribly special. I'm pretty good at sports. I have a decent singing voice. I can hold my own on the dance floor. I'm terrible at remembering names. I'm not even very good at blogging.

But I am a Son of God.

He is my strength, His grace and mercy give me the power to do everything I can to bring about good. But I'm not the only Small and Simple one here.

You are to.

But by Small and Simple things are great things come.

Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise (Alma 37:6)

Be a part of this revolution. Comment below or Post how you are small and simple on my Facebook page with the Hashtag #IamSmallandSimple   (Find me on Facebook: Elder Kyle Ward or @ https://www.facebook.com/kyle.ward.503)

Funnels and Chains

Sorry for the delay everyone! I've been really busy, but I'm excited for these upcoming blog posts. I've decided to talk about addiction recovery, obedience and the Atonement.

If you're LDS, and you go to High School (or went to), or have ever been to High School, you'd probably hear these words at least a hundred times:

"Man, in your church, You can't do anything!"

or this:

"I could never be Mormon, you can't enjoy life!"

Really, they're just saying that all the things that they do that they think are fun (Smoking and drinking, and doing drugs and.... well... other stuff) are strict "No-nos" in the Church and in the Kingdom of God. We know that they are, but but sometimes we don't understands why.

Well, Imagine you have two funnels. One you hold right side up in your hand, skinny part at the bottom. The other, upside down with the fat part at the bottom. Now keep that visual in your head. (Unless you are actually holding funnels, then you can keep holding on... I guess...? I don't know. I'm just words on your computer screen....)

Sometimes we think of the rules or the commandments of God as a way of God just wanting to mess with us. Sometimes we think its to deny us happiness. Sometimes we think that these "commandments" don't even come from God, that they're just some thing our parents told us to hold us back, and now that we're grown up, they shouldn't apply to us.

Well, I have news for y'all. God is OUR (yes, even YOUR) LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER. He Loves us. ALL of us. Do you think your father would ever leave you astray?

No, of course not!

Sometimes, though, we never see it as that. We see these "rules" as simply handcuffs that don't let us do anything that we want to. Their just ways our parents use to control us.

But, we never truly see the big picture.



Before we came to this life, we lived as spirits with our Father in Heaven. He presented us a plan for us to come to Earth, receive a body, learn and grow, so that we can return to live with Him and become more like our Father.  Part of the plan was something we call AGENCY, or the ability to choose between right and wrong. He KNEW that to learn and grow, we would have to make mistakes, because that's part of learning. He also knew that if we made mistakes, we would not be able to live with God again (see 1 Nephi 15:34, see also Psalms 24:3-4). He provided us a Savior, to suffer for our sins so that we will be able to live with him again. But, when Our Father in Heaven asked "Whom shall I send?" Two volunteers came forward, One presented a plan to give us freedom to choose. One presented a plan to make sure that we would ALL get back.

Believe it or not, the one who presented the plan to make sure that we all get back was not our Savior, it was Satan.  Which means that if he got his way, we would have no choice. Satan is the enemy of choice.

Addictions are just one of the tools Satan uses to destroy agency. Agency, or the freedom to choose, is a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. It is by the righteous use of this agency that we are able to return to live with our Him and our families for Eternity. And so, this is why God gives us these commandments. Not to restrict us. Actually its quite the opposite. Remember the funnels? The One that we had big side up is how we could describe Satan's temptations. We have all these things, all these different temptations, and we think that they keep us free but really... they just lead us to one place. Addictions take away our choice, and lead us away from our Heavenly Father. The other funnel, the one that starts skinny at the top, and gets bigger at the bottom we think of as the commandments. If we keep the commandments, though it may seem strict, they act as guard rails that lead us to a life full of freedom.


That's great! We should all keep the commandments then, right?


Well, yes. But there are some of us who may have slipped up. We went down the wrong funnel and now the chains of sin now drag behind us. I'm not just talking about a smoking problem. I'm not just talking about a porn addiction or drinking or drugs. Maybe our addictions are something completely different. But the principles, techniques, and mindsets are the same. Its through the Atonement and repentance that we can be free from our addictions. That includes man's addiction to sin.

If you've gone down this path, DON'T WORRY. There is hope. We'll talk over the next couple weeks about what we can do to get back on the path of righteousness and how we can be free of these addictions. There are many techniques we can use to become free of these things. Part 2 coming!

I think I'm addicted to Mac and Cheese. Maybe I should read up?

One of the few sunny days here in the Pacific Northwest

eagle cheese.(Wise words from Elder Carpenter. Check out his blog @ joshuatcarpenter.blogspot.com)

Well... This week has been awesome!!! It really has. We've found 12 new investigators in the past week and a half, and taught some of the most amazing lessons. We've been teaching a family who is so excited to hear about the Book of Mormon. I taught a part-member family on an exchange with my District leader who just yesterday accepted a date to be baptized. Another couple that me and my companion taught are also getting baptized into an English ward. There have been so many amazing stories and experiences, and they keep coming. And yet.... I would be lying if I told you that I haven't had my bad days out here.
Sure, there is struggles in everyday life: Traffic, stress, not enough hours in the day, school, friends, family, work, or whatever.
But the thing about life is that it has a funny way of throwing us Curve-balls. We never know what's going to happen in a year, in a month, next week, tomorrow, or even at 6 o'clock tonight. And we all have days where we feel like there's a storm raging; or like we're walking in darkness, and can't see our way out. We hit the end of the fuse. Life can't burn you anymore, because if you go any further, you'll explode, and who knows what will be the damage.

 Abide with me; 'tis eventide.

The day is past and gone;

The shadows of the evening fall;

The night is coming on.

Within my heart a welcome guest,

Within my home abide.

O Savior, stay this night with me;

Behold, 'tis eventide.

O Savior, stay this night with me;

Behold, 'tis eventide.

(Abide with me, 'Tis Eventide, Hymns #165)

  

Pain comes. Trials come. Heartache comes. It does. But there is someone to stand beside us, even to carry us through it all. You can't see him, but he's there. Because its all been done before.

So, Savior, please, stay this night with us. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3019287996001&cid=HPWE010814338&im=true

Please Comment and Share!

So... In my Facebook ventures today, I found a video. No, this wasn't some funny guy or some cat who can play the piano or even some football highlights. But this video changed my perspective.

The theme that the Youth programs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has chosen for the 2014 year is "Come Unto Christ." The video that I found was the theme song that was put together for it.

(Find it here:)
https://www.lds.org/youth/theme/2014?cid=HPFR010314314&im=true&lang=eng

To be honest, when I came out on my mission, I felt everything that those kids felt, at one point or another. I felt that guilt that just never goes away, or that shame, that anger, frustration, or loneliness. I felt it all. Not to mention depression, stress, fatigue, disappointment, physical pain, feelings of uneasiness, inadequacy, and like I was unwanted.

And not just once or twice. Some weeks, months, even years felt like this. I was struggling with most everything shown in that video, like most teenagers do. And, its tough. I know that, I get it.


Now that most all of my friends are in college and getting married (weird....) I know that sometimes the struggles are different.  But I KNOW that Christ is there.

I want to shed some more light on this subject, but first I want to ask my readers,

How have you dealt with your struggles in the past?
Please, comment below!