The Kind of Resolution That Really Matters

The Kind of Resolution That Really Matters

So it’s now a few days after New Years and I have a question for you – How are you doing on your resolutions?

The definition of Resolution is: “A firm decision to do or not to do something.”

It seems to be pretty common for people to make New Year’s resolutions about all kinds of things: Losing weight, making more money, exercising more regularly, taking a dream vacation, and the list goes on and on.

It’s also pretty common that within a few weeks of proclaiming those drastic changes in our lives, that we have fallen back into our old habits once again, and the internal fortitude which seemed so sure on New Year’s Day is now faded into the reality of returning to the post-holiday grind of life.

But the kind of resolution I am talking about, has nothing to do with these kinds of things.  The kind of resolution I am referring to is the kind you talk about when using a camera or developing a picture, and has to do with, in basic terms, the quality of the image.  Or in other words, as the resolution goes up, the image becomes more clear, sharper, more defined and more detailed.

And why is that?  It’s because there is more information included in the same amount of space.

But my thoughts today don’t really have anything to do with photography or taking pictures… but instead about the resolution with which we see life around us.

So how do we see life more clearly, with improved quality, more sharpness and true definition of the details?  How do we fit more clarity and detail into the same space of 24 hours in a day?

Might I suggest, even though I am not talking about pictures, that it has everything to do with image and the lens through which we see it.

What I am talking about is: (and this is just a quick, incomplete list)

• A true perception of right and wrong.
• Being able to see the true worth of ourselves and others around us as children of a loving God who wants us to return to Him.
• Being able to recognize the needs of others we cross paths with each day and how best we can really help them.
• Seeing clearly that honesty and integrity are more important than gaining a few extra dollars in our bank accounts.
• Understanding the needs of family members and our role in their lives to lift them, strengthen them, and assist them through the challenges of life.
• Having detailed awareness of our own flaws and imperfections and what we need to do to correct them and why we need to make the effort to do so.
• AND MOST IMPORTANTLY – Understanding our relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ and how to apply His Grace and love in our lives in ways that lastingly change us in remarkable ways forever.  Because He is the lens through which we can see life clearly as it is meant to be seen.
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  Picture by Simon Dewey

"And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.  That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.   And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you." (D&C 50:23-25)

And how is this type of improved resolution achieved? (Here are just a few possible answers)

• Sincere and heartfelt, regular prayers.
• Study and pondering upon the word of God and His prophets found in the Holy Scriptures.
• Unplugging from the world and taking time to be with God through quiet Meditation.
• Thinking less of ourselves and getting out and serving others (starting within our own marriages and families)
• Repenting quickly and frequently when we recognize we have done something wrong.
• Forgiving others quickly and completely, just as we would hope to be forgiven if the shoe was on the other foot.
• Recognizing our dependence upon the Lord for His guidance and direction.
• Being quick to act upon His guidance when it is given to us (without doubt, debate or delay)

These are just a few ideas to help shift your perspective, provide some initial clarity and sharpen your resolution about what life is really about.

And the most remarkable thing about this kind of resolution, is that when you do so, the other kinds of changes and improvements you need to make in your life tend to begin to happen naturally and with far less effort. And those things which are meaningless sort of fall off to the wayside where they belong.

Here’s to a wonderful New Year, full of True Resolution!

Faith Precedes the Miracle

Faith Precedes the Miracle

“Today was one of the greatest days of my mission!  I learned a great lesson about the power of prayer and fasting.  We witnessed a Miracle!”

These were the words written in my journal entry dated Sept. 30, 1987, while serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Los Angeles, California.

(I need to further clarify these remarks and writings today, with the statement that by sharing them, I am absolutely and in no way whatsoever seeking to promote myself of make any claim that I am anything special.  I am sharing these thoughts at the request of my youngest son, Mason, who is currently serving as a missionary for the Church in Wisconsin, and who finds himself in a similar situation as I was all those years ago.  But I feel comfortable sharing them at the same time, because I am more than happy to testify and share the love of God and His absolute power to provide divine miracles in our behalf when it is according to His will)

At the time I wrote these remarks, I was nearing the last few months of my missionary labors, and was serving in a position in the mission offices which were located on the temple ground behind the historic Los Angeles Temple.

As a result of our office assignment, my companion and I lived in the mission home apartments, and our days were usually filled during business hours fulfilling various duties and office tasks, coordinating with other missionaries throughout the mission, assisting the Mission President as he needed, and so forth.  This didn’t leave us much time for actual missionary proselyting, except for a few random evenings and weekends.

Me at my office desk in fall of 1987

Despite this rather non-missionary schedule, we were still assigned to cover 3 local congregations:  The Wilshire Ward (which included Beverly Hills and Bel Air), a small Spanish branch, and the UCLA student ward.

At the end of August, and going into the start of September that year, our mission president, the late Elmo B. Shirts, made a spiritual challenge to all the missionaries throughout the entire mission – That if we would sincerely and prayerfully fast, that we would receive inspiration as to what number of convert baptisms we should set as a goal for the month of September.  And moved upon by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, and as his authorized servant, he promised us that if we then were strictly diligent to the mission rules, and did everything that we could possibly do to be obedient and faithful, that the Lord would fulfill helping us meet that baptismal goal.

My companion, Elder David Kono and I took that challenge to heart.  We fasted and prayed individually and without discussing it ahead of time, we both felt prompted with the same number to set as our goal for the number of baptisms we would achieve that month.  Considering our limited ability to go out searching for investigators, we truly were at the mercy of the Lord and the local members to provide us contacts of people we could begin teaching.  And although we had previously been blessed with success some occasional people to teach and who had made the spiritual journey to the waters of baptism… the goal we felt prompted to set seemed daunting and almost out of reach.

Nevertheless, being young and full of commitment, and probably because we were just too naïve to realize that logically, our goal was impossible… we moved ahead in faith.  We made our goal a focus of our thoughts and prayers.  We decided to fast each and every Sunday throughout the month, not just for the sake of our goal, but so that we would be inspired to know how to truly help anyone who might be seeking for the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ.  We talked and discussed ways we could be more faithful and diligent in keeping the mission rules, and sought to be as obedient as possible to the guidance and promptings of the Spirit.

As the month progressed, we were blessed to be introduced by some local members, to some wonderful people to add to our teaching pool.  Their hearts were open to the message we had to share, and they began to progress in their desires to know Jesus Christ better.  And remarkably, as the weeks passed by, several of them had entered the waters of baptism and things were lining up perfectly for us to reach our goal.  When a wonderful lady named Denise Knight entered the waters of baptism on Thursday, September 24^th, we were just one person away from reaching our goal, and remarkably we had our final investigator scheduled to be baptized just a few days later, on Saturday, the 26^th.  We were simply ecstatic!

Then, on Friday evening, as we were talking to the lady who was scheduled to be baptized on Saturday, she informed us that she was suddenly no longer interested in being baptized, and wanted to just take a break from things for a while and asked that we not contact her anymore.

Suddenly, thoughts of meeting our goal were snatched away from us.  With absolutely no one else in our active teaching pool, we were at a loss of what to do.  To be honest, most of Saturday came and went with spiritual justifications rattling around in my head.  “Well, at least we came close.”  “Well, I guess we did what we could, and it just wasn’t meant to be.” …and so forth.

Then, as Saturday evening approached, my companion and I were reading the scriptures and talking together and the thought came to us, “Do you really believe that the God you proclaim to worship and serve is a God of miracles?”  We began discussing all of the miraculous events portrayed in the scriptures, which simply couldn’t be rationally explained away, and came to the conclusion that we had to either believe such things were true and that God really did have power to perform miracles… or that we didn’t believe in such things.

We could have easily rationalized, as so many of us often do, that although we believe in such things… we just don’t believe that happen in our day, or at least not to us personally.  But instead, we came to the faithful conclusion that if God could create worlds and move mountains and part seas… then surely if He desired to do so, He could also provide us the miracle of finding a new investigator with only a few days left in the month, and that person would be ready and prepared to be baptized.

Like I said previously… you can call it being naïve, illogical or whatever you want… but in that moment, in our simple, imperfect, but committed missionary hearts, it was FAITH.  And not a faith in ourselves or that we had actually done anything worthy of thinking we could command God to do anything against His will in our behalf… but unwavering faith in HIM, and His all-powerful ability to provide miracles as He saw fit.

So we dropped to our knees, and began fasting yet again.  Fasting in gratitude for all the blessings He has provided us.  Fasting in praise that we were blessed to be able to serve Him in the capacity of missionaries.  Fasting that His will would be done, and not ours… but that if it was actually His will, that He would perhaps see fit to provide someone who was ready to accept Him and His gospel message.

Journal Entry, Sunday, Sept. 27, 1987 - “Today was one of the most exciting yet stressful days of my mission.  It all began yesterday when we began a special fast so that we could perhaps accomplish our goal of baptisms for this month.  We didn’t give up faith in the Lord, even though it is so late in the month and we had no one ready.  We knew that He would bless us if we remained faithful.”

Later that morning, as we were attending the Sunday School class at the UCLA student ward, the class dismissed and everyone began filtering out of the room.  But there in the back of the room, shifting nervously side to side on her feet, was a girl we had never met before.  My companion and I looked at each other and instantly knew that she was “the one”.

We introduced ourselves and she said her name was Sherri, and before we could even ask her if she was interesting in hearing more about the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ, she asked us if we could teach her so she could be baptized!

We both just about fell over on the floor in shock, and perhaps I would have, except that the Spirit overcame me and I felt overjoyed with gratitude – gratitude for the love of the Savior in miraculously hearing and answering our fasting and prayers, as well as gratitude for this young woman’s sincere desire to make a commitment to follow Christ by being baptized a member of the Church.

She was eager to learn, so we arranged to meet with her that same afternoon in the company of some other members of the ward congregation.  She soaked everything up like a sponge and informed us that she had a boyfriend who was a member of the Church already, and a returned missionary, who was away attending BYU on a baseball scholarship.  He had given her a Book of Mormon before he left, and she had read it, studied it, and prayed about it and felt she should be baptized as soon as possible.  She was nothing short of the miracle we had been praying for.

She agreed to be baptized that week!  She was so excited she wanted to call her boyfriend to share her good news with him.  He was already a member of the Church, and had served a mission himself, and although he was very happy about her decision, he asked if she would be willing to wait for a few more weeks until October 11^th, so that he could come back to California and perform her baptism.  She felt this would be a good idea and so plans were made to that effect.  We were personally heartbroken, but supportive of her desires above our own.  (Obviously we had mentioned nothing to her of our prayerfully set goal or her supposed role in it, as we felt such a thing would be totally inappropriate to discuss with her in her own personal progress).

She left that evening happy about her decision, and we were happy for her, but once again, the miracle seemed to have been snatched from our grasp.  We once again sulked around for a few minutes, with rationalizing statements and “nearly made it” pats on the back… but then once again the question came silently to our minds, “Do you really believe that the God you proclaim to worship and serve is a God of miracles?”

Humbled and chastened by our doubts, we once again talked together and decided that if God miraculously could provide someone in one day, like he had earlier, then why couldn’t He provide someone else who was ready the next day!  Once again we were on our knees and began a new fast yet again, thanking the Lord for His tender mercies by guiding Sherri into our path, and asking and literally completely trusting, that if it was His desire to do so, He could do it again!

We got ready for bed that night, and I finished my journal entry for that day with the following, “I know that the will of the Lord will be done in the end if we have faith and follow his counsel and promptings.  No one could ever convince me that it wasn’t the hand of the Lord that made it all possible.  Who else could do such a great and yet simple thing in the way it all came about.  No one can tell me it was a coincidence, for I know that it was a Godly answer to our sincere prayers and fasting!  I glorify His name for it!  In the end I pray that His will be fulfilled and that it will work out best for all.”

Despite it all, I slept well that night, confident that all would be right.

Monday, September 28^th, came and went full of our normal office labors and duties and nothing out of the ordinary happened.  But I still felt calm and assured that all would work out for the best, as we continued our fast throughout that day.  The same was true all throughout Tuesday the 29^th, with no new contacts or investigators.  Just a normalcy, but filled with peace and confidence that God’s will, not ours, would be done.

Finally, we come back to the beginning of this story, with the journal entry I began with in this writing.

As we were going about our early morning labors on Wednesday, Sept. 30^th, the final day of the month, we received a phone call.  It was Sherri, the girl we had met on Sunday.  (Now you must remember that she knew absolutely nothing about our goal, prayers or fasting).  She said, “I have wrestled with the Spirit all night long!  I don’t know why, but I have become completely convinced that I should not wait even another day, but that it is the Lord’s will that I should be baptized today!  I called my boyfriend and told him what has happened and he told me that if that is what the Lord was telling me, then I should do it.”

Our hearts soared with joy and brimmed over with gratitude to the Lord for His miracle.  We had no idea how it would come, but had fully believed and trusted that if it was His will it would happen, and He delivered!  We spent the rest of the day happily scrambling around to get the necessary interviews completed, the font scheduled and a meeting put together.

At 8:30 that night, just a few hours before the end of the month, I was privileged to enter the waters of baptism with Sherri Nicole Gottlieb, and baptized her.  I still remember as I lifted her out of the water she had the most wonderful smile and such a happy, peaceful look on her face.

Me, Sherri Gottlieb, and my companion Elder David Kono in front of the baptismal font on Sept. 30th, 1987

  Soon after, my companion Elder Kono, confirmed her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  IT WAS A MIRACLE!

My journal entry, with which we began at the start, concluded with these words, “I no longer doubt that the Lord can deliver unto us the righteous desires of our hearts if we but have faith!  I give all the glory to Him for bringing this miracle to pass and acknowledge His hand in every good thing I do!  I am grateful for His Spirit which has led and guided me each day and changed my life, little by little, for the better!  I only pray that I can continue to humbly learn and grow and endure to the end!”

Again, I want to say that in sharing this remembrance with you, I am not claiming that my experience was any more unique or special, than any of the countless miracles, both great and small, that God bestows upon His children throughout the world each day.  But I share it as a witness that God indeed truly does love us, and desires to bless us, even through miraculous ways far beyond coincidence or chance!

A true miracle, can never be forced and will never happen because of our own desires.  It will only happen if it is God’s will and if our will is in alignment with His.

In reality, miracles have very little to do with our paltry offerings of faith, and literally everything to do with His love and tender mercies in our behalf, but there is a vital reason why we must have Faith to unlock those miracles in our life – and that is not because He has to prove his power and love to us, but that it is through our Faith in Him that we become convinced of His miraculous love and power in our behalf.  Faith does nothing to change God, who is already perfect in every way, but Faith has the power to change us because of our belief in Him.

And that change in our hearts to trust in Him, His timing, His will and His purposes and not our own, through Faith in Him and His love, is perhaps the greatest miracle of all.

The Triumph of Defeat

The Triumph of Defeat

A few mornings ago, actually while I was in the midst of my morning prayers, I had a memory come into my mind from nearly 32 years ago.  It was from the fall of 1984 during a football practice on the Monday of the week leading up to the first game of my senior year of High School football.

I had worked extremely hard during the off season to come into fall camp in the best shape of my life, with the hopes that I would be the starting Center of the offensive line as the Madison High School Bobcat football team began its season.

The football team had just won two consecutive undefeated state titles the previous two years, and expectations were high as an experienced group of seniors led another talented team onto the fall gridiron.

We were led by a wonderful coach, Preston Haley, who somehow knew how to turn boys into men, pull every ounce of talent out of a bunch of scrappy farm boys, and then somehow even get a little bit more beyond that.

After two weeks of fall camp I was feeling comfortable in the starting spot at the center position… or so I thought.

We had 6 experienced senior offensive lineman, but only 5 starting spots.

Me in the back left corner

The biggest battle was raging between the two guys at the left tackle position, Darren Klingler and Dean Struhs. As we entered the final week of practice before our first game of the season, Dean had fallen into the 2^nd spot behind Darren at that position going into the first game.  Determined to play, Dean talked to the coach and decided to challenge me for my spot at center.

It was announced before practice that day, and Coach Haley set up a series of physical skills against each other, culminating in a one on one blocking drill to see who could best the other and win the starting spot. Such a challenge could be issued on the Monday of any week, but only on that Monday, so the starters could practice together during the remainder of the team drills leading up to the game each Friday night.

I had one small problem going against me… Dean was bigger than I was.

(Me center, Dean on the upper right)

As the battle raged on I was determined to not lose the position I had worked so long and hard to win during the entire off season.  After a lengthy, grueling series of gladiator-like battles, both of us were beginning to fatigue.  Suddenly, one of my feet slipped, and I went down… and in an instant, Dean Struhs moved into the starting center spot going into the first game at the end of the week.

I was devastated, crushed, and needless to say, pretty upset at Dean for taking the spot I thought I had rightfully earned through so much effort leading up to that point.  Relegated to practicing with the second string that day, a searing anger began to burn within me, and I told Dean he better not get comfortable there, because I was going to win that spot back from him the following week.  But in my broken heart, I had doubt if I could do it.

Sensing the situation, and realizing that the hard feelings could be detrimental to our team effort that year, a wise Coach Haley and one of our senior team Captains, Stuart Cardon asked me to come into the office after practice that day.  Stuart was the smallest of our lineman and played at the left guard position, between center and tackle.  He was a tough kid and in addition to being the starting left guard that year, he was also the starting middle linebacker on the defensive side of the ball.  They suggested that for the betterment of the team, that Stuart would like to give up his left guard position to me, so that he could save his energy more for the defensive side of the ball, and that since I had good mobility for a lineman, that I would be able to fit the pulling guard spot better than Dean could.

I was still upset, and had been determined in my mind to want to stay at center, but as they talked to me, it just felt right… and I really wanted to start in that first game of my senior season, so I agreed.

Switching to left guard was the best decision I could have ever made.  I found that I loved the blocking assignments of that position so much better than at the center spot.  There was nothing better than pulling down the line on a trap play and plowing into an unsuspecting opponent to clear the hole for one of our talented running backs, or to pull around the end on a sweep play and come up against a much smaller defensive back that I could physically dominate to clear the way for a speedy tailback to sprint towards the end zone.

Our team went on that year to win our 3^rd straight state championship title.

That year was the best of my football career, and I played alongside Dean as a trusted teammate instead of a bitter or defeated rival.  After the season I even received a scholarship offer to play for Snow College, a Junior college in Utah.

Life took me on different path to a church mission, and I fell in love with my wonderful wife, and I never ended up playing another down of competitive football again after our state championship game of that fall in 1984.

Looking back now, instead of the bitterness and defeat I felt when I lost my starting spot, I am now grateful to Dean for his challenge to me that day.  It taught me several valuable and important lessons that have helped me through my life.

I learned that sometimes, despite our best efforts, things don’t always work out the way WE want them to.  I learned that you should never get too comfortable, take anything for granted or feel entitled to what you think you may have earned, because it can be taken away in an instant.  I learned that sometimes when things don’t work out the way you expected, and a door seems to close in your face, that another and sometimes much better pathway opens up far greater than what you had planned on.  I also learned that when life gets tough, the Lord has often placed wise and caring people around us, like a Coach Haley and a Stuart Cardon, to show us kindness and offer to help us see our way through those difficulties.  That experience also taught me how to realize that our lives are full of different seasons, that things like football eventually come to an end, and other seasons like marriage, parenthood, and other rewarding endeavors can take their place, and that we should always enjoy each season of our life while it lasts.

These are just a few of the valuable life lessons I learned from the football gridiron throughout those early years of my life.  And I am grateful for Dean and what his challenge taught me.

Sadly, Dean passed away several years ago from a sudden heart attack, leaving behind a wife and family.  One of his sons Mitch now plays football for Arizona State, fulfilling both his and his father’s dream of playing competitive football.

I don’t really know Mitch or his family, but during my prayer that morning, when this memory was jolted into my mind, I felt I should reach out and share this story with him, so that he might come to know how Dean, his father, had a lasting impact on my life in positive ways.  And that perhaps it might inspire and help Mitch somehow in his own life and struggles on the gridiron.

And from this experience, I also learned how a wise and loving Heavenly Father sometimes brings things full circle, taking a hard experience for me, turning it into a way for me to grow in many ways, and later allowing that experience to come back around to Dean's family for their betterment as well.

Life is such a wonderful experience!  May we cherish the moments, both good and bad, and be grateful for the meaning behind all that we do!

Eric

What is the Purpose of Religion?

What is the Purpose of Religion?

          I had a small experience this past week that roused some questions in my mind about, what is the purpose of religion and in essence, what is the purpose of life.  It might come as a shock that these questions were brought about in response to someone broken down on the side of the road, but that’s how it happened.

          It should come as no big surprise to anyone who has read any of my previous blogs, that I am a Christian, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).  Well, this past Tuesday evening I was driving from my home into the town of Rexburg about 14 miles away for a church training meeting, when about a mile out of town I spotted a vehicle stopped at the side of the road, with the hood up.

          With the heavy flow or traffic for that time of evening, I passed the car and pulled over to the side of the road in front of them to see if I could help.  Leaving my own vehicle I walked back to the car with Montana license plates and found an upset African American lady, in a very nice dress, behind the wheel.

          “It looks like your night isn’t going according to your plans.” I offered to lighten the mood.  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

          She expressed her relief that I had stopped and stated, “Of all the cars that have passed me by over the past 20 or so minutes, only you and one other person have stopped and offered to help.”
          I asked her what she thought was wrong and she answered that she thought she had just run out of gas before being able to make it into town. She said the other man and his wife who had stopped by earlier had gone to get some for her, but she had been waiting for 15 minutes or so since they had left her.  I was the only other person to stop in that time.

          I asked what she had come down from Montana into Idaho for.  She stated that she had come down to speak at the Jehovah Witness’ Kingdom Hall that night.

          Just then the other middle aged man and his wife returned from town and pulled up behind her.  He was a Hispanic man and by the stickers on his truck I figured he was certainly a Catholic by religion.  He had driven into town, purchased a gas can, filled it at the station and returned to help.  We put the gas into her car, all the while as the Hispanic man refused her offers for any kind of reimbursement for his cost or efforts.

          We made sure her car got started and wished her well on her talk at her church.  The Hispanic man then thanked me for stopping to help (although I really hadn’t done anything) and then smiled and went on his way.

          As I got back into my own car and finished traveling to my own church meeting (now behind schedule and late), I couldn’t help but humbled and moved by the thoughts that came over me.  In those few moments a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness and a Catholic had intermingled on the side of a road, as a host of other people passed by on their own way.   And it made me wonder, what is the purpose of Religion, specifically Christianity but it could be any religion?

          Rexburg, Idaho is a predominantly, but not exclusively, Mormon community and in a way it saddened me that with all the people traveling by in the 30 minutes or more this woman had been broken down on the side of the road, that the only man who offered any real service or assistance was a Catholic.

          Now don’t get me wrong!  I am not saying anything against Catholics, Jehovah’s Witness’ or any other religion, or touting my own by what I am talking about here.  What I am talking about is that people of so many different religions, including my own, claim to be Christian, but probably fail to understand what that really means.

          We are all members of our various religious organizations and believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer… but the question is, what effect does that have on us and what is the meaning of it?

          Is our religion or church membership just a social organization to help us feel good about ourselves, or so that we can check our Sunday attendance off our “feel good” list each weekend, or does it actually affect some kind of change in us?

          One thing I know is that on that day, with everyone driving by (of what religious backgrounds I do not know) the one man who showed true Christian compassion, service and Christ-like behavior was a Catholic Hispanic man.

          Now that’s not to say that if we don’t stop to help everyone along our path that we are a bad person or not religious; in fact far from it.  Life demands us to make choices and we do have to work, provide for our own support and take care of personal needs and demands.  But what I talking about is the question of whether our religion actually changes us into something better than we are or were before?

          In my humble opinion, if a religion doesn’t inspire you to actually change your behavior on an ongoing basis into something more kind, loving, caring and willing to serve others… then either it isn’t much of a religion or you aren’t getting out of it what you should.

          The purpose of life is not to see “What’s in it for me?” or to see how many things we can acquire or how much wealth, fame or recognition we can receive.  Each and every one of us will have to leave all that behind when we die and pass on into the next realm beyond mortality.

          No, the purpose of life, which was created by God our loving Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, is to create an experience where we can learn (by our own practice and through our own agency) how to become like them.  And if our religion isn’t inspiring that kind of change and behavior in us, as individuals, then we may want to question what is the purpose of religion in our lives.

          As for me, as I thoughtfully proceeded to my church meeting that night, and over the several days since then, have been left to ponder the question and come to the realization, that everything good that has ever happened in my life and any measure of good I have achieved as a person I can directly relate to the gospel of Jesus Christ and my membership in my church.

          I am far from reaching the spiritual progress and goals for which I am striving, but thanks to Jesus Christ, there is a path before me and He has shown the way.  He is the way the truth and the life.  And I am grateful for a Jehovah’s Witness, a Catholic and everyone else from all walks of life who I meet each day for reminding me of it.