Whitney up at BYU

This semester, about a week after my birthday, my girlfriend was able to come up and visit BYU.  She absolutely loved it and we had so many fun experiences.  We were able to play in the snow --it was her first time being in snow for more than an hour.  It was a very new experience for her.  We also went up to Park City on a fun date and had a very nice dinner at a BBQ restaurant.  The food was incredible!  We also went sledding and built a snowman.  It was one of the funnest weeks I had up at BYU.

Our Divine Destiny By David A. Bednar

We are taught be several Apostles of God that obtaining a body is central to the Father's plan.  It is a necessary step in order to eventually return back to our Heavenly Father.  In the book, "Prospective on New Media," Elder Bednar talks about the importance of having a body.

Joseph Smith taught, "We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom.  The great principle of happiness consists in having a body.  The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment." It is very important that we have a body, it is important that we do not forget the important of having a body.  The devil's ultimate goal is make force us into taking advantage of using our body.  

Joseph Continue's by saying, "The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power."  I'm not sure which apostle said this, but we are stronger than sin the moment it first presents itself to us.  However as we dwell on it and allow it to enter our mind, we are allowing satan to take control.  We need to immediately conquer sin.  In Brother Bott's  Mission preperation class, we recently discussed the importance of overcoming sin immediately.  Brother Bott teaches that there is an internal battle between your perfect spirit body and your imperfect physical body.  Before we came to earth, we perfected our spiritual body.  We could exist in the presence of God.  However now that we have obtain an imperfect physical body, our goal is to prefect them so that we can have perfect control over it.  Once we can complete this, we will be able to experience true happiness.  In Doctrine and Coventants 93:33-34 its states, "For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy."  Our body's can make us eternally happy.  If we can follow God's commandments, we will be able to return our perfected body's back to Heavenly Father.      

Me and My Sister's Birthday

My Birthday was so much fun!  Both my sister and I had our very best friends come up and visit for our birthday.  It just happened that our best friends are dating each other too.  During the entire weekend we went snowboarding, had a little party, and shared a bunch of other fun memories.  I am so lucky to have a great sister and great friends!

Mission Call!

This semester, probably the most significant event in my life happened.  I GOT MY MISSION CALL!  Two lines on a peace of paper determined where I am going to live and serve for the next two years of my life.  I am extremely excited to share my love of the gospel with others in Kennewick Washington.  I can't wait to get out there.

The Kooks Concert

This semester I had such a neat opportunity to go to the Kook's concert with one of my very good friends up at BYU.  We had such a neat experience.  This is actually a video from the concert.  After we left the concert my eardrums were ringing for about 4 days straight.  It was definitely worth it though.  

Meet the Family

 This is my wonderful family.  My little brother, Warren, on the far left, is a stud.  He loves to play sports and he is a very smart kid.  My little sister, Hanna, in the middle left, loves to figure skate.  She is very athletic.  My twin sister, Aley, on the middle right, next to me, is up at BYU with me.  We are having a lot of fun and enjoying the full experience up here.  And last, my mom and dad, in the Middle of the picture, are the most amazing parents and I am super lucky to have them in my life.  I would like to say we are the perfect family but were not.  We do the best we can though.

Perspective on New Media By Elder Ballard

In the Article "Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet," Elder Ballard discusses the benefit of using the internet for sharing the gospel, as the name of the article implies.  In the past, it was very difficult to spread information very quickly.  Before the time of telephones and telegrams, the most effective way was writing letter.  Today, it has changed significantly.  This generation is growing up in an age where they have useful technology all around them.  And, quite frankly, with the use of cell phones and the internet, passing information around is very easy.  We should use this technology to share the gospel.  Elder Ballard states, "Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration."  The Internet can be a very effective way to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with such a wide audience.  Elder Ballard states that "the emergence of new media is facilitating a worldwide conversation on almost every subject."  This is astounding that the Internet can reach such a large audience on a variety of topics, including religion.  I am planning on using the internet to share the gospel with others.  It is an awesome tool to have and we should take advantage of it.