The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Gospel

"Hyeah!"

It's the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God! Get it?

-Link

    "Are you going to let me do one of those guest posts on your blog someday?"
    "Sure. What are you going to do it on?"
    "I could do it on Zelda."
    "That works. Just remember, it has to have some kind of gospel link-"
    "Ha!"
    Get it?

    Hello, readers, it's Elder Wilde, here to grace your presence with my attempt at being cool like Elder Lopez. "Cool like me? Oh look, I'm the reader! So this is what this feels like... How y'all doin'?" Quiet, Elder Lopez, it's my turn! "Ok..."

    While perusing Elder Lopez's blog, I was astounded by his neglect toward The Legend of Zelda. "Hey, I was getting there..." Are you done? Anyway, I thought that more than 25 years of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, there had to be something there that applied to the gospel. "Why is everyone so sassy to me..?"

   So just in case you didn't know me, my favorite Zelda game of all time is Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo (closely followed by Ocarina of Time on the N64 and Link's Awakening for the Gameboy tied for second). Link to the Past was a masterpiece with flawless gameplay, epic music, and a classic struggle of good vs. evil. Now, Link to the Past takes the cake merely because of sentimental value. To compare it with Ocarina of Time on the basis of gameplay would be a folly, because the two are incommensurable. Now where was I going with this?... "You lost me at Super Nintendo."

Know the difference. It could save your (eternal) life!

    Oh yeah! So, if any of y'all have a background in the restored gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when I say the word Temple, you'll probably think of things like eternal families and saving ordinances for our kindred dead. But for those Zelda fans out there, you're probably thinking about solving puzzles, getting cool things like boomerangs and hookshots, and fighting boss battles. So, how are these related?

   Just like Link had to fight his way through many dungeons to collect everything from medallions to crystals with princesses trapped in them, we have to face our own trials and opposition here on earth. God put us here on earth knowing that we were going to have a hard time. He cast Lucifer and his followers from Heaven, knowing that they would tempt us and try us in every possible way. Why would a loving Heavenly Father do that to us? We find the answer in D&C 122:7:

    "... Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

    "Our trials are for our good?" That's right, Elder Lopez. Think about it: Link would have never saved Hyrule if he decided that it was too hard and he was going to take the easy way out. In the thirteenth Article of Faith, it says that "we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things." Our trials have a refining effect on us. In Malachi 3:2-3, it says:

    "... For he is like a refiner's fire... and he shall purify the sons of Levi... that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

    Well, I'll save you the sob story, but about a year ago on my mission, I was going through a bit of a rough patch. I wasn't homesick, per se, but long story short, I asked myself for the very first time, "What am I doing out here?" Well, I was a little bitter at God and others for the difficulties of mission life, and instead of sucking it up and moving on, I just had a terrible attitude. Something would happen to me, and the second I thought that my trials were over and l I thought I could handle life, a new trial, immensely larger than the last, would be looming over me. It was as if the Refiner decided to turn up the temperature on the fire every so often. Well, one day, I got a package from my dear mommy. I can't remember too much of what was in there, but I do remember there being a magnet with a quote on it that I put on the refrigerator door and read every time I pulled the milk out of the fridge to eat a bowl of delicious Wheaties. The quote was from Jeffery R. Holland, and it said:

    "If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."

    Later that week, as I rode my bike, I had a thought cross my mind: my mission was like a video game! The only reason things were getting harder was because I had gotten to the next level, so to speak. The only reason things were getting harder was because I was getting stronger and getting closer to conquering evil!

I don't know what this has to do with anything, it's just cool.

    Don't you think for a minute that God is going to sit there and let you suffer. He'll help you every step of the way! I don't think I suffered more in any Zelda game than in Majora's Mask. That one was hard, ok? "I still have problems putting the cartridge in the right way..." Sit on your hands, Elder Lopez! "But-" Do it! "Awwww..." Anyway, Majora's Mask was hard. The only reason I ever beat that one was because of my little sister. My little sister only liked to watch me play, so I'd sit there and play and she'd tell me what to do. In most cases, I had already played the game through while my sister spectated, but Majora's Mask was so hard I didn't play it unless she forced me to sit down and play it. Well, many a time, I would be at my wit's end, and I was ready to give up, but my sister would always say, "You can do it! Did you try doing it like this?" I would respond, "No, that won't work. I've already tried everything..." Well, I'd go ahead and do it her way, and more often than not, things would work out, I'd solve the puzzle, and we'd continue on our merry way.

    What does this teach us? Well, God has given us the Gift of the Holy Ghost for all those who make the covenant and receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation. Once the Gift of the Holy Ghost is bestowed upon us, we are entitled to His guidance. When we are at our wit's end, God can tell us through the Holy Ghost what we need to do next. And guess what? He's always right! How neat is that? "That's pretty good, I guess." 

    Well, I'm running out of time, but I'll catch y'all later!
"Well... I guess I'll just sit here and make some breakfast till the next guest blogger decides to show up and insult me..."

Lizzie Holmes, recording at Sammy's

hey guys! Just posted some live recordings of me playing my originals at Sammy's. Thanks Chase! 

A Long Week

This past week has been so long I don't know why my weeks usually feel like they just fly by but this past week took longer than usual. I think it's because I was looking forward to conference so much! Andy an investigator thats been coming to church for a while now was so excited for General COnference! it was so wonderful and very uplifting me to see and feel his excitement!!! he usually watches it at home but on Satuday he came to join us at the chapel. He loved it of course and mentioned that he especailly loved the talks about the Atonement. It was so great to hear that from him because he's usually just focused on the how the message is delivered and not so much the message itself. Andy is such a great person.Kate and Richard were also able to come watch conference with us it was wonderful to have them at the chapel because the spirit was so powerful and we all felt it; Howeveron Sunday Richard was getting restless so they had to go home early. Kate is doing so good. The other day we visited her and she said that after her baptism she prayed to Heavenly Father to help her not be lazy anymore ( she asked us earlier: "sister's did you know that I am lazy?" we said no we didn't then she said well after I was baptized I prayed that Heavenly Father would help me change and so she went out and started cleaning and buying flowers for her house and all. ( and by the way she is not even like super lazy at all) but it was just wonderful for both Sister JOhnson and I to see how she feels about her Baptism and the changes she wants to make in her life. We are super duper excited for her confirmation this Sunday:)

 

This past week Sister Johnson and I were asked to do training on setting and achieving goals for our Zone (Which consists of about 18 missionaries) and I was really excited and at the same time a tiny bit scared because this is the first time we'll be giving a training. My companion was super nervous too! So what brought me alot of comfort was knowing that Heavenly Father always knows what he's doing and that truly it is his spirit that was the real teacher. We were merely his instruments and we just needed to have Faith that he would help us for he still had alot more to learn about Goal Setting and Achieving. As we prepared together we learnt so much! and I am so grateful that we were given that opportunity to learn and to grow in Faith as well. The training was delivered well and I truly did feel the spirit guiding my words and as we talked. I loved it!!! Sister Johnson has been going through alot this week. She told me a couple of nights ago that she still feels like she's not doing enough and not where she wants to be. As I was listening to her I was really praying in my heart that I might know what Heavenly Father would want me to share with her to help her come closer to Chirst and to him. I learnt in a very real way that not only are we helping others who are not members of the church come closer to Christ but we're also helping ourselves, our companions and even our friends in the Gospel come even more Closer to the Savior. I am grateful for all that I am learning. I really have come to love my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ more. I am coming to learn how real they are and how they truly do want us to be happy and return and live with them regardless of where we are on that path home.

 

Last week we had dinner with a member of our ward Sister Hart. We loved the sweet spirit we felt in her home as she shared all that she has gone through. She was always a member growing up but when she was in her 30's she decided the church wasn't for her so she asked to have her name removed. She went the total oppsoite way and then later in her life because of her family she came back to church. Sister Hart is a wonderful Sister she has children that have become less active and a son that's excommunicated, that evening with her I realized that Heavenly Father needs missionaries not only for non members to receive the Gospel but also for members to stregthen their testimonies in Jesus Christ and in his Gospel. I am grateful for Sister Hart and again I know that truly we are called where we are needed. No wonder our leaders counselled us a couple of years ago to "Ask the Missionaries" they'll know. So yes! make the most use of the Missioanaries you have there if they are worthy the spirit will help them to help you.

 

This last week we also were able to find a new investigator his name is Fernando and he is 14 years old. We found him while trying to contact another person; and we were able to meet with him and help him know more about Jesus Christ. Fernando is such a humble person. It's such a privillege for me to be teaching him. We will meet with him again this week and we are really hoping his family will be willing to listen as well. We are going to the Temple this Wednesday so I am really excited!!!

 

I wish you all a Fabulous Week!!!

I Love YOu LOads

Sister Koroitamana

Hello everyone!

Hello everyone!

this week has been good. We finally got to meet a few members at the chapel this sunday, after conference. We have been finding more and more less actives to work with, there is so many!!! we need to help them. and we are excited but athte same time we feel overwhelemed. we have a huge area to cover and looking for new investigators should be a priority but we feel that reactivaiton is more important, so that we wont be a burden to the branch in adding new members."When converts are baptized and confirmed, they make sacred promises to obey and serve God and others for the rest of their lives. They become candidates for salvation in the celestial kingdom. To receive the promised blessings, they must endure to the end with faith in Jesus Christ. Church members are essential in helping new converts remain active and faithful.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “There is absolutely no point in doing missionary work unless we hold on to the fruits of that effort. The two must be inseparable. … Every convert is a great and serious responsibility”  I know that there was once a missionary that cared dearly about these people who accepted the gospel,and worked really ard to get them get to that step and they have pleaded with the Lord that they will never fall away, and they still do. I know that as i care about these people, that i will be an answer to another missionaries prayers and that the ones i have helped make it to the waters of baptism will be taken care of.
My companion is awesome, can't complain, We are really looking forward to the Easter Pageant!!
WE enjoyed conference, although i have to admit the last one was my favorite. I did really love Elder Bednars talk, and President Monsons, about love. I learned t hat i need to rely more on my saviors help to progress. Okay cool expirience, we met a returened missionary sister and she is so cool! She invited her friend to join her for conference, she even took her to seee the dedication of the Gilbert temple, and she felt the spirit so strong there! more in hte instruciton room, she said she cried.she loved the conferencea and her friend was telling her all about the Book of Mormon and her friend ( the investigator) made a pact with her that if she read the book of mormon in spanish she will read it in Japanese. I though it was a great idea. Too bad hat she is english so we cant teach her. :( But she is so ready and so humble i am so excited for her bright future in the gospel.
Hmm, what else happened this week.,m well it is going by sort of slow, besided we do study for four hours then have an hour for lunch and so we are in the house for five. Its ok though.
i love oyu alll and i hope i maybe see some of you at hte Easter pagent!!

Hermana Salas

Recommitting to the Savior.

Often I find myself questioning everything about the gospel and my relationship with the Savior, but then I have those light bulb moments. You know what I am talking about, its when one is like well duh, that makes sense and this is why we do/don't do that certain thing. Then I feel dumb for doubting my relationship with my Savior.

I am grateful for Conference and for the inspired messages that I needed to hear especially after being inactive for 6 months. This is something that I beat myself up about constantly and having that feeling of not being enough for the Savior. Even though, I know He loves us unconditionally no matter what! This is something I always promised myself that I wouldn't allow occur to me, but did.

While being off the unbeaten path, the trials came stronger than ever. I felt so weak, vulnerable and scared that I chose not to look up to the Savior and pray for guidance and strength. The stubbornness and pride got in the way of asking  Heavenly Father for what I needed. The world continued to beat me down and I let it. I didn't have the strength to keep going.  I kept on getting tempted, and falling into Satan's trap.

The trials grew with intensity, but now reflecting back I knew it was to test my faith. And to get me to humble myself and to turn my life back on track. So here I am reflecting on the past six months. Although, I turned my back on the Savior, I could still see His presence in my life constantly. Even though, I gave up on Him, He did not. He still loves me as much as ever.

I have to constantly remind myself where I was before I was baptized into the church. I have to remind myself of how far I have come because I allowed the Savior to be in my life. I have to remind myself of the Spirit I felt when I was getting taught by the missionaries, the day I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. And how I wouldn't want my life to be any other way. The covenants I made were to make my life better and to help make me become a better daughter of God. I have to remind myself of who I am in the eyes of the Lord, and where I am going spiritually. I have to remember my eternal goals of getting married in the temple and having an eternal family.

With all that being said, I have decided to recommit myself to the Savior, and to do it on a daily basis through prayer, repentance and scripture study. I know, at times it may be difficult, but it is so worth it in the end. A life without the Savior is nothing, but darkness.

April 3, 2014

This week has been very relaxing because I had to call in for jury duty every day this week. They didn't require me to come in though. On Tuesday I hung out with, my right hand man, Jesse Kaupert. We have been led to be roommates at Brigham Young University: Idaho. At the end of last semester, we decided on goals for next semester. One of the goals was to run faster than a specific time for a long distance. I plan to break ten minutes for the distance of two miles. This was my goal during my senior year of high school, and I was unable to seize the opportunity then, and Jesse's goal is to run faster than five and a half minutes for a mile. I have been offering my encouragement and wisdom to run faster than five minutes for the mile, but he insists to run by his own wisdom and means. He decided on a strict routine that he got from a amateur sprinter. This kind of surprised me, but he still rejects my advice. He is going to wait until the end of the semester to see, if he will meet his goal.
I did a mile time trial last Tuesday after we did his work out. His work out was to run four one hundred meter sprints. This is definitely a sprinter work out. A long distance runner would do this as a warm up, and have a much more lengthy and harder work out after. I hope that he meets his goal.
I had to decide on a conservative mile trial strategy. I started my winter break training very well; however, I did my aggressive training after work, which took a toll on my body, because I was working out after an eight hour work day, standing on my feet and doing physical labor the entire time. Running seven to nine miles a day after work made my feet hurt, and I had slight knee pains after a month or so, when I first got home from school. Last summer I ran before work, and that was fine; however, this break, running after work, I can't be as aggressive as I am use to. I have had to go easy on myself this past month or so. This was my reasoning in my strategy. I planned to run eighty seconds per lap and a five-twenty mile.
I didn't feel very confident in my time trial. It didn't feel like how it use to in high school or in cross country at the university, but the feeling is kind of standard now a days. Running mile time trials is not new for me. I felt like I wasn't pushing my mental strength, but I was barely hanging on to it. I have found that mental strength is very important in running. There is a saying in racing that I don't believe. Coaches say that at the end of the race everyone feels the same exhaustion, so just triumph over that and you can be the winner. I don't believe everyone is the same in track and cross country. In my time trial, I ran the first lap in seventy seconds, which was ten seconds faster than I attended, and I tried to keep the same intensity the entire time. Jesse didn't get my other splits, but he said that I ran practically exactly five-twenty. I was surprised that I hit my goal time.
In high school, I learned the strength of mental fitness. One of the most impressive of my friends is Georgi Dinoluv. We did a pull up contest my senior year of high school in a weight training class. I worked out probably double the amount for the event, but I still lost to him because he has a greater capacity for achievement. One thing that I regret was that he asked me how much I think that I can do, and I said that I am at eighty percent when I do twenty pull ups. Guess what. My one hundred percent of the contest was twenty-four because I gave myself a mental limit. I learned then not to give myself mental limits. Georgi got twenty-seven or something like that. I trained better than him, and he admired me for that to help him train well. Performance is oftentimes when it counts the most though. I always focused on pushing my mental limits in training for my past cross country season and the beginning of my winter break, and I need to get back into this attitude now that I have adapted to my new lifestyle.
It was raining as I did my time trial, and for the people that would like to know more about Jesse Kaupert, when he is a single university student. The rain got to him, and he had to go puke. He seems to be an occasional puker. He is not super competitive. I suggested that he should do a time trial with the track team, but he doesn't want to do that. He does his personal best though. I have seen many people puke during work outs and training, but I have never been one of them. The is probably because I don't go all out, giving myself a mental. Who knows?

I LOVE POST FU!!!!!!

Oogway: "Ah! I see that you have found the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom!"
Po: [Po turns around with a lot of peaches stuffed in his mouth] "Oh! Is that what this is? I'm so sorry! I just thought it was a regular peach tree!"

The last thing I remember...

And here I thought I was going to have a normal birthday... "Happy Birthday by the way. Heard you had quite the surprise." Wait, what do you mean, how'd you know something happened? "The nice Analogyzer guy told me, oh and shared quite the tail about kindness." You didn't think to, oh I don't know, hail an officer of the law (Number 12 cough cough) or stop him? "Nah." You spelled 'tale' wrong. "I know how I spelled it. At least you know what Chloroform smells like now though." I have a headache again... That stuff was NOT diluted enough... "You live a pretty rough life... If that's what happens with your friends, I'm terrified to hear what your enemies do to you..." Yea, it ain't easy being me. Sometimes I think, 'Man, I don't know If I can even do this anymore. I mean, It's always something. It's just thing after thing after thing.' "Do you really feel like that?" Of course not! I'm Elder Lopez! Nuff said! "Ugh..."

Not pictured: An impressive Fu
Man Chu

So the reason I'm so Awesome! happy with who I am is because of a lesson I learned a long, long time ago. "In a galaxy far, far away?" No, I already did that one... But you are right, It does have to do with a similarly themed movie. In the movie Kung Fu Panda, there is a Panda named Po. "What does that have to do with Star Wars?" I told you, I ALREADY did that one, that ship has sailed. So anyway, Po is a panda whose dad is a Goose with quite the impressive Fu Man Chu. That has nothing to do with the lesson but I just thought I'd give credit where credit is due. So anyway, Po's whole predicament, conundrum, whatever you wish to call it- "What do you do call it?" It is... Not important... So, he wants to be a Kung Fu master but there's that one thing that gets in everyone's way at least once in their lives, he has the problem of being 'a big, fat panda.' "That doesn't even make any sense. You're right, that Chloroform stuff did get to ya." Ugh... you have no idea, I'm like still smelling colors... But that's besides the point. Long story short, Po gets picked as the Dragon Warrior, a warrior who is pretty Awesome! and filled with Kung Fu... stuffs... "Very smooth." You ever heard of Occam's Razor? "No?" Look it up... So, I totally lost my train of thought... "Dragon Warrior?" Oh yes! Dragon Warrior! 

One Elder Lopez was harmed in the making
of this post.

So there's this scroll, appropriately titled, 'The Dragon Scroll' that comes with the territory of being the Dragon Warrior and when the evil Tai Lung threatens the land of... Umm... "You don't remember what it's called do you?" Haven't a clue, but it's not important, the point is, he threatens it. "You know it's China right?" You're China... Only the power of the secret contained in the Dragon Scroll is enough to save the land but when Master Shifu and Po open it, to their complete and utter surprise, there's nothing. It's just a blank reflective scroll. So now you can imagine how much of a 'Man we're done for' moment they were both having but eventually, Po learns a valuable lesson. "That it's illegal to lick doorknobs on other planets?" Well... I suppose he learned that one too.. But I was gonna go with the value of self-worth. "I guess that one works..." 

You see dear reader, we are the greatest creations ever created! Think about it, everything we are, we are cause we are. "Sigh... Okay, I'll bite out of what I'm assuming is supposed to be a rational thought... Elder Lopez, whatever does that mean?" You're quite the sassy one today. Rather than describe it myself, I'll let someone a little more suited do it, and man do I wish I had their accent.

"You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”
If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters [and sons] of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."

How's that for three slices of Awesome! pie? Every single time you look in the mirror, you see one of the greatest things ever thought of! Don't believe me? Ask Dr. Seuss!

"Today you are you, that is truer than true, there is no one alive who is youer than you!"

The secret of the Dragon Scroll is that power comes from within, and who gave you that power? That's right! Our Heavenly Father! Po defeated Tai Lung just like we can defeat our metaphorical Tai Lungs cause God loves us and although we often don't know our Awesome! self worth, God sure does, and He often times will send a little reminder to keep us going. For some it's a fortunate event, and for me, it's a mirror. "I just don't know what to say to that." Probably better if you don't... So go be Awesome! reader and remember, You can't spell Awesome! without M-E!

March 22, 2014

     I am happy to say that I have no drama this week, so I can speak on more simple matters that do not have to do with transgressions. I want to write about music in this occasion of ease. The exact obedience that I have been pursuing has given me the courage to do things that I have always believed that I should do, but I didn't know how.
      When I began the Mormon YSA Blog Spot, I wanted to do a collaborative article on music with my coauthors, but it didn't worked out. My friend thinks that my philosophy on music is odd, and how I have developed courage to arrive at my standard today is funny. I listened to Asian pop for a couple years because I don't like to deal with the lyrics of music, since I don't understand the languages, being spoken. I explored many Asian countries music. Here is a reason why I am careful of listening to awful lyrics. The soul, which is the union of spirit and body, is very sensitive to the words ingrained to the mind. I was impressed by a quote by George Albert Smith today that can more fully explain the doctrine. George Albert Smith is a Latter-day Prophet of the living Godhead; Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The quote is about thoughts, for the words ingrained in our soul heavily influences the thoughts of man.

“It was fortunate that part of my instruction came under Dr. Karl G. Maeser, that outstanding educator who was the first builder of our great Church schools. … I cannot remember much of what was said during the year that I was there, but there is one thing that I will probably never forget. I have repeated it many times. … Dr. Maeser one day stood up and said: Not only will you be held accountable for the things that you do, but you will be held responsible for the very thoughts that you think.’ Being a boy, not in the habit of controlling my thoughts very much, it was quite a puzzle to me what I was to do, and it worried me. In fact, it stuck to me just like a burr. About a week or ten days after that it suddenly came to me what he meant. I could see the philosophy of it then. All at once there came to me this interpretation of what he had said: Why, of course, you will be held accountable for your thoughts because when your life is complete in mortality, it will be the sum of your thoughts. That one suggestion has been a great blessing to me all my life, and it has enabled me upon many occasions to avoid thinking improperly because I realize that I will be, when my life’s labor is complete, the product of my thoughts.”

I have realized more fully recently that the great and abominable church, which is the only other church opposing the Church of God, is the philosophies of man mingled with scripture. This is a precept from first Nephi chapter 14. The verses are given below:

10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

The purity of the soul is compromised, when impure philosophies of man are stuck in the mind of man, which is often the root of the lyrics of music. The philosophies of man mingled with scripture are what Satan leads his church, which is not a single congregation, religion, or people, to be taught. So many means of communicating is ingraining the philosophies of the world contrary to the church of God into the international community. We need to be careful to not espouse the philosophies of man mingled with scriptures, so we are not deceived, leading us to forsake our relationship with God. This is why I listened to Asian pop; to avoid hearing the philosophies of men. You may think that I am ignorant to not learn these philosophies, but there are many ways and things in the world that are thought to be worthy of man, which are distracting for achieving the work of God within the lives of mankind. 

      The next stage in my music development was to listen to music by Mormon musicians like the Osmonds, Bread, Imagine Dragons, Lindsey Stirling, David Archuleta, the Killers, the Aquabats, Mindy Gladhill, Peter Breinholt, Maddie Wilson, April Meservy, Catherine Papworth, Janice Kapp Perry, Beyond 5, BYU Men's Chorus, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Kalai, BYU Vocal Point, and Gladys Knight. These artists made it into my second draft of my Mormon Playlist. I did not even consider Alex Boye. I think that he is talented, but his music and style is satisfied, limiting the professionalism and greatness of his work. I think that it is good, but he can do better. I found more Mormon musicians, and I would have them in my playlist; however, Google Play music only allows me to have a thousand songs though. Spotify would let me have ten-thousand, which is still not enough room. Kalai is a very dynamic Hawaiian and Mormon musician that I recommend. Some of his songs sound like Jack Johnson, but he has more styles. The concerts that Trevor and I went to messed with my new standard, and not all of the Mormon music of my playlist was pure from the philosophies of man mingled with scripture; therefore, my newest standard is to listen to the music on the Mormon Channel. The possibilities are limited to church approved music there, and not to my thousand song playlist. My little brother has bought the Pure Heroine album of Ella Yelich-O'Conner, which is Lorde, but I don't like her stage name, and him, listening to the new Shakira album, has messed with my new standard too. I only listen to the Mormon Music Channel when I choose to listen to music, and I recommend that you listen to the Mormon Music Channel more too. I understand that not listening to your favorite music is hard to sacrifice, but I know that my philosophy is not outlandish. I expressed it to a co-worker, and she agreed with me, saying that the latest album of Lady Gaga is demonic. I have felt a greater purity in forsaking the music of the world, and I know that you will feel more happy, positive, and pure, when you listen to the Mormon Music Channel. You can feel the filth of the world, when you return to the music of pop culture, and I recommend that you don't do that.

 

White Washing and Training

Hello Amigos!

as you all know I got transferred and am now serving in Paradise Valley, and i am white washing, which means that both of us are new to the area and dont know anyone.We have a huge area it covers the stake. we are in car full time. i hope my companion could get her bike soon, i  like bikes better because we get to meet more people. What we have to do now is read the area book, meet the bishop and Ward mission leader and get to know all the members, recent converts especially becaeu we have to make sure they get to teh temple and stay active, we also need to look for new people to teach. I am so excited!!!!! I am also TRAINING a new missionary!!! She is so adorable and is from Utah she is 21 and went to the MTC in Mexico. I feel more equipped for training now, I've learned so much and i am so eager to share it with her, and also help her with her spanish :)

 I would love to send out pictures of my goodbyes with the branch that i grew so close to, but i dont have my cable. next week.

We got told that we will get to be hostesses at the Easter Pageant year!!

info:  april the 9th-11th; 15th-19th in english and april 12th in spanish at 8pmhere is the adress:525 e main street  mesa arizona

just in case any of you crazy people want to come down here :) it will be fun!

love you all, cheerio.

Hermana Salas

"Hi! Hi! Hi!" by Sister Koroitamana

Hi! Hi! Hi! How was your week? Oh this week has just been so amazing!!! I love being here and being a Missionary!!!Guess what?!?! Kate got baptized yesterday!!! Oh It was such a beautiful day. She was feeling so happy and calm and not even nervous at all. After she was baptized she said she felt clean:) I am so grateful for Kate she has just been so amazing and it's been so wonderful to see and help her come closer to her Savior Jesus Christ. She has such great Faith and is such an amazing person. I feel that we've had to go through alot of hurdles with her. Hurdles that at time me and SIster Johnson would just be like ok what do we do now. I have really grown to love Kate and my Heavenly Father so much! Just seeing how Heavenly Father was able to help us to help Kate was a miracle in itself. Kate just loves Heavenly Father and she is so sincere and just wants to follow him. She will be getting confirmed and will receive the Holy Ghost in 2 weeks. We are so excited for that!!!! Another Great Miracle and Blessing has been seeing how our Members and our whole ward just came together to help and Support her. At first I was feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed with all the things we needed to do to prepare her Baptismal Programme but it has just been so wonderful to see how everyone was so willing to help and got the extra mile with filling the Font, preparing the progammes and preparing refreshments etc.

 

Another great Miracle that the Lord blessed us with this week was that Andy a man that we've been teaching for a while was able to come to Kate's Baptism. He comes to church and all but he hardly comes to any other activites outside of church. Yesterday as we were getting ready to start. There walks in Andy!!! OH Mama I was so so happy. I just wanted to hug him!!! hahaha lol he's about 74 sweet old man. He reminds me of my grand father:) lol he just walks in and so happy and smiling and says I'm here I'm here!!! I made it!!! I'm here. He is always in my mind. We're always thinking of how we can best help him and what needs madaga. He's been investigating the church for 4 years now and last week we just found out that he's agnostic so he says. Weleeii!!! now we got that figured out we'll do our best to help him. I just know that Heavenly Father wants Andy to be happy and to be able to live with him again. Everytime we share that with Andy he always says that he wants that as well. He loves "Iam a Child of God" . I have come to love andy so much!!!

 

I love you all so much!!!

adios!

Sister Koroitamana

My Little Christ Like Elements P. 3 (Kindness)

"Hey, does it smell funny in here to you? MMFFhrrg!" *thunk*
-Elder Lopez, on the subject of the odor of Chloroform

We meet again! I told you I'd be back! "Uh oh. Where's Elder Lopez? I'm I going to have to go climb a watertower?" Of course not! Do you really think I'd lock him in the same place twice? Although it surprises me to know that you'd go rescue him. "Well...I was just concerned for him, that's all..." Sure. Suuuuuuure. (imagine that in a sarcastic tone.) Don't worry, I just used chloroform this time, since it's his birthday week.

Warning: Do not view image if
you have a weak heart. Spontaneous
melting may occur. Use with caution.

So can you guess what we're going to talk about this time? "Ponies?" Eeyup! But which one? I'll give you a hint: She's been known to use weaponized adorableness to devastating effect. "Umm, the pink one?" No no no, that was the last one! We're talking about Fluttershy here! I mean look at that! Doesn't that just melt your heart??

"I see your point. Wait a minute, she is pink!" No, she's yellow. "She has pink hair!" Irrelevant. 

And do you know which Element of Harmony Fluttershy holds? "...friendship? Cuteness??" No, it's Kindness! Look at the blog title! "Alright, I'm done with these guessing games!" 

Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not demonstrating the element of Kindness very well. "Fluttershy would be very disappointed in you!" You're right! She would never act this way. The reason she possesses this particular element is because of her unconditional love toward everyone and everything! She never gets mad at anyone. She's kind, patient, selfless, and goes out of her way to help others. She once flew a cartload of frogs from one swamp to another just because they needed some space from their neighbors. "That's nice, I guess, even if it is a bit strange..." And because she's kind, she is happy, hopeful, and strong. That sounds like a scripture I know...

"I see where this is going. Jesus was kind to everyone he met. He helped and healed others without thinking of himself and he even died so others could live." Exactly! It all boils down to Love!

In fact, one might say that Love is the greatest of the Christlike Attributes. In Matthew 32, a lawyer questioned Jesus, asking which was the greatest commandment, to which Jesus responded:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Looks cool, but not a good role model.

Why is love the first and great commandment? If we truly love God, we will keep his commandments! And secondly, if we love others like we love ourselves, we will have no desire to sin against them either! If everyone really loved each other, there would be no theft, no murder, no jealousy, no pride, no nothing! "Isn't that a double negative?" Yes. But the point I'm trying to make is this: what the world needs now is love. It's cliche, but it's true! So do your part. Love your neighbor, serve your friend, pray for your enemy. Be kind! "Rewind?" Never seen it, sorry.

In conclusion, be nice like Fluttershy, not like Nightmare Moon over there. She's pretty much the exact opposite of Fluttershy. "Are you sure those two pictures are from the same show?" Eeyup, believe it!

Well reader, it's been fun! But once again, Elder Lopez is stirring, and my time is up! Perhaps next time I'll be able to post on here through diplomatic means. But that wouldn't be as fun, would it? 'Till we meet again! Excelsior!