The Win/Lose Theory

So, we all know you've heard something like this, but if you think for just a few seconds, can you remember any conversation, any incident recently where someone HAD to win. Even in something that was never made to be competitive? Well, let's just say that I hate competition and you'll know where this train wreck is headed.

Ever since I was little, I not only hated, I loathed sports and games. Happy to say I have since been cured of that, thanks to young single adult activities that are just too fun to pass up. But the real question is why? Heck, I was a young boy, boys like sports right? Right? Wrong. I hated sports so much because there always had to be a winner. And I despised that. For two reasons. One, there had to be a loser. Two, if there has to be a loser, than if you are the reason that people lose, everyone hates you. It goes from grassy fields of a sport to the dark fields of your heart as people's morals are cut down, people ridiculed in public and a whole lot of other nasty stuff. 

So I never played a sport all the way up till High School. Then I considered trying out for the swim team. I like swimming. But that idea got halted in less than a week because I realized if you swim to WIN then I will hate it. Then I was going to do basketball. Same effect. Then the Golf team. Same thing. I have just always hated that idea! 

Well, here's the real kicker and it comes out in lots of us, if not all of us. I'm gonna get religious here, but it's truth, and I like truth. Satan has a similar plan. What if he could make our goal of getting back to heaven look like a competition. It's not, mind you, but Satan after all is a great liar. Elder Jeffery R. Holland said,

"Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those."

Now, I am not being so adamant about this point because I have seen this in others, although I am sure I have. I am writing this blog today because sometimes I have seen it in myself. God does not look at you any different than anyone else. I wrote this little quote not over a month ago, but I am gonna be awesome and quote myself to finish this post:

"We need to learn that we are all on different playing fields. The cards that you have been dealt are face cards. I got uno. Someone else got rook cards. None of us are playing that same game. We were all born in different families in different locations, under different circumstances and will go to different schools and meet different people and do different things and think different ways. Therefore any comparison is unrealistic in all truth. The only comparison that is important is the you of yesterday compared with the you of today. Nothing else matters. It doesn't matter if someone is higher up in callings, or if someone has more money or if someone looks better or if someone gets more blessings. It doesn't matter if someone succeeds at something more than you, even if its something you like. We are all on different levels in different things. It's likely that the someone you are envying for their skills is envying you of some skill you have! If you want to be happy, be happy with where you are and who you are, but not satisfied. Keep learning and doing your best, regardless of what others do! Let God be your coach. He will root you on. "

My rant is over now. Love you. XD 

To Cleanse and to Cultivate

Happy Sunday! Oh, darn, it's not Sunday anymore. But oh well! I was meant to do this one on Sunday, but I am going to do it today. So just pretend for a few moments that you reversed time a day or so and you will be set! So, when I was on my mission, we had a huge mission conference. My Mission President at the time was President Baird. He was awesome and he introduced to us the 12 step addiction recovery guide as a pattern we can follow our lives after in order to First: Cleanse ourselves from impurity and from bad habits and sins and Second: Cultivate within ourselves the Christ-like attributes found in Preach My Gospel. I found this very enlightening and a great commitment and have never stopped this process, even after coming home. I still use the Addiction Recovery Guide in my daily study as well as Preach My Gospel, the missionary manual, and of course the scriptures. 

Today in my study I learned a little bit more about this. I found, by the help of the Lord in my study that this can be rephrased from Cleanse and Cultivate to Repent and Obtain Spiritual Gifts. This meant so much to me. It gave me a hunger for the gifts of the Spirit and I gained further understanding in my study and my reading of "The Infinite Atonement" (one of my favorite books by Tad. R. Callister) that in order to obtain gifts of the Spirit we must have it as a constant focus in our day. We must give our attention frequently and persistently to this. We must truly desire them, and then ask for them. And when we do so, living the commandments and striving to understand these gifts, we will get them. 

In this condition you will find that the law of Karma applies. Whatever amount of force you put into something will return to you. I am so excited now to continue to pursue spiritual gifts! I am focused on three right now and in order to obtain I have made a daily system! 

1) I will frequently pray throughout the day, earnestly, for these gifts. 

2) I will frequently throughout the day, ponder and meditate concerning these gifts and try to align my actions to it.

3) I will frequently study each day, more than once, gifts of the spirit and the gospel through scriptures and books. 

4) I will have a changing daily goal to push myself closer to one of these goals. 

Oh how consuming it is, but I feel that if I put this effort into it, God, my Heavenly Father will grant it unto me! I'll let you know how it goes! 

Power of Perspective

Once upon a time, there was a little boy with copper hair, just newly becoming a boy scout and he HATED it. Absolutely, totally and completely despised and loathed scouting. Why? To be honest, I don't remember why I hated scouts so much at the young age of twelve, but I hated it. From the very first day. I still have a picture, I wish I scanned it in so I could show you--its hilarious. It was a picture they took of my first day and it is by far the most miserable expression ever! It is like hatred and angst are leaking out of it. So maybe it's a good thing I'm not posting it.

Today, I was called in to be a second substitute leader for the boy scouts. Luckily in the last 9 years I have grown a little bit and I happily accepted the call, although I wasn't sure what to think I was determined to make this hour at least amusing to me. When I got there, I found we were working with knots and my heart sunk. If there was something I was AWFUL at as a young boy, it was knots. I dreaded those more than anything else in scouts. (Except maybe week long camp outs.) But I of course, didn't want to show that to these two young boys, so I confessed I had forgotten how to tie the square knot and that I was willing to learn.

It was so simple!

I am still amazed. I don't think its really a brain thing. Back then it was like torture to do knots and now, in less than three seconds I had done it on my first try. I found it so incredible and as I sat in the car on my way home, it taught me a lesson I have learned many times. Perspective is everything. Going into something if you decide to hate it, trust me, you will hate it.

I hated camping as a scout. Later, when I was almost 17, they had a trek and on instinct, I decided to be excited. And so I loved trek, which is significantly more grueling and hard than a week long. Another example of that. I know that it's the same with trials in life. With faith. With everything.

A helpful hint on learning how to do it well, is learning how to trust God. When you trust God, you can look at everything with an optimistic attitude. Even difficult trials and temptations. They work for your good. I know it's true. Keep your smile on, and keep your covenants and Gods commandments.

Fulfilling the Prophecy

So, there was this long prophecy, millions of years ago that Ethan would actually go back to his old blog and fix it up so it wasn't a piece of garbage anymore. Today, that is fulfilled! I am back to my blogging ways likely because I have been doing nothing every single day for the past four weeks! :D Yay!

Anyway, back to the blogging! If you have visited this page frequently, which I am sure you haven't, you will notice that I deleted a lot of my old posts that were generally terrible to read and bothersome for me to look at anymore! Haha! I assure you, this blog will do good for at least a week! I will do my best! Lots has happened, but we won't recap on that right now, we can do that later when the conversations come up!

Here's your interesting though for the day:
Are you a dog person, or are you a cat person, or....are you a chupacabra person? Hmm..?