Snowy Temple

Today Rexburg decided to expel great amounts of frozen snow upon us. Rexburg, know for its crazy weather wasn't suppose to snow. It really wasn't suppost to do anything. Just 5 days ago it was so hot you could bake in the sun. Today, wintery hell.

The 1st snow is always the worst, because you know that winter is coming and it will be forever before it gets warm again. But that is just the setting of the story. He is the cool (not cold!) part.

So I get done with my day and I get into one of those moods. You know the moods, where things just seem down and nothing is working out. Something is missing in your life. And you try and go to the gym and work it out but that doesn't work either. So then this is what happens.

I get done with the gym and head home. I was going to say hi to a friend but she wasn't home but that made my timing perfect to catch a ride home with my old apartment manager and husband. After the gym I had planned to go to the temple because when things aren't going right its usually because God has a message for me.

I get home do a little Facebook check to see what my sisters are doing and also talking to my roommate about how he should date this girl. For some reason I thought last temple sesson was at 8 but I looked it up online and it was 7:30. It was currently 7:10!

I tell you you never seen someone get dressed so fast. I grabbed a suit, a slice of pizza (I was way hungry) and booked it out the door to my motorcycle. Well, the bike wouldn't start at first and there was snow everywhere. After a minute I got it started and flew up the street with snow pelting my in the face. I was driving blind on the road but determined to get the to temple before it was too late. 

I made it up that giant hill to the glorious bright lights of the temple and ran inside it. Once inside I had only 5 minutes to change and get up stairs. And wouldn't you know it, I got dressed so fast that I still had 40 seconds to spare. It was great.

Once inside God has a great message for me, I felt the spirit so strong and after wards meet a friend who helped me find an excellent career starting internship. The blessing of going to the temple are amazing and it totally changed me life. 

I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves and watches over us. He does care about us and does have His almighty hand in our life. I know He lives and love us very much.

We are His children. Always remember this.

This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Helaman 6:37

Sometimes we are like those Nephite cities. We have good and evil inside us. And to ride ourselves of the evil inside us we must preach that gospel to that weakness in ourselves. Then that weakness can repent and become strong and we can become whole.

Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith

What Joseph Smith means to me.

I have listen to the testimony from John Taylor many times and I love how he is able to express him self so powerfully about his feelings for the prophet Joseph Smith.

I myself love the prophet Joseph Smith. When I started to gain my testimony of the restored gospel it first started with the Book of Mormon. I gained knowledge that it is true. I feel in love with the Book of Mormon and its teachings.

Then I severed my mission and began to study about the Prophet and all the great things that he did. I started to fall in love with the Prophet Joseph Smith because of all the great things that he did. The best part about this is that it led me to learn more about my Savior Jesus Christ and to fall in love with the Savior and all the great things that He did too. I use I knew a word better than great for I don’t think that truly captures the scope and essence of what the Lord did for us, His younger siblings. I am so grateful for the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am grateful for Joseph Smith restoring the gospel so that I can learn about the Savior. One thing that I think is remarkable is that each prophet that lived upon the earth is a type and shadow of Christ. Reading and studying about the life of Joseph Smith enlightens us to some of the traits and qualities of the Lord.

When I think of Joseph Smith I also think of the Lord Jesus. It is because He taught us so much about our Lord and what a marvelous Being He is. The Prophet Joseph was able to eloquently and powerfully teach and testify of the Savior. I know of no man who could inspire such love and devotion to our Savior.

I give Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah and ushered in the last dispensation. My life has ever been blessed because of the great man. I know that He did talk to out Father in Heaven and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He was called of God to bless the lives of those all around the world.

This great man went against great opposition to do what is right. Where would we be today would the courage of the boy who acted like a man. He was one who with stood stark opposition in the face of great persecution and torment. While everyone around him called him a liar he stood firm for what is true, and that has blessed my life so much.

The prophet Joseph was honest and faithful. He had the ability to do whatever the Lord asked him to do. He was obedient and always put God first. True that he had his own personal struggles and challenges but that all the more give me hope that I too can overcome the challenges of this world and become clean through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Praise be to Joseph Smith who listen to God and restored the Priesthood of God. A priesthood that allows us to act in the name of God and bless each others’ lives. A priesthood that not only saved my physical being but also my spiritual being as well.

I am grateful we have so much knowledge and details how what type of person Joseph was. I still love the story of his strength as he endured an operation on his leg as a child. I have gone through painful experience and I have followed the example of the prophet. I gained strength from learning from this great man.

Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He did the will of God. He preached in the name of God. He did what was pleasing before the Lord. He worried not what man would do to him but rather what the Lord would bless Him. He became a beacon of truth to all the world for the road that leads to happiness, the straight and narrow road that leads to the Savior.

Every attempt to tarnish the name of this man will be in vain. His work has been blessed of the Lord and it is going through all the world. Millions have been touched by His work and legions upon legions more will be blessed as well.

I am one of the many that have been blessed by the work of the prophet. I believe in my Savior Jesus Christ and find great comfort in the gospel. I am every grateful and testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and his works will be endless. And just as great a man Joseph was we too have the opportunity to be. We all have reason to rejoice, see God and believe in the words of Christ. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Comforting Power of the Spirit

Recently I have been going through a lot of rough times. Personal choices mixed with the trails of this world bring  me down. If it had only brought me down to my knees. Instead I found that anger and rage would surge through my body. This uncontrolled passion led my to desire to snowboard into trees and dance until I'm too tried to move.

But our merciful Lord softened my heart in time to be able to learn the lesson that He wanted to write on my heart. I noticed that I had not been putting the Lord first in my life. I was being left to my own devices and ideas. Sadly the Lord wasn't my number one priority in my life. I allowed my girlfriend to take that spot. Thou as great as she is, my Lord and God must always come first.

So this morning I was reading the scriptures first. Before I go to work or do anything else. I asked the Father for help in my life. For guidance and His blessing. When I arrived at work to begin the daily routine of setting up online courses I felt to let my emotions go. I put on the head phone and cracked up the music and let myself let go and give into the music. It does help but doesn't heal. Doesn't make me whole. Its just an outlet.

So the idea came to my mind that I should listen to the old church talks I listened to on my mission. It brought back all the memories and feelings of the mission. I felt the Spirit strong and well.

And I sat through out the day I felt the Spirit of the Lord come over me again and again. It was such a nice and enjoyable feeling.

When we put of Heavenly Father first then all things shall be added unto us. It is also interesting to not that as I was writing the girl I wanted to see the most (my girlfriend) came and surprised me. I thought she was going to be doing something else. So that was a nice blessing that the Lord gave unto me.

God is real and does love us with all His heart. May we strive to love the Lord with all our heart too.

Brandon Fegenbush

The Spiritual Restart of April 4, 2010

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true! The Lord Jesus rose from the dead and leads and guides His church in these latter-days! Because of the Divine Son we all will be able to live again!

We have great reason to rejoice! This is the best day of the year! The celebration of the rising of the Lord from the dead! How many souls have seen others pass before the earth to wonder if they will ever see them again. We need not have the fear of never being united with family and loved ones. The Lord provided a way that we can all live together again. It is through His atonement! His pain and suffering enables us to live again!
This Easter day I am recommitting myself to the Lord! To live by His commandments and put Him first in my life! I love Him with all my heart and will serve Him the rest of my life.
I am like Nephi of old. Born to goodly parents who taught me of the Lord. I have been taught and I understand that I must do as the Lord commands. I am like those in the Army of Helaman and I have been taught in my youth. I am one of the Lord's missionaries who loves to share his testimony. I will be an instrument in the Lord's hand to bring the world His truth.

I have been saved for these latter days to be a worker in the Lord's kingdom. I am striving to build the kingdom in righteous ways. I hear the words our Prophet declares and do my best to obey. I strive to be worthy and ready to go forth and serve.
My starving soul has been spiritual shocked. My slacking spirit is fully awake now and ready to feast upon the word of God and let my light so shine before the children of men. I have full desire to follow the commandments of God thought I know this won't be an easy task. I must work and strive to do my best and when I fail and fall that Lord will pick me up, dust me off and walk with me on my way back home.

The testimonies of Jesus fill me with happiness. I know He lives. I have felt His infinite power and love! I feel His love right now. He is so great! Hearing others talk so loving and respectively about my Prophet, Priest and King brings me great joy. I get to rejoice with them in saying how great our God is. I love hearing about the blessing they have received for they remind me of my own. We grow together. We learn together. We come closer to our Lord.
There is nothing more important in this world than that of our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ's and Their love for us. I know They are real and They love us. I feel that love and desire to share it with all other so they too can feel that love and joy.