The Flip Turn of Repentance

The Flip Turn of Repentance:   In the summer of 2004 the summer Olympics were being held in Athens, Greece. Being a big fan of athletics I ate up the weeks of competition as I enjoyed every event. The ideas of your country vs. the world concept really gets me pumped up every four years! This particular year I really fell in love with swimming. I'm not sure if this was because I had just moved to Arizona and now swimming was a daily occurrence in my life, or if it was because of the hype surrounding swimmer Michael Phelps. Phelps was seeking to break Mark Spitz's record for the most gold medals in an Olympic games by a swimmer and this excited  me every night as I watched him chase after this feat. I quickly became hooked to the sport and a few months later as I entered high school I decided to give competitive swimming a try.

    As I continued to swim and be coached I learned one of the key components to getting faster and improving my race times was having a good flip turn. As a swimmer you are swimming as fast as you can headed straight for the wall. In order to maintain your speed into the next lap as you come into the wall you flip end-over-end causing your feet to flip up and over and into place to push off the wall and start your next lap. Those who can master this can really improve their race times because they are no longer wasting precious seconds starting the next lap.
    In a way we are swimming down the swim lane of life. There are times we will make a mistake in life contrary to what God has commanded us to do. This is called sin and can be compared to the wall in a swim lane because it stops our progression. As we continue to head for this wall we have two options, crash into the wall of sin and get hurt spiritually, and often physically, or use the gift of flip turn of repentance. It is up to us to chose our course but God has given us a Savior, Jesus Christ, to help us get past that wall of sin and onto the next part of the race of life.



Ezekiel 18:30 says we need to "(flip) turn ourselves from all our transgressions" In the Book of Mormon Ammon teaches us "if ye will (flip) turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage." Also Alma teaches us to "(flip) turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength" As we use the flip turn of repentance with all our mind, might, and strength we won't crash into the wall of sin. We will be able to quickly overcome it, push off of it, away from it, and move back down the swim lane of life. I know this is a key part of swimming and our lives. It's my prayer that we will use the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repent to become a true gold medalist in the sight of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
            To learn more about repentance visit http://mormon.org/jesus-christ/#repentance  

Uncle Rico, Leave The Past In The Past! The Best Is Yet To Come!

Uncle Rico, Leave The Past In The Past! The Best Is Yet To Come!

In the movie Napoleon Dynamite we constantly see Napoleon's uncle, Uncle Rico, trying to relive his old high school football days. He is always telling people "Yeah... Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind. You better believe things had been different. I’d have gone pro in a heartbeat. I’d be making millions of dollars and living in a big ol’ mansion somewhere, soaking it up in a hot tub with my soul mate." Uncle Rico obviously resents what happened in the past. He wished there were things he could do to go back and change the course of his life. He even attempted to use a time machine to send him back to his glory days where he could make changes and change life for what he believed would be the better.
    While this is a more extreme case, at least I hope none of us are running around recording our football skills at the age of 40, it is something that all of us deal with to a certain extent. We all have made mistakes in the past that we feel have altered our future. We, at times, strongly wish we could have a redo, a second chance to fix the things we've done wrong in our life with the hope that it would bring us a brighter future than we see. But no matter how hard we try to use a time machine to go back in time this won't work. We need to instead learn how to make a change and make the past the past.
    Elder Holland in the January 2010 Ensign talked about this. He said "The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives."

   He also said that we need to forgive and forget. "There is something in many of us that particularly fails to forgive and forget earlier mistakes in life—either our mistakes or the mistakes of others. It is not good. It is not Christian. It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ. To be tied to earlier mistakes is the worst kind of wallowing in the past from which we are called to cease and desist."
   "So how do we get out of this wallowing in the past? We repent and have faith in the future. Elder Holland encourages us to "remember just enough to avoid repeating the mistake, but then put the rest of it all on the dung heap, dismiss the destructive, and keep dismissing it until the beauty of the Atonement of Christ has revealed to you your bright future and the bright future." He also says that "God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go."
    And through our faith we need to build on the past but never long to stay there. Have faith in the future and that God has great things in-store for us if we will repent and have faith that the best is yet to come! May we all learn this lesson, especially Uncle Rico, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

To read more of Elder Holland's talk "The Best Is Yet To Be" Click Here

The Reset Button of Video Games and Repentance

Anyone who has ever played video games before knows that there are times in the game when you have to complete a level or a task. As we try to conquer a villain or beat the other team in a game we quickly realize that we're getting beat and that our player is about to die or our team is about to lose. This almost always leads to frustration and anger to the point of yelling at the TV or maybe even throwing the controller across the room (Don't deny it gamers, this really does happen). As this anger builds up we start to spiral down the path to GAME OVER! but No! We won't let that happen! As we realize that maybe those awesome video game skills aren't so awesome we get prideful. Before we could ever accept that we lost we take the cheap way out....we hit the reset button.

I'll admit it I've done it before. Playing my favorite game, NCAA Football, there was no way I was going to let my BYU Cougars lose a game! Now that I've matured and so have my virtual football playing skills I'm less likely to take the cheap way out and reset a game. But when I get down early or am about to lose late in the game that temptation is always there to hit the reset button.
      Some would say unfortunately we are not living in a video game world. This is the real deal. There is no reset button in life that takes us back to birth to try again before our game over. As we travel through this level we will encounter many obstacles. Some will be easy to overcome, others will be very difficult. As we continue on though we can't let ourselves get caught up or bogged down in life. We can't get angry or upset with the difficulties of this level to the point where we want a restart because there is no restart to life like there is in a video game. However Christ has provided a type of restart.

        Alma 34:32-33 says that this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witness, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end" If we want a restart to life we need to take part in the atonement of Jesus Christ by repenting. Through repentance we can become clean. Our minds, bodies, and spirits become clear of all anger, sorrow, guilt, and pain. We are given a clean slate thanks to Christ and a new start of life. As we go about preparing to meet God we will continue to learn and grow and improve our skills. We will be able to defeat this level and return to live with God where there are no Game Overs because of the reset Christ offers and not that of a video game.
             To learn more about the "Reset Button" of life Click Here

The Gospel of Baseball From Base to Base

The Gospel of Baseball- Here's a quick repost of the Gospel of Baseball. Click the Links to go from base to base. Enjoy!

Faith to get on Base

Repentance- A change of Mind or Focus through the Sacrifice Bunt of Christ

Baptism and Full Dedication

Following the Holy Ghost and Enduring to Home

The Gospel of Baseball Part 3- Second to Third through Baptism

The second to Third principle of The Gospel of Baseball is Baptism. As a baseball player you have to progress from first base to second base before reaching third base. Once we pass second base we truly have a desire to make it safely home to score. But first we must make a covenant, promise, or commitment to making it to third base. When we were on first or second base we were just trying to work our way around the bases safely and figure out what we needed to know about the defense. But as we approach third we gain a stronger desire to make it there because it means we are one step closer. Third base is the gateway or door to home. We can't score without it. So we have to be fully immersed in our decision and progress to third, cross through that doorway, and score. 
    Baptism is also very key in our lives. Just as the baseball player can't skip first or second base and go straight to third base we need to have faith and repent before baptism. But by gaining those two key principles we gain a desire to make a covenant with our Heavenly Father. A covenant is a promise or commitment to following God. Just as the baseball player commits to getting to third base we commit to keeping God's commandments, taking the Lord's name upon us, and always remembering Him. Baptism is the gateway or doorway to heaven. Without it we cannot make it home to our Heavenly Father. Baptism is performed by being fully immersed in the water for a remission of our sins. It is truly a blessing in our lives to be baptized and receive the blessings that come from making a covenant with God.

The Gospel of Baseball Part 2: First to Second through Repentance

The first to Second principle of the Gospel of Baseball is Repentance. The Bible dictionary states that repentance is a change of mind, a fresh view about God, oneself, and the world. As a baseball player now that we've had sufficient faith to get on base through our faith and our works, hitting the ball, we need to refocus and have a change of mind. Our primary goal is no longer to just get to first base but to make it home and score. We now have a fresh view on the importance of getting to second base. Luke 12:3 says "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." In other words if we don't shift our focus to now getting to second base we will surly perish and get tagged out.
   Likewise in our lives once we've gained faith in our Heavenly Father it will cause us to have a desire to make a change in our lives. We will have the desire to repent of our wrong doings and, like the baseball player, get onto Gods base path to our heavenly home. And when we do this we feel freed from our mistakes and we are ready to rededicate ourselves to following our Heavenly Father.

  But this repentance, to make it to second base and eventually home,  can only be accomplished with the help of a team mate, Jesus Christ. In order for us to make it to second base he lays down a sacrifice bunt of himself to move us over as he gets thrown out at first base. Without our Savior, Jesus Christ, and this sacrifice bunt of the atonement we would have no way to overcome our mistakes and make move onto second base. I am so grateful for the sacrifice of my Savior, Jesus Christ, for me. It allows me to have a change of heart and mind, rededicate myself through repentance, and return home someday.