Good,Better, and Best Footballs

Good, Better, and Best Footballs: When my dad was in college he worked on the BYU equipment staff for the football team. He tells a story about HeismanTtrophy winning QB Ty Detmer. During the week leading up to Saturday's game each quarterback is able to go through a cart full of footballs and pick out which ones they want to use in the game. Many of you may be asking why do they do that? Aren't all footballs the same? In many ways they are. They are all brown, made of synthetic leather, have laces or ties, and are all....well, football shaped. But once placed in the hand of an expert quarterback, like Detmer, he sees a lot more than we do.
     My Dad tells about how Ty would feel each and every football very carefully. He would place his fingers on the laces and feel the grip of each ball. He'd even toss them in the air to see what kind of spiral they had. After carefully examining and going through each football he'd pick out the very best ones.
    My dad continues his story by saying that one week they put a little mark on a football Ty had rejected the previous week to see if he'd pass it up again. Sure enough each week, without Ty even knowing, he would reject the ball again and place it back in the bin. So is every football the same? Not in Ty Detmer's expert hands and eyes. There are good footballs, better footballs, and best footballs, and Ty only played with the best!
    Likewise we will face many decisions in our lives. At first they may appear like the pile of footballs. What difference does it make in which one I choose. It doesn't really matter is what we often times will tell ourselves. But just like the expert QB we need to get picky at times for our own benefit.

     Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a talked titled Good, Better, Best . In this talk he states "As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all.

Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it. Some things are better, and others are best. When the Lord told us to seek learning, He said, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118)"

    Just as we should look for the good, better, and bests in life God too will look for this in the end. The more we can learn to make the best choices the more likely we will find ourselves living with him when all is said and done. I promise if you will make the best decisions in life the best blessings will follow.

 

Learn To Trust Others Around You, Even If They're A Donkey

Learn To Trust Others Around You, Even If They're A Donkey-
As the children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness they came to a resting spot near the land of Moab. The king of Moab, Balak, was afraid of the children of Israel so he sent princes out to persuade the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites and protect the land of Moab. As Balaam contemplated what he should do he sought God for guidance through prayer. God told him "Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed."(Num. 22:12) When Balaam woke in the morning he told the princes that the Lord had warned him not to go with them. The princes returnd to Balak and told him what Balaam had said. Despite this Balak was persistent and sent more honorable princes to convince Balaam to journey with them to Moab and to curse the Israelites. They also offered him great riches for doing so. Balaam prayed once again to God to know what to do. The Lord again told him not to go, but this time Balaam did not listen.

Balaam and his donkey

    As he awoke in the morning he saddled up his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. God was upset with Balaam and his actions so He placed an angel in the way of the path to Moab. When Balaam and his donkey came to the angel the donkey saw the angel and turned and ran into a field. Balaam, not being able to see the angel, rebuked the donkey. Again they headed down the path and the angel was on the path again and the donkey, seeing the angel again, ran off again. Now a third time they journeyed down the path and the donkey saw the angel and fell down. Balaam, being very frustrated and angry, began to beat the donkey and the Lord caused the donkey's mouth to be open and the donkey spoke to Balaam saying, "Am not I thine donkey, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day?" And Balaam's eyes were opened and he saw the angel. The angel said if it was not for your donkey who had seen me and stopped your journey to Moab I would have had to kill you.  Balaam was grateful to the donkey and God for sparing his life. Balaam prayed to the Lord for forgiveness and asked what he should do. God directed him as to what he should do and say in Moab instead of following Balak's command and he and the children of Israel were blessed for following God.

      Through this story of Balaam we learn that the Lord uses others in our path, or around us, to guide us. The Lord knows that we can't learn on our own so he places good parents, grandparents, Bishops, church leaders, teachers, coaches, and friends to help us. How many of us have had questions that we've asked God about and he's given us an answer through someone else. Many of these people around us and in our lives have experienced similar situations that we're going through. Instead of treating them like a donkey we need to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to the help they are offering us. As we do so we will see that the Lord is guiding others to help us. As we walk down the path of life we are not alone. God is with us, our friends and our family are with us. The sooner we can accept their help down the path of life the better off we will be.

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.