Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Why do bad things happen to good people and bad people have it easy? This a question that I think everyone get's at one point or another in their lives. It would seem in the world today that sin and evil are exalted and good and holy are trampled upon. Now God has His own mindset and His own plans remember the scripture from Isaiah, 
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your way, and my thoughts than your thoughts..." (Isaiah 55:8-9) 
If this is the case and Gods ways are not always understood then we can find comfort that He loves us and would not allow us to suffer something if it were not for our own good. But, I'm not going to explain why bad things happen to good people, instead I'm going to tell you why you must not give up despite that question. 


In my recent scripture I stumbled across a cluster of scriptures that enlightened my mind on the subject. In the Old Testament it says this, concerning two different groups of people who handled this question in different ways,
"Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a  book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." (Malachi 3:14-16)


The first group of people who experienced this decided that giving up and giving in to sin was the easier route, "It is vain to serve God... the proud happy, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered..." It is a little troubling at times to see those who are wicked succeed, but their is a description by implication concerning these type of people, prideful. In contrast it gives the account of the humble followers of the Lord. The Lord hearkened to these people and He recorded their goodness in a "book of remembrance". 


We cannot be the proud and vain who have departed from the path of righteousness because of the easiness of the sin. This is one thing we must not do. Hold fast to that which is good. Finally remember the words of the Savior,
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broadis the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) 
Let's stay on the strait path as tough as it seems so we may have our names recorded in the book of remembrance.

Is Christ Out Of Christmas?

With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it is quite easy to forget the purpose behind it. People are wrapped up in buying gifts and making plans. Time is spent cooking and cleaning. Activities include building snowmen or setting up nativity scenes and through it all, it would appear that the meaning of Christmas is overlooked. It would seem that other than Christ's name in the word He is almost entirely left out... or is He? I'm going to show how ordinary things in Christmas can help you remember the Savior. Here is a list of the things done at Christmas that I have found help me remember the reason for the season;

1.) Santa Claus. How in the world does jolly ol' Saint Nick have anything to do with Jesus of Nazereth? Well, lets begin with His clothing. He wears a red suit with white trim. He comes to all the world to bring gifts (Jesus gifts are way better).

Notice anything?

Next, let's think of the song "Santa Claus is coming to town". In the song these words are said,

"He's making a list And checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice...He sees you when you're sleeping He knows when you're awake He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!..." Well, these same things are said of the Savior. His list is in the Book of Life and He will be judging you based on whether you've been "naughty" or "nice".

2.) Frosty the Snowman. Okay so Santa Claus was a little out there, but Frosty? How could Frosty the Snowman possibly have anything to do with Jesus? Well, sit back and I'll tell ya. The song "Frosty the Snowman" says this,

"Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day...

Frosty the snowman knew
The sun was hot that day,
So he said, [Let's run and
We'll have some fun
Now before I melt away.] For Frosty the snow man Had to hurry on his way, But he waved goodbye saying, [Don't you cry, I'll be back again some day.]" Do I even have to point out, how this clearly refers to the Saviors life on Earth and then His Second Coming? 

3.) Crazy Shopping! So Frosty, eh you stretched that out a little bit, and Santa was on the verge of pathetic, but I'm still reading this because my Ipod is charging, so I can play Angry Birds and I have nothing better to do. Well as it turns out even through ridiculously long lines we are still able to find Christ in this. Imagine this, it's 2011 years ago and there is a line this big, lined up outside of a little stable outside of Bethlehem, where they are waiting too have an opportunity to see the Savior. Just like Zacharias at the temple. 

Just so you know the purpose of this blog wasn't to say "Look! These are hidden messages inside of Christmas!" This blog was to get you looking for things that help you remember the reason for the season. There are probably tons of other things that I could've said, but I'll let you find those things and share them with your friends.

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism...

Unification in the primitive Church of Jesus Christ was not as easy as it seemed. This is apparent because of the apostate practices that soon arose and over time false precepts and ceremonies became binding traditions that led to the destruction and ultimately the demise of the Church. My purpose in writing this blog isn't to go into detail about what happened to Christs church after this apostasy had set in, but why the Apostles were so desperately trying to hold it all together in a sense. Paul teaches us in his epistle to the Ephesians,


"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive"

-(Ephesians 4:11-14)

Modern day prophets.

Their relentless efforts to unify the saints was just as Paul stated; to come to a knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, and to keep us from being deceived. If we were to take this and apply it into the world today we would easily find that we are not in the unity of the faith. Even those of the Christian faith cannot agree on the same principles and doctrines. And if there is no unity, deception can creep in and can lead the souls of the children of men to an eternal destruction. However, God is not going to allow that to happen. In the above quoted scripture God gives us the solution to this problem. The answer is apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. 

The  Twelve Apostles today.

We can find comfort and peace knowing that if we are being led by prophets and apostles, we are not in the plains of uncertainty and will not be "tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine". So now we have some clues as to where the true body of Christ really resides. When we look around traditional religion and find neither prophets and apostles or a God who speaks, we then know what we need to seek.


That is the importance of the message that we as member's of Jesus Christ's church reestablished today, have to share. We have prophets and apostles. We have a God who, in His love, has reached out again to the children of men and are calling them to Zion. I know this to be true and invite you to consider the evidence that God has done just this; that He has called apostles and prophets today, that God continues to speak and is not bound by the false doctrines of men. 

Was Jesus Plan B?

Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden.

Throughout the course of my mission I have come to find that many people not of our faith believe that the Fall of Adam and Eve was the worst thing that has ever happened and that it thwarted God's "original" plan. I will show you how the Fall of Adam and Eve was not an accident nor was it a mistake, but that it was a crucial and necessary part of God's original plan.

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things...But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you..." (1Peter 1:18-20)

This scripture teaches us that Jesus Christ was foreordained, before the world even came into being, to give His "precious blood" for our salvation. So if He was foreordained to be the sacrificial lamb, then what was He going to be sacrificed for if it were for nothing less than the Fall of Man? 


God has a foreknowledge of all things, why would God put two people who were going to fail, and thereby condemn all of us unnecessarily, to lead off His supposed plan of felicity? He didn't "hide" the knowledge from Himself. Nor was He unaware of what would befall mankind. The simple fact of the matter is the Fall of Man was part of His grand plan for us.

The Council in Heaven where Jesus was chosen to be the Savior

Jesus Christ' sacrifice, for us, wasn't "Plan B". It was exactly planned out and was part of God's Original Plan to have us become like Him. I know that Jesus Christ was prepared and was chosen to be our Savior. I love Him and I would invite you all to consider the evidence of this truth for yourselves. 

Do Mormon's Believe In A Different Jesus?

Well, I have encountered this question several times since being on my mission. The conclusion I came up with is this, there are several types of Jesus that people believe in. I'll try and make a list of the types of Jesus, I have heard people describe. There are several different attributes Jesus has, but I put the most relevant ones pertaining to our Eternal Salvation.

The type of Jesus that requires absolutely nothing from us, but saves only those who believe in Him, through His grace.

The type of Jesus that reflects a lot of the attributes of todays world so that all types of people will be drawn to follow Him. 

The hellfire and damnation Jesus, that only allows those who obey the commandments with a Pharisaical type of diligence, to be saved.

Contrary to the previous one, the all loving Jesus, who doesn't care who you are, what you act like, or what you do because he loves you, you are saved.

The type of Jesus that realizes we are all mortals and therefore doesn't condone sin, but rather it is justified because of our nature.

Well, this is the Jesus we believe in.

He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. (2 Nephi 2:6-8)

He lives this very moment and has a resurrected body of flesh and bone. He is not a Spirit, but is a distinct and seperate Being than from Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 11:14-17)

He has Atoned for our sins and is mighty to save, but His grace is conditional upon our effort to follow His example. (2 Nephi 31)

His name is the ONLY name by which we can be saved. (2 Nephi 25:19-20)

He was foreordained before the Earth was even created to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. (Ether 3:14)

Most importantly, He suffered for our sins was crucified for our sakes and was resurrected that we may find life in Him. (Mosiah 3:5-9)

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe He lives this very moment and that He is the Author and Finisher of my faith. I know He died for me and that He loves me.

What Do You Love More Than God?



I find it interesting that at times we all undermine God's love and faithfulness by putting Him on the back-burner. He has done so much for us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. He has given us wonderful blessings in our lives, such as families and friends, but we still are unappreciative at times. He is so kind that despite our wickedness He still wants to help us be happy. He knows how it is possible and He gives us ways to be happy through obedience to His commandments. This is the kind of being God is. His motives aren't for dominion over us, but are out of love. Why would we put anything above Him?



Keep the Sabbath Day holy by attending church.

Yet we do, by using all of our time watching T.V. or playing games and taking no time to read His Holy Scriptures, we also do this by treating the Sabbath Day as if it is our day to show respect to ourselves for all that we have done, instead of thanking God for all that we have received. We do this by not praying and talking to Him and most importantly by not following His Son's example of the only true way to happiness. Our obedience to God's commandments is a reflection of our belief in His reality. Let's put God first in our life and let the rest follow.

The Most Offensive Blog Ever!

So have you ever been offended? Well, prepare to be. Just kidding. This blogs purpose isn't to offend you, but to help you realize how to overcome offense and what you can do when you are offended. I have been offended several times, most have come from being a missionary and knocking on someones door who isn't as happy to see you as you are to see them. Before I can even open my mouth I've been swore at in 7 different languages and threatened me with barbed-wire wrapped around a baseball bat. (None of that was true.) So as shocking and as offensive as a situation like that would have been, I know just how not to take offense. This can apply into any offense that you may have been exposed to. 
 1st.) Forgiveness. You have got to forgive them first, not out of self-righteousness pride, but out of a sincere love for your Savior and therefore your fellow man.
2nd.) Long Suffering. Despite the sour offense that has just occurred you cannot let it allow you to question your love for Jesus Christ and thereby deter you from keeping His commandments and being obedient. 
3rd.) Humility. I have found that it is easiest to take offense when you are perfect, or at least think that you are perfect and better than those around you. When you realize the struggles you have and the imperfections you have, you are better able to have patience with those imperfect people who surround you.