A Dark Agent

There is something that I want to share with all of you wonderful followers. Something that has hit home for me really hard.

I don't know how many of you have experienced that entrenching and debilitating power of Depression, but it is an insidious agent that has the power to cripple the mightiest of foes. Why is it so hard to deal with? To recognize? To see? Why is it so prevalent in this world today?

It's a real scary thought. To think that your very mentality is being attacked by environmental and chemical combatants, that you can't necessarily see. I think that is the start of why it is so dangerous. Unlike a Flu virus or a Cold, Depression isn't immediately recognizable. It's silent, it's mental, it's emotional. If I'm coughing or vomiting, I can probably assume that I might have some sort of virus. But how could I know if Depression might be looming around my body? There are bad hair days, there are people how just push our buttons the wrong way, and there is the every present social shame of admitting that you might have a problem with your mind. It is very scary.

I'm going to quote one of our Church Authorities a lot during my blog today, because he puts it so simple and concise as to what Depression is, and what can be done about it. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland stated:

"We sense the complexity of such matters when we hear professionals speak of neuroses and psychoses, of genetic predispositions and chromosome defects, of bipolarity, paranoia, and schizophrenia. However bewildering this all may be, these afflictions are some of the realities of mortal life, and there should be no more shame in acknowledging them than in acknowledging a battle with high blood pressure or the sudden appearance of a malignant tumor."*
 

I like the word complexity. Depression and Mental Illness is a complex problem. It is something that is real. Right here. Right now. We need to face the reality. "There should be no more shame..." What does that mean to you? My heart and feelings goes out to those who are battling with such debilitating diseases as Alzheimer's, Dementia, and other forms of serious mental illness. It is so painful to watch someone go through something so horrible, especially when you have to witness the pain from the family members of the person afflicted. I can't tell you how much what Elder Holland said about this disease meant to me. About God's love, he states:

"So how do you best respond when mental or emotional challenges confront you or those you love? Above all, never lose faith in your Father in Heaven, who loves you more than you can comprehend. As President Monson states, “That love never changes. … It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve [it]. It is simply always there.” Never, ever doubt that, and never harden your heart..."*
 

There is a lot of judgement that goes on in the world today. Everything is about me. What can I get? How can I get above that person? Why don't I have that instead of him? It seems that judgment intensifies when persons afflicted with Depression come to a realization of their affliction. It's simply horrible. My heart and empathy goes out to those who have been ostracized because of their illness. There is no more destructive act that can happen, in relation to depression, then to have those you thought were by your side, turn judgemental and condescending for something that you or someone close is battling with.

Like I said, and like Elder Holland said. I'm not talking about crazy hair days, bossy colleagues, or an "off day", I'm talking about a dark and silent agent that can take the simplest of things and reverse them into a descending depth of despair. My friends and watchers. Be alert. Be mindful. Be careful to not judge those who seem to be struggling with some inner turmoil.

You never know what someone may be going through. And you could never in your lifetime imagine the struggles or trials another person has to face. You can empathize or sympathize with somethings, but I testify that everyone is different. Everyone is unique. And everyone is human. People make mistakes. People get sick. And people judge others. We need to desist from this, my friends. I have friends and family who have battled with these types of afflictions, and I myself have battled with it. I want you to remember to love these people. Treat them as you would a person with a debilitating cancer, or a severe physical ailment. With love. 

There are lots of things that are afflicting us in our day and age. I just wanted to bring to light what one of them is. Friends, thank you for support. I hope that we can all look upon people that are going through these types of mountainous challenges with a sliver of sympathy, at least. It's just another thing that we, as mortal beings have to deal with, and we need to remember that all of the people around us are mortal as well. We can all be subject to diseases like this, and we just need to help each other with our struggles.

I guess, in closing, I want to give my testimony of Jesus Christ. He really did experience all. All of our worries. All of our fears. All of our sufferings. He truly is the ultimate advocate. I know that He loves each and every one of us. I know He loves me. I know he wants the very best for all, and that he and Jesus Christ really truly love all of us. Why would they have done everything they have done if they didn't? Thank you for reading and listening. I hope that somebody somewhere can be helped or uplifted by my message. Have a wonderful day!

Like a Broken Vessel, October General Conferance 2013, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

The Phantom Menace: Resisting Temptation

Hello everyone! I do hope these posts are fulfilling, and that they at least give you a smile. Anyway, now that I have your attention, I hope. Yes you, behind the screen! I'll just jump right in with the good stuff.

So, what is this "Phantom Menace" that I'm talking about? No, it's not the Star Wars movie title :), but what could it be? So many times in life we focus on things that might not be that important, or lose focus on some of the things that are. Why is that? Why is it so hard to stay focused in this world? Why do we have many of the problems that we do? It's because we're distracted. There are so many things in the present day that sometimes pull us away from focusing on actual life, and lead to many of the problems we see in society. Many of these things are very common things, and are things that we see and interact with on a daily basis.

I think it's very interesting to think about how easy it is to slip off into many of these distractions. Things like drugs, media, and technology have very different perspectives with many of their uses. Why? Because there are unseen forces that attack the simplicity and the neutrality of these different aspects of our lives. We are at war. There are no guns, nor airplanes; explosions, nor countries in this war. The Adversary, the Devil, or Satan is on full assault against mankind, and he is pulling ahead in the last leg of the race.

Temptation is everywhere, and if we can't find something to anchor ourselves against the storm, then we'll be blown away. Isn't it interesting that the word tempest, which means severe storm, is really close to having the word "tempt" and "test" in it? Life is an opportunity to learn and grow, fail and succeed, and love and lose, but we are not alone and we aren't without opposition. I urge you to find your own anchor, whether it's your family, your friends, Jesus Christ, or the Gospel-something to help you find that foundation. I think it's hard to try and find your way without somewhere to start. I want to give you a few things you can do to help you try and resist this onslaught of wayward winds, and to help you find your own anchor in your life.

• Find Jesus Christ. How could someone not want to find Christ in their lives? So many things in life are so horrible to deal with, and are so harmful to us that there seems that we can never have hope. Christ suffered those pains and afflictions when he performed his Atonement and was crucified on the cross for us. He loves us and he just wants us to feel that and to feel that healing power that he can give. I've seen too many struggling families, wayward children, and lost people who I feel badly for. No one is perfect. I know that for a fact. Because of this, it's not hard to get lost or to get buried by life's trials. If you have difficulties or temptations that you don't think you can handle, then give Christ a chance to help you. Trust in his promise when he says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.1" 

• Recognize Your Special Self. Why do we degrade each other so much? Why do we have so many problems in our societies, our countries, and our communities? Why are we so bent on getting ahead of whoever, that we forget that we're all in this together? Really? How much farther do you think we could be, if we just worked together, instead of working individually. Everyone of you are special, royal individuals. You deserve to be loved and cared for, and you deserve people to go through life's journey with you. I really hope that you can at least smile from this post. You do have talents and gifts that you may not even realize that you have. Don't ever short yourself, and remember that you need to build yourself up sometimes, and not focus on comparing yourself to other people-they're not as perfect as you think. 

• Accept That Everyone Needs a Break. Temptation and heartache are everywhere. Sooner or later, all of us are going to have to just stop and take a break. That's totally fine. We need to remember that we're not in this life alone, and that we can do this. We're all trying to reach that big goal in life, hopefully, to be able to return to God at the end of our lives. You can do this, and Christ can help. He is with us every step of the way, and sometimes-most of the time for me, he is carrying us through our struggles. Remember that you are loved!

• Life Isn't Really a "Highway". To preface this point, I would like to share with you the last part of one of my all time favorite poems. Here is an excerpt: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.2" I love the last line of the poem. Many, many times, there are several paths we all can take in life. Which one has something at the end worth walking towards, and is that road's journey worth it? It always makes all the difference, doesn't it? There is a lot of people who just go along with the different things of the world, and just do things that they see other people doing. They're just following that mainstream highway of life, and it's hurting so many people. The journey is as important as the end, and some paths don't have a good ending. So, I'm sorry Tom Cochrane, but life isn't really a "highway". 

My fellow friends and loving readers, life sometimes isn't mainstream-there is temptation, evil, heartbreak, and trials, but we have Christ and each other to help and love us. There is a lot of temptations out there, and it's not easy to try to manage all of the things we deal with on a daily basis, but we can do it. The most important part is that we have to trust ourselves and stay true to the path that will be best for us. At the end of your life, do you want to say that you stayed true to the straight path, and took the road less traveled by? I do. So let's keep walking it together, no matter if more people are on the mainstream "highway". Let us all press on! 

1:  Matthew 11:28, New Testament

2:  Excerpt from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Tender Affection: A Loving God

Hey everyone!

Wow-time is just flying sometimes. Just yesterday it was Easter, and now it's already almost Thursday. It is very peculiar. Well, I hope everyone in New York, and anyone who reads this is doing well-my prayers are with you. I wanted to share a short message about what we're trying to do and just build upon what I said last week in my Easter message.

I think we've built a good foundation here in the Lancaster area of New York. The members of the ward are very nice, and I think Easter was a very good way of introducing ourselves, and making sure that they know we're here to help them. All of the people that we've met as well-on the street or just with referrals, have been fairly nice as well.

Anyway, I want to focus on just one subject in today's blog, and that is that we have a loving Heavenly Father, our God almighty, who has a body that is perfected and resurrected, that he is living in Heaven, and that he is watching over us. Sometimes in life it's hard to see why or how things happen. Life sucks. That's pretty much what we feels sometimes, but what's more is how we deal with that realization and that stress that comes with the trials that we face. Sometimes we might just give up or feel like quitting; other times it may increase our capacity for anger, and even sometimes persuade us to hurt others. All of these things have happened at one time or another to people, and it's hard sometimes to stop them.

I know life is hard-I'm only twenty years old, and it's been a challenging run up to this point, but I know that I have a Heavenly Father up there who knows me personally, and who loves me more then I could ever know. Sometimes he does allow me to go through trials, and bad things will happen-that's life though! God doesn't control every single, little thing that happens. Nature sometimes just takes it's course; everything in nature must have opposition, so it's hard sometimes, but he does love us and he wants us to feel that.

Prayer has been a great tool for me, especially that I'm serving as His missionary. I couldn't do this. Not one bit! If I didn't have His help, and the ability to pray to him whenever I wanted to, to let him know my worries and open up to him-then I couldn't do this. I do love him, and know that I wouldn't even be here trying to help people if I didn't have God behind me to help me with anything that I'm worrying about-even if it seems insignificant-nothing is insignificant to God, especially if his children are experiencing it!

So you members of the church, or just a passerby person-you are loved, and you are all royalty-no matter what background you come from, or how good your life quality is-you are royalty, and if you are in my area where I'm serving, let me know how I could help. For me, I like to show affection, kindness, and care to the ward members and other people that I meet with words of affirmation or physical constructs such as a friendly handshake, a nice pat on the back, or a warm hug. I've only been in Lancaster for just about a week and a half-almost two weeks, and I've already started to love the people here more and more!

I hope that I gave you something to think about, and let you know that you aren't alone and that if you need anything you can always pray to God, or just call me and the other Elders :D!

I love you all-members, non-members, family, and friends! I hope to continue to talk to you!

Have a Happy April!