Mormon Bloggers

When reading 2 Nephi 4, I came across God leading him “through the great deep”.  It made me think of the spiritual crocodile video we watched in seminary back in high school.  Take a few minutes and to watch the video.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s pretty powerful. As the wildebeast is getting carried off, I thought about how that’s how we are with sin.  By nature, we’re all going to fall and get snared at some point.  Sin is a serious issue, as this video implies.  However, as we are getting dragged down into the water, we have a choice.  We can give up and succomb or we can look to God and plead for mercy.  That is what the Atonement is all about.  Even when we may feel we have no hope, we do.  The stories of Alma, Paul, and Joseph Smith (although this example isn’t sin exactly) are all classic examples of the Atonement coming into play through the mercy of Jesus Christ. No matter how deep we are in sin, it is important to remember... Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes in our repentance, in our daily efforts to become more Christ-like, we find ourselves repeatedly struggling with the same difficulties. As if we are climbing a tree-covered mountain, at times we don’t see our progress until we get closer to the top and look back from the high ridges. Don’t be discouraged. If you [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent. Waiting For Patience  Read More →

Meridian Magazine had a great article on a whole mission that was prepared for the earthquake in Chile 2 weeks before it hit.  The following is quoted directly from this week’s issue:  Editor’s Note: President Larry Laycock and his wife, Sister Lisa Laycock head the Santiago Chile East Mission and had spent the two weeks prior to the 8.8 earthquake visiting each missionary apartment and preparing them for an earthquake. They brought specific instructions on what to do, supplied water purification bottles for the missionaries, told them how to create a 36-hour kit for emergencies and how to stay in communication should an earthquake strike. They prayed with each missionary and dedicated their apartments. Why?  Because of a special experience that alerted them to what was coming. They told their missionaries, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” They have 171 full-time proselyting missionaries in this mission. Special thanks to the Laycocks for allowing Meridian to publish... Read the rest of this entry »

Easter is a month away and my thoughts are turning to one of the most sacred events in the history of humanity. While our culture and society today has created a more commercialized version of Easter as that of easter egg hunts, the easter bunny, and an excuse to munch on chocolate (as well as [...]  Read More →

There is a story that is familiar to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about a conflict that brewed between two leaders, both men of faith, who were being attacked by their enemies. The first, Captain Moroni, battles the enemy in a distant area and writes to the government leader, Pahoran, [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent. Unity to Preserve Religious Freedom  Read More →

Productive: adj. 1. producing  or capable of producing 2. Producing abundantly; fertile. 3. Yielding favorable or useful results; constructive. Productive and fertile are synonyms. That’s interesting isn’t it?  A woman’s ability to reproduce and our capacity to help others grow and develop is part of our heritage. Producing is in our genes. That makes sense when you [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent.Productive? What’s That?  Read More →

I was on a business trip this past week to present our regional territory plans to our Vice President. People were very nervous on our team since he is pretty intense with the way he scrutinizes our plans during our presentations. The morning of the presentation I was praying and reading in the Book of Mormon and found a cross reference to the Bible in Psalms 37. In this chapter in the King James Version advises us not to fret about things but to rely on the Lord. I didn’t know if people in my group were religious or believed in God at all, but I felt prompted to email this scripture out to the team. I was pleased when the whole team replied and were thankful for me sharing the scripture with them. They felt it helped them feel more comfortable and prepared to present. I thought it was awesome how God showed me a scripture to not only help me but the whole team as well. I later learned that my mother had been praying for me while I was there along with me. Do you have any... Read the rest of this entry »

“I have learned that the difference between happiness and misery in individuals, in marriages, and families often comes down to an error of only a few degrees,” said President Uchtdorf in General Conference April 2008. To illustrate this point, he explained that if your course flying around the world were just one degree off, by the time you got back around, you would be 500 miles (800 km) off course. It almost seems unfair that a small mistake can have such a negatively dramatic effect on our lives. However, it is not one small error that does this, but many “small errors and minor drifts away from the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is therefore of critical importance that we become self-disciplined enough to make early and decisive corrections to get back on the right track and not wait or hope that errors will somehow correct themselves. “The longer we delay corrective action, the larger the needed changes become, and the longer it takes to get back... Read the rest of this entry »

Jerry Paul Hirst June 13, 1943 – January 11, 2010 I still can’t believe he’s gone. I know he is, but when I see photographs, like this one I took of him at our last visit, I imagine that Paul’s dad, my children’s pappa, and my father-in-law still sits at his desk writing, putters around his kitchen, or [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent.Choose To Be Changed  Read More →

My father-in-law, Jerry Paul Hirst, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, January 11, 2010, the very day I predicted this to be our year of happiness. We’re mourning his loss. He is the first of our parents to die, which brings its own set of firsts for us and for our children, who’ve now felt the reality of [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent. A Week of Mourning and Remembering  Read More →

The fourth commandment is to keep the Sabbath day holy. In order to do so, we must first examine our motivation for doing certain activities. Are we reading our biology textbook because we love to study about God’s creations or because we procrastinated our homework all weekend? We must be sure that the reason we do something we normally wouldn’t do on Sunday is that it is necessary or unavoidable. President Kimball wrote in an Ensign article, “The Savior knew that the ox falls in the mire, and one must pull the ox from the mire when necessary. But no one deliberately puts the ox in the mire every week, or lets him get in the mire with no effort to keep him out.” This may seem hard when we want to play all weekend. President Kimball noted, “Sometimes Sabbath observance is characterized as a matter of sacrifice and self-denial, but it is not so. It is merely a matter of scheduling and choosing seasons. There is time enough, particularly in our era of the world’s... Read the rest of this entry »

I’m always worried that when I donate to certain charities not all of the money goes towards the people who need it most.  According to this website by the LDS church 100% of the money goes towards the charity.  This will be helpful not only for the tragedy in Haiti, but to other humanatarian projects. I wasn’t aware of this site until my wife had it forwarded to her so I thought I would share it with you.  This link will take you directly to the donation page: https://secure3.convio.net/ldsp/site/Donation2?df_id=1861&1861.donation=form1&s_src=14703  Read More →