Redefining BDN.

Change. It's all part of God's plan. Our bodies change daily. Our surroundings change daily. Our circumstances change daily. It might not be seen and/or noticed because these changes are often small when looking at it as a day-by-day process.

Benjamin David Nelson is no exception to that rule. And neither is anyone for that matter. However, there are certain things about us that might not change--especially when it comes to a personality trait or a personal belief.

For example, I am BDN. And I follow my heart. I've done so for as long as I can remember. Because I've always felt that it's necessary for us to do so as human-beings. God trusts us to do so, as long as we do not do it in wickedness. Something like that.

But I don't follow my heart perfectly. In fact, I am pretty bad at it. When I feel that something is right, sometimes I am sloppy with the way I go about doing that thing. Sometimes I am quick to act or speak before I plan out what needs to be done or said. Sometimes I do plan how to go about following my heart, and--well--it doesn't go as planned, and I mess up by not sticking with the plan. Sometimes I am scared. Sometimes I am overbearing rather than persistent. Sometimes I give up on following my heart, and I regret it later.

But I am grateful for the gift of repentance. I am grateful for the opportunity to become a new BDN each week by partaking of the sacrament and starting anew. I am grateful for all the second chances I have and will have to follow my heart, despite a lot of the mistakes that I make in the process of attempting to do so.

Of course, I am using this as an example. It doesn't matter what it is; we will always have the opportunity to start fresh by repenting and partaking of the sacrament. And by doing so constantly, we might notice that we--as a whole--are changing into much better, spiritually-sound individuals.

The Nephites of The Book of Mormon are the perfect example of this. In Helaman 15:7, it states:

"And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them."

Become As Little Children

I has  been quite some time, so I thought I would take a few minutes to unleash some thoughts on this fine Thursday evening. As it seems I always do, I have pondered for the last 10-20 minutes or so about this one topic, and I felt it was potentially something that could help not only me but perhaps you other random folk out there.

Jesus Christ has always taught the following principle:

"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."-Matthew 18:3

Perhaps it is just me, but this is a verse of scripture that confused me again and again as I heard it growing up. Was Christ teaching us that we needed to act like children? Obviously not, and I eventually learned that Christ truly meant that He wanted us to develop traits such as being quick to forgive and full of love--both of which all innocent children possess.

Children truly are some of our greatest examples. The picture above is a picture of a brother and his little sister from the daycare that my step-mom owns. I immediately set it as one of my background pictures on my phone because it was what I thought was only a tender moment. But I am happy I was able to snap this picture because it truly was a learning moment for me now that I look back on it.

The little sister was screaming and crying for reasons that I did not quite understand. I tried to talk to her and comfort her, but I didn't have any luck. It went on for minutes, and everything I tried was a sudden failure. But I was surprised by what took place next. In between her cries, I heard her say her brother's name. "Oh, do you want your brother?" I  asked. "...Yeah..." she replied.

Her brother was running around with his friends and having the time of his life. I have been around these kids a lot, and I was almost positive that the big brother would be a little hesitant to spend time with his little sister. To my surprise, when the big brother realized that his little sister was sad, he put his scooter away, and he told the other kids, "Play without me. My sister needs me."

I sat there watching as the little sister sat on her big brother's lap, and he comforted her with ease. She almost immediately stopped crying, and they just sat there together for probably 5-10 minutes. (That is when I took this picture.) It was an extremely simple thing that took place in front of me, but I was so touched by the big brother's willingness to immediately stop what he was doing to comfort and spend time with  his little sister.

At the time, it was only a tender moment, and that is why I took the picture and set it as my phone background. But now I realize that this picture will forever symbolize much more to me--it will always symbolize the Christ-like attributes that children possess that we must all strive to develop in our lives. The picture will be a constant reminder that I am no exception to the rule, and I must work toward this goal daily.

That is all. :)

Utah Bound.

It's been a year since I arrived home from my mission. Wow. Time sure has flown quickly!! It's been a hard year, but I have grown and learned a lot. It's all been rewarding, of course! Like I said in a blog post a few months ago, my decision to ultimately stay in Vegas for a time was made with my brothers Timmy, Skyler, and Levi in mind. I felt like being here to support and help them with their mission preparation was the right thing to do. I will never regret that decision. It's been absolutely great.

However, Levi is the last of the bunch to leave, and he leaves very soon. And I am ready for my next journey. I am super confident about my chances of getting into BYU this time around. As I've said over and over again, it is my dream! And I will do everything I must to get there. And I am feeling good about my chances this time. :)

With that said, I have been praying these last three months about how to exactly go about this. And long story short: The course has been shown. I feel that it is greatly necessary for me to get out of Vegas ASAP so I can get out and be in the real world on my own for a while. And so I've decided to leave the comfort of my own home to head up to Provo in January. I fly to Indiana on January 10 to attend my nephew Landon's baptism, and then I will fly straight to Salt Lake from Indiana on January 16.

A new start! I am excited for it.

Persistence vs. Overbearance

Overbearance

Overbearance steals one's agency; it is forceful. Overbearance is selfish. Overbearance is thoughtlessness. Overbearance is unwise. Overbearance is trying too hard with little results. Overbearance leads to disappointment. Overbearance is controlling. Overbearance leads to heartache. Overbearance isn't understood by others.

Persistence

Persistence is fueled by love. Persistence is open-mindedness  Persistence is aggressive, but not overpowering. Persistence is creative. Persistence is consistent and enduring. Persistence is bold. Persistence is inspired. Persistence is righteous. Persistence is evenly balanced; it requires self-control. Persistence is smart and tactful. Persistence earns respect and trust. 

Blogging Spree: No Tengo Nada En Mente

These last few weeks (months, even) I have been in this whacky artsy and/or creative mood. And that may or may not explain all these blog posts that I have thrown out there recently. I dunno. It actually might not be all that artsy or creative. But I'll blog anyways. Why? Because I can. And I want to.

This time around, though...I really have no idea what I want to write. But I  have gained a great love for something called improvisation. Rather, I like to improvise and make things beautiful along the way. Don't get me wrong...I prefer to plan things out in advance and execute those plans exactly. And that's usually what I do with blog posts; I have a nice little plan of what will be written.

But not this one. It's coming out just as quick as I can type all these words. No plan whatsoever. The above picture is giving me an idea of what to write about, though. You see, I ran into this Slender look-alike while I was cruising along the Las Vegas strip. Las Vegas Boulevard, to be exact.

You might be wondering why I was there. Well, the simple answer is I had no choice; I had to go to the Belagio Gallery of Fine Art for an art assignment. And while I was out there on the strip, a sudden realization stuck me. "This is great. I have never been on the strip alone."

The truth is: It was an adventure, yes. But it only was an adventure because I got lost a handful of times. I won't go into detail, but I will say this...I am grateful for a lot of skills I learned as a missionary (i.e. speed walking, asking for directions, etc.) I was walking around like a blind cheetah; I was walking with haste, but I had no idea where I was or where I was going.

That adventure took place...well, yesterday. And now that I think about it...As awesome and fun as it was to be out there on that journey, it also kind of stunk. I was alone in an unfamiliar environment. I didn't have a friend, a sibling, or a companion to turn to. And that's what I am used to! I am almost never alone. I like figuring out crap myself. But when I can't figure it out, there's always that comfort that comes from knowing that I have a sibling, a parent, or a friend that I can turn to for answers.

But I simply love figuring out the crap; I love the adventure. And I think getting out there and being in unfamiliar environments is the key to growing and progressing.

A Confession, A Cure

Meet BDN-PC. He's my new laptop that I recently got with my scholarship money. Although he's a new friend, he and I have shared a joyful memory or two already. I love this piece of machinery.

However, I must confess that I was a little heart-broken when I realized that a good 50 GB of its 120 GB hard drive space has already been used up with the operating system, the programs, DROPBOX, and mission pictures.

The question haunted me for days: "What the devil is going to happen to my thousands of files of music?" You see, I personally own a good 30-40 GB of music. But with only 70 GB of HD space left, what was I to do with this crap load of beautiful music?

I decided that I was never going to listen to ALL 30-40 GB of that music. So I decided to tone it down and only put my favorite albums on this small piece of machinery. I began to transfer the music over wirelessly. But it was taking forever. And something didn't seem right.

A voice suddenly spoke to my mind. "Screw it. Spotify is the key."

It hit me like a sack-full of potatoes. I immediately deleted all the music from BDN-PC, and I downloaded and installed Spotify within a matter of 2-3 minutes (thanks to BDN-PC's quickness).

Spotify had everything I wanted to listen to (PLUS MORE!) as long as I had an Internet connection. It was love at first listen.

But little did I know that my love for Spotify could run even deeper. It all happened so quickly. In fact, it was about ten minutes ago (11:17 PM). I am sitting here waiting for my little brothers to call for a ride home from the Foothill vs. Basic game. And I have a huge urge to put on some Ben Folds Five.

I turn on the first album that catches my eye. The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner is its name. And I am thinking, "This looks good."

Oh, it was blissful. The album started off with a tune called Narcolepsy. And I am thinking, "Okay, okay. Pretty good, pretty good." Before I knew it, I am hearing Don't Change Your Plans. Then Mess. And then Magic. By this moment, the tears are beginning to roll down my face.

"Beautiful music." I say to myself.

Then Hospital Song- A Cappella begins to play. I start to bawl.

And now I am rocking out to the some-what explicit Army while wiping those tears from my face one by one.

My confession is simple: I love Spotify. It's an antidote to BDN-PC's inability to hold my personal collection of music.

The Only True Church, Personal Revelation

Another General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ has come to a quick close. As always, I am left thinking, "Darn. It's already over? How could it possibly be so?"

A lot of other things have been on my mind, too, of course. It may have something to do with all the wonderful talks and words that were heard all across the world. So many simple truths have been taught and learned these past two days. And I am simply overwhelmed by how much these past two days have helped me spiritually. I am beyond grateful to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know it is Christ's church. It's His, and there is no other.

That simple truth and belief of ours is found in the Fifth and Sixth Article of Faith:

5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

A man must be called of God. He must be given the authority, the keys to preside over Christ's church. This is nothing new. We saw it again and again and again in the Old Testament in prophets such as Moses and in Abraham. They were entitled to know God's will for all of His children. They talked to God and received revelation straight from Him.

It is no different today. As Latter-Day Saints, we believe in a latter-day prophet who receives revelations straight from the Lord. We saw that this weekend when President Monson announced the new, younger age requirements for Elders (now 18) and Sisters (now 19). How awesome is it to recognize and know that such an announcement didn't come by chance? It is the Lord's will. We may not quite yet understand why the Lord needs these slightly-younger missionaries, but I can assure the world that there is a purpose behind it. It's not because "it makes more sense" or "it's more convenient"; otherwise, it would have been this way a long time ago. The Lord needs more missionaries, and He needs these younger Elders and Sisters.

Aside from the revelation that our prophet receives for us as God's children, I am grateful for the personal revelation that each of us can receive be listening to conference. As I listened to Elder Holland speak earlier today, he said something along the lines of (referring to being a true disciple of Jesus Christ), "The call is to come, to stay true, to love God, and lend a hand. I include in that call to fixed faithfulness every return missionary who ever stood in a baptismal font, and with arm to the square said, 'Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ...' That commission was to have changed your convert forever. But it was surely supposed to have changed you forever as well."

When I heard those words come out of Elder Holland's mouth, I couldn't help but start to tear up. It was a reminder to me that I need to do a better job of being a disciple of Christ. I wasn't only meant to be affected by my mission during the two years that I served. I am meant to let those baptisms and those mission experiences continue to change me.

I want to be a faithful Christian soldier. I cannot and will not stop--no matter the price.