Family and Friends

FAMILY

Family can be the source of the greatest happiness we feel in this world. I love my family and I am always striving to be a blessing to them, not a burden. I know with all my heart that families can be together forever even after this life. If you want to know more, please click Eternal Families

Family is the fundamental unit of society and of God. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
Happiness comes when we are cheerful, helpful, and considerate of family members. We should strive to strengthen our relationships with our family. They can become our closest friends. Support them in their interests and help them with challenges. Reach out to your family and show an increase of love and gratitude. Get to know each person in your family more deeply. Spend more quality time with them and do things that everyone can participate in.

FRIENDS

Of course friends can be a source of happiness! Shout out to my homies in MSC and Logan Originals! Everyone needs good and true friends. Friends influence how you think and act, even help determine the person you will become. True friends support, strengthen, and encourage you in every aspect of life. They won't be afraid to council you when it is needed or be willing to help you when asked.

To have good friends, be a good friend.

"And all of us need true friends to love us, to listen to us, to show us the way." - Henry B. Eyring

"A friend is a person who is willing to take me the way I am." - Unknown 

I know that friends bring great happiness. My friends have been a great support to me in my life. When I decided to change my life and do things differently, my friends were accepting, encouraging, and respectful of my feelings and desires. I love them to death and they are my closest friends. 

God - Our Heavenly Father

God is our Heavenly Father, the Father of our spirits. We read in John 20:17 that we are God's children: "Jesus saith unto [Mary], Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."

So if God really is our Father in Heaven, what does this mean for us here on Earth? Well lets compare it to our Earthly fathers. Fathers here on Earth want the best for their children. They want the kids to be successful in life and have happiness. The father lets the child learn on its own, but the father is still near by to encourage, lift, and give advice when needed. That's exactly how our Heavenly Father works! We can't see Him but we can FEEL Him. He is always nearby to help us when we ask.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
(Mark 7:7-11)

We can ask God anything at anytime and He will answer us if we believe He will. James directs: 

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be give him
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
(James 1:5-6) 

This scripture tells us that if we want to know something, go to the source of all truth: God. He will give you an answer freely and He won't find fault in your question. But we must truly believe and trust that God will answer us. I promise that God does answer prayers, He answers in His own time and in His own way. Some of the ways that Heavenly Father answers our prayers is by the feelings we get in our heart and mind or by someone else blessing our lives. I have found such peace when I humbly kneel down and thank my Heavenly Father for the things I've been given. Knowing that Heavenly Father is there and will answer me, brings comfort to my heart. 

I always try to turn to Him when I'm sick, lonely, or in need and I know He's there. The power of prayer is real! I love my Heavenly Father and I invite all of you to put prayer to the test. When you do, you will feel the warmth and love of God in your heart, of this I do humbly testify.

Love All

The best example of love is Jesus Christ. Whether you believe in him or not, He was and is the most loving, kind, and caring Man ever. If we look at the way He lived, the things He taught, and the example He set, we can see the love and charity He had for everyone.


I love and follow Jesus Christ, but if you don't, you can still learn His characteristics. He's the ultimate super hero! He has amazing powers: healing the sick, raising the dead, comforting the poor, and so on. Following His example and striving to become Christ-like will bring happiness to your life and the lives of others.

Jesus taught to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Mark 12:31, Holy Bible)


"We too should act out of love to help all, not just a favored few." - Russell M. Nelson (The Work of Salvation: Parable of a Father at Bedtime)
Loving others helps us be more patient, merciful, and compassionate. Whether you are religious or not, these words are true:
45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever;
(Moroni 7: 45-47, Book of Mormon)

We can love easier when we are forgiving and understanding. I know that if we try to be like Christ we will bless many lives in this struggling world. I know without a doubt in my mind that love is always the answer. Whether someone deserves our love or not, we should still do our best to show them that we care and love them. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I strive to be like Him everyday, to love like He did.......to live like He did. 

I invite you to do the same.

Make someone smile today!

Be Your Best Self

Being yourself also means expressing yourself and not being ashamed. I am a Mormon

There are billions of people all over the world. Not one is the exact same as another.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” - Dr. Seuss 

How does this knowledge bring us happiness?

Through my experiences, I've learned that wearing a mask or trying to be someone I'm not, to fit in, does not make me happy (even if I successfully fit in). I've found that I am the happiest when I stop worrying about being judged. I have seen many people shun opportunities to achieve goals because they are afraid of rejection, disappointment, and criticism. I, myself have done these things. 

I had the opportunity to play in an international soccer tournament when I was 13 and didn't take it for different reasons. One of them was because I was afraid to come back a loser. To have traveled so far and fail. This was a big regret of mine, but I do not let it hinder myself. I learned from it so I don't make the same mistake.  

There are those who try but fall and fail. What then? Shall we give up and try something else? Let me share something about sports. . . .Michael Jordan

Here are 5 lessons about success, life, passion and commitment we can learn from Michael Jordan’s story.

Use Setbacks As Fuel

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan was one to embrace setbacks and failure as motivation. Cut from his high school team as a sophomore, he used that as fuel and trained intensely. His work paid off. Next year he made the team and in his senior year, he made the All-American High School Team.

Jordan developed an amazing work ethic and determination which let him thrive through every adversity he faced!

Expect Greatness From Yourself

“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.”

One of Michael’s mantras is that for amazing things to happen you have to focus and prepare for amazing things to happen. This is extremely powerful; by focusing on potential positives instead of failures, you open yourself up to opportunities for success and achievement. This is exemplified in his quote, “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

Focusing on the right things is one of the keys to accelerating your success. Scanning for positives out of a situation makes us happier and productive, making us more likely to succeed. By focusing on the potential positives and expecting great things, this motivates our body and mind on doing the things that could make it happen. In the case of many successful athletes and business people, strong self-belief is a key to their success.

Don’t Fear Failure, Embrace It

“I've never been afraid to fail.”

Along with processing setbacks and failure as fuel and motivation, Michael chose to embrace failure itself instead of fearing it. This is a great ethos: if failure happens, it happens. It’s only terrible if you process it as terrible. Jordan describes fear as an ‘illusion’ that he overcome. Fearing failure itself limits your potential success.

Michael said in an interview that he had no disappointments in his playing career. He said there were things that were negative, but he always took them as a positive because it’s a great learning experience and without them, other great things wouldn't have happened.

Stick To The Basics

“The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether its proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.”

Michael said to stick to the fundamentals and don’t get lost in the details. He always tried to find an edge at whatever he worked at and part of that was never losing sight of the basics.

Another important Jordan quote says never to try and skip over anything basic: “If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you.” The message is great: if you try to cut corners or think you’re beyond doing something that seems basic then you will not be rewarded. To be successful everyone has to stick to certain fundamentals or they will stray from productive habits and focus too much on things that don’t matter.

Work Super Hard

Michael Jordan worked extremely hard to reach every goal. Tony Robbins quotes Michael as saying his success was due to demanding more out of himself than anyone else. When he took a break to play baseball, Jordan was reported as the earliest player at the diamond and the last person to leave, working endless hours with a batting coach to get better. Michael’s Chicago Bull teammates all reported him as the first one to arrive and the last one to leave at the team gym every day.

A combination of his athletic gift and long, tough, deliberate practice was part of Michael Jordan’s success formula.

 “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan.

God  has made us individually. He has given us specific talents and gifts to bring happiness to ourselves and others. We have talents that we can develop as long as we strive for them. Don't be afraid to take risks, never give up, and keep moving forward. 
BE YOUR BEST SELF!