Quotes

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NEW Video: 'STAND; Be Not Moved'

This was inspired by a few things: My previous blog post, My love for the Temple, and the New Youth theme for 2013! What a blessing it's been in my life, not just as a patron but also an ordinance worker.  Click HERE to watch it!    'SHARE it if you like it!'

A Huge special thanks to Youtube sensation StuartEdge, who was able to edit & match my vision I had for this perfectly, if not a little better! If you want a good laugh, watch his prank videos HERE.
And also to the talented Dylan Bitton for filming; visit his website HERE.


Audio Text:
"How grateful I am to be a member of this church. I am a part of the greatest thing to ever be a part of! 
My joy is not just full, but overfilling! How great is our God! How great is what He has in store for us! How great are our blessings & happiness when we turn to Him & when we simply try. I am overwhelmed with how great & true & real Heavenly Father's promises are. His promises are real. His blessings are so real, and they are so great!
How grateful I am for this Gospel. How grateful I am for His teachings & commandments. For covenants. For what's asked of us. To be able to receive the greater things. 
Making and keeping covenants opens the gate to an outpouring of blessings. Never should it be viewed as a burden or approached apprehensively, but rather sought after & embraced & kept with excitement and joy to be able to partake more fully & receive the best things ever created. Not just in the eternities, but here-daily- in mortality. 
The Temple has blessed literally every aspect of my life. I am able to keep going- confidently-  and with strength & happiness. I am able to receive, in abundance, when I still have an immeasurable amount of room for growth & improvement- complimented with my imperfections & shortcomings. 
How great is our God! How great are His ways & His plan. How great is the love He has for all of us.
Do not hold yourself back. Do not shortchange yourself. Take confidence! Take confidence in Him & His ways & promises! His hand is never shortened. Keep going. Try. Embrace. And receive the greater things.  
I don't know what I'd do without the Temple. It's home."  



Be sure to subscribe to LDS Living Magazine  and look for  Mariama Kallon and I on the cover of their March/April issue! 

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Be Not Moved

My schedule the past year-ish has been busy speaking at least twice a week to the youth. I absolutely loved last year’s theme, Arise & Shine Forth! But I have to express the excitement I have to base my talks on this year’s Youth theme, Stand Ye In Holy Places, and Be Not Moved. Going from Arise, to Stand! 

I can't help but think of all that has happened since joining the church. There's not a post on my blog of what I had been through since baptism, but if you have been to one of my Firesides you'll know that most of the stories I share are those difficulties that followed after. I do that for a reason. My message is not & will never be, that with the gospel your life will be perfect. Immune to trials.  It is a message of continuing.  A message of overcoming. Of faith. Endurance. Taking confidence in Heavenly Father's promises. 

I was not looking for the church. The church found me, and all I did was just follow happiness. That happiness led me to baptism. Which then led to loss of friends. Family. I recall perfectly my best friend, my Dad, telling me he didn't want to talk to me anymore. He made me pick. This church, something I had just barely found out about weeks ago, or Him.  And I thought… what an easy decision, for a difficult situation. I already choose who I wanted to follow, didn't I? That's what happens when you get baptized. I already recognized that this happiness, one that I didn't even know existed, a real & lasting happiness, only came from the Gospel. So I decided, right then and there, I didn't need time to think about it.

Since then, I have been through trials that had made me feel completely alone. I have been prompted to do things that I didn't understand. Things that were incredibly difficult. Since then, I have been through things that made me feel like I didn't fit in. Times were I felt as though my prayers were not being heard. Times were I felt like my strength ran thin & I didn't know how much more I could take.

And each time I was shown that I could keep going and do so with strength & guidance because of this Gospel. Because of Christ. Heavenly Father. Each and every single time I was shown that even in the hardest of trials, I could be consumed with peace & this physical love that He has for me. 

During my devotionals, I speak on thosetimes because you need to know that,that happiness, through everything, has only gotten stronger! 

Each time I have been blessed with something better then what I had in mind. Each time over coming something I never thought I could. Each time learning much. Growing. Becoming better.

My joy is not just full, but overfilling! OH how great is our God! How great is what He has in store for us! How great are our blessings & happiness when we turn to Him and simply try.I am overwhelmed with how great and how very true & real Heavenly Father’s promises are. When things are hard or not going as I had planned, it becomes fun to see how they will work out, because they always will & it will alwaysbe better when we turn to Him. When we keep going. When we hold tight to what we are taught.

How grateful I am to be a member of this church, for what we are a part of and what is asked of us! Making covenants open the gates to an outpouring of blessings in our life & should never be viewed – in any degree- in a negative way. They should not be approached apprehensively, but rather soughtafter & embraced with excitement to partake more fully & receive the best ever created & prepared for us- not just in the eternities, but here- daily- in mortality.

How grateful I am for all the times I made the decision to choose the Gospel. All the times I made the decision to stay with its teachings- commandments- covenants.  The decision to trust. The decision to stand.  How grateful I am I made the decision to choose God. His plan. His ways.

How grateful I am for Heavenly Father’s promises. For the Temple. For covenants. Commandments. For this gospel.  I find myself overwhelmed with the direction my life has taken. How grateful I am with all the talents & opportunities that I have been given.  For receiving more than I am able to bear- in abundance- when I still have an immeasurable amount of room for growth & improvement, complimented with my imperfections & shortcomings. How grateful I am for this love that He has for us that I do not fully understand. OH how great is our God! 

Do not do anything that will stop you from receiving more fully the best ever created. Fear not. Forget not who’s hands you’re in. Choose. Keep going. Overcome. Grow. Embrace. Receive. Stand. And be not moved. 

 
Be sure to subscribe to LDS Living Magazine  and look for  Mariama Kallon and I on the cover of their March/April issue! 

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MP3 Now Available for My Blog Posts!

Last week I had a great opportunity to spend some time in the Recording Studio to voice record my blog posts! I'll post them on here to listen to, but they will also be available for Free Downloads on Soundcloud.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for current updates on the Releases!

UPDATES:
MP3 for "Wait For Your Manger" is now Available to Listen & Download for FREE. Click Here.

MP3 for "Refocus" is now Available to Listen & Download for Free. Click Here.

MP3 for "Fully & Completely' is now Available to Listen & Download for Free. Click Here. 

MP3 for "This is Not Our Home" is now Available to Listen & Download for Free. Click Here.

MP3 for 'My Testimony Dare' is now available to Listen & Download for Free. Click here.


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Refocus.

GET THIS BLOG POST AS AN MP3! Click HERE to listen to my Voice Recording of this post & Download for FREE.

 
I would feel so guilty if I did not post this extreme gratitude I have for My Father in Heaven. For the Book of Mormon. For how I feel this exact second. To remind and to share that this is real. He is real. What we are a part of is real! And it is so great.

Today I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the 5th time just this year. But before even finishing, I was completely consumed with this overfilling love & gratitude. I was completely overcome with the spirit. Spiritually, yes. But also, and more noteworthy, it is even a physical thing. Real.

I feel unstoppable. Nothing else matters. No trial. No 'inadequacies'. Shortcomings. Frustration. It is completely swallowed up in this Love that I physically feel between My father in Heaven, and myself. And the only thing that matters is exactly that. Love. A real love.  A personal & individual love, that is incredibly real, coming directly from God.  Coming from Christ.

The past several days there has been a handful coming to me flustered by their desires not matching up with their efforts. Trying but not overcoming. Temptation. Busyness. How quick we are to get discouraged. Distracted.

How is it that we lose sight of that so easily? That personal love directly from God.  A truth so powerful & motivating that causes us to literally overcome and conquer all. To overcome the world, in fact. 

I don't have a specific answer for you. Lots of reasons. Different per person. But this much I do know, life is hard. I hope you do not get the wrong impression of me. I am no different then you. Fifth time this year, simply because that is what I need. I take the Book of Mormon with me everywhere I go because I rely on it every day. That is where strength comes from. I cannot do it without it. I cannot do it without Him.

Lucky for us we don't ever have to. If we but take advantage of what we have been given.  Forget not whose hands we are in. Hold on. Even if it seems at times it is by your fingertips as someone is pulling you the other way by your ankles. Hold on tightly to that what you do know, even if it seems like it is not much. 

Refocus. Prioritize. Hold on. Strengthen. Overcome. Conquer. Forget not what matters most. Forget not that this is real. Forget not that He is Real. That He loves. Individually. Personally.  Forget not, that you can feel that. Even, and especially with those things that we struggle with.  Your prayers have been heard.  In His strength you can do all things. (Alma 26:12) And I am incredibly grateful for that. I am incredibly grateful for the power that comes from Reading the Book of Mormon. Profoundly grateful to feel that love Heavenly Father has for me. Speechlessly grateful to know that He wants us back. All of us. And He will not do anything to prevent that from happening. He is there. Helping. Always. Refocus. God first. Strengthen. Conquer.

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God is for us, so it doesn't matter who is against us

My Testimony Dare:

GET THIS BLOG POST AS AN MP3! Click Here to listen to my Voice Recording of this post!


September 14th I turned 24, and with Birthdays comes Birthday Wishes. The one thing I wanted most was to have the spirit be spread, but I suppose that's not any different then how I feel everyday haha. The idea just popped into my head was to just make my Profile Picture on Facebook saying share their testimony as a status, and post it on my wall. Simple enough, eh? Who would have thought...

Before 10:00 am I had hundreds of notifications of people sharing their testimony as a Facebook status.  I tried to follow as many as I could but it spread and shared faster then I could keep up. Spreading to people I didn't know. Spreading to different states. different countries. The ripple effect is almost impossible to comprehend how far it truly traveled- but surely it traveled outside of the maybe 10 shares I originally thought I'd get.

I got emails and messages from those I will probably never meet here. Emails and messages, one after another, for 3 days straight. Stories and testimonies and Thank Yous from all different ages, from all different backgrounds, in all different spots in their life. Those who are strong in the church. Those who are quiet about church. Those struggling. Those inactive.  Those who are not members.

"Happy Birthday (even though you're a stranger and I've never met you.) I just wanted you to know that I've spread your bday wish to all my fans/followers/friends/family. Hope it's a great one!”

"I Love my father in heaven and I have a testimony that through the Book of Mormon the fullness of the gospel has been restored on this earth. I have a testimony that the Lord does answer prayers. I love my Father in Heaven and I am grateful for this opportunity that Al Fox has given me. I also would like to bare my testimony that if you humbly want to know the truth of the Book of Mormon turn to the book and the lord, Not your neighbors or friends, and the lord will testify to you that it is true. Through Jesus all things are made clear. Amen."

 "I don't often post my beliefs... but Al Fox's birthday wish was to see it here. I believe in a God who knows me perfectly and loves me anyways. He shows that love in many ways, including the simple things, like having a beautiful sunset at the end of a long day, or through other people, like when He sends a friend to stop by and spend time with me. He sent His son Jesus Christ to live as a perfect example for me to try to emulate, but who also died so that I can be forgiven of my imperfections. I feel His love especially as I communicate with Him in prayer and learn of Him through studying the scriptures, as well as when I am the friend that is sent to others."

 "Just wanted to personally thank you for the wise birthday wish. I'm a returned missionary as of two weeks ago, and your birthday wish certainly inspired me to do more and be better" 

“Hey I know you don't know me but ____ is a mutual friend I was wondering why all these testimonies were all over my Facebook news feed and they made me think a lot..”

An indescribable blessing.  What a strength. What an impact. How powerful.

I couldn't help but think what a small idea it started as. I couldn't help but think back to when I started making Youtube videos and thought, "this is a silly idea, no one will watch these." Same with this blog. Why? Well, who am I? I am just one. I am silly, and sometimes awkward and am just like anybody else.

I couldn't help but think back to the day I decided to get baptized- was the exact day my Elders were going to drop me as an investigator. Why? Well, they thought, what they were doing wasn't making a difference. They thought, that perhaps someone else could do it better. Maybe someone with who read the Book Of Mormon more then they. Or maybe someone with a stronger testimony. Maybe someone more outgoing. More confident. More of anything what they weren't.
Little did they know.
Little did they know that just by them, being them, that I have this happiness. That I am who I am now, doing the things that I am doing.

Little did I know, my small and silly thoughts, complimented with doubts and discouragements, could turn in to what it has- and yet still have that profound and unknown ripple effect.

And little do you know.
Little do you know the impact that you profoundly have on those around you, and those you will never meet, just by you- being you.  That is, hands down, the best thing we could ever be! Ourselves!

Heavenly Father loves his children so dang much. The biggest goal that He has, is to have us return. And if you think He isn't going to use us to help, you're wrong. Of course we are being used. Of course He needs us. Of course we are different, to help different people in different ways, so perfectly for Him in ways we cannot understand now.  All we have to do is try. That's it. Just try.

You cannot stop yourself. You cannot hold yourself back. You cannot get discouraged. Doubtful. Judgemental to yourself, even. You are here, you are you, created by an Almighty being, perfectly, for this exact time. In your exact spot. Doing the things you find yourself doing. All for greater reasons. Perfectly. 2N 2:24 'All things have been done in wisdom of him who knoweth all things.'

Do not be ashamed of who you are. Refrain from thinking what you are doing doesn't make a difference. Refrain from thinking someone else could do it better. Refrain from thinking you are not being supported. From thinking you are inadequate in any degree. And forget not, the vision our God, our Father in Heaven has for us. Personally and individually, for you. Forget not that greater are the things He has in store for us to do and become. "How is it ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things?" 1 N 7:12

Keep going, and do not stop. Stay strong. Stay faithful. Spread the spirit. Use The Internet For Good.
Doubt not but be believing. 

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Worsd of Mormon 1:7 "I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me according to the spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will."
2 N 3:24 do much good both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in thesight of God.
1 N 9:5 ..the Lord hath commanded me...for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. But the Lord knoweth all things.."