Don't Do Anything Stupid

I think we've all heard a saying like, don't do anything I wouldn't do, but if you do take pictures... I think that's the quote, but it could be something totally different. The may point is don't do anything I wouldn't do.
The past two years and now going on three, I've been an RA. RA stands for Resident Assistant for those of you that... who am I kidding, everyone that reads my blog knows what that stands for. Anyways, I pretty much make sure that the Freshmen come out of their Freshmen year without blowing themselves up. I get paid room and board... which is amazing! There is only one downside to the job, and that is the annoying, pranking, immature, annoying Freshmen.Other than that, it is probably the best job I have ever had. My first year as an RA I told my guys the first time I met with them all:

Don't Do Anything Stupid


While you're doing things, if you think about it, at anytime, and think to yourself, this is kind of stupid. Don't do it! I feel it was a very useful teaching method telling them that. Somehow, someway, they still did stupid things. For example they pennied me into my room. This is a prank I described to them, being the trusting and lovable friend I was, I thought they would never do something I told them how to do. They did. I heard some weird noises coming from my door. As I went to investigate, I tried to open my door. I couldn't! They had placed so many pennies between the door frame and the door right next to the lock, or handle that I couldn't open my door. I was locked in my own room. Good thing Evan Moss was up and willing to help me get out of my room. Uh it was so annoying.

Today I was playing basketball with some of my residents and some kids (I call them kids, for that is how they were acting) threw water balloons at us from the roof. It is a $50 fine to be found on the roof. Sadly, I only recognized one of the guys that was throwing the water balloons, so that is all I could report, but if it happens again, we'll get them.

I think that may have been one of God's pep talks during the premortal life. Maybe he didn't say it nearly as mean as I said it to my guys, but I think he said something to he effect of it. "Alright children, you're heading down to earth, you're going to have a lot of challenges in areas, but you need to not do anything stupid. Trust what your parents taught you, listen to my promptings, and good luck."
If he did say something like that, I'm glad he's given us some more guidelines, to help us find the correct path, and so that we don't fall into stupidity.
Something I have done stupid lately was buy a whole bundle of movies. It was kind of crazy, but it's good to get some movies added to my collection of only Harry Potters... Anyways, I know this is kind of short, but I have school in the morning... and by morning I mean ten. I don't want to stay up too late, it might be stupid.

Be Ye Therefore Perfect

So what is better than Jesus Christ's teachings? If anything, I'd say there aren't very many things that are. His Sermon on the Mount is pretty amazing. It is full of commandments and ways we should live our lives. The "Be Attitudes," testifying that we're the salt of the earth, and that we shouldn't hide our light, which we get from Jesus Christ, are all just small examples of the doctrines and principles Jesus teaches here.
One of the most influential scriptures in my life comes at the very end of the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount though.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."-Matthew 5:48

When Christ came to the Americas, he decided that he needed to teach pretty much the same sermon to the people of Nephi. At the end of the first chapter of Christ speaking to his 12 Disciples in America, he says something similar yet something totally different!

"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect."-3 Nephi 12:48

I love the similarities, and I love the differences. One interpretation, is that Christ commands us to be perfect. I believe this is true... partly. I'll explain better later. Perfection in this life is impossible to achieve. Only Christ was perfect. We can strive for moments when we are perfect. We repent, we are forgiven, and we are perfect, for a time. But if perfection is a commandment, and it is impossible, why would the Lord give it to us? That is why in the second verse I love the word "should." We should be perfect! Perfection should be obtained. We should obtain it through constant progression!

Be Ye Therefore Perfect


It is also very important to note one of the other most important differences between the two scriptures. Christ doesn't reference himself as perfect in the first verse. Only God the Father was perfect, but after Jesus Christ was resurrected, he was perfect. This makes me know that we must repent fully before we are resurrect, so we can be perfect beings to. We should become perfect, if we repent, and when we are resurrected!! That is such a happy and wonderful thought!

So here is my spin on this scripture. This is definitely not doctrine, neither do I claim that it ever will be, but I find it is good, and I find it helps me draw nearer unto Christ, which is the most important. It also makes it seem a little more realistic to me. The first question I have for you, if you have never discussed this with me before is what does the word "therefore" mean? From dictionary dot com I learn that it means, "in consequence of that; as a result; consequently." Okay, so to me that means, when I see the word "therefore," I'm supposed to look back at previous words to see what it is even talking about. The previous verse in the Book of Mormon version says,


"Old things are done away, and all things have become new... therefore"


So is he talking about how we need to be perfect in keeping the new laws... possibly. The verse before says,


"Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all fulfilled."


Okay so now he just used another therefore, and he must have been talking about the new law and how we must live it perfectly... but wait! Let's read the verse previous to that last one. We're now on 45, just in case you've gotten lost.


"That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good."


So am I saying that Christ is telling us to be perfect at.... being children... no... one more verse brings me to where I want to be (and if you want to know, you get back to this point a lot faster if you look back in the New Testament version).


"But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you."


So what is the Savior saying we should be perfect in? I would argue, but not really because that is contention and that is of the devil, but I would think, and I would hope that he is hoping and asking and commanding us to become perfect in our love! Love of God, love of all men, and love for ourselves. I think all are very important in becoming the perfect beings that God the Father and his Son are. I think it also references Jesus Christ as fulfilling the most loving thing the world could ever imagine, in the Book of Mormon version. Because he was now perfect in the love the Father had for the world. 
I have a long way to go until I am perfect in my love for my fellow men. I know I have the capacity to love. I know I love those in my life now that have helped me change for the better, and I know that if I love as God loves us, I should be able to become perfect. SO!!! Be ye therefore perfect in LOVE!!

Follow the Strait and Narrow

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go up to Salt Lake City and spend time with some wonderful people. All of these young men and women were RAs last year or our bosses. What we got to do was amazing. First off we drove straight to the Marriott Hotel in down town Salt Lake. Wow! What a gorgeous hotel. I don't think I have ever stayed in a nicer hotel... maybe when I stayed in a Marriott in South Dakota with my brother, Paul, on our way to SLC, but I think this one was even nicer!
They sat us in a room, and our bosses told us what they expected of us while we were staying there, and dismissed us to go into our rooms. I went to my room straight way, and I laid in my bed, wanting to sleep, but we had to go back for some training. We talked about being RAs again, and how we could help other RAs. Anyways, pretty much everyone that will read this was there, so we'll skip to some other parts.
After a game of two truths and a lie, we headed to Hires H... or something like that. It was this burger joint that had an amazing Western Burger, as well as a decent shake. While driving here our car had an interesting topic of discussion, namely J. Golden Kimball. This man was hilarious! He was known for his colorful speech and pretty much saying exactly what was on his mind. We talked about some of his stories, but one of my favorite things that was quoted was, "I may not have walked the strait and narrow, but I crossed it as often as I could."

As I was sitting debating what I should write about tonight, I only could think about what recently happened, today. I only could think about my obsession (I don't know if I would call it that though I just did) with competing with my cousins that are my age. I have always thought about this. I grew up with Dallin, and he has always out done me in pretty much everything. I don't mind coming in second when I am playing him or whatever, but I hate thinking back on it. He's always been better at basketball than I am, though I was on the team. He is amazing!! Then there's Andrew, Tyson, Alan, and probably more, but those are the ones I see. I just constantly compare myself to them... Anyways, back to the topic at hand:

Follow the Strait and Narrow


Growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I always thought that it was the straight and narrow way. This helps think about J. Golden Kimball's quote a little better. Walking down a straight and narrow path, trying to pass it. Every time you're off of it, you realize that you're off, so you turn yourself. You then head off into another direction, pass over it again and falter. It definitely happens to all of us.
It is not so though. The scripture says:

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." -Matthew 7:14

Not a "straight" gate, but a strait gate. Strait gate means narrow or strict. So pretty much when you say, "follow the strait and narrow way," you're saying, "follow the narrow and narrow way." Thought you'd want to know :D. So pretty much we have got to find this small, narrow gate, by following a narrow way.
This kind of sounds like one of those quests in Zelda or something. There's only one way to get to the next place you need to go. You were told once where the path is and where the gate is, but in the middle of the game you have to save and turn it off, because life comes at you. Then when you come back a day or two, or maybe even a week, later, you have to either ask somebody where you're going, or try to remember.

Remembering is a lot easier when there are reminders everywhere. This life is full of them. One of the greatest tools we have are the scriptures. These along with the other words of the prophets, make up what the Lord has said to his children. All these words make up the iron rod. We are told to grasp it firmly, and I am guessing if we do and as we follow it, we will cross over the narrow way, and we'll find the strait gate.
People are also pretty great at helping us. They remind us what we're doing wrong, and they help us find ways to progress. Parents were a great resource when I was younger, and sometimes they are even good today. Friends are more of a resource to day in staying on the strait and narrow. I have the best friends in the world! They love me for who I am. I don't need to change for them, unless it is to get back onto that path.

When we head off in the wrong direction we have to repent. In German, repent is, umkehren. Which directly translated means turn around. I love this concept. When you sin, you're heading away from the Lord. What do you do to umkehren, maybe one of the most important questions, but you have to start turning to the Lord, and head toward him. Don't umkehren towards the devil, he's not worth it. None of his promises even matter, ever! Stay on the strait and narrow, and when you fall off, for it's small, hop back on, and find that blasted narrow gate!

Journal Writing

"Aug. 23 2005
This last week before school starts has been fun. On Saturday I took Cassie on our second Date (our first was July 23, 2005) We went the innermountain spring. It was way fun. I want to ask her homecoming... Hopefully...Maybe. We then went and watched a movie. Then on Sunday I went and sang at the care center w/ a lot of youth. Then came back to Cassie's house and Her mom, her, Jon, Justin and I talked for like 2 1/2 hours. Janis is cool. Life is wonderful. Monday I went shopping for school clothes My sister was trying to get me into things Dallin now wears and that's just not me. Well g2g2 sleep. BYE
                                                                              TommyMScherbel
                                                                              Journal"


This is an almost exact excerpt from my journal... Man, no wonder I didn't like writing in it. It barely has any voice. It pretty much tells me what I did, and with whom I did it. Fun. If my blog sounded like that, I don't think anyone would read it... except maybe to humor me.  At least I like reading/writing my blog now, and it is similar to writing in my journal. I like to think of it as a journal. Looking back on my journal writings make me think about what I would write about today... Except I'll write it in my blog form... plus it'll be way better spelling, grammar, and voice than my

journal writing


...


...


Okay so I started writing about my day, and it sounded super boring both times. It sounded so much like my journal... Which I guess isn't a bad thing, but I feel like journals should be more like my blog... That or like the scriptures.


Story, story, story, then "And thus ended the twenty and ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi."-Alma 55:35


This makes me think about what the prophets were thinking about exactly when they were writing. Was it just the end of a long day or long year? Did they just start writing at random times, or when amazing things happened to them or the people? Did they write after a run, or when they couldn't fall asleep? When they wrote did they always have the spirit with them? Or did Mormon and other prophets for other books just edit out most of the stuff that isn't spiritual related?


This may be sacrilegious to say, but I believe that when the prophets wrote in their "journals" it was totally different than what they wrote in the plates. I think the plates were the blog of the prophets. Unlike blogs only specific people had access to the blog plates, but when they had them, they wrote the important stuff down, and they hoped others would read and learn from them. Their journals were probably filled with similar stuff as what I have previously written.


No one really wants to have others read their diaries/journals. I mean I know what's in mine, and I wouldn't want anyone to read it... Not because it's so personal to me, but because I think it'd be super boring. My mind switched so much between what I was doing that day, to which girl I was liking at the time (which is Hannah now by the way), and back again to my boring life. Sometimes something exciting happened, but normally it was plain old boring things. 
Now I have this blog, and in order for me to keep readers interested in what I am writing I have to write things that are either funny or well written... Well not exactly, but I think you get the picture. So here is the exciting news of my life. I am dating someone, exclusively, for the first time in my life. I am loving it! Not only the dating, but I am loving HER! She is an amazing person that helps me to be happier and better. She has an amazing testimony and significant dates that will be needed to be remembered in the future are... you can skip these if you don't care.


First time I met her... Okay so this is hard to say exactly, but I believe I met her first either May 31, 2010 or June 1, 2010.
First time I really talked to her/drove her to Paul and Sarah's... September 6, 2010, I believe for "Labor Day fun".
Day I realized I liked her/wanted to date her... June 19, 2011
First time she came and played games with me and friends... I believe it was June 26, 2011
First Date... July 22, 2011
First Kiss... well... our date for watching a movie (X-Men: First Class) was on the 4th, but we kissed after midnight so... August 5, 2011...


Okay, I know... TMI, but you could have skipped it, and I need to remember it... you know... just in case. Anyways, if this were my journal I'd be saying things about how much I like her, and how happy she makes me, and how she's not confusing like every other girl I've tried dating... but since it's not my journal, I guess I'll have to keep that to a minimum. I don't want to embarrass her too much :D. 


Journals are great. I like them. I like writing in my blog better, but I guess it's to each his own... or something like that. As long as you're writing something, so the future generation will have something to read, and think to themselves... "wow he really was normal for all the heroic things he did." Okay maybe that won't be said for all of you, but that's what my future generations will be saying:D.

Forgive Yourself

When I was in Seminary, my teacher, Brother Angel, told a story about his seminary teacher. He told about how his teacher one day had them all draw a picture of someone they didn't like. Someone that hurt them, made fun of them, or was weird. Then he had everyone bring the piece of paper up and hang it up on the wall, one at a time, and they threw darts at the drawn people. At the end of the lesson the teacher withdrew all the pictures to show a picture of Christ at the bottom. The teacher then said something along these lines, "Christ can and will forgive all these people for the wrongs they have done. The question is can you forgive them?"
The whole time my teacher told this story, I thought to myself, who would I put up there. I thought about a kid that punched me in the stomach in seventh grade. Had I forgiven him? Nope, I hadn't. When the end of the story came, I thought, I'd better do that! Now forgiveness of others is simple. Forgetting is hard, but forgiving is easy. Why is it so easy? As one of my best friends said, "Maybe it's easy to forgive them because it's easier to see them as Christ sees them." Easier than what, you might ask? It's easier to see them as Christ sees them than it is to see you as Christ sees you.

Forgive Yourself


Why is that sometimes the hardest to do? I have no idea why. I mean, I've done some stupid stuff in my life. Sometimes when I think back on my life, I wish I could go back to those moments when I was the most stupid, and knowing what I know now, change my decision. Some of those times happened when I was a teenager, others happened on my mission, and a couple have happened after my mission.
One's self, in my opinion, is the hardest person to forgive. I don't know why. Maybe it's the guilt of knowing that Christ went through so much pain for me, it's just so hard to want to participate in the Atonement for yourself. I think that may be the problem for me at least. I like doing things on my own. Knowing that I got through something on my own. Christ went through the Atonement for me, I know that, but am I willing to submit all my sins, all my problems, all my regrets to him? He suffered for them already, why bear them myself? He is the one who will lighten my load when I come to the Judgement Seat. Only through him can I come to live with my Father in Heaven forever. Only through him can I live with the people that have changed my life the most in this life for forever. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world! Jesus Christ atoned for my sins.

Why don't I remember that? I do! Why do I still have regrets, when I know he's born my sorrow and my grief? I think it is because I still mess up, and the devil wants me to think that I am not good enough now, nor will I ever be good enough to live with my perfect Heavenly Father and Brother forever. I've got some news for the Father of Sin and Pain. I will live with my Father once more. I will! I have a Savior that is rooting for me, helping me along every step. He truly carries me through the roughest times. I just need to learn that when he's carrying me, I don't have to feel bad about it for very long. He's already forgiven me! I need to feel the correct and resulting pain, but it will pass, and because of him I can be happy in this life. Only through him can I be happy in the next life.
One of my favorite scripture mastery scriptures is Doctrine & Covenants 64 9-11

"Wherefore I say unto you, that you ought to forgive one another for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord, for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
"I, the Lord, will forgive who I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men;
"And ye ought to say in your hearts, let God judge me and thee and reward thee according to thy deeds."

I stand in the same condemnation if I don't forgive myself. If I don't forgive myself, it's like me telling Christ that I don't want his Atonement, just like if I didn't forgive someone else, I would be telling them that I don't believe the Atonement works for them, which I don't believe at all. I want to use the Atonement. I have felt the cleansing power of the Atonement in my life. I know what it means to go through fire, to be cleansed by fire. The Atonement has worked in my life in many ways, and I can only hope that I can continue to use it, as I have learned previously. Forgiving myself will be a little easier today, thank you Jesus Christ!