Facelift
As you can tell this blog is undergoing a facelift. I get bored of looking at the same thing all the time, so when I update software I try to change how everything looks. Since I have a bit of time this weekend to tinker with it I’ll be updating the interface on and off for the next few days. I am by no means a graphic artist, not by any stretch of the imagination. So if anyone has any comments about how this blog should look, please share them.
Another Background Photograph
Harvested Cotton Field
Cheap Gas ?
So I just filled up my gas tank. I must say that it is nice to have cheaper gas. I paid $1.899 a gallon. This is the first time I’ve spent less than 50 dollars to fill up my truck since I bought it. In fact the last time I spent $1.899 a gallon or less was February 10, 2005. Thats right, almost 4 years ago. Maybe we’ll get back to the $0.99 a gallon it was when I got home from my mission. (I don’t remember what prices were before, but they were probably cheaper). I know it’s winter and all and gasoline prices are typically lower in Phoenix in the winter, but still. Cheap gas is nice. So why is milk still so expensive? Wasn’t it because of gas prices that all the food prices rose? Or was that just an excuse?
Gas Prices
IT CAME!!!
Tyler received his mission call. Belgium Brussels/Netherlands Mission, he reports January 28. I’m very excited. Email me if you want to see the video and I’ll send you a link. brian@amosfamily.net
Abrahamic Tests
Laurie mentioned a talk by Elder Maxwell on her blog I remember liking it, I haven’t read it in a while. It deals with murmuring.
I really should preface this post by some doctrinal insights that I’ve come across lately that have been really intriguing to me. Perhaps the main insight is that we must all overcome our own Abrahamic test. This insight came while reading a talk from the Sperry Symposium Classics on the Old Testament on this subject. I had heard mention of this idea before, but I really didn’t understand it. That talk made it come alive. In order for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven we must pass through the refiners fire. That occurs while we are passing through our tailor made trials. During these trials we are refined, provided we continue to persevere. For the last month or so every talk I hear, evey thought I have about the scriptures, I see the refiners fire. From Lehi bringing his family (whether they wanted to or not) out of Jerusalem to the promised land, to Moroni watching all of his people either deny the Christ or be killed. I can only imagine how hard it was for Lehi to get to the Tree of Life and relize that his two oldest sons weren’t there with him!
The talk about murmuring made me think about how we live our lives. Some will have one huge trial, others will have to endure many smaller ones. Some, it seems, only exist to pass through difficult times. During the priesthood session tonight Elder Eyring said that as he sees men who look like they are sailing through life he knows that either they have had a severe trial, or will soon have one. I can’t imagine Abraham murmuring as he took Isaac out into the wilderness during his severest of trials. While I’m sure that was the most difficult, it was definately not the only trial Abraham had. It seems that his life was one trial after another. It seems to me that throughout the scriptures are examples of the trials the prophets faced, and how they overcame them. From Adam, to Cain and Abel, to Peter, James and John, to Joseph Smith. None murmured. They patiently bore all of their afflictions, knowing that what they were obliged to experience on Earth was of little importance if they were saved in the Kingdom of God.
This idea scares me a bit. Perhaps scares isn’t the right word. Humbles is a better choice. It humbles me very much as I don’t see that I’ve had a life full of trials or tribulations. I’ve always had what I needed, I’ve always been healthy, I’ve always felt that the Lord has blessed me greatly. I’ve had a few difficult things to pass through, but at the time they didn’t seem difficult. I hope that as we pass through the refiners fire we might continue faithful, that the dross will be removed that we will be made pure.
I’m very grateful for the Atonement of our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ. That through His great sacrifice in Gethsemane and Golgotha we might be made pure. I am also grateful that through His sacrifice we might receive the comfort, peace and strength we need to patiently overcome the trials through which we must pass. That we may be made perfect in that great day is my prayer.
