"Do I really know if this Church is true?"

Once, I was sitting in the middle of a whole bunch of Missionaries, when this CRAZY thought popped in my head

"Do I really know if this Church is true?"

Yes, I was a Missionary, yes I was on FIRE, and after a lifetime of Spiritual Moments where I felt like I knew POSITIVELY WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT that the Church is true, it crossed my mind. Let's just be honest with ourselves here, it happens to all of us. And no, you are not crazy, you're just human.


Even right before I started my mission, I had thoughts pop in my head like

"Maybe this ISN'T actually right. Maybe I shouldn't actually go"

HELLO. YES YOU SHOULD. IT'S YOUR DREAM AND YOU KNOW YOU HAVE FELT LIKE YOU SHOULD GO. Turns out, the Spirit was right (as always) and I should have most definitely served a Mission.

Is anyone with me, here?

Back to the story. Right then, and I mean RIGHT IN THAT MOMENT that I had thought that, "Do I really know if this Church is true?"

My Mission President stopped what he was saying and said

"I don't know why, but I feel very strongly that the Lord would have me tell you that you know it is true."

And, you know in my head i'm like "whaaaat" but also I felt the Spirit.

He also said "God has literally been speaking to you your entire life. You know it is true."

Don't think that you are crazy. You're not. You're human in this mortal journey. It's not like you are a heathen for thinking that thought, but just remember that God really has been speaking to you your entire life, whether you have realized it or not. Simply,

DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS BEFORE YOU DOUBT YOUR FAITH

-PresidentUchtdorf

And then, I found myself in a hostile Laundromat and in the midst of loneliness and the trials of a Mission OR EVEN just driving home and the sky is allll pretty like after a really tiring day, it literally just hits me and my heart is filled with the Spirit and gratitude, and I AGAIN know that what I have believed all along IS TRUE.

FLASHBACKFLASHBACK

As a kid. I knew one day I'd be a Missionary. I knew Jesus Christ loved me and knew who I was. 

In High school I felt the Spirit so many times in Seminary, in Church, in Firesides. Oh, and yes I was still my own person! YOU CAN BE YOURSELF AND STILL BE MORMON AND STILL CTR. 

NATURE

COLLEGE.

WITH THESE CRAZY KIDS. 

TEMPLE WEDDINGS ie my brothers!!!!!

With a best friend that CTR's. (chooses the right)

At the Temple reading scriptures and drinking raspberry lemonade. 

God speaks through the Spirit.

When have you felt it?

 I am grateful that He has loved me enough to speak to me. He does that for all of His children, it is our choice to listen. let's listen. The Spirit literally does lead us through life and guide us Home. It's NOT just skin deep, there's a fire burning in my heart. 

It is alllll true.

22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might ^aknow concerning the truth of these things.

 23 Did I not speak ^apeace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater ^bwitness can you have than from God?

D+C6:22

30 And it came to pass when they heard this ^avoice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a ^bstill voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—

HELAMAN 5:30

This post is very simple. 

I just want to say that my heart feels very happy. 

The Church is true, I've met some beautiful people, I share what I know...

nothing could be better.  

Life is wonderful :) 

Standard.

In the summer of 2012, I was an EFY Counselor for 7 golden weeks :)

It looks fun, doesn't it? It was!!!!!!!!!!!

I still love each one of those Youth so much.

I was pondering what I should share with my girls one night for devotional. An idea came to my head (Go Spirit!) that I should ask a plethora of questions to a plethora of my boy friends. (Friends who are boys, you get the jist... and supposedly "jist" isn't a word, because there is a red squiggly underneath.)

I asked friends I knew had lived the gospel. I asked them questions like what they look for in a girl (hahaha), why it's important to follow a Prophet, and why it's important to keep the Standards of the Church. 

I got all sorts of answers back, but one has STUCK IN MY MIND ever since. It is about why we obey standards.

"The times when it is hard to obey are the very times that God is especially watching to see if we will choose Him, even when it is hard."

It's hard to be modest when it's a 120 degrees.

It's easy to be modest when it's -50. 

It's hard to be nice when everyone is rude.

It's easy to be nice when everyone is nice. 

It's hard not to judge when everyone is different.

It's easy not to judge when everyone is the same.

It's hard to listen to clean, wholesome music when no one else is.

It's easy when it's your Ipod and you can press next at anyyytime. 

It's hard to pay Tithing when you're saving up for something.

It's easy when you know why you pay.

WAITWHAT.

Yes, I switched it up. 

When we know WHY we keep a standard, keeping them becomes easy peasy lemon squeezy. 

"The biggest thing for me when it comes to keeping standards is learning why. There is great wisdom behind each standard. Don't be afraid to question why. If you have a hard time keeping a particular standard, pray about it and then study as to why it is a standard. If you do so sincerely, and put forth a good effort you will gain a testimony of each standard and it will be easy to keep them."

At the same time, having FAITH means to follow them, even without knowing the exact reason why.

Simply, we follow Standards, because we have Faith in Jesus Christ. Because we know His ways are higher than ours, and because we love Him, we will obey.

Whether it be telling clean jokes, choosing a modest Prom dress (which will make you look like a BABE), switching the song or TV show, or being honest even if it means humiliation or failing a test, 

YOU WILL BE BLESSED when you follow Christ "at all times, and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death." MOSIAH18:9

I can promise you that.

Who do we stand with? We stand with Christ. At allll times, in alll things, in alll places.

This is my Dad.

Dai Young Tran 

Sadly, I don't even know if I spelled that right. 

THAT'S OK THOUGH!

He moved to the good old land of America and changed his name to John, but my sweet grandmother calls him Johnny Carson. 

This is him in the 80's :) hahahahhahahahaha 

Let's get back to business.

He makes a mean fried rice and is chalk-full of simple jokes. He hates sour food and wears a little red cowboy hat when he does yard work. He's really funny. He laughs the loudest I've ever heard and, last but not least, 

he works like no one's business. 

In fact, he used to practice the Violin 6-8 hours a day. His dream? To be a concert Violinist. He made it into Julliard, went to the San Francisco Conservatory, and then was the #1 player at BYU. He later beat 100's of contestants to be in the San Diego Symphony. 

Then he had us. 

So he gave up his dreams, moved to Las Vegas and started work at Caesar's Palace where he has been ever since. 

My first Mission President has a talk that says we are guests in our home. News flash! We come from Heavenly Beings. We are God's children! It is a parent's responsibility to raise and love these children and help them get back to God.

This is my dad holding his first grand-baby. She was born a whole 2 weeks before I left. Fathers protect and provide. My dad has made it possible for me to live my dreams and be the person Heavenly Father designed me to be. 

He raised me in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful that I didn't have to go a MOMENT of forgetting who I was, because I was born into a family that believed. In fact, I remembered AS SOON as I forgot! That is such a blessing. (and everyone deserves to know!)

One time, we were driving home from Utah. I was sleeping and ALL OF A SUDDEN, we were spinning off the road into a snowy ditch. Without hesitation, he got out of the car in his SHORTS and grabbed my dog's water tray thing (whatever it's even called) and started to dig us out. Guess what. He didn't let me help. So while he is freezing outside, I'm just in the car all roasty toasty eating DRIED FRUIT. Why, WHY ARE PEOPLE SO NICE. 

“… By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. 

FAMILYPROCLAMATIONTOTHEWORLD

My dad has taught me to work as hard as I can, even when I am tired. I am grateful that he gave up his dreams for us. He also taught me how to do the dishes. He taught me to give without expecting to receive, to chase my dreams until they are achieved, and to have simple Faith. 

All I'm saying is, Dads are really cool. They have one of the greatest responsibilities. Father's simply can do what a Mother can't and it's designed to be that way. (Even though I know situations are different everywhere) To all you Fathers out there, your babies need you. 

P.S. I love this video.

Over and out.

For more of what a Father is, please click on this link :) 

Fatherhood, and Eternal Calling

We'll never go back

You may worry that when you leave on your Mission, you will come back and all will be different.
You are absolutely right.

All will be different with YOU.

You can NEVER go back.

How can we experience the BEST, HAPPIEST, HARDEST, CHALLENGING, BEAUTIFUL, time of our lives thus far and go back to who we were? WE CANNOT, WE MUST NOT.

Some things - our surroundings, our influences, our music, our clothes, or habits, our thoughts - we will want to keep, but we are meant to come back to bigger and better things.

In your Mission Call it said that you will receive more Happiness than you have yet experienced as you labor among God's Children. Yes, that it true.

Being on my Mission, I can't believe ANYTHING ever even came close to holding me back.

It HAS been the best. I have changed, I have become more of what my Father in Heaven wants me to be and that is the same for all.

Let's never go back.

This is a White Colored pencil.

I had literally THE HARDEST TIME GETTING UP for my early classes in College. Early as in like 8 oclock. It would be 7:30 and in my half asleep head I would think "Oh, I can sleep another 20 minutes" NO, NO YOU CAN'T! I don;t know what happens, I think the strangest things when I am half asleep. One day, I did NOT get up and I couldn't find one White Colored Pencil that I needed for class. Looked, NOTHING. Looked, NOTHING. Prayed, FOUND. yes.

One time my Best Friends and I were in Georgia. We were waiting for a Plane to leave. In the meantime, (Even though this is a man in a field) three little girls came and rapped and did Cart wheels. Somehow in the midst of this, I lost my phone. WELL GUESS WHAT. The Plane started to board, everyone was on EXCEPT US, and as soon as we said a prayer to find it, BAM PHONE FOUND.

I am absolutely positive you have had a similar experience, give or take a few rappers.

More importantly than a phone or a white coloring utensil, is a soul.

We need to find those who are ready.

¶Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one^apiece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and herneighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the^aangels of God over one ^bsinner that repenteth.

I had the craziest look on my face when we found my phone. Even crazier and happier was the face I had watching someone I loved be Baptized and Confirmed a member of the True Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Say a prayer and you will find.

Obedient.

I am not perfectly Obedient. However, I know that making Exact Obedience an unquenchable desire and quest, the Lord blesses us with the richest blessings. This is why I WANT to be Obedient. Let us take a gander in the Doctrine and Covenants.

 20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—

 21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

D+C130:20-21

I am not going to be the reason why any blessing or Miracle is held back.

When an Angel came to Adam and asked "Why dost Thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?"

Adam said "I know not, save the Lord commanded me." MOSES5:6

We won't always know the WHY to a Missionary Policy or a Commandment from the Lord, but Faith leads to Action, and the greater the Obedience, the greater the endowment of Faith.

Simple, "If Ye love me, keep my Commandments..." JOHN14:15
"If you believe all these things see that ye do them." MOSIAH4:27

One thing we can give the Lord, who has given us all, is our will. He understands we won't be perfect at it, but he will richly bless us with blessings that will BLOW OUR MIND when we obey.

IT'S TRUE.
Try it.