Just Be A Kid

   Most kids love playing in the rain; jumping in puddles, running around in the wet, it's something you don't get to do a lot (unless it rains pretty regularly where you live and it's not spring).

On the other end of the teeter totter though, a lot of adults don't like being out in the rain without an umbrella or at least a hat.

It's interesting, when it's raining and you have an umbrella or a hat or whatever, you usually aren't looking up that much. You know, it's damp, cool, you want to make sure you don't slip or step in a puddle.

But when you're being a kid and just enjoying the rain and being soaked, you don't care. You're looking for those puddles, you're already wet so why not?

It's a little fascinating really, the older we get the more lose the desire to do the things we did as a kid. And yeah, I know, part of that is some stuff we all did as kids we'd never want to do as an adult because it's way too embarrassing or whatever. 

For example, play acting getting married, splashing around in the bathtub, imagining that fake light saber you're holding are real and you're protecting you and your friends from the invading enemy. 

Yep, some of those things we did when we were younger are things we don't necessarily want to do when we get older. 

But maybe we should keep doing some kid-like things...

Okay, so look at the image below and tell me what you see. I don't care what it is, just say it. Just guess and I'll tell you what the answer is a little later.

Now, I'll tell you where I'm going with this.

There's a tv show called Brain Games which is super cool because it tells you all about different things that go on in your brain. There was one episode that introduced these drawings called droodles (well, they didn't created them but they talked about them). And the interesting things about this doodle drawings, is that there's not really a specific image that the artist had in mind.

That means you look at it and think about the different things it could be.

So, yeah, there's not really an answer to what the above picture is. The answer really just depends on you. (Personally when I look at it I see the Titanic about to hit that really pointy iceberg.)

But now here's the really interesting thing, according to this little picture, adults are less creative than kids.

Why do I say that?

First, how long did you look at that picture? I'm going to guess not very long. I'm just going to take a step in the dark and guess that you didn't study the picture or anything. (If you did, that's okay.)

The people at Brain Games took a few droodles to a public area and asked some volunteers what they thought the picture could be. Adults couldn't really come up with a lot of answers.

Kids though, they came up with more ideas and they were pretty clever too.

Go back to the droodle and think like kid. What do you see?

Chances are, you picked out something different than you did before. If not, maybe that means you're already thinking like kid…maybe, I don't know.

So, pretty interesting, huh?

Maybe next time it's raining you should look up and let the rain hit your face. That doesn't mean you have to get soaked but take a moment and enjoy the water.

Maybe next time you run into a problem, you should just take time to be a kid, take it simple. That's one of the things with the droodles; kids are better at coming up with more abstract answers because their brains don't really have limits. Think outside the box a little.

You know, kids are pretty amazing. Adults are too. But what strikes me is that kids always seem to be happy. And when they know something, especially younger kids, whether it's actually true or not, they have that I-know-I'm-right confidence. And to them, the world is a big wonderful place where anything can happen, good conquers evil and love and happiness are the true treasures. And those things are truths.

But why do we, as we age, grow out of that? I think that as we get older, we start to notice everything else going on in the world and the bad happening. And we focus on that, I mean, just watch the news, it's pretty depressing. I think it's a good thing to be aware of what's going on but don't lose that spark of hope and wonder.

In 2015 Disney came out with a movie called Tomorrowland that was, basically, all about thinking outside the box and making a difference. And that's important. The movie touched on how there are so many bad things going on and what are we doing? (It was a really good movie, though there was a pretty good dosage of language.)

So, there are times to be an adult and there are times to be a kid. Don't mix the two up and don't let one override the other. Let loose and be a kid.

#Elevate Easter

Easter is the time of year we celebrate Christ's wonderful, selfless act of love for each one of us.
It's not commercialized like Christmas, which is really nice, because Easter truly marks one of the greatest, if not the greatest, thing ever to happen in all of history.

At Easter, where do you find hope?
At first it can seem like a bit of a complicated question but it's not really. Where do you find hope, especially in the Easter season? That's what I think this question is asking, or at least I interpret it that way, maybe you see it differently and that's okay.
My answer is: in the scriptures, my family and my beliefs.
Without Christ's Atonement that takes care of all our sins, pains and sorrows, we'd have to shoulder the burden ourselves. If you think about it, that's really discouraging but, when we search the scriptures, we can find hope, peace and joy in His great sacrifice.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 4 ¶Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

- Isaiah 53:3-5

I'm so grateful for the Atonement because I know that through sincere repentance I can be forgiven. I also know that because of the Atonement, He knows exactly what it feels like, He knows when it seems like no one else does. He knows.

I'm Thankful For....

This song comes from one of my favorite movies, White Christmas. It's sung by two of the four leading actors, played by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.

It's super easy to just go about your day and take stuff for granted. I do it, you do it, we all do it.In a way, I suppose it's hard not to take things for granted. I mean, especially if you live well off and all, it's almost second nature.
I read this article once called A Spoonful of Gratitude. I would have copied some of it onto here but in the end I'd basically end of copying all of it because it's so good. The article is about a young woman who got up one day, was super grumpy and not thankful for anything. However she saw a plague her Mom owned that read, "Blessings brighten when you count them." Well, this young woman was determined to be grumpy but pretty soon a thought popped into her head. "You know," She thought, "It'd be pretty hard to eat your cereal without a spoon. And what about a bowl? And the chair you're sitting in?"
And suddenly this young woman thought of dozens of things she was thankful for.

Look around you right now. Where are you? At home? In the car? On the bus? At a friend's house? No matter where are you right now, take a moment, just one, to think of at least three things you're thankful for. It could be anything from a roof over your head to the socks on your feet. It could be something you can see right now or something you can't.
But think about it, what are you thankful for?
Some people might say "my phone" or "WIFI" and that's okay.
Now, have you thought of your three things? I'll tell you mine. The three things I'm grateful for right this very minute are 1) my family, 2) the amazing power of the internet and being able to communicate through it, and 3) sleep (because we just lost an hour of sleep, if you do the daylight savings time thing).
So, think about your three things and ask yourself one question about those three (or more) things. "Why am I thankful for these things?" Think about it. Why do your three things mean so much to you?
I'll tell you why my three things mean so much to me. 1) My family is pretty awesome. We laugh a lot and have fun and we also learn a lot from each other. And we love each other. (You can't forget that part.) 2) Without the internet there's a lot of things I wouldn't be able to do (including writing this blog post and posting it one the internet). I take an online class for school, which wouldn't work without the internet. I enjoy indexing which also cannot be done without the internet. 3) Sleeping is pretty great. It's a time to just...sleep. You know, relax, rest. That basically sums it up.

So we should all be a little more grateful and pay closer attention to those things that we take for granted. It's so easy not to but it's so amazing when we do. I mean, look around again and maybe you see that pencil you grabbed the other day when you had to write something down really quick. Hey look, it's that box of tissues you needed the other day.
Just look around; I promise that if you look, you will find.

And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.
~ Doctrine and Covenants 78:19

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The video of the Count Your Blessings song was found on Youtube.
If you want to read the article, A Spoonful of Gratitude, here's the link: https://www.lds.org/new-era/2015/10/a-spoonful-of-gratitude?lang=eng. I would encourage you to read it, it's really, really good.

A Letter to YOUth

Dear Youth,

"You can't move mountains while sitting on your backside." That’s what Ephraim K. Hanks said. And he’s right. You can’t do anything by sitting and doing nothing. We’ve got to be doers, people who “go and do, [not] sit and stew.”¹ And yeah, sometimes that can be hard but it’s always worth it in the end.

I already mentioned Ephraim Hanks, now let me tell you about him because he’s a perfect example of a doer though he started out as what you might call a problem child. Or, at least, that's how his parents thought of him. Either way, Ephraim ended up running away from home at 16 and spending the next three years on a ship. At the end of those years, he felt he needed to go home where he met up with his brother Sidney. It was Sidney who introduced Ephraim to the Mormon Church. Ephraim would later go on to join the Mormon Battalion and after that he acted as a currier.

Now Ephraim is known for his rescue. This is what happened: One night Ephraim heard a voice say, “The handcart people need help. Will you go?” He answered, “Yes; I will go if I am called.” The next morning on his way to Salt Lake City to talk to President Brigham Young, Ephraim ran into a messenger from the President. The messenger informed Ephraim that President Young wanted to speak with him. When Ephraim got to Salt Lake, he met with President Young and several other men. President Young explained that there were still saints out on the plains and with winter approaching fast, they would need help. Many of the men committed to help, saying they’d be ready soon. Ephraim went the extra mile. In complete confidence he stated, “I am ready now.” And he was. Ephraim went out and, going through a blizzard, he found the handcart people and was able to provide the food and strength they needed. And trust me, they needed it. With very little food and many people suffering from frostbite, Ephraim’s aid was greatly appreciated.

And what about you? Are you ready? There will be many blizzards in our lives that we have to be prepared to push through so we can get to the people in need. Every Boy Scout knows to “be prepared,” it’s their motto. Being prepared is so important, especially today. With so many negative influences out there, we must be prepared now. Not tomorrow, not next month, now. If you’re not prepared yet, then you’d better start now because time is ticking. Now is the time, now is when we need to be ready. Get prepared and be able to say, “I am ready now.” You don’t have any time to lose.

Footnotes

1. John Bytheway.

Bibliography

Ephraim's Rescue. Dir. T. C. Christensen. Perf. Darin Southam and Katherine Nelson and James Gaisford. Excel Entertainment, 2013. DVD.

Hanks, Ephraim. "Ephraim Hanks." N.p., 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

Helmuth Hübener - World War II Hero

Who is this? Yeah, you probably already noticed that I put his name in the title but do you really know who this is?

Well, if you don't and even if you do, this a young man who lived in Germany during the second World War. He was a brother, son friend and leader. He was smart, courageous and above all virtuous. This is Helmuth Hübener.

Helmuth was formerly a part of the Hitler Youth group and was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was probably just like a normal German kid, a normal German kid in Hitler Germany. But he didn't stay normal.
No. He became extraordinary.


It all started when his brother, Gerhard, left a short wave radio locked in the hall closet. Helmuth got into the closet and retrieved the radio. Over the next few weeks, he'd listen to BBC station. (BBC, the British Broadcasting Company.) This was pretty risky because at that time Germans could only listen to one station, which was, of course, only told the side Hitler wanted the Germans to listen to. Listening to BBC could be considered treason since the news was coming from the enemy. But Helmuth kept listening and he decided that he wanted no part in Hitler Germany.

After a while he got two of his friends, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and Rudolph "Rudi" Wobbe, involved by inviting them to come over and listen with him. At first the two had no clue the other was listening as well because Helmuth asked them both to come on different days. This went on for a while until Helmuth finally called them both over at the same time.
You can probably guess how surprised the two were.

Later Helmuth had the brilliant idea to start making flyers and passing them around. The three secretly distributed the papers everywhere they could. It was pretty dangerous.
Gerhard Duwer joined the group and was a great asset because he had access to a printing press.
Things are going pretty smoothly.
One day Helmuth asks another friend, Werner Kranz, to translate some things in French for him. Werner wants to know what these things are but Helmuth is hesitant. Later though Helmuth caves in and shows Werner a flyer. Werner isn't interested.

The next day Helmuth is arrested. Werner didn't turn Helmuth in. It was Gerhard Duwer. [However, as a side note, Wikipedia says that it was someone else, though we all know that Wikipedia isn't always the best source. Honestly I'm just going from memory and a report I wrote on Hubener about two years ago.]
For the next few days, he's interrogated. Who helped him?
Helmuth is detirmined not to answer.
But on the third day, he cracks. Karl and Rudi are arrested.
Six months later all three are present and facing the Blood Tribunal, the highest court in Germany. Gerhard Duwer is also there. At the end of the trial Gerhard has a sentance of four years in prison, Karl has five, and Rudi ten. Helmuth will be executed.

On October 27th, 1942 Helmuth Hubener, age 17, is executed.

Helmuth Hubener is a truly amazing young man who stood for the truth and didn't back down.
There's a lot we can learn from his example. Faith, trust, courage, dedication.
In her book about Hubener, The Boy Who Dared, Susan Campbell Bartoletti says,

"There are many reasons for a person to lie, but to have a reason to tell the truth, you must have a deep belief. And great courage. Helmuth possessed these things - and held on to them even when the Nazis call him a traitor and sentenced him to death.

"Helmuth Hubener was a boy who dared to speak out for the truth."

A New Year

"Another year gone!"

-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone

It's kind of hard to believe that 2015 is over and 2016 is beginning. At least it is for me.
It just feels a little weird, you know?
But it's a good kind of feeling.

A lot of people look at a new year as a way to start over. Which it is but I believe that we can start over whenever we want.
This time of year a lot of people make New Year's resolutions. I've honestly never really done something like that. Well, actually I have but that was about five years ago and I forgot my resolutions about two days after I made them. But maybe I will make some resolutions this year.

My New Year's Resolutions:

1. Press Forward with a Steadfastness in Christ
This is my church's youth theme for this year. It's taken from 2 Nephi 31:20. The whole verse says, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."
I really like this verse for two reasons. First, I memorized it once. Second, I feel like it means that if we just hold on and keep going with faith in Him, everything will work out. With everything that happens in life it's easy to feel like you're running around in a world without light. But if we just have faith and keep going, we can find the light we seek. Everything will work out in the end. That's what this verse means to me.
(Also, the 2016 Mutual Theme video is below. It's pretty great.)

2. Strive to do better every day
A lot of resolutions, no offense, can be hard to follow through on. I read an article that said to make a good, follow through-able resolution make it doable. Instead of saying no sugar, just say you'll only have one sweet thing a day. Something like that.
Personally, just changing something a little bit and than changing just a little bit more until you're where you want to be, sounds a whole lot easier than just trying to jump to right where you want to be.

I hope you have a wonderful start to a new year. I have a feeling it'll be a great year.

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This video can be found on YouTube and on youth.lds.org

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve Eve.

I always love the Christmas season. I'm thankful for this time when we really focus on Christ. No one really minds talking about His birth at this time of year. It's great.

Have a wonderful Christmas!!