Heaven is Other People

This idea is not mine, but Him who sent me.

Love is supposed to be a complete union of two lives.  It is supposed to be a complete union of desires, priorities, and actions.  The act of love is supposed to be a symbol of this complete union between two people.

The relationship between us and other people is fascinating.  

Today I use a talk from Kevin Worthen:

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/kevin-j-worthen_it-is-not-good-that-man-should-be-alone/

Now I am fully aware that there are times when we want to be by ourselves; when we have to get away from others; when our roommates, classmates, brothers and sisters, and others just drive us crazy. All of us can relate, at one time or another, to the character in Jean Paul Sartre's play No Exit when he observed that "hell is other people." But in the long run, the converse is also true—heaven is other people. Heaven will be heaven because of the other people who will be there. And experiencing heaven on earth will ultimately depend, to a large degree, on the quality of our relationships with others.

Very little that is positive is solitary. When was the last time you laughed uproariously? The last time you felt indescribable joy? The last time you sensed profound meaning and purpose? The last time you felt enormously proud of an accomplishment? Even without knowing the particulars of these high points of your life, I know their form: all of them took place around other people.

Think about it. Whenever we ­experience something truly good in our lives, that feeling is enhanced when we share it with ­others—either in the very moment or at some future time. That is a universal truth. When Lehi partook of the fruit of the tree of life and found that "it filled [his] soul with exceedingly great joy," his first desire was "that [his] family should partake of it also." Lehi understood implicitly that he could not experience a fulness of joy by himself. His happiness could not be complete unless he could somehow share it with those he loved.

Heaven will be heaven because of the people who are there.  Thats what I learned this week.  Take such good care of those around you.  Thats how you will feel heaven here on earth.  

Ive felt this slice of what it will be like.

I LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN

SPIDER-AMANN

I am a huge fan of Spiderman and I've always thought about Uncle Ben´s famous last quote to Peter Parker.... "With great Power comes great Responsibility."

Well, I guess Ben is correct here, but, I think the other way around is even more true.

WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY COMES GREAT POWER.

YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE.  Don't blame other people and let them take that from you. 

If you make yourself personally responsible for everything that happens around you... Your love life, your job, your success, you will be in control.

You will have your free agency, and even if you make a few mistakes, you will become better and happier.  

I highly recommend this talk by Lynn Robbins:

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lynn-g-robbins_be-100-percent-responsible/

In it he tells a story of a part of a company that was doing a poor job.  They kept doing poorly and were blaming everyone but themselves until their boss got fed up.  He told them they needed to be 100% percent responsible in order to receive their raise.  This meant making phone calls to ensure other parts of the process were doing their job.  And what resulted was something amazing... They took 100% responsibility and the company as a whole benefited.

We have 100% control over our lives, our loves, our anger.... Do not give anyone a part of your agency by not forgiving.

LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN

 

 

A 6 YEAR OLD DID IT

Last week during General Conference, we heard how a little girl followed up on the Prophet´s challenge to learn "The Living Christ" by memorizing it. 

I took that challenge and I highly recommend you do too.  Above is my version... take it easy on me, I tried doing it in less than a week.  I will continue to perfect it.

-------------------------------------------

LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN

My FAVORITE place in Utah

 I said goodbye to my friend Elder Christensen

My very best friend, Sophie, goes to the MTC next week, and to get her excited, I wanted to write a little about arguably my favorite place in Utah.

The MTC is the greatest place in Utah because it represents something HUGE.

--------------------------

The MTC IS a school.  But it is the greatest school. I mean this. I am going to explain by relating the MTC to traditional school.

The MTC is a center that teaches its students the language of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the purpose of bettering the world.  

The students going to the MTC are not there to gain great jobs.  They are not there to gain any money.  They are there because they want to better the world, and follow Jesus.

The MTC is a short term training center that BELIEVES IN THE FUTURE.  They take any student and believe they will be great.  The goal is not to weed out the weak, but to uplift all.  And the goal is to get them out in the world as quickly as possible, instead of  semesters of textbook training, they believe in the reality of training experience, after missionaries leave.

All students who come to the MTC are equally great, though they are made better by their choices... which is what a school should do.

Using a quote from Saturday's General Conference Session;

President Uchtdorf stated that ,"blessings are based more on choices than on ability."

This is a HUGE truth.  And the thing about traditional school, is that a lot of times, success is based on ABILITY.  I have seen kids roll out of bed late, without breakfast, WITHOUT STUDYING, ace tests, scholarly exams, etc. while other kids, who make choices to study, and study hard, still score less, or achieve less "success."  

But by changing the end goal, the MTC makes all its students better than who they were.  It does not divide students, but it brings them together.  I have felt a stronger sense of unity and almighty force there, then I have ever felt.  I have felt more hope for our future, for my generation, then I have ever felt before just by walking its halls.  

The MTC is the greatest school because it is removed from this world.  Its purpose does not have anything to do with this world.  It only has to do with greater, higher things.  It's on another level than any college.

I leave you with a quote from C.S. Lewis.

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. . . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. . . . It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.

I love the MTC and it is God´s training institution.

Sophie, I am so happy for you.  

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH,

ELDER AMANN

-----------------------------------------

WE WENT BACK TO MENDOZA

                                                  

(LOVE ALWAYS)

 PRETTY PLACES:

AND I RECLAIM MY LOVE OF PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS: