HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE BECK (Cats with Ties)

It is a dear dear friend of mine´s birthday on Wednesday.  Her name is Sophie Beck, and she is my hero and my example, and she is currently serving a mission in Sweden.  I have never known anyone quite like her.  I love you, Sophie Beck. 

Conference was this past weekend and I hope you all saw some of it!

My favorite talk was President Uchtdorfs.  He talked about the most important day in history.  I have thought about this question a lot, and my answer has always been the same as President Uchtdorf´s.  I know the atonement and the resurrection are the most important things, and to be understood changes ones´ life.

I also loved a talk from Taylor G. Godoy.

Godoy said while we do not know how long our lives will be, "we all have a 'today' to live; and the key to making our day successful is to be willing to sacrifice" to bless others.

For example, he told how his mother sold jewelry that her father had given her to help him start a dentistry business. "I learned that the sacrifice our loved ones make for us refresh us like cool water in the middle of the desert. Such sacrifice brings hope and motivation."

Ghandi once said: 

7 Things That Will Destroy Us

Wealth without work

Pleasure without conscience

Knowledge without character

Commerce without morality

Science without humanity

Religion without sacrifice

Politics without principle

I love this, and I especially want to focus on Religion without sacrifice.  I know Heavenly Father has the best things in store for us.  I know he might ask us to sacrifice temporal things, but He really wants us to have the best things.  We wont ever sacrifice the best things, we sacrifice to have the best things!

also, 

Here´s the testimony of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Prayer.:

They started making nasty telephone calls, and it came to the point that some days more than forty telephone calls would come in, threatening my life, the life of my family, the life of my children. I took it for a while in a strong manner.

But I never will forget one night very late. It was around midnight. And you can have some strange experiences at midnight. (Yes, sir) I had been out meeting with the steering committee all that night. And I came home, and my wife was in the bed and I immediately crawled into bed to get some rest to get up early the next morning to try to keep things going. And immediately the telephone started ringing and I picked it up. On the other end was an ugly voice. That voice said to me, in substance, "*******, we are tired of you and your mess now. And if you aren't out of this town in three days, we're going to blow your brains out and blow up your house." (Lord Jesus)

I'd heard these things before, but for some reason that night it got to me. I turned over and I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't sleep. (Yes) I was frustrated, bewildered. And then I got up and went back to the kitchen and I started warming some coffee, thinking that coffee would give me a little relief. And then I started thinking about many things. I pulled back on the theology and philosophy that I had just studied in the universities, trying to give philosophical and theological reasons for the existence and the reality of sin and evil, but the answer didn't quite come there. I sat there and thought about a beautiful little daughter who had just been born about a month earlier. We have four children now, but we only had one then. She was the darling of my life. I'd come in night after night and see that little gentle smile. And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute. (Go ahead) And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted, and loyal wife who was over there asleep. (Yes) And she could be taken from me, or I could be taken from her. And I got to the point that I couldn't take it any longer; I was weak. (Yes)

Something said to me, you can't call on Daddy now, he's up in Atlanta a hundred and seventy-five miles away. (Yes) You can't even call on Mama now. (My Lord) You've got to call on that something in that person that your Daddy used to tell you about. (Yes) That power that can make a way out of no way. (Yes) And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me and I had to know God for myself. (Yes, sir) And I bowed down over that cup of coffee—I never will forget it. (Yes, sir) And oh yes, I prayed a prayer and I prayed out loud that night. (Yes) I said, "Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. (Yes) I think I'm right; I think the cause that we represent is right. (Yes) But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak now; I'm faltering; I'm losing my courage. (Yes) And I can't let the people see me like this because if they see me weak and losing my courage, they will begin to get weak." (Yes) I wanted tomorrow morning to be able to go before the executive board with a smile on my face.

And it seemed at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me, (Yes) "Martin Luther, (Yes) stand up for righteousness, (Yes) stand up for justice, (Yes) stand up for truth. (Yes) And lo I will be with you, (Yes) even until the end of the world."

And I'll tell you, I've seen the lightning flash. I've heard the thunder roll. I felt sin- breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me, (Never) never to leave me alone.

And I'm going on in believing in him.

 

 If you believe it and know it, you never need walk in darkness.

Don't be a fool. Recognize your dependence on God. (Yes, sir) As the days become dark and the nights become dreary, realize that there is a God who rules above."

I want to end today by saying that I love the Savior.  This time of year is so wonderful, because we can remember Him.  I have experienced the process of repentence here in the mission and in my life, and I am changed.  I am free.  I have control and I am happy.  I still need to work hard everyday, but I am no longer held.  I know this is available to all.  I know all of us get burdened down, but that we need to overcome.  But I know He suffered so that we could overcome.  I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I testify of Him.  

And I'll tell you, I've seen the lightning flash. I've heard the thunder roll. I felt sin- breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on.

I LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER AMANN

GETTING CONFERENCE HAIRCUTS FROM MEMBERS WITH SAFETY SCISSORS

ELDER FRETES SAFETY AND STLYE

Elder amann SAFETY (but 0 style)

CATS WITH TIES