Faith To Buy A House

New House we are buying in Kunia, Hawaii

We have just bought a house here in Hawaii.  It is a nice house in a nice area and we are looking forward to moving in and having a place that we will permanently have (at least for the next thirty years or so).   But it is scary.

It might seem crazy that we are buying a house right now.  I am getting out of the Navy at the first of February and I do not have a job lined up yet for when I get out.  No one would logically say that buying a house in the most expensive state without a job lined up or an idea of how much I will make if/when I find a job is a good idea.  (FYI the house cost $600K but this is on the low end of house prices for Oahu.  Average house prices are around $700K!)

So why are you buying a house now? 

Because just like Brigham Young, I know this is where my family is to settle down.  I have seen it in a vision; I saw my family being happy and blessed being together here in Hawaii.   That is all I saw.  I did not see what job I would have,  or what our house/apartment was like, or where in Hawaii we should live.  All I saw was that this is where we need to be.

Like the pioneers, we have moved every few years from state to state (and country to country) since my wife and I have been married.  Now that my kids are growing up and are starting school, I am glad that we are finally settling down.

But knowing that you should live in Hawaii does not mean that you need to buy a house now.  Wouldn’t it be smarter to wait, rent an affordable apartment now and buy a house when you know you have a stable job?

I initially thought the same thing.  Then one Sunday I remembered this talk by Elder Kevin R. Duncan, of the Seventy given in the October 2010 General conference: Our Very Survival

In it he tells of how some pioneers came to Utah and endured a hard winter and when spring came they were afraid to plant their seeds:

“A spirit of uneasiness began to descend upon the Saints. Some Church members declared that they would not build their homes in the valley. They wanted to remain in their wagons, for they were sure that Church leadership would herald them on to some better location. They had brought seeds and fruit plants, but they dared not waste them by planting in the barren desert wasteland.”

When I remembered this, I felt the loving chastisement of our Heavenly Father. I could almost hear Him ask me “Why are you afraid to plant your seeds? Did I know show you this is ‘The Right Place’?  You know this is where you are to settle, find a house and settle down.”

How could I argue with the God?  So we started looking at homes.  We started looking at everything.  Like I mentioned earlier, I do not know what job I will find or how much money I will earn so we can afford a home. So we looked at everything: from small one-bedroom apartments to million dollar homes.

I kept expecting a great manifestation that we have found “The Right House”.  But it did not turn out that way.  It really became more a process of elimination before we settled on the house.   We settled on this house because we did not get a negative feeling about it like the hundreds of others that we looked at.

I kept worrying that maybe I possibly could be mistaken that this was not the house that we should buy.  Maybe it is too expensive.  How are we going to afford it?  Then I came across this talk that John H. Groberg, then a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave at Brigham Young University on 1 May 1979. 

Let me spend a moment on an item that I think a great many people, particularly members of the Church, do not understand. A lot of our people—including a lot of you—have great amounts of faith but sometimes tend to distort that faith a little by saying, "I am not going to move until I receive a positive assurance"—a burning in the bosom, as it were—"that that is the right thing to do."…
 …Let me tell what I have discovered—and this is somewhat repetitious. I do not say that we will not get that burning in our bosom, for we will when it is the right thing. In my life there have been quite a few occasions where there was absolutely no question about it—that burning was there. For instance, I have had the experience of installing stake presidents when there was absolutely no question, when I was positive that "that is the man to be the stake president now." It has happened in other situations also, but generally it has worked the other way—that is by eliminating the wrong directions to reveal the right direction, especially concerning our opportunities for progress in life in what we often term the temporal sense. We must try to figure it out ourselves. In the past I have tried out whether I should go into business or into teaching or into the arts or whatever. As I have begun to proceed along one path, having more or less gathered what facts I could, I have found that if that decision was wrong or was taking me down the wrong path—not necessarily an evil one, but one that was not right for me—without fail, the Lord has always let me know just this emphatically: "That is wrong; do not go that way. That is not for you!"
 On the other hand, there may have been two or three ways that I could have gone, any one of which would have been right and would have been in the general area providing the experience and means whereby I could fulfill the mission that the Lord had in mind for me. Because he knows we need the growth, he generally does not point and say, "Open that door and go twelve yards in that direction; then turn right and go two miles . . . " But if it is wrong, he will let us know—we will feel it for sure. I am positive of that. So rather than saying, "I will not move until I have this burning in my heart," let us turn it around and say, "I will move unless I feel it is wrong; and if it is wrong, then I will not do it." By eliminating all of these wrong courses, very quickly you will find yourself going in the direction that you ought to be going, and then you can receive the assurance: "Yes, I am going in the right direction. I am doing what my Father in Heaven wants me to do because I am not doing the things he does not want me to do." And you can know that for sure. That is part of the growth process and part of accomplishing what our Father in Heaven has in mind for us.

Like Elder Groberg said, we are moving on.  We do not feel like this is a wrong choice.  We are starting the next major step in our family journey and I know that Heavenly Father is happy with the path that we are on.  I just need to trust in Him and all the other uncertainties a head of me will turn out.

The Master Mechanic

I have read a lot of questions recently about the relationship of God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost and and the meaning of Oneness in the Godhead. So to clear up any misconceptions as best I can I have written the following post.

Here is the basic fundamental definition of what we believe the Godhead to be:

 D&C 130:22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

So we believe that there are three separate beings that are members of the Godhead.  They are Heavenly Father (Elohim), Jesus Christ (Jehovah) and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, etc.)  Here is a more detailed description from Elder Bruce R. McConkie

“Three glorified, exalted, and perfected personages comprise the Godhead or supreme presidency of the universe. … They are: God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Ghost. …
“Though each God in the Godhead is a personage, separate and distinct from each of the others, yet they are ‘one God’ … , meaning that they are united as one in the attributes of perfection. For instance, each has the fulness of truth, knowledge, charity, power, justice, judgment, mercy, and faith. Accordingly they all think, act, speak, and are alike in all things; and yet they are three separate and distinct entities. Each occupies space and is and can be in but one place at one time, but each has power and influence that is everywhere present” (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 319)

So in a scripture that says that They “are one” (here are a bunch: John 10:30, 1John 5:7, John 17:22-23, 3 Nephi 11:27, D&C 93:3, D&C 20:28) they are saying that they are completely united in all They do.  It does not matter which one is speaking because all three would say and do the EXACT same thing.

There is a oneness in the Godhead as well as a distinctness of personality. This oneness is emphasized in the sayings and writings of prophets and apostles in order to guard against the erroneous idea that these three may be distinct and independent deities and rivals for our worship” (Joseph F. Smith, “Answers to Questions,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1901, 228).

So what is our relationship with Members of the Godhead between the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost?

Bruce R. McConkie answers this question in a talk he gave at BYU on March 2, 1982 (click to read the whole talk)

 First, be it remembered that most scriptures that speak of God or of the Lord do not even bother to distinguish the Father from the Son, simply because it doesn't make any difference which God is involved. They are one. The words or deeds of either of them would be the words and deeds of the other in the same circumstance. 

Further, if a revelation comes from, or by the power of the Holy Ghost, ordinarily the words will be those of the Son, though what the Son says will be what the Father would say, and the words may thus be considered as the Father's. Thus any feelings of love, praise, awe, or worship that may fill our hearts when we receive the divine words will be the same no matter who is thought or known to be the author of them. 

And yet we do have a proper relationship to each member of the Godhead, in part at least because there are separate and severable functions which each performs, and also because of what they as one Godhead have done for us. 

Our relationship with the Father is supreme, paramount, and preeminent over all others. He is the God we worship. It is his gospel that saves and exalts. He ordained and established the plan of salvation. He is the one who was once as we are now. The life he lives is eternal life, and if we are to gain this greatest of all the gifts of God, it will be because we become like him. 

Our relationship with the Father is one of parent and child. He is the one who gave us our agency. It was his plan that provided for a fall and an atonement. And it is to him that we must be reconciled if we are to gain salvation. He is the one to whom we have direct access by prayer, and if there were some need—which there is not!—to single out one member of the Godhead for a special relationship, the Father, not the Son, would be the one to choose. 

Our relationship with the Son is one of brother or sister in the premortal life and one of being led to the Father by him while in this mortal sphere. He is the Lord Jehovah who championed our cause before the foundations of the earth were laid. He is the God of Israel, the promised Messiah, and the Redeemer of the world. 

By faith we are adopted into his family and become his children. We take upon ourselves his name, keep his commandments, and rejoice in the cleansing power of his blood. Salvation comes by him. From Creation's dawn, as long as eternity endures, there neither has been nor will be another act of such transcendent power and import as his atoning sacrifice. 

We do not have a fraction of the power we need to properly praise his holy name and ascribe unto him the honor and power and might and glory and dominion that is his. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. 

Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is quite another thing. This holy personage is a Revelator and a Sanctifier. He bears record of the Father and the Son. He dispenses spiritual gifts to the faithful. Those of us who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost have the right to his constant companionship.

So putting this in simple terms that I can understand I picture this as a father that is a master mechanic who owns an auto repair shop that has an adult son who is not officially certified to work but knows all that his father knows and is being certified as a master mechanic by fixing us, the broken down cars.  By doing all the work the Son is becoming like the Father.  The Father is ALWAYS looking over the Son’s shoulder and is intimately involved with the repairs but He is letting the Son be hands on and do the work for His Son’s benefit.  So the Son can become like his Father.

In this scenario, the world and everything in the world are the cars that are being fixed, so to us both the Father and the Son are the mechanics (Gods) because they are both working on us.  To us when one speaks of the mechanic it does not make much of a difference if we are talking about the Father or the Son because they are both working on us and both are performing exactly how the other would act if they were to act alone. 

But when we have issues and when we want to talk to the mechanic (pray in this case) we pray to Heavenly Father, because not only is He the master mechanic, he is our Father, He created us, just like He created His Son.

I hope this helps.  I know this scenario does not include an example of the Holy Ghost but I have never had that hard of a time to understand His role.  But it took me some time to wrap my head around the idea of the roles of Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.  By knowing the true nature of God and our relation to each member of the Godhead we know more about ourselves.

Failed to Promote

A few months ago I found out that I was passed over for promotion. I was very very hurt because I thought I was doing a good job and thought the promotion was a sure thing. In the military this means that I am going to be forced out and will need to find a new job.



So when I found out that I wasn't promoted, I was completely heartbroken and extremely depressed. My wife tried to console me, but I just wanted to be alone.  So I went upstairs to my bedroom and decided to pray. I got down on my knees and talked to my Heavenly Father and told Him how I felt. He responded, and told me He was the one who did not want me to be promoted. I remembered a talk by Elder Hough B. Brown called The Current Bush about a time when Elder Brown failed to promote and how this turned into a great blessing in his life. (If you have never read or heard this talk please do. It is one of the greatest talks ever given, in my opinion.)

While on my knees praying and asking for help, comfort and guidance the Holy Ghost whispered: Heavenly Father has a different path for you!  I do not know yet what that path is but I am trusting in Him. I do know though, when this life is said and done and I look back on all the experiences in this life that this experience this will be one of my greatest blessings--my failing to promote. 



While I was praying my daughter who was two at the time came upstairs looking for me. When she found me, she huddled up next to me and hugged me. I felt like an angel was sent to give me comfort. I hugged her back and cried for a minute or two and then took my family out to eat for dinner.  I have gone on with my life not knowing what lays ahead but trusting in the Lord.

I still have over a year left in the Navy before I will be forced to leave and it is hard meeting and associating with my peers because most assume that I must be a subpar sailor if I did not promote.  But the fact that I know that this is part of Heavenly Father’s plan for me then it does not hurt too bad.  I know where my 

trust is…

(2 Nephi 4:34) O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

A few years back I wrote my brother a letter on getting Devine inspiration.  He was going to the Lord asking about the most important question in his life: If he should ask his girlfriend to marry him or not.  I knew he probably knew all this stuff anyways but I thought it might help him to review it anyways before the trial of his faith.  I hope this can help you, my readers in some way.

Brother,

I know right now you are seeking guidance for the Lord on your relationship and I know that this is really between you, your girlfriend, and the Lord; but I felt like it might be a good reminder of how inspiration comes.  Again I know you know this but some times it is a good thing to review what you already know.  Please open up your scriptures and read these verses for yourself:

President Joseph Fielding Smith said:

“There is no reason in the world why any soul should not know where to find the truth. If he will only humble himself and seek in the spirit of humility and faith, going to the Lord just as the Prophet Joseph Smith went to the Lord to find the truth, he will find it. There’s no doubt about it. There is no reason in the world, if men would only hearken to the whisperings of the Spirit of the Lord and seek as he would have them seek for the knowledge and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for them not to find it—no reason, except the hardness of their hearts and their love of the world. ‘Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ This is my testimony, I know it is true.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Apr. 1951, p. 59.)

First, remember that revelation comes only by the Holy Ghost: D&C 8:2-3:

2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.

Second, remember that you have to really, really ask: James1: 5-8:

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

I added the last couple of verses because just like it says you really, really must want to know.  I remember once on my mission that I had a dream that our Grandpa had died, and I was not sure if this was vision or just a dream but I decided I would ask Heavenly Father if Grandpa was still alive. It was important to me enough that I had decided that I was not going to stop praying until I had an answer and sure enough after a while I knew that Grandpa was still alive and that I just had a random dream.  Enos had a similar situation where he spent an entire day and night praying until he had received an answer (Enos 1:2-4).  I am sure that Enos would have spent several days there asking until he received an answer.

So now that we discussed how to ask, how does the Lord answer prayers? D&C 6: 14-16 & 22-24:

14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.
15 Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;
16 Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.

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 know concerning the truth of these things.
23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?
24 And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness?

And D&C 9:7-9:

7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must cask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.

Finally in D&C 11: 13-14 it says:

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;
14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.

After you have received an answer it is then your responsibility to act on that answer without looking back.  It is my belief that all commands of God are of great importance and as such have just as much urgency and the direction to Lot to take his family and leave Sodom and Gomorrah and flee. 

Gen 19: 17 &26

17 …..Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

26 ¶But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

I know we probably will not be turned into a pillar of salt for looking back for most guidance that the Lord gives but He is our Master and we know that he only wants what is best for us.  Also He knows the end from the beginning and we will never falter or fail by strictly following His commands and guidance.

I know you have a big decision to make and I hope that this long email will help you somehow in making the right decision.  My prayers are with you and I do not intend on this letter to mean that I am looking down on you or that you don’t already know all of these things.  I just hope that this might help you remember how the Lord works and also remember that it does no good to try and bargain with the Lord.  He knows what is best and it is always best to follow Him.

I love you and know you will make the right decision….whatever it may be.

Your brother

Joe