Climate Change

In the past few years, there has been a lot of debates and arguments over climate change.  There seems to be only two sides and both sides seem to be yelling at the top of their lungs about how they are right and the other side is wrong. 

On the left side are the liberals who say we humans are single handily destroying the world and they seem to have a view that we should worship the environment and put the environment over the needs of man.

On the right side are the conservatives who deny that climate change is happening and that we can do everything and anything that we want to the environment because it does not matter. They feel we can abuse and use it up for our profit and to get gain. They think the liberals have made up the idea of climate change to get power and gain control of the country.

I am here to say that both viewpoints are wrong.  Both views do not acknowledge God’s hand in the world. God created this world for our use and benefit.

D&C59:16-21

16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

 17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

 18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

 19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

 20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

 21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

God knew what He was doing when He created the earth. He did not mess up and not realize how we would use the earth’s natural resources.  He did not miscalculate nor forgot how many of his children are coming to this earth.  Heavenly Father is a God of order.  He planned out the course of this earth.  He knows what needs to be done and how it will happen to bring about His work. 

  D&C 104:17 For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

Scientists say that the result of the climate change is going to be more extreme weather.  Below are some of the impacts that are currently visible throughout the U.S. and will continue to affect these regions, according to the Third National Climate Assessment Report , released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program:

Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.

Northwest. Changes in the timing of stream flow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, inundation, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off.

Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.

Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes.

Southwest. Increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns. 

I know that God created this world for us to live on and to use. As a perfect and infallible Being, He is in control here. I believe that there is climate change happening.  But it is not because man is knowingly or unknowingly destroying the environment.  But it is due to God’s will.  We are living in the Later-days.  These are the final days before the Millennium. The fullness of the gospel has been brought to the earth and we are to share it through out the world.  The Doctrine and Covenants tell us what happens after we share the gospel and the world will not listen nor repent:

D&C 88: 88-91

88 And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people.

 89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

 90 And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

 91 And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.

And in Isaiah it says the following will happen in the days before Christ’s second coming:

Isaiah29: 6

6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

Also, the entire world is going to go through a lot of changes at the start of the Millennium to get back its paradisiacal glory.  The earth is going to go back to the state that it was in at the time of the Garden of Eden.  Here are what two modern prophets had to say about that:

“The great change which shall come when Christ our Savior begins his Millennial reign, is to be a restoration to the conditions which prevailed before the fall of man. The tenth article of faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches us that Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed, or restored, and receive its paradisiacal glory when that day comes.“This new heaven and earth which will come into existence when our Lord comes to reign, is this same earth with its heavens renewed or restored to its primitive condition and beauty. Everything is to be brought back as nearly as it is possible to its position as it was in the beginning. The mountains, we are informed, are to be thrown down, the valleys are to be exalted, and ‘the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided.’” (Joseph Fielding Smith, The Restoration of All Things, 294–95).  

“Having restored the earth to the same glorious state in which it first existed; leveling the mountains, exalting the valleys, smoothing the rough places, making the deserts fruitful, and bringing all the continents and islands together, causing the curse to be taken off, that it shall no longer produce noxious weeds, and thorns, and thistles; the next thing is to regulate and restore the brute creation to their former state of peace and glory, causing all enmity to cease from off the earth. . . .Thus, having cleansed the earth, and glorified it with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea, and having poured out his Spirit upon all flesh, both man and beast becoming perfectly harmless, as they were in the beginning, and feeding on vegetable food only, while nothing is left to hurt or destroy in all the vast creation,” – President John Taylor, The Government of God, pp.114-15

The climate change we are seeing now and the earthquakes and storms mentioned above probably are precursors to the final change that will happen at the beginning of the Millennium.  All of this has been foretold and is apart of God’s plan.

Now I am not saying that we can trash the earth or our actions don't matter. This earth is a gift from God for us to use and like all gifts from God we will be judged on how we use it.

D&C104: 12-15

12 That every man may give an account unto me of the stewardship which is appointed unto him.

 13 For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.

 14 I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.

 15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

Bottom Line, We need to acknowledge God’s hand in all things.  This includes any and all changes in the environment.  Anything that man has done or will do has been accounted for in God’s plan for the earth and us.  But we will be held accountable if we knowingly and willingly neglect His gift for us.

Miracle of the Shoes

I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Korea, Seoul mission. While preparing for my mission, I was instructed to buy slip on shoes vice ones that lace up since they don't wear shoes inside houses in Korea and I would be taking my shoes on an off multiple times a day. Due to money being tight, I knew that the shoes needed to last me the entire two years so I bought two pairs of them. 


In the MTC my companion and I decided to shave our legs.
I am on the left.   These are the shoes that I cut.

Shortly after arriving in Korea, my feet started to hurt a lot. We did a lot of walking each day. The most effective way to meet people in my area at the time was stopping and talking to people on the street. This meant that I walked several miles every day and my feet really started to bother me. At first, I thought that the shoes just needed to get broken in and then they would be alright. But that wasn't going to be the case. Just how slip-on shoes are designed, they put pressure on the top of my foot in such a way that severely irritated my feet. After a few weeks of this, my feet had swollen up so big that I could not even get the shoes on.

I had a dilemma, I could stay in the apartment and hopefully my feet would heal enough to get my shoes on or I had to cut down the sides of the shoes to slide my feet inside them. I decided that the right thing to do was to cut down the side of the shoes. This would allow use of the shoes for the time being but this meant that I would have to buy new shoes in the near future. But I would be able to continue doing the Lord's work. Which was the most important thing.  So I cut them down the side and continued proselyting.


A day or so later I got the idea that I should start looking around my apartment and see if there might be shoes left by a previous missionary. I looked under my bed and in the back corner I found a shoebox covered in dust. I climbed under a pulled the box out and sure enough, the box contained a slightly used pair of shoes that were just my size. (Missionary apartments are always full of discarded old shirts and ties and other items that missionaries decide they don't want to take when transferred to another area. But this was the only time I found a pair of shoes. And no one ever leaves new clothing items, only items that have been well used and abused by active and hard working missionaries.)




Baptism just over 1 year into the mission

I was very grateful for the shoes and thanked the Lord for them but I did not really realize this to be the miracle this really was until recently, after being home for fifteen years. That pair of shoes lasted almost my entire mission. The soles finally wore completely through the bottom of the shoes a few months before I returned home and I left them in my last apartment a long with several other items that I had worn out or did not need when I got home.

I now regret not keeping them because I finally realize how great a miracle they really were. 
A few days later was my preparation day and I was able to go shopping for a second pair shoes. I quickly found that being a big American in an oriental country meant that almost nowhere had shoes in my side. We luckily found a little shop that had one pair that would fit (American size 13). I also used this pair for the rest of my mission. This pair of able to be re-soled once and I was able to wear them home from my mission two years later.

I never missed a day of proselytizing because of my shoes and the Lord provided for me in my time of need. 
While on my mission I did not realize the significance of the blessing having these shoes brought. But now years later I realize that this was a true miracle. And just like the disciples failure to realize they were witnessing Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem as the fulfillment of prophecy until later, I was caught up in the moment and did not realize the significance of it.


John12:12-16:


12 ¶On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.

Picture with the Mission President Right before I flew home from my mission

Home Coming

When I was in 9 years old, several times a week I would walk with my cousin to his house after school.Along the way there was a payphone right outside the bank that we would walk by.  We would always check to see if there was any money in the coin return of the phone and was always disappointed because there never was any.  Then one day we realized that we could make free phone calls to 911.  So we started prank-calling 911 on the way to my cousin’s house. 

 

One day, while at my cousin’s house, after our usual 911 prank-call; there was a knock on the door and a policeman was standing there.  He asked for my cousin and me by name and asked us to come talk with him in his car.  He asked us if we had been prank-calling 911.  I started to lie as much as I could trying to do my best to deny it.  But my cousin manned up and told the truth. 

The police officer decided to take me home so he could tell my parents what I have been doing.  When we got home my mother was there and was very surprised to see the police officer.  He told her what had happened and my mom sent to my room so they would talk more about the situation.

I will always remember the look on my Mom’s face when she found out what I had done.  It was the look of complete and utter disappointment.  It was the look of hurt and sadness for my actions.  It was the look of a mother who truly loved me and knew that I could have and should have done better.

In the end I received a spanking from my Dad when he got home. I was grounded for a few months.  I did not get an allowance for a while and for a long time I could not walk from school to my cousin’s house.  But the real punishment to me was the look on my Mother’s face.  That look has been seared into my brain. 

I promised myself that from that point on I would never do anything again that would cause my mom to have that same look on her face.  I know I have failed her multiple times after this instant and I have not have always been the type of son that I should have been.  But I can say I have never been forced to see that look of pure disappointment on my mother’s face. 

Submarine Homecomings

I love seeing submarine homecomings here in Pearl Harbor when a boat comes back from deployment.   Their loved ones are dressed in their Sunday best and brimming with excitement to see their husbands and fathers who they have not seen in half a year.  The Navy Band is out playing music and they usually have hula dancers there to welcome them.  But the best part is that all the ships that are inport sound their whistles repeatedly from the time that the submarine enters the final turn until she is near the pier she will moor.  This usually lasts for five minutes or so. 

All the sailors are dressed in their whites and are all clean-shaven but battle worn from being on deployment for over 6 months.

A ships whistle is pretty loud.  Per the 1972 International Regulations Preventing Collisions at Sea, a ship’s whistle is required to be able to be heard at a minimum of 1-2 nautical miles depending on the ship size.  So listening to 10-20 ships all sounding their whistles for ten minutes is an awesome experience.  It does not matter where you are at on base, what building you are in, or what you are going, you will still hear all the other ships welcoming home their brother-in-arms. 

As soon as the ship is moored family and friends are there to give their sailor a flower lay and hugs and kisses. 

So where am I going with these two stories?

Well, I see our homecoming with our Heavenly Father going something similar to one of these two experiences.  Will He have a look of disappointment on His face and sadness in His eyes when He will have no choice but to say:

 “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” Mathew 25:41

 Or will he wrap us in His arms and say: 

“Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Mathew 25:23

I know what I want.  I love my Heavenly Father and just like with my mom I have promised myself that I will never see the look of disappointment on my Father in Heaven’s face.  I have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes but I am improving and I am trying.  I think and I hope that I am a better person now that I was and I hope to be a better person tomorrow that I am today.  By continually being better and improving,  I know that I can hope to receive the hero’s welcome from Heavenly Father.

A Child’s Prayer

I love listening to my kids pray.  And I know that Heavenly Father does too.  My daughter (four years old) said a few weeks back during family prayer:

"Please bless that Jesus will be safe."  I don't think that is something we need to worry about anymore! I do know that she loves Him and I know that Heavenly Father is smiling down on her when she said this. 

Other times she has said:

“Please bless Jesus to come to our house.”

“Please bless Jesus come home safely.”

“Please bless Heavenly Father be nice.”

Some times she prays about no existing things as well.

“Please help Mickey Mouse.”  This is a common item that she prays about. I don't know how Heavenly Father will answer this prayer but I know that He does not mind hearing the sweet and pure request from a little child.

The other day she and her older brother were not getting along very well and when she said the blessing on the food, most of what she prayed about was asking that her brother would be nicer.  It was interesting to watch.  Her brother was obviously affected by this and I think he has tried to be nicer.  Since that instance, now when she prays she says how nice Isaac is and how he helps her.

I know that Heavenly Father loves to hear her prayers. I can see Him smiling down on my daughter and I am reminded I am so blessed to have her as my daughter.