are you my mother?

So one time a chinchilla and a koala bear decided to have a baby.

And that's where my dog came from.

let's study the scriptures together!

Today I feel like preaching some Gospel.

During my Compton transfer, the very last 6 weeks of my mission, I had some very edifying personal and companionship studies. These past couple days a scripture has weighed upon my mind which I remember to have more fully realized during that sacred period of my life. It's found in the Book of Mormon, 3Nephi 28:11. Jesus Christ is speaking to the 3 Nephites, describing to them the joy of redemption:

"And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me: and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me."

It's a simple, concise piece of scripture. And it's also one of the most powerful and comprehensive verses I've ever come across. This scripture is also particularly significant because it happens to be the last recorded words that Christ said when He was physically present among the Nephites in the ancient Americas. So this was His parting thought. As such it's definitely worth some of our time for serious thought and study.

Consider this--- in Moses 6:57-62 we are taught the Doctrine of Sanctification. We learn that all men everywhere need to obey God by repenting and being baptized by water (based on His laws). After that outward manifestation of willing obedience one can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost-- the Spirit. The Spirit is a personage and is also the power through which the blood of Christ is applied. We learn this in Mosiah 4:2-3--- that when the Atonement of Christ is fully applied one can receive 1. forgiveness of one's sins (justification) and 2. purification of one's heart (sanctification). Further we learn there that this application is fulfilled through the reception of the Spirit (read what the people ask for and then see what they are given). Sanctification includes not only becoming cleansed from sin but also losing the desire to sin. In other words it means to experience a mighty change of heart and to become HOLY. As one consistently comes unto Christ, applying His Atonement through obedience and repentance-- (the sacrament and the temple ordinances playing a vital role in this)-- line upon line, precept upon precept, the soul is perfected in Christ and will one day become holy, without spot-- worthy to dwell in the presence of God.

It's really more simple than I made it sound. The Holy Ghost is the greatest gift we can receive in mortality because it leads the soul to eternal life, which is the greatest of ALL the gifts of God. Because of Christ's Atonement we can receive the Spirit and through the process of making, keeping and renewing our covenants we can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. So, the Father gives us the Holy Ghost because of Christ. (I want to add here that when one worthily partakes of the sacrament ALL covenants entered into with the Lord are renewed. Fact.)

Finally I want to talk more about covenants- particularly the role of the temple and the covenants made there (not explicitly of course). In D&C 109:14-15 we learn that in the House of the Lord we grow up and can "receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost." Continue to verses 22 and 23 and we can learn that our covenants are like armor. I don't want to spoil the impact of this doctrine for you-- so just go ahead and open up your copies of the Book of Mormon to Alma 43:19-21, followed by 1Nephi 14:12-14 and later D&C 38:38 and just bask in some personal revelation from on high.

Okay. So that's what I understand and that's what I've been thinking about lately. And really in essence that's the central doctrine I was taught throughout my mission in Southern Cali. President Edwin Sexton brought it to my attention and the Holy Ghost grafted it into my soul. I just wanted to share that with you and lo hago en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

icky

White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant too!
Who's using who?
What should we do?
Well, you can't be a pimp
And a prostitute too.
-Jack White III

Stories like this make me mad. Click here and read. I hate it when I hear about good people that get kicked out of our country because they happen to be illegal immigrants. The people in this article would've willingly become law-abiding U.S. citizens if the system wasn't so retarded. I've met many good law-abiding(mostly) people that fled to our country seeking a better life, and it would be a crime against morality to deport them. Yes, I've also met a few drug dealers and gangsters from down south and perhaps they should get deported, but that's another story.

"And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance. And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people--- Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver."
-Jesus Christ, 3Nephi 20:14-16

Si no te gusta, vaya!

trippin'

My fam and I tripp'd to St. George o'er the weekend. We had a good time. We hiked and ran and jumped and ate sushi. And we took pictures of ourfineselves doing cool stuff. Here is an example:

That's definitely what I'd look like getting thrown back by the force of a massive nuclear explosion. Or maybe by the force of an angry Jedi. Or that's what I'd look like getting dropped down from a ghettobird to go fight myself some crips 'n bloods. Here's another example:

That's what my Dad would look like jumping from the top of a cliff in the desert to tackle a wild buffalo. Or perhaps a mammoth. Or an angry Jedi.
One more:

That's what my Mom, Sister and I would look like if we were Power Rangers. Or Tusken Raiders. Or maybe Charlie's Angels.

Well, that was fun.

Dawg

This is my dog Rosie. I think she's depressed.

Family Photage

I got my Dad a garden gnome for his 45th birthday on 10/10/10.

We took some family photos together.
Look at them and feel happy.

Definitely

Well, I just decided to name my resurrected blog. Here's how it happened:

I sat down in my chair and started to ponder. My object in pondering was to determine what I should name my blog. I began to think about random phrases, words, nouns and verbs which just didn't have any particular meaning or value to me. Then I started to think of some examples of names that I judged to be unique. Inevitably I started reminiscing about my adventures as an official advocate of the Lord. Over the course of my service in said endeavor I met many people with many interesting names. Por ejemplo, I met a man named Mushroom. I briefly taught a family with three kids named Ransom, Nuggs and Colt. I once baptized a Tongan girl whose middle name was 'Alungamalie (until which time I never knew a name could begin with an apostrophe). Well, when I was stationed in the cheerful sunny side of Compton CA I started visiting a young hispanic couple (surprise!). The BF spoke pure spanish and the GF usually spoke english. One day the two of them brought home a pitbull. This pit was friendly, cute and cuddly as most pitbulls are (when they're puppies) and he loved to gnaw on things like stuffed animals, furniture and hands. Well, to make a short story short the BF and GF named this puppy pit "Fo' Sho'". That's the ghetto way of saying "for sure", I guess.

So, Fo' Sho', I dedicate this blog to you.

And thus it is.

Why hello there!

Hello again.

I have returned from my mission and have resumed control of this blog. Someday perhaps I will share with you some experiences from my sacred mission. For now I'm going to re-arrange some stuff on here. I have little to no faith that anyone is reading this right now anyway, so I'll go ahead and assume that you don't mind.

Entonces.... hasta ver!

Love,
Tyler J. Lewis