Unity

Being in a rock and roll band before my mission, I've played music with a lot of different people.  Trying to find the right combination of style, taste, and sound is pretty tough sometimes.  Even after you find a good combination, making each person become as one, so to speak, is an extreme challenge.  Often times little disagreements will come up, but there are occasions when everyone gets in the groove, and that's when music is made.  The trick to getting the perfect sound is unity.

Unity is something that we need to be striving for in this life.  Whether it's for a rock and roll band, a family, or just in oneself, it's an important attribute to attain.  The people of Alma, after they had been baptized, we're commanded to be unified together.  Mosiah 18:21 reads, "And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another."

Just like having unity in a rock band will produce the best music, unity in a home will produce the best people.  The main person we want to be united with is our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We must unite in the same cause as Him.  We must develop an eye single to His glory.  We must see the world as he does.  We must see others as he does.  It is then we will be in perfect harmony with Him and His teachings.

Use it or Lose it

I've always been a big music person.  Ever since I can remember, I've been playing music.  Playing the guitar is my most recently acquired musical talent.  After I left on my mission, I didn't have as easy access to guitar as I did back home.  But when I was in my first area, I had a couple opportunities to play guitar again.  I was real excited, then once I started picking and strumming, I realized that I had lost a lot of what I knew.  Many songs that I used to play had vanished from my memory.  I was devastated!

Our knowledge and testimony will dwindle if we stop nourishing it as well.  We need to continually improve our talents and skills.  Alma, a Book of Mormon prophet said, "...Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us...but if ye neglect [it], and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root..." (Alma 32: 37-38).  We must nourish the skills and talents that we have so that when we need to be an instrument in the Lords hand, we will be fine tuned and ready to play. 

We need to continue to exercise those things in our life.  If we slack off on them, then our knowledge and ability will diminish.  And when that day comes, you will feel as I did when I picked up the guitar after a couple of months...devastated!  So do the little things every day, practice what you preach, apply what you learn, and you will never lose it.

The Crosswalk

One day in high school, I wanted to write a song, but I had no idea what to write about.  As we were walking across the street, a friend that was with me jokingly said, "Write a song about crosswalks."  Ever since that experience, I've never looked at crosswalks the same.  Sure they're pathways that take us safely across the street, but they can be looked at as so much more than that.

At first glance, a crosswalk seems constricting or limiting, but if we really think about it, they're there to keep us safe and to make sure we make it to the other side.  Commandments are extremely similar.  At first glance, they seem like they take away our freedom, but in all actuality, they give us more freedom and keep us safe.  Without crosswalks, we might not make it to the other side.  Just like without commandments, we might not make it to the Heaven. 

Obeying the commandments that have been set before us is a huge part of life.  John 14:15 reads, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  Obedience to God and his commandments is the best way we can show that we love and appreciate all that he's done for us.  As we do our best to obey them, he will help us safely make our return back to him.  It won't always be easy to do, but it will definitely be worth it.