06 APR 15
I joined the church when I was ten years old in one of my foster homes. Prior to that I had been baptized as an infant in the Catholic church at the request of my parents and grandparents. I of course can’t remember that myself but I was told when I was a little older. I just couldn’t understand why a baby would need to be baptized though. As they tried to explain it I thought of how mean a rule that was.
Reading Moroni 8:10-14 brought back to my memory this experience and learning that I would need to be baptized again to join the church. It was one of the many things that made sense to me as a child about the church. I felt why would my baptism I had no part of as an infant be valid in any way? Learning that baptism was only necessary for those who understood and were capable of sin seemed much more compassionate and just to me of a God that could see all the young children who die as part of life. This is a principle that I understood at both the thinking part of me and spiritual part as I was taught it.
07 APR 15
“Fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16)
It makes it sound easy in the scriptures but this is a principle that takes a lot of practice in our life. How often do we let fear be our stumbling block from doing what we should be doing? How can we do better at casting out fear and having love and faith to overcome it? I think that one of the things that takes time and building a strong testimony. You could say that the primary answers are part of it.
When thinking of the phrase “perfect love” I think of the song by Tyler Castleton and Staci Peters from the “EFY 1999- Season for Courage”. I guess that comes from me growing up in the 90’s.
Video of song:
Sheet music of it:
https://deseretbook.com/p/perfect-love-sheet-music-84373
08 APR 15
“Satan stirreth them up continually to anger one with another” (Moroni 9:3)
This is a principle that I believe while an example of nations; we can also apply it to our lives. Anger is an easy trap to fall into. Sometimes people in our lives do things that may cause us to be angry. I have found that to happen to me more than a time or two. Satan is seeks to stir up anger in more than just nations. The family is the basic unit of society. Satan seeks to use anger to break up more than nations. He will use it as a wedge in families. The next time I feel angry at something I will do better to examine it’s source.
09 APR 15
Nephi’s promise (Moroni 10:3-5)
Unfortunately this scripture never stood out to me until I went on a mission. During my mission I recited it nearly daily as I shared the message of the gospel with everyone I met. I know that this promise is true. I have seen it work in others lives and my own. I know that if we read the Book of Mormon and pray about it; we will receive an answer testifying of it truth.
Gifts of the spirit (Moroni 10:7-18)
These gifts have enabled the restoration of the gospel. Without the gospel I would be on a very different path in my life. Most of my foster brothers have been in and out of jail. I know that the gospel has saved my life from what it might have been.
10 APR 15
So this will be a little bit of a stretch on the scripture but I want to share a wonderful spiritual experience I had this week. In Moroni 10:11 it talks of faith as one of the gifts of the spirit. I’d like to share an experience when my son exercised faith this week in prayer and my faith in the general goodness of others was strengthened.
This past week my family traveled to California for my brothers wedding and we drove back to Texas on Tuesday/Wednesday of this week. On Tuesday while my wife was taking our son to the restroom she accidentally left her cell phone in the restroom of a gas station in Tucson, Arizona. We didn’t realize this until we stopped in Deming, New Mexico for the evening. She initially didn’t know where she left it so I was frantically looking all over the car. While I was looking she heated up our sons supper of some mac-n-cheese. She sat it before him and he reminded her that it needed to be blessed. He said his normal things, paused, and then asked for help to find the phone (he’s three years old). I went out looking in the car hoping it was there and while I was I got a call from someone who had found it and was seeing if I was related to the owner because I was the last person called in the phone. They were driving longer than us and were stopping in El Paso, Texas for the night. They nicely left the phone at the hotel desk at where they were staying and I got it the next day.
I am thankful for wonderful people that can be the instrument in answering a prayer and a little boy who has already learned to have the faith to ask for help.
Come unto Christ (Moroni 10:32)
The Mutual theme for 2014 was “Come unto Christ”.
Here is a song I found on YouTube based on that theme:
Who is Paul Darr?
Paul Darr has lived in California, Oregon, Colorado, and currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. Paul is also an Army Veteran, who has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. On the political spectrum Paul is a Libertarian that advocates fiscal responsibility and social tolerance. Paul is currently employed as an IT Manager and is a father of a handsome boy and beautiful daughter. In his free time Paul enjoys reading, using and modifying open source software, gaming, and several other geeky pursuits.