Huge Decision and My Thoughts!

So three years ago I went to join the United States Marine Corps! I was attending Brigham Young University Idaho. As I would talk with recruiters my thoughts would sway back and forth because of such a big decision. After I started feeling out the papers I decided I would hold off and go on a church mission. I was called by a Prophet of God to the Great Tennessee Nashville Mission. I served an honorable mission and now home. While on my mission I studied the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I was able to see how much they help and support each other. They do not contradict each other but are both witnesses of the Master Jesus Christ. If I would have never went on my mission I would have never had the opportunity like I had to study the scriptures.

I am home now and have soo many decisions to make. There are honestly soo many huge decisions. Call me crazy, but I have always wanted to go and serve in the military. There are certain things that always pulls me away from it. The military life is one of the biggest divorce causes today. Couples can't adjust to the other being gone and having no idea where they are. Not hearing from them in months. They have no idea if they will ever see their spouse again. On the other side of it though. Soldiers go away to defend their country and give their family and friends the freedom they enjoy. We all know their are hardships that come with war. Many are so upset when I or others talk about going into the military. Why, because they are afraid that we are making a bad decision. If everyone runs from the military then who is going to be there to preserve our freedom.

Now the thing that really pulls me away from military is the thought that what if I get married and my wife does not like what I do. I will have children that will not see their father for months at a time. Family is so very important to me. I want to be there for my wife and my children when they are growing up. I want to have the eternal memories that my family and I can have. This is one of those hard decisions that I am always battling with in my head day after day. 

My dream since I was a little boy is to be a Federal Agent! I have always been so interested in Law Enforcement. That has always caught my eye and gave me more excitement in career searching than anything else. Yea I could be an Engineer or a Medical Personnel which are not bad jobs by any means but it is just not what I really want to do. I used to work around FBI Agents and DHS Officers and I quite enjoyed it. I battle with this dream day after day also because again divorce rates in law enforcement families are high. Same reasons never know if you will see your spouse again after they go to work. They could be killed on the job. At the same time you could be killed in a car accident driving to any job or you could work for a company that is getting robbed and be shot. There are dangers in every job. Yea, law enforcement you are putting your life on the line so other may live, but there is great respect in this. Christ said in the KJV New Testament, John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Those men and women who lay down their lives for others deserve our respect. The psychological impact they go through is more than we can imagine. Knowing you may have to take someones life to preserve another. I think that would be hard.

Families are just soo important to me that I will do anything to be able to have those memories and the family I have always dreamed of. I also want that job I have always dreamed about but am a little scared because of facts and thoughts of having a broken family. The excitement of having to make big decisions. I sometimes don't know how exciting it is. HAHA!

IN REMEMBRANCE OF 9/11

As we know 10 years ago tomorrow the US was hit with terrorist attacks which took thousands of lives. Not only did it take lives but it changed many lives. Families missing brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, etc.. This is heart breaking for those of us who did not lose family members as well. I wish I could have done something to prevent what had been done. I wish I could rewind and make those persons who crashed the planes not do it. This day will always be remembered as a day of sorrow and anger. The sorrow will be for those whose lives were lost and families separated. What we do know from the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that families are meant to be together eternally. It is not till death do we part.

I remember the day what I did on 9/11/2001. I was in 6th grade at school. I went home for lunch and all over the news was the planes hitting the twin towers. I went back to school and we had a low flying aircraft heading towards our school. I will be honest I was a little scared because of what I had just seen on the news. I figured the plane was just going to land. After I went home I watched the news for hours. I was just in astonishment of what had happened. I re-watched it time and time again. Until I came on my mission I watched the youtube clips of it. I have always wanted to be a federal agent and to help prevent things like this and still want to. When this happened it gave me a second witness that that was what I wanted to do for work. I feel like that is one of my callings in life. To protect and serve and I have the upmost desire to do so. I love serving others.

The images of what happened will be in my head forever. The sacrifice by those who helped protect and save lives will always be thought of. The firefighters and paramedics and police officers and soldiers who spent days looking for people need to always be remembered. Those who lost a loved one and friends always need to be remembered.  They are forever in my heart. May I ask that we all take a moment of silence for those whose lives were lost? Think of how truly great your life is. No matter how bad they are someone else is worse.


Please take time to remember and honor those who were affected.

Sacrifice for Others to Live

What are some sacrifices that others do for you personally? So many of us often overlook what is truly done for us. I know that I do. I sit there and think sometimes nobody but God cares. That is the wrong way to look at it. If we can only think for a second what someone has done for us.


Right now I am sitting here thinking about what people are doing for me. Maybe I don't see or know about it but I know people are protecting me. A perfect example is the man that you see on the street corner looking like a poor man who is truly an undercover agent trying to stop illegal activity. He is putting his life on the line for both you and I. We have all of the police officers world wide who are arresting criminals so they do not come and kill us or something else bad like that. There men are getting in firefights with the criminals knowing their life is in danger. They hope to go home to their families every night but will they? Some may not and they already know that. They are still willing to go and serve those in their communities and countries. Some even serve others in other countries by arresting or killing those harming others. So many get frusturated with these people when they get pulled over or are asked to move. Why do they do so? Impatience and disrespect. I know that these people are will appreciate these officers one day when their life is on the line. Our law enforcement personnel(Federal, Local) are willing to give up all to do so. This because of their love for their country and fellow men. Not everybody can do this job, it takes a special person.
The following link sends you to a clip of an officers story.
You Raise Me Up- Police Tribute

We also have our armed forces(Active, Reserve, Veteran, Deceased) in other countries as well as here who have given all or will give all. Here is another example of men and women that are willing to give up everything. Some of the soldiers come home alive. They know whether they do or not they have served their country in honor. They have helped in the protection of their fellow citizens. They have given it all. These soldiers go through traumatizing events that change their lives and families. Families are truly hurt by the things their soldier sees and feels now. Military and law enforcement families have often bad living conditions. We may not see it, but the families whose fathers or mothers mind is changed forever. They may not have patience or they may wake up to miserable dreams of previous occurances. They are sometimes also split because of such conditions. We as citizens often take this as granted. We don't give them the respect they deserve. We judge them because of what they do, but we don't know what they are going through. If only we understood what it was like to have to take a life to save a life, what would we then think? How would that affect your condition? Would you look differently upon these honorable citizens? People threaten these soldiers and officers and their families because of what they are doing? They are just trying to help.

We also have our firefighters who run into burning buildings to get somebody out. Not knowing if they will survive, but they do it because they love their fellow citizens. They want others to have their family with them. Often when somebody is in need of the need of the moment these people come to the rescue. When we complain about having a hard bed maybe we should think about the firefighter out fighting a forest fire and sleeping on rocks and other things. We have paramedics who go to scenes and people die in their arms. Doing all they can to save a kid who got hit by a stupid driver or a passer by in a drug war. These people are always ready to respond no matter what time it is. They go days without a good sleep so they can help others.

These men and women show charity, or the pure love of Christ. They are willing to give everything. Next time you see them how are you gonna think about them? Are you going to thank them or disrespect them? Just remember that you may need them one day and you will sure be thankful for them doing their job. This is a thanks to all who serve. it is a way of life for them, but for us it is a sign of their love and respect for us.
In John 15:13 it states, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." What does this say about these men and women.

We have one greater than all who gave up His life. We all know of Him. He is the Son of God. He who I speak of is Jesus Christ. He gave His life in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross and who was resurrected. He made it possible that we may all be able to receive help. Along with all of these wonderful heros on the earth who fall the Savior example He says, "Come unto Me, that ye may be healed." He took every kind of beating, suffering, hardship that mankind will ever face so we don't have to. He loves each one of Heavenly Fathers children individually. he is willing to do whatever to help us out. He has His arms outstretched but we have to reach for Him. He stands on the other side of the door knocking, are you gonna answer? I know that we can be healed by our Master Physician as we exercise faith in Him.

Always Remember Those Who Serve!

What do our armed forces soldiers sacrifice for us?

I love this bumper sticker that you can buy,the one shown above.

Have you thought about what some people are doing while you are enjoying your sleep or having a good time with your friends? Take a minute and just think about what is happening around the world right now. Look at the following picture and remember those who have served and are still serving.

We have soldiers throughout the world giving their all for yours and my safety. Their all includes their own life if needs be. Think of when you were having a bad day last. Maybe you were stuck in traffic or your phone wasn't working. Is that really a bad day? While you are freaking out about your phone not working or traffic to slow our brethren in the Lord are being shot at and some injured. Lets be honest some are blown up. Did you really have a bad day?

 The following is a real story called "Captains Log Fallen Soldier"
The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bare.  He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival.  The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.  I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when he asked me if there was anything I could do.  “I’m on it”, I said.  I told him that I would get back to him.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of email like messages.  I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher.  I was in direct contact with the dispatcher.  I explained the situation I had onboard with the family and what it was the family wanted.  He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher.  We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family.  I sent a text message asking for an update.  I saved the return message from the dispatcher and this following is the text.

“Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you.  There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things.  Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft.  The team will escort the family to the ramp and planeside.  A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family.  The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp.  It is a private area for the family only.  When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and planeside to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home.  Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans.  Please pass our condolences on to the family, thanks.”

I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job.  I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father.  The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, “You have no idea how much this will mean to them.”  Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. 

After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area.  The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway.  It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit.  When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic was being held for us.  “There is a team in place to meet the aircraft”, we were told.  It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane.  As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers.  He did that and the ramp controller said, “Take your time.” 

I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake.  I pushed the public address button and said, “Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking.  I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement.  We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect.  His name is private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life.  Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold.  Escorting him today is army sergeant XXXXXXX.  Also onboard are his father, mother, wife, and daughter.  Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first.  Thank you.”

We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures.  A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door.  I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see.  I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.  When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap their hands.  Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping.  Words of “God Bless You, I’m sorry, Thank you, Be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane.  They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with the loved one lost.(http://acaptainslog.blogspot.com/2008/07/fallen-soldier_04.html) 

Everytime I read this story it touches me and makes me remember how great my life is. Thousands have lost a husband or a wife or a son or a daughter. They are not lost though because they are in our hearts forever. 

My hopes is to serve my country. Military service is where I plan to start out with this huge service. Knowing that families can be sealed together in the Temples of the Lord for time and all eternity helps me to know that all will be well. I am sealed to my family. This is such a great bIessing in my life.  
This following song is from Bryan Adams "NEVER LET GO"

"Can you lay your life down, so a stranger can live?
Can you take what you need, but take less than you give?
Could you close every day, without the glory and fame?
Could you hold your head high, when no one knows your name?
That's how legends are made, at least that's what they say.

We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, cause you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down,
and never let go.

Can you lose everything, you ever had planned?
Can you sit down again, and play another hand?
Could you risk everything, for the chance of being alone?
Under pressure find the grace, or would you come undone?
That's how legends are made, at least that's what they say?

We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, cause you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down,
and never let go.

Never let go, Never let go, Never let go

Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down,
and never let go.

We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, 'but you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down,
and never let go.

Will never look back, never look down,
and never let go.

Never let go, Never let go, Never let go"

In honor of all our armed forces soldiers may we remember what they sacrifice to give us freedom and all the other things we have. May we remember them and their families in our prayers. May we not forget that they are extremely pained while we are here enjoying our day to day life with our family and friends. GOD BLESS THOSE WHO SERVE AND THEIR FAMILIES!