Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Un Paso Mas Cerca a Entender la Vida

Hoy ha sido un dia muy difícil para mi, pero también me ha dado una oportunidad única de reflexionar no solo en mi vida sino también en el significado de "la vida."

Por dos anos tuve la oportunidad de ensenar "El Plan de Salvación" a muchísimas personas que ni siquiera habían escuchado de ello. Y confieso que yo no sabia mucho en cuanto a este plan, por supuesto sabia lo básico, entendía que Dios si tiene un plan para mi y para todos pero si alguien me hubiera preguntado, "Cual es el propósito de la vida?" no habría sabido que decir. Asi que me puse a estudiar en ese tiempo a fin de encontrar la respuesta a esta pregunta. Llegue a la conclusión de que hay 3 propósitos es decir 3 razones por las cuales estamos aquí. Ahora, por supuesto otros me ayudaron a llegar a entender estas cosas, no fue un proyecto de uno, pero llegue a estos tres principios. Estamos aquí para:

1. Obtener un cuerpo

2. Ser felices

3. Ser probados.

En esta oportunidad no quiero hablar de los tres pero mas específicamente del primero con algunas referencias al tercero.

Hoy dia, al contemplar muchas cosas me di cuenta de que no es suficiente el simple "obtener" un cuerpo sino que el cuerpo es un instrumento en ayudarnos a ser probados. Ves que no es que una vez que tengamos un cuerpo ya acabo todo sino que tenemos que llegar al punto en que dominamos, aun superamos, el cuerpo.

Entendemos de la doctrina de la iglesia y del testimonio del espíritu a nuestro espíritu que somos hijos espirituales de Dios y que antes de esta vida estuvimos en calidad de espíritu, sin cuerpos físicos. Parte de este tiempo de probación es el aprender a manejar y a subyugar el cuerpo; no tuvimos experiencia con eso antes, fue algo nuevo para nosotros al nacer. En esta vida aprendimos que el cuerpo tiene necesidad de muchas cosas, de comida, de agua, de aire, de protección y amparo, y también de amor.

Al comprender eso hacemos lo que podamos para satisfacer estas necesidades pero el Senior nos avisa de los peligros del exceso concerniente a cualquiera de esas necesidades. Me parece que todo pecado viene como resultado de no subyugar el cuerpo con el espíritu. La pereza, la glotonería (o gula), la fornicación, la envidia, la codicia, y la lujuria. Somos mejores que estos deseos carnales pero debemos aprender a trabajar en unión con los cuerpos que son tan importantes para nuestro progreso eterno.

Ayudara eso a alguien? Quien sabe? Pero necesitaba escribirlo. Todo virtud proviene del control corporal tanto como todo vicio proviene de la falta de ello. Que tengas una buena noche!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

The Miller Family #1

These are a few paragraphs from a book i am in the process of writing, in fact they are the first few paragraphs. Enjoy!


Dear Reader,
I wish I could tell you that what you are about to read is not something that will impact your life, change it for the better or even be exciting but the truth of the matter is that I am writing this more for posterity than for anything else.
My name is Jonathan Miller, and with a name like Jon Miller how could you expect anything but the most mundane, the most common-place. If in fact you were to ask anyone who knows the Miller Family here in Salt Lake City I am positive that they wouldn't tell you anything but how common and normal we really are. I would even go so far as to say that the only uncommon thing about our family would be our average height.
My dad Neil is 6' 3" and my mom Elizabeth is 6' 2". As far as my father goes his height isn't anything extraordinary but you would be surprised by the responses I get when my friends see my mom. Thinks like "Dude, your mom is so tall!" or "Does it ever hurt your neck to look up at her?" or my personal favorite "Your mom makes my mom look like a midget." Needless to say the ol' "My mom can beat up your mom" arguments ended early in my life. Now with parents like that how were we supposed to turn out as their children? I'll tell you how we turned out, Tall. We had no choice in the matter but I guess as the age old adage goes, that's life...its stupid and unfair but its life. Yeah, apart from the height we were the average family here in Salt Lake City, Utah and at 13 years old I hated nothing more.
Now don't get me wrong I loved my family, still do but as a newly full-fledged teenager, complete with all of the wisdom and social prestige, I could think of nothing more than of being someone, of doing something great and I couldn't see how being a Miller was going to get me there. Well all that changed at the end of my 7th grade year -- but before we get to that let's play a little "Meet the Millers" (yeah i always liked that alliteration). Let's go oldest to youngest, it will make more sense that way.

Neil James Miller II - My dad was named for his father before him and even though he never included the "II" I prefer it, it sounds royal, or at least important. He works as a structural engineer for "Williams Enterprises" (yeah they don't have that good of a last name either). He loves his work but the true love of his life is my mom and the thing he is most passionate about is making her happy. He would change the world itself for her, her wish is most literally his command.
Like I mentioned before he is 6' 3" and if you asked my mom he is the most handsome man on the planet. I guess he's alright. He has light brown hair that he has always parted to the left since the beginning of time (I think they called that the 50's). He played basketball in college, i think it was called "the good ol' days" (at least that is what he always calls it) and he would love nothing more than to see his sons do the same.

Elizabeth Richardson Miller - Mom comes from another long line of boringly normal people as well. Possibly the most interesting thing about her and her parents is that while they lived in South America (I am pretty sure that is just south-east of Georgia) for three years they had my mom, so everyone things she speaks Spanish's. How's that for an ice-breaker at a party?
My mom is a nurse at a nearby hospital and she loves it. Like i have said she is tall, maybe too tall for a girl but it doesn't seem to bother her so i try no to let it bother me. Like my dad, her profession or the money she makes has never been that important. The reoccurring theme of our family has been just that, Family. She cherishes nothing more than to spend time with her children. It seems like a waste to me because when has anyone become famous or been important at all by spending their free time with their kids? Anyway the point is that she seems to love us a lot and honestly it is almost uncanny how when she is around it seems that nothing in the world could go wrong.