COURAGE – by Jamie Johnson

One of my favorite things to do is to swim. I was a swim teacher for many years, and I learned a lot about courage when I was teaching so many kids. The first thing I taught my students was to never say, “I CAN’T”. Only say, “I WILL TRY”. If they said can’t then they would always panic, sink, and swallow water. But if they were brave, courageous, and listened to exactly what I said, then they would float.
It is okay to have “butterflies in your stomach”, that is what we say when we are nervous about something. Sometimes we have the butterflies when we are in a performance, or starting school, sometimes it is hard to talk to a new person, or try something new, or just going out of your comfort zone. Every time we are courageous and do something even if we have the butterflies then we feel great after. And even better is that it will be easier to do it the next time.
I remember a time I had the butterflies. Juliet our cousin was getting married and we went to her reception. She was marrying Larry Cook, his dad is one of the 12 apostle, so President
Hinkley was at the reception. I really wanted to say hi to President Hinkley and shake his hand, but I was really nervous. Thoughts were going through my head like, “he is too busy, I should leave him alone, or what will I say to him.” Finally I got up enough courage to go and say hi to the Prophet. He shook my hand and asked me my name. I was shocked that he asked about me. I was so grateful that I overcame my nervousness so I could take advantage of the opportunity before me to be in the Prophet’s presence. I would have felt terrible if I went home without meeting him.
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyways.
I know that Heavenly Father has given the opportunity to come to earth to learn and to strive to become like our Brother Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost that can help us at times when we are nervous and give us the courage to progress and better ourselves.

Following Jesus by Andrea Johnson

For Spring Break last year my family went to the “BIG CITY” Salt Lake. I call it the “BIG CITY” because in my Kindermusik class we learned all about cities. I loved the City. I saw lots of cars, taxis, big buildings, a lost dog, and my favorite - statues, and the temple.

When we were in the Temple Visitor’s Center I walked up a long ramp that looked like I was going up in the sky. When I got to the top I saw a really big statue of Jesus. It was so big. I walked right up to Jesus and just stood there and stared at him. I saw the holes in his hands and feet. I felt really good in my heart. My mom said it was time to go, but I didn’t want to go I wanted to stay there with Jesus. So we sat down on the chairs and looked at Jesus and talked about him.

I know that Jesus loves me and if I follow his example and do what is right then I will be with him again for real. I am really glad that I can feel him in my heart.

True Color - By Zac Johnson

As I was thinking about what to talk about, I came across a talk by Jeff S. Mcintosh written in last year’s December Ensign. Brother Mcintosh tells a story of selling suits in a department store. He said that as you entered the store there were a few suits displayed at the front that sat under a really bright light which gave the suits a clean cut color. There were always a few customers that would want to try the suits on. Once the customers came out of the dressing room and looked at the suit, it did not have the same look that it did under the bright light at the display. It looked more dim and dull. He would then have to take them out in the sunlight which displayed the suits “true” color.

I have a pair of pants that always confuse me… When I put them on inside they look a dark green so than I pick my shirt and everything else out based on that color; however, I than get outside in the light where the pants show their “true” color which is brown. I than have to go back inside and change because nothing I picked out matches the pants!

This of course ties directly to our Savior Jesus Christ being our spiritual light which gives us the “true” guidance and helps us show our “true” color.

John 8: 12: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.

Brother Mcintosh said “striving to choose with true light will help us make proper choices for our families and ourselves. And by looking to God through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we will not be deceived but will know good from evil.”

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ brings out the “True” color in everyone. The transformation that Christ brings to someone is such an amazing experience to be a part of. I have had numerous experiences where I have been able to see Christ change the life of others and show their “True” color.

Reed & Missy - By Reed Johnson

Reed Journal Entry:
Date: June 6, 2010

Fall 2009 - My dog Missy got out of our yard, which is kind of scary because we live by a busy highway and I didn’t want her to get lost or hurt, so I ran after her. I finally caught her by one of the neighbors house (Dallin Kemp). Missy pulled away from me and got away again! I was sad because it was by the “dangerous road”. So I knelt down and said a prayer. Right after I was done praying then Dallin (17 year old priest in the Ward) came out of his house and ran after Missy and caught her. I saw him coming with Missy and he walked Missy home with me. I told him thank-you. Once I put her back in the kennel, then I went inside into my room and said a prayer to Heavenly Father and said thank-you for answering my prayer.

The following was added by my Dad:

June 6, 2010 – I was sitting on a seat in the chapel today, following sacrament meeting, waiting to talk to a few quorum members. Dallin Kemp made it a point to come sit by me and share with me this experience from his perspective. Dallin asked if I remember the time last fall that he helped catch our dog. He then told me that he looked out his window and saw the dog get away from Reed. He then saw Reed get on his knees and say a prayer. Dallin, with tears in his eyes, expressed his appreciation for Reed and being such a great example to him! I also truly shared my appreciation for him and the example that he sets for the youth of the ward. I am so grateful for Reed and his example and his testimony of prayer. I love you Reed and am so proud of you for relying upon your Heavenly Father.

Faith - by J'net Johnson

2 Timothy 1 (For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.) has become one of my favorite scriptures. It gives us courage to speak up and faith to try.

A great example is found in 1 Nephi when father Lehi asks his sons to return to Jerusalem for the brass plates. In 1 Nephi 3:7 it says:
“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and Do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which He commandeth them.”

Faith is the power that leads knowledge to action. I would like to share a personal experience where faith gave me the power to put one foot in front of the other in order to get of a treacherous mountain side.

While looking for the trail up Crystal Creek canyon we got sucked off onto a trail that only mountain goats and mules should go on. It started out OK but after about 100 yards on a narrow trail which got smaller each step of the way, Doug decided that we had better get off our horsed (Flash & Bama) and turn back. The trail was going around the side of a very step and treeless mountain side and it was practically straight up and down.

Turning the horses around and then moving up the side so Doug could get in front was the 1st obstacle. Needless to say, I was terrified! Doug could have been a tight rope walker in the circus but he was nervous also. However, with my bad knees and ankle, I was a wreck looking to happen. I turned Bama loose and she followed Doug and Flash and I crept along the trail, holding onto grass, for security. Pretty frightening to know that grass is going to be the only thing to save you. Doug and I said many silent prayers.

I learned about faith while clinging to the grass and working my way off the ledge. I learned that I had faith in Heavenly Father and that Faith leads to action.

KNOW WHO YOU ARE - by Ryan Johnson

One of my favorite events to go to each year is Hannah’s fireside dance recital. A couple of weeks ago, I was enjoying this recital and watching Hannah dance to the song Child of Light (by Mindy Gledhill). The song begins: “Do you ever wonder who you are? …” this question, or rather the process of finding the answer to this question has been on my mind a lot lately, since there is nothing more that I would want for my kids, nieces and nephews than for them to search, ponder, and pray and understand who they really are! We opened our family home evening with singing I Am A Child of God. This hymn is sung so often that I am not sure we really internalize the literal meaning.

When I was a youth, I put my confidence into my ability to perform at sports, trying to stay up on the latest fashions, lifting weights and trying to get ripped. I always felt like I had a good “self esteem” and was confident in myself. I know the following is very shallow and weak, but while in high school I really thought that everyone knew who I was since our football team was doing pretty well. A while back I wrote the following in my journal regarding this time in my life:

As High School years came it seemed that being the High School quarter back gave me my identity (I even started to talk to girls a little bit since I thought that was what the QB was suppose to do). My brothers and I joke about being quarter back in High School and driving up Spanish Fork main street and thinking that everyone we passed knew who we were. It is funny to think about that now, as we have a new knowledge that 99.9% of the people we saw had no clue whether the team played on Friday night or not. And surely they didn’t know who won. And never in a million years did they know or care who the quarter back was. Sports were fun and I would be lying if I didn’t say that they didn’t teach me a lot of good principles (hard work, determination, good sportsmanship, competitor, enduring to the end, example), which helped me on my mission, through college, marriage and profession. I have not taken a survey, but I would probably say that in High School I was probably perceived as someone with confidence. A mission friend (Rob Morris) often talked about “fake it until you make it” now I don’t know if that is a true principle but that is what I did in High School years. My confidence was fake. And I did make it, eventually.

A very wise person once taught me, the following about the sources of self-esteem: There appears to be two main sources of self-esteem. From the world’s view our self-esteem seems to be determined by how well we perform in the various aspects of our lives. If we feel attractive, do well in school, feel intelligent, feel like we are a good athlete, successful in a career, or have a good income we have high self-esteem. The world bases self-esteem on performance. This is other-esteem more than self-esteem. God and Christ have a different method of determining our self-worth. They love us unconditionally and without measure. Our worth is already established because we are who we are. We are unique, one-of-a-kind individuals. Regardless of what we do or don’t do does not change our worth to them. Our challenge is to see ourselves as they see us. We lived for eons of time in the pre-mortal life with our Heavenly Father, Mother and Savior. Each of us were created in the image of God and blessed with his attributes. Our worth was established with God before we were born. Our purpose in coming to earth is to receive a body, have earthly experiences and prove myself worthy to return to God’s presence.

If we could truly understand that we ARE CREATED IN GODS IMAGE, WITH HIS ATTRIBUTES, then that should give us the confidence that we need to know that we can endure and overcome everything that is placed before us, we can excel in school, sports, church, professions and lif. Because, we have immortal and Godlike attributes and the ability to create and overcome anything!

There was one thing in my younger years that I did not like about myself, I was blessed with many little red friends on my face (otherwise known as zits). This caused some insecurity, because my security came from what others thought of me. I tried all sorts of medication and acne treatments but seems like they only got worse as time went on. As I was preparing to go on a mission, I had many defining moments where the Lord helped me understand who I really was, I gained a burning testimony that Jesus died for me and suffered for everything that I suffer through. I knew that he loved me for who I really was, despite my weaknesses and faults. I started to gain true confidence and wished that I would have gained this true testimony earlier in my youth, as I know that I could have been even happier and successful in my goals. I am not a dermatologist so medically I can’t back it up but personally I equate my acne to the emotional roller coaster of Jr. High and High School and the on-going stress of putting trust in superficial/material things. Within weeks, if not the first few months of my mission, my red friends went away.

Mindy Gledhill’s song, Child of Light, continues with the statement: “… You were made to fly!” I know that Heavenly Father created us to fly, and like the saying goes: “God don’t make junk”. I know that our Heavenly Father wants us to fly! Meaning, we can do whatever we put our minds too as we have faith, pray and work hard in accomplishing our dreams. I know that Heavenly Father cares about us and cares about our personal lives, dreams, aspirations, and goals. I know that as we understand that we are literal children of God and have his attributes then we can share our talents with others and be able to bless our own lives and the lives of our family and friends. I PRAY WITH ALL MY HEART THAT MY CHILDREN, NIECES AND NEPHEWS CAN GAIN SEARCH, PONDER AND PRAY ABOUT THE BOOK OF MORMON, THE GOSPEL TRUTHFULLNESS AND THE UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE OF WHO THEY REALLY ARE!

I DON'T BELIEVE IT, I DON'T BELIEVE IT - by J'net Johnson

Gossip is idle talk of rumors, especially about personal or private affairs of others. It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing (unproven) facts and usually does harm to the person being talked about.

We started our family home evening, by playing the gossip game. I whispered a rather long story about Josie saddling up Delbert and going for a ride all by herself. Hannah then started the story around the group. It didn’t make it very far, the story was completely altered. This is a great way of showing how a story when repeated many times is completely different at the end.

I would like to share a brief quote about my Great grandmother Hannah David who is the mother of Dr. Joseph Hughes and grandmother of Reed G. Hughes.
“Hannah was a petite little woman with dark brown hair which was usually pulled back into a bob. She had a charming and winning personality. In Spanish Fork she was known as the peacemaker.
She would tolerate no gossip whatsoever. Her reply was always, ‘I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it.’ It wasn’t as though she didn’t know what was going on; her son, Mog (Morgan John), was her source of information. Every day he walked the two blocks east to Main Street and joined the “Spit and Whittle Club” to carefully listen to all the town news which he faithfully brought back to his mother. All this, she considered at length, reserving and discarding, according to the source, but ultimately choosing not to believe any of it. Because of her generosity of spirit, she never repeated anything that was not good and praiseworthy. Thus she earned her reputation and was loved by everyone. She always maintained that ‘if there is ever any question in your mind, always remember that the kind thing is the right thing.” Our Forefathers, history of Joseph Hughes & Delila..

Gossip is one of the meanest things that we can do and we should never be found participating in it. I remember a card that Emilee Dewey sent me a few years ago in which she told me that she could not remember me saying anything unkind about anyone. I was a little nervous about the comment because I am sure that I’ve said some mean things, but it made me think that I needed to make sure that I lived up to what she thought of me.

We can always do better and, if needed, we can tell someone that we have hurt them and we are sorry, and ask for their forgiveness. When we hear gossip, we should always come back with Grandma Hannah’s reply: “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it”. We should always raise ourselves to a higher level, just as Grandma Hannah.

Gossip Quote:
“Live your life in such a way that you wouldn’t be afraid to let. The town gossip take care of the family parrot.”