Small Reasons I Believe Big Time

I Believe!!!!

There is nothing that reaffirms my testimony that God lives and loves us like a long, slow walk among the beauties of nature.  We are taught that all things testify that there is a God.  There are those, many of whom are highly educated, who would have us believe that it all just happened.  Seriously, how long would one have to wait until the earth elements, in and of themselves, just lying around, would  turn themselves into such beauty as I was able to see today.  If  I were a gambler, and I am not, I wouldn't bet a plug nickel on any of it just happening.  None of these, so called educated geniuses, have ever been able to make a single thing live, without the spark of life having already been there. It  is not just beauty either, each of these beauties is alive.  They grow. They reproduce.  They survive in some of the harshest conditions.  They mend themselves if they are for some reason damaged by external forces.  They seem to die and yet in the spring of the year they come back in all their glory.  Then there is color and oder, and smell and sight, and all the processes of life, each species of plant or animal being different and filling the measure of it's creation in the great macrocosm of the universe.  Is it any wonder that following the Creation and the ordering of all things, that God said:  "It is good."

I, for one, am glad that He created me and  you, and that he gave us a brain and the power to reason, and the freedom to make decisions, big and  small.  I, for one, am glad to know that He is my Father and that if I am obedient to the laws of heaven and earth, I can someday become like my Father.  That reminds me of a scripture recorded in the Book of Abraham 4:18. "And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed."  That is a topic for a long and serious discussion, in and of itself.  Suffice it for now, to say,  God created us and all things.  He loves us and wants us to be happy and return to Him.  He will patiently watch over and nurture us until we learn to obey those laws which will allow us to progress and enjoy true and lasting happiness.  It is our choice when we decide to learn His laws and abide by them.  I see no reason to procrastinate on any of this.  We cannot truly break the laws for they are eternal and unbreakable.  We can only break ourselves against them.  Heaven forbid.  I believe big time and will do all I can to learn the rules and abide by them.  I will not gamble on the words and theories of the "worldly wise".

So much for my thoughts while wandering around in the Lord's University today.  Below are just a few of  my teachers today.  Of course, I was feeling the Spirit as I wandered too..  If any of you get to feeling really smart, or know someone who is, just ask them to create anything  remotely comparable to any of these using the elements of the earth alone.  Humility will undoubtedly follow the honest seeker of truth.

Where does color, sight, and smell come from?

This flower was about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and yet so complete and so perfect in the minutest detail.  It is just one of the millions I was able to see today.  Never has a man made object, and I have seen some of the great ones, contained the beauty and power of this small flower.

Or this pair of small, but brightly colored, and beautiful butterflies

Even this little ground squirrel seems to have a peace and serenity about him, that most humans can barely imagine.

I never cease to be amazed at the infinite variety and beauty of His creations.  Do you suppose God ever gets bored?  Or should we?

Love you all and always,

Grandpa Bart