A Teaching Moment - Thanks Elder Dandridge

"Hello Everyone!
Well I guess after popular demand it was requested that I send another one of these big letters to everyone... SO! here we go!
I was thinking that I would share with you a spiritual thought how does that sound? No? Well to bad that's what you get ;) I have been thinking about a specific gospel topic the last couple days and it is one that is found in Mosiah chapter 2. sorry if I paraphrase or mis-quote the sections I don't have a ton of time to look up and do it word for word so I hope you get the idea though. In chapter 2 about vs 32 they start talking about 'listing to do evil' and for along time I didn't know what this meant so, I turned to my handy dandy dictionary and looked it up! listing means to tilt one way or the other. Just like a ship it can rock one way or the other.
So, what does this mean to 'LIST to do evil?'
Let me share with you an experience I had before my mission that also taught me this. I was working in New Mexico, and we had a truck with at least 4 pallets of block on it, so it was very heavy. We came to a point where we were going to turn around and make the truck face the other way for convenience. At this place where we were turning there was a cone. We had no idea why the cone was there only that it could potentially mean danger! So, we did not hit the cone thinking that there was just something dangerous underneath. As we made about a quarter of our U-turn we felt a sudden SLAM! It was as though we hit a wall... but there was no wall.
What had happened was there was a broken pipe under that cone causing the ground underneath the truck to sink into the ground. This was a big truck one of those Ford 450 flat beds. And the bottom of the bed was on the ground we sunk in that much.
So what am I trying to say exactly?"

"To often do we think like this with our lives! Such as, 'Well how long can I watch this TV show until I change the channel?' or 'How late can I walk in the door until I'm in trouble?' this is 'Listing to do evil' as King Benjamin might explain it.
It is often thought how much bad stuff in a movie makes it too bad or more common in youth 'how long can I kiss before it's a sin?' My answer to there to questions is the same. The sin is in your heart. Is your thoughts and your heart beyond the point of what you are doing is that where you truly want to be? Why as humans do we do this? Why do we try to 'get away with' as much as we can?
May I leave a thought for you? How about you try what I call 'List to do good!' watch the best TV shows, listen to the best songs, read the best books. Do more then what is asked by God. By doing so I promise it will make all the diffrence! I know this because it has worked for me.
Now there may be some of those who have 'their truck in a sink hole,' and to you I think I need to finish that story.
The people who put the cone there must have known that someone would probably have done something like we did so they came to see. And to our rescue came a bulldozer to lift up our back wheels and let us loose. Thereby letting us do the work we needed to do that day.
The same is with life. Jesus Christ is that bulldozer and there isn't a truck that is to heavy for Him to lift. All we have to do is allow Him to do it. He will lift you out of your 'sinkholes' and allow you to do the work that you were sent here to do.
I do hope that this message was clear because I know if you understand and apply these principals that the Lord WILL bless you more than I or you can understand. Please 'list to do good' and He will bless you.

Love Always
-Elder Ray Dandridge"