LDS FC: Defenders

With the ball moving rapidly up and down the field, it's everyone's job to make sure it stays on the right side of the field. However, if by some chance you let the ball slip past and it's making its way towards your goal, don't worry... you've got defneders! These guys are tough! They've gotta be quick and agile, they've gotta be strong, and they've gotta have stamina like none other! These guys are the main thing keeping a striker from taking a shot, and it's a lot harder for them to score when they can't even get a shot off. Simple logic, there. Yes, these guys will often be up towards the front when their team has the ball, lending support to their team, helping out where they can, but they'll still be back a little bit, and ready to book it back the other way if there's a loss of possession. And of course, within the defense there are different roles. Like with midfielders, some are more offensive and some are more defensive, you'll see the same with defense. Some will be up a little farther, some will stay back. There's always gonna be one who stays back, known as the sweeper (the position my brother played). There main purpose, their focus, is to make sure the goalie doesn't have to do a darn thing! They want that ball out of there, and back on the other side of the field! Some great names in defense are players like Puyol, Pique, John Terry, and Carlos Bocanegra. They're central in making sure that the team wins.

We often hear about our first line of defense being the Prophet. The Prophet and Apostles are special men, set apart to be special witnesses of Christ. The Prophet receives revelation pertinent for the world, and the Apostles have oversight for the Church. Thanks to them, we can know how best to defend ourselves against Satan and his attack. We can look to these men, by reading the Engisn or watching Conference, and Apostles and Prophets from the days of old, through Scriptures, to find out what Satan wants to do, and how we can stand up to him. It's an amazing gift they have, and they share it with all of us. They want us to be protected, as does our Heavenly Father. That's why He calls Prophets, to make sure we're not left in the dark. When we lose the ball, and it's heading back the other way, we have out defenders who can stop the other team, and get the ball back where it needs to be. Thank God we have Prophets and Apostles, true inspired men of God, who lead and guide us in our day to day lives. We have a brickwall defense, so long as we heed their council and listen to what they say. They're not just giving us good advice, they're giving us words of wisdom, straight from our Heavenly Father. They are the BEST defense we could hope for! 

Go, Go Power Rangers!

So, back in the day, I was obsessed with a certain TV show. I had to watch it every day! I had toys, shirts, and would pretend to be the people on the show and fight the bad guys. I'm sure everyone may age (ish) remembers this show, and watched it (and if you say you didn't, chances are you're lying!) That show was the Power Rangers. Specifically, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Coolest show ever! It was always the same: the Rangers would be doing cool teenage stuff, then they'd have to go fight some monster that Rita Repulsa, then later Lord Zedd, then a combination of the two would throw at them. When they thought they'd beaten the monster, Rita/Lord Zedd would just make it GIANT, so the Rangers would have to get their Zords, then pull together to make the Megazord (I don't even know if they ever just had their individual Zords fight...), then they would beat the now giant monster with very jerky movements, while really inspirational music would play ("Go, go Power Rangers!"), the monster would fall over and (for some reason) explode! And the day would be saved once more. It was also always funny how the kids would wear clothes that were the same color as their Ranger color, Jason always in red, Kimberly always in pink, Billy in blue, Trini in Yellow, and Zach in black, then later Tommy in green... then white.
But of course, this wasn't all done on their own. I mean, they were all just teenagers in high school with seemingly nothing special about them (except they all just happened to be martial arts experts). They needed some kind of driving force. Someone had to choose them, then tell them what to do, then warn them when Rita was on the loose again. Cue the giant floating head. Zordon is a rather mysterious character, with quite the back story (I won't get into it... Just know that he used to be a wizard, and got trapped in a time warp). For several reasons, he's seen only as a giant, white floating head in a tube. He's kept in what's called the Command Center, which is pretty much the headquarters for the Rangers. He calls the shots, while his faithful robot sidekick, Alpha 5, does the upkeep. Somehow, he's always in the know as to just what Rita/Zedd are up to, and right before they make their attack, Zordon calls the Power Rangers to the Command Center where he prepares them for the task at hand. We of course learn in the movie that Zordon, outside his power tube thing, is a withered, white old man, bald and wearing an interesting grey outfit... he kinda looks like Darth Vader, at the end of Return of the Jedi when Luke takes his helmet off. Zordon is how the Rangers are able to keep Rita Repulsa from taking over the world! (Why she always just attacks California, specifically Angel Grove, instead of branching out and attacking where the Power Rangers aren't, I don't know).
Ok, this may be kind of a stretch, but bear with me. Think of the Power Rangers as prophets. They protect us from the evils of the world. They tell us what we need to know and do in order to properly follow our Heavenly Father. They warn us of evil, and help us to stay on the right path. But, they can only do so much without someone behind the scenes, warning them of evils and teaching them what to know and do. They need someone to help them out. They need a Zordon. Heavenly Father fills that role, of telling the prophets how to help and protect us. He tells them, they tell us. Zordon tells the Rangers, they save us. We all need the prophets' advice to help us live the best way we can (whether modern day prophets, or those found in the scriptures), and the prophets need the Lord to tell them what to tell us. Thank God we have prophets to help us in our life!

Sticks and Stones

How many people do you know who, after getting arrested for nothing, stand an unfair trial on trumped up charges, are beaten, then released, rejoice? Probably a few people would. But who would rejoice, not because they were free, but because they were able to go through all that? Who would be happy to have experienced that? I can think of plenty of people who would be happy that it's over, but not happy that they were imprisoned, beaten, and inches from death. But, that was just what Peter and the other Apostles did. After being arrested, the Spirit of the Lord allowed them to escape the prison, which further enraged the Sadducees. They were then taken before trial, where the council were trying to think of how they could condemn them to death. Then one of the Sadducees, named Gamaliel, spoke some reason to them, reminding them of people who had popped up and convinced people that they should follow them, and after they had died the people left, then he said "And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." He tells them, hey, if they're just talking, who cares? But, if they're actually men of God as they claim, killing them won't end well for you. The council agreed, allowing them to continue on their way, so sure that Jesus wasn't the Christ, and that this would all eventually just go away. But, they couldn't just let them go. They beat the Apostles, and still forbade them to preach in the name of Christ. So, off the Apostles went "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." 

Wow. Who would be so happy about such a terrible ordeal? Who would walk away from that thinking "Yeah! We got to suffer, be beaten, imprisoned, and almost killed... all for Jesus!" I know when someone yells at me, flips me off, slams a door in my face, calls me a wicked man, condemns me to hell, calls me a blind leader of the blind, or any other mean thing that happens to me on my mission, I get upset. Well, I laugh, but I'm still a little upset. I certainly don't rejoice that I was able to be yelled at or whatever for the sake of my Savior. That's something I need to work on. 

"10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

Is this something that you do? When someone says something negative about your faith, about the Church, or about the truth that you know, do you rejoice? Are you glad that you were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name? It is a sign of patience, a Christlike attribute, to be able to bear these adversities. It is also a sign of humility that we take these things in stride, realizing that our friends, our brothers and sisters, are lost and don't know the truth. If they persecuted the prophets and apostles of old, and even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they all bore it with gladness, with patience, and even rejoicing, why can't we do the same? We're not being stoned, beaten, wrongly imprisoned, tortured, or crucified. We're just having some mean words thrown at us. We all know the old adage "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Well, as corny as it is, it's true. When we're given the opportunity to suffer shame for His name, let us rejoice in it! 

Tight Like Unto a Dish

In the opening chapters of Ether, we are introduced to Jared and his brother (aptly referred to as the brother of Jared). The brother of Jared communes with the Lord, and is told to build barges. This brings up many questions: how many? how? how will we breath? how will we see? All valid questions, and all answered by the Lord.
In construction of the ships, the Lord lays out the exact designs, "and they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish." (Ether 2:17). In being tight like unto a dish, the barges were sealed against the water, so there was no worry of them filling and everyone sinking, which would be bad. They know it will be tight because these were the designs given to them by the Lord. Now, the issue of them being tight like unto a dish did present one problem, the problem of air supply. If it's airtight, then no more air can come in, and once the air in the barge is gone, they'll all suffocate. This is pretty simply solved, the Lord instructs the brother of Jared to simply put a hole with a stopper to allow air in, then stopper again when water starts coming in.
I'd like to focus on "tight like unto a dish". This is said many times in the verse in description of the barges. Everything, the top, bottom, side, and door are all tight like unto a dish. What does that mean for us? The benefit for the barges was that it would for sure keep out all the water. That was the main danger being presented to them (that and sea monsters), and what they worried most about. We're just going to set off on this grand voyage in these big wooden barges, in the wide open sea, with absolutely no knowledge of where we'll be or where we're going? We'll drown! But, thanks to the Lord's instructions, that didn't happen. We can seal ourselves. We can make ourselves tight like unto a dish the same way the brother of Jared did with his barges. By following the Lord's instructions and doing as He says, we protect ourselves from the dangers that surround us and want to get in and drown us. As we make our lives tight like unto a dish, we are better able to avoid/resist temptations, and keep ourselves afloat, guided by the Lord, towards that promised land. And all the while, the Lord will provide us with air to breath, and light to see. Are you tight like unto a dish?