I was seeking inspiration tonight and decided I’d read the tiny print that my seminary teachers had us paste to the backs of our scriptures. The first one I read was from ‘Lectures of Faith’ which happened to be exactly what I needed today-

“For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also, counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, requires more than mere belief, or supposition that he is doing the will of God, but actual knowledge: realizing, that when these sufferings are ended he will enter into eternal rest; and be a partaker of the glory of God…a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things: it was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things, that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has, for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice, because he seeks to do his will, he does know most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life.”

-Joseph Smith

I have also been reading a book by Donald Miller called ‘Through Painted Deserts’. This is the second book I’ve picked up from this author (the first being ‘Searching for God Knows What’) and I’ve got to say that I think he might be my new favorite author. He is a christian writer and sometimes pokes fun at the Mormons, but he’s a funny guy and they way he describes personal relationships with God is exactly how I’ve been experiencing it. This book is about a road trip he took in his early twenties. It makes me want to go road tripping so bad, even in a VW bus that keeps breaking down as was the case in this book. He also describes the beauty of life that most of us take for granted. He hits on a lot of the reasons I take photographs. I especially like the way he turns his thoughts from every day life to how God fits into those moments. This was a quote from the chapter I read today-

“Life is a dance toward God, I began to think. And the dance is not so graceful as we might want. While we glide and swing out practiced sway, God crowds our feet, bumps our toes, and scuffs our shoes. So we learn to dance with the One who made us. And it is a difficult dance to learn, because its steps are foreign.”

-Donald Miller

I promise, this blog will not turn out to be a book review site because I’m no expert on books. I only know what speaks to me. I don’t expect to be taking photos anytime soon. I might post some of my 35mm from the last set, but I may not because who really cares about that stuff anyway. Everyone is a photographer these days and I’m not even that, I just take photos. Have a good weekend and thanks for reading.