Introduction: A Duty to Record and Share

My Duty To Record and Share

Hello brothers and sisters! As of late, one topic has been increasing its weight upon my mind. Becoming more than just a topic to ponder on, that weight has transformed the topic into a desire and a need to act upon; it has become a duty. That duty is the recording and sharing of the happenings of and the personal revelations received in my life. I am already pretty good at the recording part, as I keep a personal journal updated almost daily. Now, I feel a strong push to publish some of these experiences and thoughts in hopes of assisting others in this journey of mortality. 

I never knew the extent of the importance of journal keeping until I was introduced to it within the church culture. I had a journal I would only write in when the occasional genius decided to visit and whisper wisdom regarding my experiences. When I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a wonderful woman (who quickly became a friend), gifted me another journal. This journal encouraged me to record the radical changes I was making to my person. As I love to listen to TED talks and other podcasts, I quickly became addicted to General Conference talks given by prophets, apostles, and other church leaders. Some of these talks focus on the significance of journal keeping. President W. Kimball, a previous prophet of the church, states in the October 1975 New Era magazine:

 "Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life. There may be a flash of illumination here and a story of faithfulness there. … Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available. … What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity. … Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity."

I think he writes eloquently why we ought to keep a daily journal. It also brings peace to write when we are discouraged; helps us organize our thoughts; enables us to reflect on and propose changes to our character; aids us in problem solving; and encourages us to remember our blessings.

I recently found a journal my father kept while he was in rehabilitation for severe alcoholism. As I discovered this precious, worn book with messy scribbles on its pages, I eagerly absorbed its contents. Not all of it made sense. Some entries seemed forced and insincere (an assignment by the rehab staff). Others, I could infer, were written desperate desires to improve his situation. Albeit short, this book is a treasure to me because it is the writings of my father. It is a glimpse into the mind of a person in a time of seemingly unending hardship, whom I no longer get to physically see roaming this Earth. This directed my perspective to the future desires and welfare of my posterity. If I felt this way about my father's brief entries, surely my posterity will want to know what I thought about and how I handled my own trials. It can guide them in fairing their own battles.

So, this is the why of recording. If I share some of these happenings in blog format, perhaps I will aid not only my posterity, but any who decide to read these words. I feel Heavenly Father has charged me with this duty. I have a responsibility to love, serve, and help mankind in their journey. I made covenants with my creator to do so. In my church, I have also been called to serve as a ward missionary. This means I have a duty to love and serve my brothers and sisters. With callings, we are blessed and set apart by leaders with authority from Christ, also called priesthood authority, to be capable in this task of service and to be sensitive to the needs of others. Blogging my experiences and reflections is one way of accomplishing this lifelong task. 

With my posts, I will talk about various subjects. Some will be personal stories coupled with a life lesson. Some will be talks I have prepared and given during sacrament meetings (church on Sunday). I think I will focus my writings on relaying to you why I made radical changes in the past; how I was able to accomplish and secure these changes as a way of life; how these changes have benefited me; and why it is necessary to strive for continual change and progression (whether it be gradual or radical). To create a sense of time, I will document these changes around events, one in which is when I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My baptism date was May 31, 2014. So, those radical changes occurred around that time. Before and after that period, the changes have been more gradual. It is important to share why there was such a spike in the line of overall gradual progression. As human beings, we change gradually over time. We hit plateaus, but generally the line is always increasing. When there is a rare radical spike in which change occurs and is sustained, I think it is important for us to understand why so that we can learn from it and maybe apply what we learn to our own lives to aid in our progression.

Other posts might be related to health, nutrition, tango, or various other fun topics. We will see which geniuses decide to visit me and share their ideas and talents.