I know I know there was another apostasy of blog writing and I apologize for that! But I'm back and doing great so I will be writing more starting a brand new dispensation of great blog writing as directed by the Spirit. As for now here is a little picture of where Eldorado IL is.

or to give you a broader picture as to where in IL it's located since this map probably doesn't help you out at all

Or in other words God loves to send me to places in the middle of nowhere, but that's just because He knows what I'll enjoy and where I work best!!! God knows me personally!

One of the most touching testimonies from a wonderful missionary! Elder Dye

""Elder Dye was a late talker." Said my mother. "He only said a few words until he was 3 years old and I tried to put shoes on him that were too small. He said 'Mommy, these shoes owie my feet'. I was shocked. He really could talk. He started speech 'therapy' in kindergarten and was doing quite well. The only problem was that he had a slight hesitation when he said certain things. He stopped speech in the fifth grade. He said it wasn't helping anymore and he didn't like missing classes."

For as long as I remember I have had trouble with my speech. I had the hesitation, or stutter, from a young age. My mother is right, I quit going to speech in the fifth grade because I thought it was a waste of time and didn't like missing class, but mainly because I did not like being the outcast in my class, having to leave to go learn how to speak like everyone else already did. So the hiding began. I began to substitute words that I could say for words that I thought I would stutter on. I got quite good at this. Actually really good at it. For a while my mother did not know that the stutter was a problem because I hid it from everyone. I hated being the outcast.

My mother continues".... read the rest of his story here.

Today I figured I would simply post my testimony because like the title says "MY MOMMY ASKED ME TO" her words were "One of the most powerful things you have is your testimony. When in doubt bear it. My favorite blogs are yours and Elder Dyes because you do relate them to personal experiences so how do we overcome the Goliaths in our life?" So to answer my mother's question, I will simply bare my testimony!

To begin I'd like to say I dearly love each and everyone of you who read this. You bring joy to my heart, and I just hope the things I type and say might touch your heart, because I know that I simply type what is on my mind and in my heart. It is my hope and prayer that the Spirit will touch you as it touches me as I write. I know, without a shadow of a doubt that God has restored his church on the earth today through a Prophet. I know that Amos taught us so many years ago that this is how God works. That God works through his prophets, and I know that Joseph Smith is that Prophet that God has worked through for us today.

I also know that each of us can know "the truth all things by the power of the Holy Ghost." All these things I know because I initially had a desire to know. In this universal truth I hope that I can answer my mom's question, HOW DO WE OVERCOME OUR GOLIATHS. Desire is that answer. Such a simple word can take each and everyone of us to a new understanding of how God works.

It was Desire that Abraham had to follow the things that he was commanded to. It was desire that made Noah build a boat. It was Adam's desire to be able to multiply and replenish the earth and made him fall into his transgression. We too must have desire before anything can happen. Whether it's for the right or the wrong, the things we bring to pass come with desire. So it is my hope that we desire to do good. I know that if you truly desire to know if the things I have shared with you today are true than you can put these words into action:

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Sorry I have been so slow to answer ya'll's questions, but I am back and todays entry will be a shorter one and if time allows I will expand if questions are unanswered. Someone who just finished the Miracle of Forgiveness was wanting to know the difference between being perfect and being worthy, and I think this is an amazing question that I will try to do justice so first. Worthy is being able to honestly answer the questions that are asked you in an interview with someone who holds greater authority. For those of you who this doesn't make sense to let me explain. Before someone is baptized they are given an interview to see if they are worthy or ready to take on this commitment to the lord. Someone who is worthy is someone who is capable of honestly standing up for those things that have been done. Perfection on the other hand isn't something we do it's a gift that as we live worthy we will ultimately be able to obtain through the Atonement of Christ. So to me the biggest difference is one is the way we act (WORTHY) and one is our gift because of how we act (PERFECTION)! hope that answered some concerns!

"It is important to Do good, but we need to focus more on the Being good. We all need to make that inner change" 
-A quote from my aunt who posted on my facebook the other day. 

Today let us look at why this quote means so much to me!!! the other day I got in a car accident... That's new news ain't it!!! Well this is something very valuable I learned. You see I had always lived my life that "Image is everything, If I look good then it doesn't matter what I'm like on the inside.

View the image of this room which used to be exactly how I lived my life. You see I figured "No one saw the inside of my apartment so I didn't really care what it looked like. While this was the inside I made sure the outside looks flawless. I mean just look at this beauty!!!


But since the accident I've learned a very valuable lesson, It doesn't really matter what it looks like on the outside at all, what matters is whats on the inside! So to relate this back to the initial quote, we must remember that no matter how much we focus on the desire to "do good" we must never forget that we must BE GOOD. There is a fine line between showing that you are good and knowing within that you are Christlike. Strive in all things to be as Christ was!!!!

I never thought I'd be running out of ideas to write, but i've kinda recently hit a stumbling block. A goliath in my life. People help me. what do you want to hear about or see??? Your kind replies are well needed to fuel this blog to the next level!!!!

Another message from my mom read this and understand the power of prayer!!! I love Prayer!!

I know you realize just how blessed you really are.  I hope you realize that the entire world has rallied around you and Elder Corbridge in fasting and prayer.  I physically felt the sustaining peace and support of those prayers last week as we were getting ready for the wedding and so scared, but thankful about your condition.
So how are you really?  In church our prayer was that you have a full and complete recovery and you are able to continue with your mission responsibilities. 
Well of coarse I bore my testimony in church.  So did Brother Astle.  He was our high counsel representative.  He said that he has spent more time in the emergency room with you Mac then he has with his own kids!  He also testified of the power of the fast and said that you have an important mission here on earth. 
After the meeting a lady came up to me.  She said she was from Texas on vacation and she had been praying for you Elder Walker.  She was so happy to get your updates.  Yup, she is from the missionary moms group.  Elder Colbridges mom just joined the group too!  We are going to meet for lunch when Dad and I go to Utah and Idaho at the end of the month.
A couple of other faith promoting things:  Grandma Pahl was at home in Arizona and turned on the TV.  It was an evgelical minister, you know the kind that do those tv prayer shows.  She said there were two young missionaries from the LDS church who were involved in a terrible accident and to pray for thier recovery.  Grandma said that the show originated somewhere in Kentucky.  I have two Catholic friends.  One said she stayed up at night and said rosery for you.  Another did a morning mass in your honor. 
My point:  Prayer is universal.  Our kind Heavenly Father loves all of his children and allowed them to be touched by the needs of two servants of the Lord.  All denominations have joined in praying for you complete recovery.  Wow

So it's time to make a bad into a good. Today will be an email from my mother I feel that everyone could use. A little background. I was in a huge car accident while out here. I am all well and God has blessed me beyond belief. Here is the email from my mother.

"My Dear Son, In whom I am well pleased.  Words cannot express the gratitude that your dad and I  feel in our hearts for the love and protection granted you and Elder Corbridge during your car accident.  So my message for you and for those reading is Thank You.
First of all:  Thank you Elder Walker & Elder Corbridge for representing the Church of Jesus Christ with honor, diligence and obedience.
Thank you to the Elders in Louisville Kentucky mission who came so quickly to the hospital to give you a priesthood blessing.
Thank you to all those people who have fasted and prayed on your behalf and on behalf of all the sisters and elders in the world.  Their prayers have brought both physical and mental strength to both our families and to your own temporal body that survived such an ordeal.
Thank you to your mission president President McKee.  His Christ like service and father's love helped keep me and your dad from jumping on the next plane to Kentucky!
.
And most of all, thank you to our loving Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. May you know that a miracle happened on a tiny highway in Kentucky when two representatives of the Lord were protected from major harms, and the miracles continue as their injuries heal.  I could have lost a son.  Our Heavenly Father did.  However this sacrifice was for us.  I know that is was through the atonement of our Lord and Savior that you were offered protection that extended beyond this earthly veil. 
May all who read this know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.   Love, your mom"

Many people concerned with this debt crisis America is facing. And to be frankly honest the whole situation in the news is about unity. Whether or not the republicans or the democrats are right or wrong doesn't matter. What matters to most people is the division that is causing chaos.

Likewise there has been a religious division for quite sometime. Ephesians 4:11-14 teach us that we will need prophets till we all come in the unity of the faith. Christ came to the earth and established his church to have One Lord, one faith, one baptism,(Ephesians 4:5.) Christ is perfect, there is one way for all of us. In 1820 Joseph Smith was looking for this one way and he found it. Through divine intervention he was called as a Prophet of God. As we look around us we can realize religions still fight and there isn't much unity. A prophet is thus still needed today.

Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today that I know can teach us the things that we must know in todays troubled world to help us in our hardest times. I may not know the answer to our debt ceiling, and I may not be the president of America, but I know by following the teachings of our Prophets, modern and old, we can grow closer to Christ and be the safest possible in hard times

Today we learned in District Meeting the importance of self evaluation. Today's blog I encourage ya'll to dig deep into yourself and find something you can approve on and look to God for help as you strive to change. Like a midyear-new years resolution, but instead actually do it!!! Look forward to pictures soon in which I talk more about this self evaluation theme!!!

1 Nephi Chapter 11 teaches us the story of the tree of life. A little summary of that follows: Lehi has a dream in which he sees a rod leading to the tree of life. In the midst of fog is a large building. Lehi stands at the tree pertaking of the fruit, in hopes he can find his family on the rod coming to the tree to pertake as well. In chapter 11 Nephi sees the same tree and has an receives in interpretation. The tree of life is the love of God, the rod is the word of God, and the midst around as well as the spacious building is the evils and contentions and struggles of the world.

Today we experience our own struggles everyday, are we willing to stick on the iron rod and go the distance? Recently my companion and I have had the great oppurtunity of visiting a chriropractor during our lunch break! As we started going there we at first got an X-ray of our backs which were a little messed up, not bad but not perfect.


The doctor let us know if untreated it could go bad. Likewise if we don't continue straight down the iron rod. If we think "hey we can sway back and forth"(kind of like my back) then we might be just fine at first, but the final outcome is surgical. Luckily we too have a doctor that can straighten out our mistakes just as the chiropractor straightens out my back. Our doctor is flawless, his name is Jesus Christ and as long as we constantly look towards him in all things then we can finally reach the tree of life and pertake of his Love to the fullest measure! Who wouldn't want that?

I am the youngest of 3 children I have an older Sister, Allison(25), who is currently serving a mission in the Atlanta Georgia mission! My sister graduated from BYU-I a couple years back with a major in Art and minor Psychology in hopes to become an Art Phychologist, instead she found a job as an art teacher on a remote island in Saipan. A year into her twoyear there she knew she had to go on a mission as diligent prayer had led her know that is where God wanted her. She also knew she had another year left before she could quit her job, but God had other plans for her. That summer ther principle layed off all the teachers planning to rehire and rebuild. Although she knew she could easily be rehired, since her and the principle were close, she knew this was an answer to her prayer! So off to a mission she went. From my sister I have learned the importance of prayer and the importance of following the spirit. I know no one closer to the spirit then her and maybe my mom!

I also have an older Brother, Jonny(27), who served his mission in the Denver Colorado North Mission. Sadly about 9 months in he wasn't feeling too well and had to be rushed to the doctor. To make a long story short they discovered he had Crohns disease and after surgery had to be sent home on an honorable medical release. He is now engaged to my soon to be sister-inlaw, which is weird to think, but she was already like a sister to me when I was home so it'll all be normal when I get home. Their date is for August 6th, so I'll be doing the Lords work out here, but I'm still just as excited for them. It's been GREAT to see his progression since his mission! I hope I'm half the man he is now when I get home!!! Which hopefully never comes... I mean extensions are always an option!!! From him I've learned that no matter what sickness or illness gets in the way don't let this destroy your dreams.

You probably didn't only want to know about my brothers and sisters so I will share with you a little about my parents. First off my mom, Camie, who is originally from Poccatello Idaho. She has been the backbone in my religious life and am so greatful for it. It was her that pushed all the kids to go to church and go on missions... well didn't really push my sister, but always stood behind her choices. Sadly on the negative side of things all my relatives got a bad singer voice from our mom, but we make do and have a little fun with it! It brings smiles to all of our faces!!! I guess that wasn't as negative as I thought it would be. One thing i dislike is negativity but hey it exists so might as well make it into a positive!! My mom has been married to my dad for a little over 20 years! There's been some downs but mostly ups, just like in any marriage! I'm positive that it is because of my mom that I am who I am today!

Now a little about my dad. My entire life I grew up with my dad never coming to church. Yes my parents were sealed in the LA temple, but I he had gone less active long before I was born. He would find excuses not to come and it's just the way I grew up. I used to think it was normal to only have one parent at church. One thing my dad never lost though was his testimony. He didn't come to church but he knew it was true. Right after I turned in my mission papers I went on a two week mini mission in my own local mission. On my mini mission I learned of wht they called the "the 15 family plan." The plan that we still use to get less active reactivated and find referalls from doing so. To say the least alot of wards don't fully understand the plan and my home ward was one of them. I quickly got on the phone and requested that my family be put on the list of 15 families. Soon missionaries were teaching us the lessons. They quickly commited my dad to get back to the being temple worthy. This goal was something he had already committed himself to do since he so badly wanted to be my escort for when I went through the temple. Soon the missionaries were making smaller commitments with him to get him to that point. It wasn't too long till he was making it to church at least once a month, which was a huge improvement. I then got my mission call and he knew he had about 2 months to be ready to go to the temple with me. Putting this time limit on things really blessed him so much. He went in and had an interview with the bishop and was told unless he starts coming every sunday he wouldn't be able to get a temple reccommend in time. He tried his hardest to do so, but because of his surgery on his back quite often he was stuck in bed in EXTREME pain. A new bishop was called about this time, which was a huge blessing to my father. This bishop pushed my father to get to at least sacrament every week. The month before I was to go into the temple my dad made it to two sundays in a row for the first time in as long as I could remember. It was time for him to talk to the bishop again. The bishop understoon his circumstance and could tell my dad was trying his hardest and commited him that he would let him go through the temple as long as my dad promised the bishop he would continue to come to at least sacrament! My dad made the commitment and for the first time in about 20 years my dad went through the temple with me my first time. To this day my dad now goes to church and tries to visit the temple at least once a month with my mother! A great testimony of the importance of commitment has come from my dad who I know has experienced alot more than any one else that I have met to this day!

I've always lived my life "eat till your full then keep eating cus it's yummy." To be honest with you this rule has always worked for me or so I thought. There I sat at breakfast, yesterday morning, and ready to gulf up what I thought would be a good size meal. Not too big, not too small. I mean the description was just 2 sentences "eggs, bacon, sausage, some kind of meat I don't remember, and bisquits and gravy." I figured it was like a sample platter with a little bit of everything. My initial thought was reassured by those who was taking me out to breakfast when they insisted my companion and I also try the pankakes. They swore that "they were to die for," and would not take NO for an answer, so 2 pancakes were on the way as well! Elder Corbridge and I were still in this state of "This will be a good hearty meal." To give you a visual of what we expected take a look at this LumberJack ready to demolish his good decent sized meal



He's even got my glasses

It didn't take us long to realize that this picture was pretty close to accurate but in a totally different sense then I had initially imagined. You see the Lumberjack is actually a GIANT and the meal if propertional. Since that didn't make the most sense, I'll put this into more simple terms, The meal came out on four plates... all of them full! Soon after the meal Proverbs 23:2 took on a whole new meaning "And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." I knew after that meal I'd never have to worry about appetite again. Nothing sounded good to Elder Corbridge or myself, but life had to go on and sure enough that night the same family insisted on taking us out to dinner!<--- Not sure if that should be an exclamation mark, but you see I'm super greatful for the dinner and I love this family, but my belly just didn't feel like anything at the moment. 5 hours passed, stomach is just getting better from our nice "hearty" meal when it's dinner time. We head out to dinner and are happy to have some entertaining company!! We order something small, but like I said before there is no such thing as small, so the grandma orders us more food. Out comes a huge BBQ sandwich, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, onion rings and a soda for me, and another sandwich, more coleslaw, and more onion rings for Elder Corbridge. Within seconds we had more food than our bellies could handle, but somehow an hour latter the food was gone and we were back to that point where we had to waddle to walk. They always say pictures speak 1000 words so here I'll just put a picture of me here so you can see how much I waddled.


You see I can barely stand up straight. Plus I look like a penguin in the picture, but you get the point. I was so fat I waddled around just like a penguin so it only makes sense I'd look like a penguin right... well back to my point. Soon our dinner was finished and we were once again over filled with food. Yet I wish I could tell you that that macaroni and cheese was the last thing I ate that night, but the grandma insisted on taking us to "Dairy Bell" as she called Dairy Queen, so since NO was not an option off to "Dairy Bell we went. Trying to order a mini chocoholic blizzard just didn't work either as I heard "make it a large" come from the grandma in the background. With a full stomach a large blizzard was now on it's way. I don't know how but I finished the entire thing, which still confuzzles my mind, but more importantly confuzed my belly. Luckily for us it was insisted that we get some icecream to take home with us as well. So to say the least we now have a box of ice-cream sitting in our fridge. I can promise you I'll be eating it, but I sure hope it's latter than sooner. I'm done for food for quite sometime.

So now what does this story and this penguin have to do with the gospel? You see the scriptures teach us “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”(1 Cor. 6:19–20) The wrong way to treat God's temple is to fill it up with junk and over work it. The nice way to treat this temple God has blessed us with is truly live as God wants you to. He's given us clues to treat our body the best possible, so forget my initial rule and live by "when your full, your full, don't abuse and overuse the temple God gave you"

The more and more I think about our loving Heavenly Father the more and more I would like to relate this next song to his love. A love with out end, Amen by George Straight so fully shows a fathers love.

I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye. Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why. When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed. And then stood there on those tremblin' knees and waited for the worst.

How many times have we sinned and felt like there is no way we can be forgiven of this. There is no way I'm telling anything and then we realize we have to and we too sit there on our tremblin knees and just wait for the worst.

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, A secret that my daddy said was just between us." He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen."

Remember God's love for us is a love without end. He sent His only beggoten son to die for us. Let us not forget that great and everlasting sacrafice!

The other day I was driving around in this beautiful Mazda 3 when it hit me. Cars don't just relate to the restoration but they relate to the Gospel of Christ. The next day, I had just walked out to the driveway and gotten in the car. I now had to use a little FAITH to turn on the car. Something I hoped would happen but I couldn't see it yet.

With the turn of the key my FAITH became knowledge, the car started. Next I started backing up forgetting that on the mission my companion is suppose to be behind the car to make sure I don't hit something. I had to REPENT, and the breaks did a perfect job at helping me do so. Soon after I started driving along having to REPENT(use the breaks) quite often it started to rain or maybe I went to the car wash.


My car was immerged in water (baptism). Soon later the sun came out and made my day all bright and sunny. It's influence brought me happiness, just like the Holy Ghost. It wasn't long till I still had a long trip to go but because I knew my car was so full of the Gospel of Christ that I too could keep driving and endure till the end!

"And I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head above the brightness of the sun, which decended gradually until it fell upon me and when the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--"This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

God the Father and Jesus Christ answered his question. All the churches had part of the truth but none of them had the complete truth. Jospeh Smith was called to restore Christ's church on the earth today. You can find out for yourself if the church has been restored by reading the Book of Mormon, praying to ask God if it is true, and taking the appropriate actions when you receive you answer. We all must be mechanics of our soul and restore the truth within ourselves!!!

Father's day is right around the corner and for those of you who don't know my dad's favorite car is a Corvette!!! So today for fathers day I figured I'd right this blog on the Restoration of God's Gospel... Yeah i know nothing to do with Corvettes... NOT.  And if I ever get my photos working then I'll be able to have pictures of Corvettes for you!! But anywho as of right now for time purposes at the library I'll continue with the comparison. Sit back and imagine... hopefully you will only have to imagine this... but imagine you are driving along the road in your nice new Corvette when a car comes out of no where and T-bones you. Leaving your car dismantled but still fixable. People come rushing to the scene trying to help but none of them really know how to fix your car. They try their hardest to make your car look the same as it used to but they just aren't the creators of your beautiful Corvette. You are left with a car that just doesn't run the same as it used to. That is until you go to the right people and ask them to fix it. A Corvette Speciality Car Mechanic! There your car gets a full on resortoration. They take in your car remove the stuff that people had added that didn't need to be there, fix the stuff that was damaged, and put the same old car all back together again. Same old car, same old Look!

Likewise the Gospel of Christ needed a restoration after Christ was crucified. Shortly after this sad happening and after the happy ressurrection Christ called his 12 apostles to go out and teach His Gospel. Sadly Christ could not stay he had other work to do as he told those in Jeruselum "I have other sheep that are not of this fold" Slowly more and more sad things happened short after the Gospel of Christ was hit by something horrible and each the the 12 apostles and any apostles called there after were killed. This made it impossible for Christ's authority to continue until Christ restored it himself. All things were done in the wisdom of He who knows all things. Amos 8:11-12 prophesied of the such authority no longer being on the earth. There too was a need of a restoration of Gospel. In 1820 this restoration was made possible and tomorrow we will have an update. So stay tuned and be patient!!!

I'm back... And I know you missed me... and if you didn't then that's not my problem I still love you! But enough about me me me me me me me. We've got a lot of make up work to do. So I want ya'll to relate the last couple of non-posts to me to the Gospel. Now imagine to yourself the way you devout readers felt when you came to this page day after day, but yet discovered day after day there was no post. So sad, but even more important than anything I write here or anything I do is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now put yourself in the shoes of those who day after day sought after the Gospel of Jesus Christ during those hard years when the Gospel was not yet returned to us. Those hard years after the death of Christ and his deciples. Imagine searching and not being able to find. Lucky for us the Gospel is back! And yes I'm back too! Christ has entrusted each and everyone of us with agency to seek out His gospel. I exhort each person reading this to do so. Here these missionaries might help you in your path!!!



In every life we have some trouble When you worry you make it double Don't worry, be happy......