My Life's Happenings

I realize it has been a while since I last posted. Typically I wait for about 20 comments to write a new post but in this case I will make an exception. I have had a lot of different things happen to me since December. All-State Music in Cody, All-Northwest Music in Seattle, Singin' in the Rain, MOVING OUT, and going to work for Dome Technology. Each of these things have been incredible in their own way, but the one with the greatest impact on me has obviously been moving out. I have experienced so many awesome things it is hard to count them all. Learning to shop for yourself was a lot more difficult than I would have suspected. Living with difficult roommates has been harder than a bucket of rocks. The work itself has been interesting and strange in its own little ways. Learning how to work in a construction environment with all the swearing and crude coworkers was really difficult for me at first. If I thought 7 years of locker room talk was bad then I don't know how I would rate this! It turns out that even though almost everything familiar to me wasn't present anymore there was one thing unchanged. My relationship with Heavenly Father. In fact it has grown considerably. I could call my parents and talk, but they weren't readily available for the first few weeks. They were either traveling the world or out cruising on new toys like motorcycles! So the only person I could turn to and express my frustrations and concerns to was Him. When I realized that I began to read my scriptures more and my prayers became so much more meaningful. Answers to my prayers came in remarkable ways. It has been awesome. The gospel is always true and constant and I love it!
I am in Chicago right now. I have been here since last Saturday and leave this Thursday. We are repairing a dome we didn't originally build for the North American Salt Company. It is SO hot and humid here. Gag. It was 110 with 85% humidity or something miserable like that. And then when you shotcrete it gets way hotter in there. There are only 5 guys on the project. Tanner came with me. One of the guys is 28 years old and has been working for domes for 4 years. He swears a little bit and chews, but is a pretty nice guy and is careful not to swear too much around Tanner and me. I was tying rebar in the lift with him and he told me he used to be "very LDS." I assume it means pretty active. He wondered what his life would be like if he was still living the gospel and had never fallen away from the church. I should have said "Nick! Just go back and I am sure you will find out what it would be like," but I didn't. Back in Colorado there are two guys I know of who were at one point LDS. Now they are rough and gruff and just like everyone else, they don't seem all that happy. Their lives are living proof to me that joy and happiness come from living the gospel. One of the men is about 30 and working on his fourth marriage. The other is divorced, has spent time in prison for something to do with writing a lot of bad checks, and is a recovering drug addict. Imagine the course their lives could have taken and could take even now if they just started living the gospel again! The 30 year old admits he misses the church and wishes he could go back. He can go back. That is always an option. I guess he must not feel like he could make a commitment if he did start to change. His mother is still active and he knows it's true. Living the gospel requires sacrifice. Joseph Smith said, "A religion that doesn't require the sacrifice of all earthly things can't produce the faith necessary to save a human soul in the realm of eternal life." If we aren't willing to sacrifice every worldly thing then we have no hope in the life to come.
I love the experiences that have come to me through these difficult times and under hard circumstances. Living away from home isn't the blissful life I had anticipated, but it has caused me to grow so much and I am so thankful for it.