This is AJ

I just thought that since this is our family blog, that I'd take some time to include some of my own feelings. This past week, I've been trying to prepare myself more for General Conference. I've been reading a lot and marking my scriptures. I found that I can study the scriptures during my breaks at work and it helps me to get through the day. A couple weeks ago, Kim and I had the missionaries over for dinner. It was an interesting day, because that was the day that Kim had had a grand mal seizure. Seizures, especially grand mal seizures, can cause people to be very confused, forgetful, and very tired. This was the case that day. Even though Kim wasn't feeling well, we thought it best that we should still feed the missionaries. When the missionaries came over, Kim was in a deep sleep on the couch. We chose not to wake her, because she was way too tired. The missionaries and I got to talk a lot about missionary work and about missionary experiences. I haven't got to talk that much about my mission in a long time. I remember on my mission when we'd be teaching investigators of the church about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The principles of the gospel are so important to understand. If you don't understand something, then how can you live it. Well, I remember teaching a lady in my first area in Aloha, Oregon. She smoked daily and drank coffee too. We'd go over to her home to share with her the teachings of the gospel. She had family that were members of the church who visited her often. We worked with her for many months. Progress was slow, especially since she was having such a hard time quitting smoking. We found some expert advice on how to quit smoking. Quitting "cold turkey" can be very hard for people to do. Everything from drinking lots of orange juice, which helps to clean out your system due to the acids in orange juice, to soaking a cigarette in milk and letting it dry so then when you do smoke it, it's so nasty that it's supposed to help you to stop. These are just a couple of things that people can do. There are also patches and other things to try. She tried quite a few of these things. Some helped, some didn't. We, the missionaries, had been teaching her from before I came into the area, until after I left. I was told that a few weeks after I'd left the area, she'd finally completely quit smoking and was baptized. There are so many wonderful experiences that I could share.
This past week, I was reading in the book of James. James had written to the twelve tribes of Israel who had been scattered abroad. He mentioned faith and works a lot. He also talked about how we should act in our lives. In James 2:8-10, he said: "If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.... But if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Basically, we can keep the commandments of the Lord in nearly everything we do, but when we choose to not keep even one commandment, we are guilty and need to repent. Thankfully, the Lord will forgive us when we repent. In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus taught: "...Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged: but judge righteous judgment. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."
I have tried for many years to try to judge others righteously--to show that I truly care for others, even if they do things that offend me. The Lord has blessed me to be able to forgive others. Sometimes, it's harder to forgive, but I do anyway, because I know that that's what the Lord would have me to do. If there are any friends, family, or others, who I or Kim have offended in the past, please forgive us. Everyone has bad days. This is not an excuse, but a truth. No one's perfect. Kim and I are trying so hard to help both family and friends who are having hard times. We reach out to you with open arms that we may be reunited with unity and love.
We love visiting with family and friends. Being in the Army, we will very likely be restationed in the coming months. MPs are needed right now in places like Hawaii, so we'll see what happens.
I hope that my words can be of benefit to others. Know that we love all people, no matter what, and that we're always here to help.