O Thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus Stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying; Of a truth thou art the Son of God. (St. Matthew 14:25-33)

This has to be one of my absolute favorite story found in the scriptures it has so many applications to my life and I hope it will begin to have many applications to yours. The Disciples had toiled all night long against the storm while Jesus was upon the shore line watching. They feared and were afraid that they all might perish if the storm does not calm itself. On the Fourth Watch (this means early morning they had to work and toil all night long which is a lesson unto itself) Jesus came walking on the water and Peter the overzealous one asks "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." And like Jesus always says "Come." Instantly Peter jumped over the side of the boat not thinking that he was about to be a part of a miracle. That just goes to show you the exceptional Faith that Peter had. I do not think too many of us will be that willing to jump out and leave the safety of the boat. "While his eyes were fixed upon the Lord, the wind could toss his hair and the spray could drench his robes, but all was well-he was coming to Christ." But Peter was quickly distracted and he began to sink. His thoughts and focus were changed from the Saviors face to the storm, rain, and the rushing wind. "It was only when his faith wavered and fear took control, only when the removed his glance from the Master to look at the furious waves and the ominous black gulf beneath, only then did he began to sink into the sea. In.... terror he cried out, Lord, save Me" (Jeffrey R. Holland, "Broken things to Mend,")

O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Can you see it? What caused a man of such Faith to begin to sink? Focus and Fear. Peter had the ability to walk on water and because of his great quality to leap without fear and try something new he found himself in a unfamiliar situation. It was uncomfortable for him and instead of focusing on the goal he began to focus on the problems. Does this not apply to us? How many of us have set out on a great journey with great faith. We feel great about something and have all the confidence in the world that things are going to work out. We plunge in with both feet with high hopes, focused energy, and great enthusiasm. But what happens to most people when problems start to arise and doubt and fear begin to creep into our minds? It will happen it does not matter what kind of journey you are about to embark on there will be trials and opposition in all things. That I can guarantee for it is a law. When problems arise 99% draw back, give up, and return to the safety of the ship, but I am here to tell you to do otherwise and Follow Peter. Instead of giving up and turning back to the boat he looked up and Cried "Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus Stretched forth his hand, and caught him." He looked up not back!! In moments of great despair and trail Peter new exactly what to do. Even though he made the mistake of focusing on the turbulence around him (which is something that we all tend to do) he didn't make the bigger mistake of retreating.

JACE VERNON

The Trial of Money

After serving a four-year mission in the Hawaiian Islands, from 1854 to 1857, young Joseph F. Smith began his long journey home to Utah. He boated across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco, then slowly began his journey by foot with a small company of Latter-day Saints.
One day when the company had stopped to camp and rest, a group of troublemakers came storming through. Most of the men ran and hid, but Joseph decided he had nothing to be afraid of, so he continued the task of piling firewood in the camp. As he did so, one of the men approached him with a pistol, declaring that it was his duty to exterminate every Mormon he came in contact with. As he pointed his pistol at Joseph, he demanded, “Are you a Mormon?”
Without fear or hesitation, Joseph answered, “Yes siree; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through.”
The man was so startled by the courage of young Joseph F. Smith that he dropped his pistol and said, “Well, you are the [expletive deleted] pleasantest man I ever met! Shake, young fellow, I am glad to see a man that stands up for his convictions.” The man rode off, with the others following behind (Joseph Fielding Smith, Life of Joseph F. Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, 189).

You might ask, why I started off with a story like this and what does this have to do with the trials of money? Let me explain! Over the past several years many people have been drawn in by all types of get rich quick seminars. For example, I get all types of things in the mail that state things like "make millions in real estate", "become an instant millionaire", "leverage your money(go into debt in other words) and invest it with great returns", "trade stock and live the life of your dreams", or "live the rich principled life by getting yourself out of the rat race". Does any of this sound familiar to anyone and do they really work? Yes of course they do for some people, but I have come to realize that they also get a lot of people in trouble including myself. The question of the day is this, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE INVESTMENT GOES BELLY UP?????
Utah is especially known for these types of things. I do not want to call them scams or investment traps because I really believe they work and I have seen them work in my own life and in the lives of others. I have watched people make great livings from them and I have seen people go to jail. It is not the so called investments that are the problem. It is the people involved who will not take responsibility for their own actions and their own words and it goes both ways entangling the investors and ones who taught them. It is the money behind it all that causes people to forget true principles. So I will go back to my question WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE MONEY IS GONE???? I will enlighten you...

• Blame game begins
• Law suites begin because Lawyers smell money
• People start claiming that they are the victims
• Whining, complaining, regret, and worry set in
• People stop taking responsibility for their actions
• Hate, pride, idleness, contentions, gossip, envy, and the list goes on..........

Those are all ugly things which tend to cause more damage internally then they are worth. All because of MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY.... We seek after it yet we cannot handle it. Like Paul said when he was writing to Timothy:
"For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. and having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
I reiterate the sentence that says "they that WILL BE RICH fall into temptation..."Think about that for a few minutes. I sure have and it has caused me to look at myself and see if Money has changed me in any way. It is a great temptation of mine and often Times I have to stop myself and question my own motives. I have been on both sides of the table. I have tried to help people make money by teaching them about investments and I have also lost thousands upon thousands of dollars in investing in things that did not pan out. Like many of you I have been caught up in the get rich quick sceams and I am sure that I will get involved in a lot more. Are we all willing to stand up for the choices we have made and live with the consequences whether good or bad?
The reason I started with the story above is to stress the importance of sticking with your values what ever they may be, even if it costs you your life. Joseph F Smith was a man that made a choice and he was willing to pay the ultimate price if necessary. Are we willing to stand up for good valued principles even when it comes to money? Does kindness come before profits, mercy before justice, generosity before greed, and patience before anger.. It should and one day it will. We tend to forget values and cast them aside when it comes to gain. If you really want to be happy and live by true principles here are a few to think about:

• Honesty (are you willing to be honest when it comes to Money)
• "Give to him that asketh thee and of him that would borrow from thee turn thou not away....
• Responsibility (are you willing to take full responsibility for your actions even if you lose everything?)
• Hard work (by the sweat of thy brow thou shalt work all the days of thy life....)
• Get out of DEBT/pay thy debts (release thyself from bondage)
• Save for a rainy day
• Loyalty
• Humility (if you lose money do you become prideful or are you willing to humble yourself and try again)
• Kindness, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
  
• Be the Victor not the Victim (when things go wrong blame yourself not others and then get to work to overcome it and do not quit..)
  

Now those are lasting principles and do not let people tell you otherwise. When all is said and done I guarantee that you will be a lot happier if you learn those principles and never allow money or anything else to compromise them. Yes I know that it might be the harder road to take but "two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference" It will make a difference in your life if you overcome the TRIAL OF MONEY!!!!!!!

JACE VERNON