The Fall of King David

Over the last few months I have felt the need to address a topic that is very contrevesial, yes, but extremely critical to understand. Until a conversation with my companion this morning I didn't know how to discuss it, because it can be sensitive. This topic is the destructive trap of pornography.

I want to take you back to the Bible. King David, in particular. He is the most incredible king Isreal ever has. He is righteous and stalwart. David see many miracles in his reign and defeats enemies no one before had been able to. But he has a weakness that leads to his downfall. His weakness is pornography.

Yes. King David's weakness was a weakness many people have now. Bold statement, but it is true. Let me expound more.

He sees Bathsheba bathing on a roof. She is doing nothing wrong. At all. In fact, she isn't even aware of what is going on. 2 Samuel 11:2-3 describes the scene.

"And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.  And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, 

Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

David makes a dyre mistake at this moment. He doesn't look away when he sees her on the roof, he keeps looking and "inquires after the woman." This is where his weakness comes into play. He doesn't look away like he knows he should. If David had seen it and looked away, then his reign would have continued in righteousness, but he didn't. 

Pornography is enticing and glamourous. It is evil. If anything is of the devil, pornography is. It tampers with the sacred powers of procreation and makes a mockery of the plan of salvation. It causes more guilt and shame than those that use it care to admit. Mentally, emotionally, and physically pornography is harmful whether the world will admit it or not. (For those of you who would like the facts on the matter, click here)

BUT there is a way that those feelings of guilt and shame can go away. Is it easy? No. Is it meant to be easy? No. If you think it is, than you will fail before you have even begun. It's hard, but is it worth it? YES. 

It is possible. Don't let Satan tell you otherwise

Through repentance and seeking guidance and help, you CAN overcome the harmful effects of pornography addiction. If you have found yourself in this trap, please seek help. If you don't know where to go, please visit LDS Addiction Recovery website. It will help you.

For those of you who do not have a problem with pornography, do not think you are immune. You need to learn from the example of David. he downfall was that he kept looking. Look away. When it comes on the computer, on TV, when you see a magazine in the store or on the street, look away. A simple act of looking away can prevent other problems from happening. Avoid pornography like the plague. Turn of computers, cellphones, TVs or anything that has those images come up. Turn it off, look away, pray, and fill your mind with virtuous thoughts, hymns, memorized scriptures.

There is a light in the darkenss.
Don't give up. Ever.

There is hope and there is a way to build guards against this adversary to the plan of God. There is a way out through the enabling and healing powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. There is light in the darkness of Pornography addiction. You just need to find it and let it in. Remember, you are a child of God and can overcome anything with Him on your side because His son, your brother, your Savior, Jesus Christ, has overcome them already for you. You CAN. 

I promise that as you seek help, you will find it. You will find peace and healing and through tthe enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you will be able to overcome anything.

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Beautiful, Talented and Amazing!

Hello. My name is Sister Esmond. I like to write, do theater, and sing. I really like people and love to teach. Most of all, I love to make people laugh and help them be happy.

What do you like to do?

Are there any talents you have developed? I bet you there are. Maybe you are really good at math or science. Maybe you are an artist and can paint, draw, or sculpt beautifully. Are you an opera singer? Do you like to act, dance, play an instrument? Are you athletic? Can you play soccer really well or run fast? 

What are your talents?

Don't tell me you don't have any. I know that you do. It may just be that you have a talent for making people feel better about themselves or have a talent for peacemaking. This is a talent. 

Look inside yourself and find out what your talents are. Your Heavenly Father gave them to you for a reason. You have you specific talents because you are meant to use them to help others to come unto Christ. With your talents, others can see the Savior. You need to develop them, or else you will lose them.

You are talented. Don't ever think you aren't. The one who created you doesn't want you to think that. You are a work of art in and of yourself. You have talents painted in the corners of your soul that you may have not discovered. Take a chance. Go after your dreams. If it doesn't work out, God has something more in mind for you.

I hope you will remember this and go and try something new. You are talented, beautiful, and amazing because you are a Child of God with divine potential.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Keep Going

There are moments in our life where we feel like we are stuck at a crossroads. We are just done with what we are trying to do and about ready to give up. We just want to cry and shut out the world and leave everything behind we have been working for, fighting for, and all that we have loved. We say that those answered prayers were jsut ourself and we can't actually accomplish the things that we desire that we have had spiritual confirmation that we need to do.

You Can.

My experience? Missions are hard. There is nothing glamourous about what we do. Missionaries are rejected every day. We are ridiculed and put down on a regular basis. You can get to a point where you feel lonelier than you ever have. There are even times that we want to give up. Can we? Yes. Should we? Absolutely not.

This struggle has taught me so much. I am grateful for my trials and grateful for the struggles because they have changed my nature and who I am for the better. But I will admit... I have wanted to give up many a time.

The decision to serve was an answer to two years of prayers and seeking out what I needed to do after high school. It was spiritual illumination that came at a perfect time. It is something I knew I needed to do and would not turn back from doing ever. I would not undo all the hurt and rejection, because with that, I have expereinced a new found feeling of pure joy and gratitude for what my Savior did. 

How have I handled this?

In the Provo Missionary Training Center, I was given a quote on day two that has reminded me on multiple occasions that I need to keep going. It is from Elder Jeffery R. Holland. He said:

With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, 

but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. 

“Cast not away therefore your confidence.” 

Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you.

(Ensign Mar. 2000, Cast Not Therefore Away Your Confindence [emphasis added])

There you have it. Don't give up on what you have prayed for and know to be right. Opposition and trials and trouble will occur, but know that it is preparing you fro something greater. All that happens is for your own good, just as I know my trials and struggles have been for mine. Learn from it and grow from it. A trial is not wasted when you learn something from it.

I promise that as you endure and continue on the path your Father in Heaven intends for you, you will feel of His everlasting love for you and know He is God and He is there. 

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Don't Looketh on the Smart....

When I was at Girl's Camp my last year, we had some of the funniest little skits I've ever seen that the Youth Camp Leaders (YCLs) performed. At the time, I was a YCL, but didn't participate in the skits I'm referencing now.


There was a series of 3 skits that were done with the same catch-phrase. The first was someone who couldn't add 2+2 and two other girls were making fun of her. The second was someone who made really gross tarts and again, was made fun of. The last... Well, ask me in person if you want to know. At the end of each of these skits, one of the YCLs would come out and say, "Don't look upon the smart, looketh on the heart!" Or "Don't look upon the tart, looketh on the heart!"



Okay, now here is my question for you. Are you guilty of looking at someone's outward appearance or eccentricities and judging them for it? Do you see someone who is gruff looking and automatically think they must be mean? Do you see a blonde and think she must be dumb (Having been a victim of this...)? Have you seen someone struggle with soemthing that is easy for and thought "they must just be stupid"?



How do you look at others?

2 Sameul 16:7 tells us how Heavenly Father sees each of us. It says,

 "But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

How can we do this better? Let's look at people as the Lord does. Let's give our fellowman the benefit of the doubt. Most of all, let's remember that we all have the same loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy and loves each of us. That makes every single person you brother or sister whom you have been commended to show love for.



Let's do that. Let's stop judging and stop being mean and horrible to one another and learn to love! Let's look upon the hearts of our brothers and sisters.

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Learn From the Earth

In honor of Earth Day, here are some words of wisdom from the world around us!

First let's go to the waters and see what the ocean has for us....

Got some good points, right? Okay.... Who next? 

THE TREES!

Again... Wow. So wise... You would think trees live for over a hundred years or something? Now... Let's move into the animal kingdom. What advice does the dog have for us?

Again... I am amazed. It is incredible how much we can learn when we just stop and look around. This Earth was created under the direction of a loving Heavenly Father who wanted us to come and learn and grow. Everything here is meant to teach us something. What have you learned from observing others around you, including nature?

I know that if we look around, there is so much more to learn that we can even realize. So start learning the truths testified of in nature and spoke of in the scriptures! It will bless our lives more than we can imagine!

Happy Earth Day!

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

You CAN

Smile. You are awesome. Yes you. I may not even know you, but I know you are pretty cool. You are one of a kind in this copy-cat world. You are the you-est you that there will ever be. Your light cannot be replicated. You are beautiful, powerful and amazing. You are different, but that is a blessing not a curse. You have quirks. That's okay. We all do. We are all different.

Difference is something that should be celebrate. As long as we are living the way the Lord desires us to with our differences, then it is okay to embrace them! This world would be so boring if we were all the same. Our quirks, personalities, eccentricities, and point of view are all different. We may be similar to another person, but no two of us are identical. We all struggle and pass through trial. That's okay too. It is part of life as well.

Many wonder why bad things happen to good people. Well, thinkof the greatest person you know, would they be who they are without their trials. I don't think so. Your trials are your refiner's fire. Embrace them and learn as much as you can. No trial is wasted when we learn something. Grow from every little moment. 

This life isn't meant to be wasted. Live up to your potential. God sees who you can become. Do you see it? Do you see what you can do? Whether you think you can make a difference or think you can't do anything, you are right. Much of this life begins with believing you are meant for something bigger. Do you?

There is someone who already believes in you. He believes you can do great things. He believes you can do anything life throws at you. He is Christ, your Savior. He believes in you so much He died for you. How does that make you feel? 

The possible can be made possible if you have the faith. You CAN change. You CAN make a difference, even if it is only in the life of one, it is a difference that CAN be passed

So smile. You are amazing and you can do great and marvelous things if you rely on your Savior, the person who believes you can no matter what.

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Destroying Jericho

I recently had the opportunity to read the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. As I read, I learned something that really surpirsed me. Something a little unusual with my conception of who Joshua was.

We always think of Joshua as a fearless war-leader who was filled with faith enough to bring down the walls of Jericho. This is amazing to me to think he had that much faith and often times I have wondered if my fear is too great to achieve such faith. It's true, I am afraid of a lot of things. Messing up, being rejected, not being good enough, disappointing others, make a complete fool of myself, skunks, etc. Fears are many. Any of these sound familiar? I can imagine you may relate to one or two. (Maybe not the skunks... That one is a little different... but you get the idea)

Anyways, what do Joshua and all of your fears have in common? Joshua had fears as well. Yes. This is not what you would expect or how the bible portrays him. This isn't doctrine, but as I was reading this was the realization I came to. I discovered that he is constantly and repeatedly reminded that he needs to "Be strong and of a good courage." Ring a bell? Many of us are familiar with Joshua 1:9. "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Did you realize though that there are several other moments where the Lord tells Joshua to be strong? There are four in the first chapter of Joshua alone. As I have read this, it has occurred to me that Joshua had to be comforted over and over again. Think about he amount of faith he had to have to bring down the walls of Jericho... It was a lot.


Fear is natural. BUT fear is the opposite of faith. Where fear is, faith cannot dwell. Think about that: it is fear that holds us back from reaching our full potential. If Joshua had feared, he would have never been able to bring down the walls of the great city, Jericho. It was a miracle wrought by faith. Fear prevents us from achieving, and in some cases even dreaming. Fear is the single most destructive force on the earth. Many have reason to fear, but when we have fear in our heart, we close ourselves off to the great potential that we have to gain. God knows who we can become, is our fear stopping us from achieving that potential?

Yes. Yes it is. I know and will openly confess my fear has held me back a lot. It has prevented me from standing up for what I know is right and has kept me from saying how I really feel over and over again. This has stopped me from doing a lot of things I wish I could have.

How do we dispel fear from our hearts? We need to have faith. We need to rely on the Lord. Are you weak? He is strong. Are you fearful? He will grant you courage. Now, praying for courage will give you opportunities to be coragaeous just as praying for patience gives you challenges that bring a lot of need for patience.Through the enabling power fo the atonement of Jesus Christ you can have the courage, the patience and all you need to overcome any obstacle. You, like Joshua, can destroy your own Jericho. You can be fearless in the face of your foes.

Be strong and of a good courage... God is with you as you stand as His witness!

I love you all:)
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond