"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." - Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hello again! Well, a lot has happened over the past few days - I went to the opening day of Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (Soooooooo goooooooood!!!!!! I loved every minute of it!!!), went to visit the Salt Lake temple and the Christmas lights, and spent a lot of time with family. I have made a movie, played volleyball, created houses out of gingerbread, and seen Sherlock Holmes 2 again - all with family. Did I tell you how much I loved this movie??

First off, let me give you some of my favorite pictures of the Sherlock Holmes movies:

I'd like to go on a bit of a rant here. Many different people disliked the first Sherlock Holmes movie because it is nothing like the "Traditional Holmes Story". What exactly is the traditional Holmes story, you may ask? According to these people, it is the Basil Rathbone of old Sherlock Holmes movies with a deerstalker and much plodding around until a conclusion is finally reached. However, this is NOT the Sherlock that I grew up with! Those of you who know me know that I loved books as I was growing up. However, before I was led by Peter through the wardrobe into Narnia, and before I was picked up by Hagrid to go off to Hogwarts with Harry, I was the unseen third companion who tagged along with Holmes and Watson and helped them solve all of their cases, from mysterious to impossible. For Christmas when I was ten I received a book entitled "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the collection of all short stories and novels that Sir Doyle published about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In these stories, Sherlock was not only a legendary detective and a world-class mind, but a boxer, a writer, a very strong man, and a bohemian. A bohemian is someone who is 'an eccentric, with no regard for contemporary standards of tidiness or order" - exactly how Dr. Watson described him. This is the man who jumped off of the screen as Holmes played by Robert Downey Jr., and I loved him for it. Finally, the man whom I knew only through words was a living, breathing reality as seen on the movie screen. So to those of you who declare that Robert Downey Jr made a mockery of Sherlock Holmes, I declare to you - he EMULATED Sherlock Holmes. He captured Sherlock Holmes exactly the way I pictured him as I read the words of Sir Doyle. So.....if you have a problem with the characters or with the plot, read the books. Just saying. :)

I have been with Sherlock so long that I love to believe I could be like him. I can never do him justice, or even come close to his deductions, but I have at times followed his pattern of thinking. It was in this manner of thinking that I found myself in a gospel discussion with a friend of mine. We were discussing items of the gospel that are still unknown to Christians today - things such as why God or Christ deliberately withhold things from us (until we're ready), or why Christ preached only to the Jews at first, etc. There are many different speculations by high authorities on the subject, but the simple answer to many of these questions is we just don't know. We don't know why Heavenly Father does some things, but we do have faith that He knows what is best for us. One of my favorite lines by Sherlock Holmes is the title of this blog: "It is a mistake to theorize before one has data. Inensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." He states this whenever Watson begins to declare someone innocent or guilty before enough evidence has been found to clearly deduce guilt. In a similar way, whenever we feel threatened and want to turn our backs to God, we too need to look at the facts. The facts are thus:

- God is an all-powerful, all-knowing, loving Being that loves me and you as His children.
- Everything that happens to us here on earth is to give us strength and wisdom, to teach us how to be like the Father and His perfect Son.
- Jesus Christ made an atoning sacrifice for all of mankind: those who were born at the beginning of time, and those who will continue to be born throughout the existence of this earth.
- Through Christ's atoning sacrifice, through faith on Him and repentance to change and become like Him, we can find peace and happiness even throughout the most severe trials and hard times this life has to offer.

With a thorough examining of these facts, one arrives at the inevitable conclusion that the only thing for us to do is to continue to place our faith in the Father and the Son, and to do our best to be like Them. When we do this, we will find peace and happiness and joy - I promise you this. As we seek to become like Him, we will find meaning and purpose in our lives, and our questions eventually will all be resolved. I'd like to leave you with this video - a song re-arranged by a fellow missionary of mine. Merry Christmas!

Savior, Redeemer of My Soul

Hi there! This is the first time I've ever created a blog. Why, you may ask? Honestly, because I keep meaning to keep a daily journal of my activities but can't ever seem to take time and write them down on a book. Plus, if I have an online journal - such as this - that I write in, I can access it wherever I am in the world. Cool, huh?!

Well, if you're reading this, you're probably someone who knows me. If not, it's nice to meet you! If so, then you know that I love to have fun with life, and don't really know what I'm doing with my life yet. But I'm finding out that that's okay! Life is a journey, a long process of figuring things out until you eventually do know what you're doing. That's where the title of this blog comes from - my favorite talk, "The Transforming Power of Faith and Character." It's by Elder Richard G. Scott, an apostle of the Lord:

"“Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). Thus, every time you try your faith—that is, act in worthiness on an impression—you will receive the confirming evidence of the Spirit. As you walk to the boundary of your understanding into the twilight of uncertainty, exercising faith, you will be led to find solutions you would not obtain otherwise. With even your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow."

In my life, as well as all of our lives, many things happen to us which we don't fully understand. Sometimes they are paralyzing, difficult challenges that come out of nowhere to smack us in the face. It is in these times that we grow the most, that we learn how to trust our God and our Redeemer, and where we gain Christlike character. I don't know very much about life, but I do know that I am a son of my Father which is in Heaven. He gives me life, strength, hope and peace. He catches me when I fall - though not always when I would wish Him to. He has the power to solve all my problems, and yet allows me to struggle so that I can become like His beloved Son. My goal in life is to become like Him, to do my best so that my life is centered on Jesus Christ and His teachings. When I do so, I find peace and happiness that transcends all the pleasures of the world. So, this is only the first in however many posts I end up blogging, but I hope that through each of them my words can reflect the faith that I have in Jesus Christ, and in my Father in Heaven. I love them dearly, and am willing to pay any price to know Them better. Thanks guys!

"True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives - that is, our time and choices - to God's purposes (John 17:1,4; D&C 19:19). In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny." - Elder Christofferson