"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!