February 1st, Week 17, Monochrome Snowfall, Layton Utah Week 7

皆さん!

How's everyone doing? We've finally gotten a taste of a real Utah snowstorm! Sort of. Kind of. ...and it was gone the next day. Seriously, the weather here just cannot make up its mind for the life ot it. Literally snowing on Friday (got a few inches), and then 45 degrees plus the next day. I thought Washington weather was volatile...

Hope you're all doing well, though! Everything going good, I hope. Everything's slowly settling back into the rhythm of things, so hopefully that's good for us! We're slowly easing into this new normal of ours...

For me? Heck. I think the word of this week is "contrast."

My companion and I are doing well! We've had a couple of spots of trouble where we haven't gotten along quite as well as we'd like, but thankfully we're both willing to talk about it and take steps to move forward. It probably came to a head on Saturday, where we ended up having an hour long discussion on what's going on, what's causing underlying friction, and what we can do to fix it. Since then, there have been just small moments (which in reality, none of us were worked up, we were just misunderstanding each other), but we're working much better in unity. Friends and family, communication is key in everything!

But it's been a rollercoaster of ups and downs. I think my lack of good sleep is compromising my immune system a bit, and that compounded with being out in the cold for about 8-10 hours a day may or may not have gotten me sick again. I can feel the symptoms creeping in, but thankfully I'm still operational.

And no, it's not COVID. Don't worry. :D

But as we've worked to push through what obstacles have come up, we've really began to see miracles happen. All of our preparation the past six weeks have really begun to pay off, and we're beginning to get in contact with more and more people we haven't ever seen before. A few of them were interested in a message from us - and we're currently working to set those up with them. In fact, we have one set up tonight, which is exciting! We're preparing to teach to the best of our abilities - and though I am worried a little bit about how to best approach this (we've only talked to one of them once or twice...), I really do know the Lord is going to be with us. We'll just have to keep on going and keep trying our best - listening for the Spirit and helping them as much as we can!

Our miracle for this week was on Friday, with one of our favorite inactive families. 

This is a long one, but I thought it worth sharing.

They're beginning to read the Book of Mormon more consistently, even though work has really begun to pick up for both of them. They made it all the way to Jacob 5 - which, if you are not familiar, is a 76 verse-long parable that compares the scattering and gathering of the House of Israel to a grove and vineyard of tame and wild olive trees. Peering past the imagery, it is indicative of Heavenly Father's love for us, and how much He is working in order to try and help us to become happier. That being said, it is rather dense. We ended up giving them a study guide to go through all of it while we're not there with them. But they ended up reading all of it, and understanding most of it! We talked for a while about its meaning, significance, and why it's important. But one of the things that one of them pointed out was a quote from the study guide - that it was the seal of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. They had mentioned that it struck them - in order for them to have gone inactive, they had to convince themself that it was false.

That, in turn, struck me. Especially for someone who had served a mission, had worked for the Church for a long time - after all of that, to convince themself that it wasn't true.

I know the joy I've been able to feel through this Gospel. The peace. The happiness. The light. And I'm sure they had felt that, as well. But I think what struck me most about what they said was the sadness in their eyes... as if they felt hollow.

That sorrow is what really pained me.

The conversation went on, but my mind found itself repeating the same thought, my eyes scanning the small copy of the Book of Mormon that I held in my hand -

How do I help them?

How do I help them feel joy again? How do I help them feel happiness again? How do I help them find light, which has guided me through so much? And how do I help that light return within their eyes?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I loved this family. How much I wanted them to be happy.

But as I focused on that love, trying to find a way to help them overcome their grief, apparent in nearly everything they did...

A sensation trickled into my heart. It was as if the light reflecting off the gold lettering of my Book of Mormon had seeped into my very being. And slowly, but surely, the love I felt grew. Larger, and larger - until it seemed to me that my heart was glowing with warmth and light.

I realized then that those emotions were not just my own, anymore. Through the Spirit, I was able to feel the love of two Heavenly Parents. Of a Savior. Of generations of ancestors, cheering them on from the Spirit World.

I could feel their love - their infinite love for this one family. It was an honor - and a blessing - to know I was entrusted with those sacred emotions.

And naturally, I started to tear up.

One of them asked me if I was okay... and I remember feeling my heart swell again. I gazed up at them, and bore testimony - of how much their Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ loved them. How much they meant to them. How much we, as a companionship, loved them. And how much those that have passed on love them. 

A thought came to my mind again - this time, a thought that I had earlier. I said a short prayer in my heart, and a swelling confirmed to me what our invitation to them should be - to pray, without preconception, on whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. And as I extended that... I could feel that was what I needed to say.

And so, to those of you who have yet to know, and want to -

Try it for yourself. Approach the Book of Mormon. Read the introduction. Perhaps even a chapter - or a few! Then, without any preconception or opinions, find a quiet place, and kneel and pray to Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, asking if it is true.

I promise that if you are willing to listen, He will answer your prayers - whether that be through a calm, peaceful feeling, or a comforting warmth. He is there - and He loves each and every one of us. And I see that every single day I am here.

Other than that... it's been a lot of service. A... lot. Of service. We've had at least three hours of service every day. Elder Cope has joked we should start a garage cleaning service, and charge thirty minutes for us to teach lessons. But we've been doing as much as we can with COVID limitations - we're allowed to help in garages, but not inside the house. So we've been raking leaves, cleaning garages, organizing shelves, installing shelves... anything that we can do to help people. We've especially been reaching out to the older people in the ward - yard work for those high risk, and garage cleaning for those not. It's been a lot of fun - and being able to see how much joy people have when we're helping is amazing to see. Sharing scriptures with them has also really helped them as well!

Lessons have been pretty normal this week. We've done a lot of work with one of our wards, who have had quite a few move-in as of late. So we've been reaching out to them and making sure that they feel comfortable!

Other than that... it's been a pretty great week. Hopefully you all have had the same!

Cheers!

Elder Decker

デッカー長老