March 22nd - Week 24 - Clouds and Summershine Layton Utah Week 14 (T2)
皆さん!
(I'm performing a piano piece for Compton Bench Ward's Easter program next Sunday at 9:00am MDT [8:00am PDT]! It'll be broadcast at http://mywebcast.
So, uh, hi!
When I started my mission, I told myself, "I'm going to write an email every single week - not for myself, but to keep everyone up-to-date if they wanted to read it!"
Looks like life had different plans.
Last Sunday as I was working on it alongside some other things, my phone froze... then restarted. It asked me to enter the password for the phone, which I did (correctly - with a black screen and white text, I made darn sure of that)... before it froze on verifying, restarted, and then wiped my phone.
To be honest, it's kind of on brand. You all probably know how unlucky I can be sometimes - leave it to me to find the one bug in our monitoring software that'll trigger the phone wipe. Maybe I should become a white cap hacker just because I'll accidentally stumble on a server-breaking bug. Who knows?
Anyways, that email kind of sputtered and died. So now I'm here! Two weeks to report on, so I'll go through this pretty quickly.
Lots of service! As the days have begun to warm up, we're starting to see a lot of people out and about. People in Farmington love to garden, so we're really excited to serve them and help them out there! We've been able to get in contact with some people that we haven't been able to in the past three months, so we're excited to talk to them and get to know them - one of which, for example, we're doing service for a older gentleman, a nonmember who's really nice, cleaning up a shared garden between him and one of our elders quorum counselors (he's in our missionary correlation meetings every week)! In addition, we've set up some inspired walks that have been nearly a month in the making. We're looking forward to meeting some new people that way, as well - and hopefully, we can start getting some nonmember teaching opportunities going again!
Our favorite inactive family is progressing well! One of the things we've been able to set up is for Wednesday, where we're going to be teaching them a lesson with one of the members in the ward. Missionaries are transient - we're rarely in an area longer than six months before we get moved - and so we really want to make sure they have a good support system. The family we're going to be working with has been ministering to them (regularly checking up on them and helping them) for a long while before the recent ministering reassignments, so they have a really good relationship with them. Hopefully this'll be the start of a gospel trust, as well! We really want them to feel comfortable asking questions to either them or us - that's the goal! We're excited for them - they're both amazing families, and so we're really looking forward to this!
Last week and this week, we've had the opportunity to go on inspired walks with a newly ordained elder in the Quail Flight Ward, reporting to the MTC in May. He's heading off to Uruguay, which is exciting as heck. But he reached out to us - actually, pulled over on the side of the road while we were walking - and asked if we could help him prepare!
It was a lot of fun! Two Saturdays ago we took him to the farthest reach of our area (not really saying much bc it was like a mile away) and talked to a new member as well as checking in on some of the older, more lonely people in the wards we cover, and two days ago we did some role plays on different situations in our companionship study and then did the same thing in the other half of the stake! We had a lot of fun - and had some amazing experiences. We felt prompted - Elder Cope especially - to knock on one family's door (which we can do with a member with us!). After talking to them for a bit and sharing a thought, we asked if there was anything we could do for them or their neighbors. "Well," one of them said, hand thrumming on his phone, "We actually have a nonmember coming over tonight for a little get together-party-thing. If you all wanted to come along, we could introduce you!"
Miracles happen as we go forward with faith. I've seen that so many times on my mission already. It's wonderful to know the Lord loves each of us, and wants us to truly be happy above all. He is there. He knows us. And if we have the faith to act, and act in faith, He will provide for us.
One of the examples I'm reminded of is in 3 Nephi 13. Here, just as Christ had ministered unto the people of Israel, Christ is ministering unto the Nephites - descendants of a Jewish family who immigrated to the Americas over six hundred years prior. Through maintaining their records and scriptures, they were able to continue to have faith generation after generation, and despite wars and contentions with another faction of their family, the Lamanites, they remained largely righteous and faithful in keeping the Law of Moses in the land until their downfall.
But just as Christ ministered to the faithful Jews, Christ also appeared to them because of their faith. As they were not able to be in Jerusalem at the time Christ was amongst them, Christ loved them just as much as He did any one of us.
And if He truly did, would He not provide instruction for them just as He did the Jews?
And so within these chapters, Jesus recounts and summarizes many of the teachings that He gave unto the people of Capernaum, Galilee, and Jerusalem. For those of you who are familiar with the New Testament, the Nephites are amongst some of those of His other flock which He spoke of in John 10.
On top of that, the following should perhaps sound rather familiar to you...
26 Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;
29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
This is a recounting of a portion of the Sermon on the Mount that the Nephites and Lamanites were unable to receive. There are slight variations, but much of it is verbatim. What I love about these verses is the idea that the Lord knows us and what we need. Heavenly Father knows us and what we need. And not only that - They knows that at times, we can be the light that others need most of all.
Ultimately, as any parent would want for their child, Heavenly Father wants His children to have happiness.
He wants all of us to be happy.
If we are listening to Them, They will guide us. We will be able to bless others and help them - sometimes, in ways we don't expect.
When missionaries talk about being instruments in the Lord's hands, it's because ultimately, the Lord knows each and every one of us, and knows exactly what we need. How? Prior to His crucifixion, Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for the sins of the world. How? In order to atone for the sins of the world, He needed to know when we were truly repentant.
That meant understanding exactly how we feel. Not only our thoughts... but the feelings of our heart. If He knew that, He could know if we were truly repentant of our sins. He could say to the Father at the time of judgment, "They have truly changed."
And so, in that quiet garden on that quiet evening, Christ bore every emotion each of us ever faced. Every joy. Every sorrow. Every heartache. Every smile.
He bore it all willingly. Was He scared? Absolutely. He begged the Father if there was any other way, that He would do it.
But this was the only way He could truly know us - He had to feel our emotions, our very lives - all for Himself.
In Alma 7:11-13 in the Book of Mormon, Alma the Younger describes it as such:
"11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me."
I'd like to add my testimony to that of Alma's - that we are never alone. The Lord is there. He knows us. He loves us. And through His Spirit, we can feel His guidance and direction as we truly seek it with a sincere heart.
He lives! He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane so He could know exactly how we feel. That way, He could know exactly how to help us. Whether that be prompting someone to go your way, or sending feelings of comfort and love... He is there. I know because I've felt it for myself.
Any of us can. If we kneel in a quiet room, asking Heavenly Father sincerely in the name of Jesus Christ if He lives - if They live - and love us... I promise you that you will gain your answer.
Feeling that prompting on that walk was just one small evidence of the love that I could feel Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us.
If I could leave you all with anything, that is what I would leave you with.
Take care, everyone! Have a fantastic week! You all are amazing!
Elder Decker
デッカー長老
No comments:
Post a Comment