August 16th Week 44 Temples and Tribulations Layton Utah Week 35(T6 Elder Roland)

皆さん!

 

...Hi.

 

It's been a crazy two weeks, as you all probably could have guessed from the lack of newsletter last week. Trying my best to catch up and keep up with everything, but with things starting to get rolling, life has a way of blowing everything up out of proportion.

 

I think the most significant event of the past week was the temple trip our district got to be a part of. And what a district this is! Everyone plays off each others' strengths really well, and we're all really close. We're calling every single night to check in and see how everyone's doing, and hang out most P-Days together. It's always a ton of fun - if you couldn't guess by the picture of Elder Barnes going full dad mode. Being a missionary doesn't mean we can't have fun as we do so! But of course, they're incredibly consecrated - and we've seen so many miracles as a district because of everyone's hard work and dedication to the Gathering of Israel.

 

So being able to go to the temple for the first time in nearly eight months with them was an honor and a blessing. The Bountiful Temple is beautiful - and the way it's constructed close to the top of the mountain, it makes it feel as if it's a castle on a hill, or a monastery overlooking the valley. It's beautiful.

 

And to be able to go and attend with this amazing group of Elders and Sisters... was a sacred privilege. Such peace and comfort therein... it's unimaginable.

 

I remember sitting after the session and glancing around - the beautiful chandeliers, casting lights like rainbows around the room, the beautiful gold and white, the paintings and symbolism for Jesus Christ... I remember thinking that this was the place - sacred ground where we make promises and swear covenants to the Lord. This was where we gain the power to weather the storms of life. This was where we are sealed to our families for time and all eternity - come life, come death.

 

The grave has no power - and we will all rise together.

 

"But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works..." (Mosiah 16:8-10)

 

With the delta variant ravaging the country once more, I realized that it might be a short while before I'll be able to attend again. Of course, missionary work and the Gathering of Israel takes precedent... But to keep that remembrance from the temple with us - the remembrance that Christ is at once within and without, on our right hand and on our left - that same feeling is what it means to be endowed with power. To have peace amidst storms. To have courage amidst fear. To have joy amidst sorrow.

 

That is what it means to have hope.

 

 

...But maybe enough prose for now. :)

 

Other than that, it's been a lot of service opportunities, rubbing shoulders with nonmembers, lots of walking and even more contacting. We have had a boatload of administrative work that we have to get done in the next little bit, so timelines are a little bit strained.

 

But we'll get there. With the Lord, we'll always get there eventually, right?

 

...Not much more to report on. It's been a lot of lessons and service appointments, and a lot of really cool opportunities. We taught a lesson to a seven year old preparing for baptism, so that was a lot of fun!

 

I'm grateful for all the miracles we've been able to see as we prioritize the work of the Lord. Many of them are tender mercies - yet others are grand miracles of coincidences we know for a fact weren't. As we have faith, I know we'll continue to see more - and not just a passive faith, but an active faith - the kind that gets you on your feet, the kind where you move forward with your ear tuned to the Spirit.

 

Let's all go forward with active faith in our lives this week.

 

You all are amazing - take care!

Elder Decker

デッカー長老

 

August 2nd  Week 43 Return and Renewal Layton Utah Week 33 (T4 Elder Roland)

皆さん！

 

...It's been a while!

 

Good grief. These past few Mondays have been *chaos.* Two weeks ago for example, we started the day at ten o'clock after prepping and cleaning and all of that good stuff... and then we went shopping, ate lunch with the district, and then we all went to play pickleball (because just as you've probably heard, it's ridiculously big here in Utah. I thought it started in Washington lol) and walked around Station Park. But it was hecking *busy.* Hardly had time to rest. And I ended up calling home for... what, fifteen minutes? Not even that - more like ten minutes.

 

It's been like that for the past two weeks -- now three. So it's been... interesting. I think that's a good way to put it.

 

Where to begin?

 

Let's start with Elder Roland! Contrary to what I believed, he's actually straight out of the MTC. He lived in Spokane all of his life until last year, where he went to BYU, and then did all his MTC stuff at home for nine weeks.

 

That's right - nine weeks. He speaks Japanese, too!

 

To say that Elder Roland is a fireball is a little bit of an understatement. Seriously. He's driven and motivated to learn, always working things out in his mind in order to best help people and help the area progress. We make a pretty good team - he's very logical in the way he approaches things, and I tend to err on more of the emotional intuition. We each pick up on things maybe the other misses - and so we're constantly working to make sure our lessons are the best for those that we teach.

 

He has an immense love for everyone he meets, and is about as people person as people people gets. He makes friends incredibly easily, and is just an amazing sport about everything. Ridiculously athletic and about half a foot taller than me - I've been learning a ton about basketball and stuff like that. But he's also constantly pushing himself to learn more about everything around him - and constantly elevating the level he's at. The grind never stops!

 

We've seen so many miracles already as we've gone forward in faith. I like to call it "acting with an ear open" - choosing to move forward in the way we thing best, while listening to the Spirit for any redirection we might have to have. It's interesting that as we've made our decision, we have to consistently listen. The Spirit will guide us - but often, the Lord wants us to learn and go forward. That's not to say we shouldn't have faith when we act on our own - far from it; I've seen numerous miracles just by trying my best - it's shifting your faith from the Spirit guiding every single step to having faith the Spirit will redirect you, if you listen.

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has always been a Gospel of Action. To say that it is a Gospel of Passivity is a blatant falsehood. Even looking through the life of Jesus Christ, He was always on the move. He learned as much as He could, being subject to the same veil as all of us. He grew in strength and grace (see Luke 2:52), and continued to press forwards in faith in His Heavenly Father.

 

What struck me this week was studying about the raising of Lazarus. We know this as the miracle of raising the dead - Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus Christ, was ill nigh unto death, and his household sent messengers unto Him, beseeching that He come and heal him. Hearing of the plight, he went down unto Bethany to find the man already four days dead; having been laid in the sepulchure four days, past the accepted point of the spirit leaving the body of three days. 

 

What strikes me is what happens directly proceeding the raising - where He offers a prayer unto Heavenly Father.

"Father," He prayed, " I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always - but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent me."

 

Nothing that Christ did was against the Father's will. He journeyed from land to land, preaching and teaching those that would hear, and confounding those that would not. But above all, He was constantly moving - acting independently, and making His own decisions.

 

The difference - and where a lot of confusion is derived - comes from how he made those decisions. It is of a truth that Christ never diverged from the Father's will. But that's not to say that He did not have His own will - far from it. The truth of the matter is that Christ aligned His will with His Father's so closely that they were nigh inseparable. What Christ chose was invariably that which His Father wanted and expected Him to do.

 

As missionaries, we're expected to live up to certain standards not because it's a way for the Church to control us, but so that we're living in a way that aligns our wills as completely to the Lord's as we can. The Holy Spirit of the Lord guides and directs us in everything that we do - and if we are living in a way that is contrary to that, our words won't have power, our message will never enter people's hearts, and we are powerless as missionaries to do anything. 

 

Words only have power when the listener chooses to accept them. The Spirit works the same - we can be as persuasive as we can, but if they do not feel the Spirit, we will not be able to show them that light.

 

Conversion is measured by how distinctly we can tell when we end and the Lord begins.

 

There are times where we aren't receiving the revelation that we need. There are times where that revelation seems buried under a mountain of worries and sorrows. But I know - for I have seen for myself - that the Lord will provide a way as we continue to go forth with faith, trusting that eventually, it will come. Slowly, but surely. Sometimes, the greatest gifts are right in front of us - but shrouded in fog. As we take those steps forward, following our guides to that gift, each step will bring us closer, and will allow us to see even more.

 

And soon, we will stumble upon that which is of most worth to us... and will be for as long as we will exist here and hereafter.

 

Love you all - take care, and have a great week!

Cheers,

Elder Decker

デッカー長老