So, this week we had a baptism! Three people got baptized! Granted, they were all children of record, but that's still good! It's all needed for salvation; they're just getting theirs out of the way early. I'm happy. As for our candidates, for one reason or another we had to push them back to this Saturday. Gina got interviewed on Sunday; she was very sick last week. She's having heart problems, and last week it started beating really hard or something and was really paining her. We found out on Sunday that she had been drinking tea, after we taught the Word of Wisdom, and I personally feel that it's connected. The Word of Wisdom is true, people. Live it and see for yourself. Courage had some concerns, we worked them out, he was good... and then he didn't come to Church. We called and asked him if he would be coming, Sunday morning, and he said no; no idea why. We're trying to get a hold of him to find out why; we're thinking it's because his work schedule got changed this week to mornings instead of evenings, but we need to make sure.
We have some few others we're working with. Mawuena likes everything, but for some reason didn't come to Church yesterday. Esi sent her two boys, but she herself didn't come. Ivan did come! That was cool; it's been a while since he's come. In other words, looking at the situation and everything, we have 7 people who can be baptized this month. We're working very hard, but there's plenty of opposition going around. We're praying for help, and that we can do everything necessary to help these people cross into the waters of baptism, but in the end we're having to rely on God's mercy and trust in His Will. Prayers to help these people would be much appreciated; they're all so wonderful, and need these blessings so much. They just need help overcoming their concerns. They're right there at the water's edge! They just need help to take that last step of faith. We're doing our best, an God's Will be done.
In other news, Pres. Judd is really emphasizing obedience and the need to be a missionary, not just do missionary work. He's trying to prepare this mission for what the Lord has in store for it. Seven new areas are being opened next transfer, with 21 new missionaries (I think I mentioned that last week). The Lord has wonderful things in store for this mission, but we have to be ready to live up to the responsibility and the weight of our callings in order to handle the task the Lord is wanting to give us. I'll put his letter here, as it's a very wonderful one. I think I'll be doing that each week; he's a very inspired man, and I'm really inspired by his council. I feel we all can, if we apply it in our individual lives through the inspiration of the Spirit:
I testify that what Pres. Judd wrote is true. Some people think that fun can only come when living outside of the rules and standard God has given. But remember what Alma said: "Wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:20-21). If we want the blessings of true happiness, we must abide the law predicated for them. We cannot expect to use salt in place of sugar in cookies and get delicious Snickerdoodles. No matter what we tell ourselves, no matter what we say or how hard we try to rationalize, it will still come out tasting like a salt lick. Such it is with life. We cannot go around, breaking the Lord's commands, breaking the Word of Wisdom or the Law of Chastity, or refrain from daily study of the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) or from daily prayers, or any other such command, and expect our lives to be filled with the light and glory of His presence. Such manifestations of the Spirit are only for the truly obedient, an therein lies joy, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Elder LeGrand Richards made this statement: “I would rather have my children and my children’s children enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost than any other companionship in this world because if they will heed the promptings of that Spirit, he will lead them into all truth and see them safely back into the presence of their Father in heaven” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1966, 112; or Improvement Era, June 1966, 540).
There is nothing better than the companionship of the holy Ghost. Mormon taught that "the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name" and that "the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out" (Hel. 3:27-30).
I testify that "[exact] obedience to the laws and ordinances of his gospel" (AoF 1:3) bring about the greatest blessings. I would exhort everyone to read D&C 88 (esp. v. 33-45) and ponder over those things. I've written on it already, I believe, as this is what Elder Sitati spoke to us on, that all things have a law, and whatever law we listen to obey determines our destiny therein.
I'd like to end with this quote from D&C 88, from the Lord Jesus Christ:
"Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.
And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will" (D&C 88:66-68, emphasis added).
May the Lord bless us, that we may truly "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness" (Moro. 10:32). I know the Lord will bless us and help us as we ask of Him to take away our iniquities, that we might receive "the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent," that it might bring about "a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2).
I know that this Gospel is True, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's current prophet upon the earth. I know that this is the Lord's Work, and I testify with all the faculties of my soul that the Book of Mormon is true. Read it, ponder it in your hearts, and ask God if it is true. He will "manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moro. 10:4). Nothing will bring you closer to God, and by drawing closer to God, you will receive greater truth and light, which will fill you, even your entire soul, with the light and glory of love; "for God is love" (1 John 4:8). "Now [is] not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness" (Alma 27:18). I testify that that happiness is found in and through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and as contained in the Book of Mormon, as well as the Bible.
Might I end with the words of Alma? "I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life" (Alma 5:62). While I am not in the position to ensue such a command to you all, I would exhort you to hearken to the commands issued by Alma, given by God, as well as all others given here by the various prophets the Lord has called throughout the ages. And to those who are not in the Lord's Church, as a representative of Jesus Christ, I extend the same invitation: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life, "which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst" (Alma 32:42).
Obey with exactness, my beloved brothers and sisters. I know this will bring you the promised blessings. I love you all! We have Zone Interviews this week, which should be nice. Until next week! Read the Book of Mormon every day! Take care, and God bless!
--Elder Collings
We have some few others we're working with. Mawuena likes everything, but for some reason didn't come to Church yesterday. Esi sent her two boys, but she herself didn't come. Ivan did come! That was cool; it's been a while since he's come. In other words, looking at the situation and everything, we have 7 people who can be baptized this month. We're working very hard, but there's plenty of opposition going around. We're praying for help, and that we can do everything necessary to help these people cross into the waters of baptism, but in the end we're having to rely on God's mercy and trust in His Will. Prayers to help these people would be much appreciated; they're all so wonderful, and need these blessings so much. They just need help overcoming their concerns. They're right there at the water's edge! They just need help to take that last step of faith. We're doing our best, an God's Will be done.
In other news, Pres. Judd is really emphasizing obedience and the need to be a missionary, not just do missionary work. He's trying to prepare this mission for what the Lord has in store for it. Seven new areas are being opened next transfer, with 21 new missionaries (I think I mentioned that last week). The Lord has wonderful things in store for this mission, but we have to be ready to live up to the responsibility and the weight of our callings in order to handle the task the Lord is wanting to give us. I'll put his letter here, as it's a very wonderful one. I think I'll be doing that each week; he's a very inspired man, and I'm really inspired by his council. I feel we all can, if we apply it in our individual lives through the inspiration of the Spirit:
"Several weeks ago I was visiting one our missionaries in the hospital. One of the things that impressed me about him was that even though he was very sick, he was continually looking for ways to talk to the doctors and nurses about the restored gospel. There were times when he didn't know I was watching him, but I observed him being a missionary. He wasn't overbearing, but one could tell that he loved the gospel and that he loved the people. It became very clear to me that being a missionary wasn't just something he was doing--- it was something he had become. Elder David A. Bednar once stated, “It is possible . . . to go on a mission and not become a missionary . . .” (Liahona, November 2005). In other words, it is possible to go through the motions of being a missionary, but not allow our sacred calling to become a part of who we are.
The change from simply acting like a missionary to being a missionary is something that takes a power greater than our own. While there are many things we can do to become better missionaries, the real change we each need to undergo is a change that requires the enabling power made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The infinite power of the Atonement goes beyond the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the dead; the Atonement also has the power to change a boy or a girl into a man or woman of Christ. How do you see yourself----- as a civilian in missionary attire . . . or as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Savior asked the ancient Nephites, “What manner of men [or women] ought ye to be?” He then gave the answer, “Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). The Savior also taught that to become like Him and to access His power, we must do the things He did: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Nephi 27:21; emphasis added). A modern day application of some of the "things that ye must do in my church" include the guidelines found in the Missionary Handbook and Preach My Gospel. Do we always keep ourselves within sight and sound of our companion? Are we up at 6:30 a.m.? Do we spend Monday evenings and other evenings of the week as missionaries or do we spend them in some other way? Do we access unauthorized websites on the internet? Are we using our email and phone privileges properly? De we spend our subsistence wisely? The list goes on and on, but our obedience or resistance to each of the guidelines in the Missionary Handbook gives us some indication of where we are on the path to being a missionary who can truly work miracles in the lives of the people we teach or simply one who is only acting the part.
Some mistakenly think that being a 100% missionary is boring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Obedience brings the blessings of heaven and the trust of a God who is anxious to bless us and our mission in ways we can't even imagine. We have seven new areas to open, new zones and districts to create, and 21 new missionaries to train next month. Are we ready? There is great adventure ahead for those of us who are willing to be missionaries and not pretenders.
As we keep the Savior’s commandments and follow the directions of His servants we will find that the redemptive and enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and will change us and allow us to become as He is. President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world . . . . Their will is swallowed up in his will . . . . Enter their [apartments], and the pictures on their walls, the books on their shelves, the music in the air, their words and acts reveal them as Christians [and true missionaries]. They stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places” (Witness and a Warning, pp. 64-65). Paraphrasing the words of President Harold B. Lee, true missionaries “set fire in others because they are on fire” (as cited in A Witness and a Warning, pp. 64-65).
I believe becoming “a Book of Mormon mission” is helping each of us to become the kind of missionary and the kind of person that our Father in Heaven would have us be. We all know the Prophet Joseph Smith’s words when he taught: “A man would get nearer to God by abiding by its [the Book of Mormon’s] precepts than by any other book.” Being a missionary and not just doing missionary work is the key as we strive to invite others as well as ourselves to “come unto Christ and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32).
It is a joy to associate with each and every one of you. It is one of the great blessings of my life to be your mission president and your fellow servant. My thoughts and prayers are continually with you.
Much Love,
President Judd" ("Civilian or Servant?", Pres. Weekly Letter, Mar. 12, 2012).
I testify that what Pres. Judd wrote is true. Some people think that fun can only come when living outside of the rules and standard God has given. But remember what Alma said: "Wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:20-21). If we want the blessings of true happiness, we must abide the law predicated for them. We cannot expect to use salt in place of sugar in cookies and get delicious Snickerdoodles. No matter what we tell ourselves, no matter what we say or how hard we try to rationalize, it will still come out tasting like a salt lick. Such it is with life. We cannot go around, breaking the Lord's commands, breaking the Word of Wisdom or the Law of Chastity, or refrain from daily study of the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) or from daily prayers, or any other such command, and expect our lives to be filled with the light and glory of His presence. Such manifestations of the Spirit are only for the truly obedient, an therein lies joy, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Elder LeGrand Richards made this statement: “I would rather have my children and my children’s children enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost than any other companionship in this world because if they will heed the promptings of that Spirit, he will lead them into all truth and see them safely back into the presence of their Father in heaven” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1966, 112; or Improvement Era, June 1966, 540).
There is nothing better than the companionship of the holy Ghost. Mormon taught that "the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name" and that "the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out" (Hel. 3:27-30).
I testify that "[exact] obedience to the laws and ordinances of his gospel" (AoF 1:3) bring about the greatest blessings. I would exhort everyone to read D&C 88 (esp. v. 33-45) and ponder over those things. I've written on it already, I believe, as this is what Elder Sitati spoke to us on, that all things have a law, and whatever law we listen to obey determines our destiny therein.
I'd like to end with this quote from D&C 88, from the Lord Jesus Christ:
"Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.
And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will" (D&C 88:66-68, emphasis added).
May the Lord bless us, that we may truly "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness" (Moro. 10:32). I know the Lord will bless us and help us as we ask of Him to take away our iniquities, that we might receive "the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent," that it might bring about "a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2).
I know that this Gospel is True, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's current prophet upon the earth. I know that this is the Lord's Work, and I testify with all the faculties of my soul that the Book of Mormon is true. Read it, ponder it in your hearts, and ask God if it is true. He will "manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moro. 10:4). Nothing will bring you closer to God, and by drawing closer to God, you will receive greater truth and light, which will fill you, even your entire soul, with the light and glory of love; "for God is love" (1 John 4:8). "Now [is] not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness" (Alma 27:18). I testify that that happiness is found in and through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and as contained in the Book of Mormon, as well as the Bible.
Might I end with the words of Alma? "I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life" (Alma 5:62). While I am not in the position to ensue such a command to you all, I would exhort you to hearken to the commands issued by Alma, given by God, as well as all others given here by the various prophets the Lord has called throughout the ages. And to those who are not in the Lord's Church, as a representative of Jesus Christ, I extend the same invitation: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life, "which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst" (Alma 32:42).
Obey with exactness, my beloved brothers and sisters. I know this will bring you the promised blessings. I love you all! We have Zone Interviews this week, which should be nice. Until next week! Read the Book of Mormon every day! Take care, and God bless!
--Elder Collings
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