Dear Family and Friends, Monday, February 10, 2014 at
11:56 a.m. (EST)
This week was a really good
week. We played basketball at the church on Monday but no one else showed up. Our
Branch Mission Leader came, but when he saw that no investigators or less
actives were coming he figured that he wasnt obliged to play basketball with
us. We ended up playing for only a few minutes. Basketball is pretty boring
with two people. It has snowed a lot this week. There is finally snow on the
snowmobile trails and we see sleds everywhere now. There is a trail right
through the middle of Berlin. They just drive on the sidewalk. They dont plow
that sidewalk. It is really great to walk through town and see snowmobiles
driving around.
Our investigators are doing
really well. S and E will be baptized on the 22 for sure. That way
theyre grandma can come. This week we taught CJ, E, and S about
obedience. We told them that we were planning on going on a trip. They chose to
go to Las Vegas. We asked them what they needed for the trip. In the story we
got all the way out into Nebraska when one of us had a dream that we needed to
go back to get our scriptures which we forgot. So we sent S and E back.
We asked them how happy they would be about being sent back. We then said that
there is a similar story in the Book of Mormon. We used 1 Nephi 3:7. The story
in the first part of the Book of Mormon talks about a family that was commanded
by God to leave Jerusalem. They left in about 600 BC. After traveling several
days the Lord commanded that Nephi and his brothers should be sent back to
retrieve a scriptural record. Nephi's brothers were upset about having to walk
all the way back but Nephi says "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said
unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for
I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he
shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he
commandeth them." We said that life is like a journey. The Lord provides a
roadmap for our life. It is the scriptures. The scriptures contain the
commandments of God. If we follow the commandments of God we will get to our
destination. If we do not follow God's commandments we could get lost. They
really enjoyed that. At the end of the lesson we extended a date of April 5 to
CJ. She accepted. She is going to have her baby at the end of this month.
(Hopefully not during S and E's baptism.) She said that she should be
good to be baptized in April. That gives her a good month after having her
baby.
We taught the same lesson to
J. He decided that he wanted to go to Rio de Janario Brazil. He said that
it was for his honeymoon with K. C.. His mode of transportation that
he chose was a bicycle... a tandem bicycle. He said that he wanted to bring a
fishing pole and a canoe for the trip. They were camping in the middle of
Nebraska when K. C. had a dream that J had to ride all the way back to New
Hampshire to get his scriptures. We shared the same scripture that we shared
with S and E. It was really funny.
A is doing really well
too. It has been surprising how fast she is progressing. A couple of weeks ago
it was very difficult to teach her. This week she has been reading the Book of
Mormon and praying, and the results have been exponential. She came to church
on Sunday and she loved it. I really enjoy when an investigator actually reads
and prays. You can really tell if they are reading and praying about it because
they start to understand what we are teaching and they begin to gain a
testimony of it. That is such a testimony to me that this church is true. If it
was not they would not progress so well just from reading the Book of Mormon
and praying about it. That is what everyone must do in order to know if the
church is true.
This week I have enjoyed
studying "The Fourth Missionary" I really liked an insight that I
gained from it. I have been working really hard on becoming obedient. But one
thing I think I have left out is truly giving the Lord my heart. I really liked
this quote from it, "My question is this: Why do all of that and not
benefit personally by it? Why? Do you see that I am not talking: about obedience:
rather I am talking to you about intelligence. I am telling you that there is
only one intelligent way to serve a mission; the way that will bless. and
benefit. and change, and uplift. and empower. and ennoble you; your life, your
spirit, your character, you. That is the way of the Fourth Missionary. It is
the only intelligent way to go." I thought of the common prase we use as
missionaries, "Obedience brings blessings, Exact Obedience brings
miracles." I thought of something to add to that. Either
"Intelligence brings salvation" or "A Set Apart Heart brings
salvation." I promised President Wilkey when I came out to have a set
apart heart and I am working on that.
Click this link to read "The Fourth Missionary" by Lawrence Corbridge
Everyone have a great week!
Elder CWJensen