First Week in the MTC

Heya Everybody!!

 

So this week has been amazing, and compared to my last four months in the MTC I have felt an almost overwhelming increase in the Spirit. There is something that is amazing about being set apart as an emissary of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is such a love and a desire to do all that the Lord asks of me. Even in comparison to the first time I went through the MTC there is a new found love and dedication to this work. I know that what I am doing here is true!

 

I can't imagine a better way that I want to be spending my time than being fully enveloped in the Gospel. I am studying constantly and learning new things it feels every minute. I don't know what it is, but I know for certain I didn't have this zest or vigor for the work as I do now a year ago.

 

I got here on the 21st of May, which was a Tuesday, and with Tuesdays here in the MTC comes devotionals where a General Authority comes to speak to us. This week it was Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy. He spoke of the Doctrine of Christ and how it is preparatory to accesing the enabling power of the Atonement. He asked a question that stood out to me, and I have ever since hearing it sought to figure out what it means. The question goes something like this,

How would we have felt, in being in the presence of Christ in the Grand Councils before the world was, hearing Him say, "Here am I, send me."....?

 

I was taken aback by that kind of thinking. Not only is it incomprehensible to think of what is to come in life and eternity, but to think about what I have already done, but since forgotten. It is astonishing to me to think that I have already been in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, so how would my homecoming feel?

 

Anywhosit, the week has gone rather splendidly. French is coming along in the like manner. My new companion is Elder Lynch, and he is from the far off neverland of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, U.K., Europe, Northern Hemisphere, Earth, Milky Way, etc. He is a cool kid, and now being older than most of the missionaries in this haven, I can call him that. I'm really enjoying my days, and loving life. Two more things to tell you about this week, the first is a humorous note, the second is a somber note.

 

1. Yesterday on the Sabbath, and what a lovely day it was, we were taking our scheduled walk around the Temple's campus. Since Utah has warmer weather than most would appreciate (especially a fair-skinned Scotsman) we were wont for retreat under the shade of trees. It was the common desire for our zone so we all gathered under a tree.

 

Chatting and conversing, laughing and taking in the beauty of the Temple. We were all just "bobbing along" then, as fate would have it, I became the target of nature's cruelty. There above us all in the tree was a lone bird, probably one that was like unto Alma the Younger before his conversion. He stared me down, and with malice in his little bird eyes, he decided to expel his wastes upon my shoulder. Grrr! I didn't find it humorous at the time, but now that my clothes are being washed, I can see the humor.

 

2. We watched the funeral of Sister Monson last night, and it was amazing. Not that I like death, but to see the faith and beauty in appreciating the eternal Plan of Salvation. It is majestic to say the least. We are but strangers in a foreign land here on the earth. Wandering aimlessly, and without purpose, or at least that is how some people feel. God has given us all we need to return home, and I have the great opportunity to share that with people. We have a life beyond this, an eternal one, full of joy and those that we love. I enjoy this life, but I can't wait for the promised one to come.

 

It was a long letter, hope you all can forgive me. Have a great week! Alas, before I go, a poem by Orson F. Whitney:

 

"Jehovah, thou my messenger!

Son Ahman, thee I send;

And one shall go thy face before,

While twelve thy steps attend.

And many more on that far shore

The pathway shall prepare,

That I, the first, the last may come,

And earth my glory share...

 

'Go forth, thou Chosen of the Gods,

Whose strength shall in thee dwell!

Go down betime and rescue earth,

Dethroning death and hell.

On thee alone man's fate depends,

The fate of beings all.

Thou shalt not fail, though thou art free--

Free, but too great to fall.

 

By arm divine, both mine and thine,

The lost thou shalt restore,

And man, redeemed, with God shall be,

As God forevermore.

Return and to the parent fold

This wandering planet bring,

And earth shall hail thee Conqueror,

And heaven proclaim thee King!'"

-[Elias: An Epic of the Ages]

 

-- 

Elder Robert Eugene Haggard II

The Testimony of a Boy Hoping to be a Man

What do you think?

I will begin by saying, the last post wasn't actually my last post, so forgive that misleading statement. 

I've been told once or twice to,

"Think before you speak!"

Which, in all honesty, is the something that I do struggle with. Perhaps I don't care to think, or I don't really understand what I am saying can effect people in more significant ways than I perceive, but that is the old me. I have gained a better understanding of how vital each word is.

These few words that I want to share are the ones that I hope to reflect and to show throughout my next two years in serving the Lord, Jesus Christ, in the far off lands of Africa. So pay attention, and know that I believe these things with all of my heart.

I know that my Redeemer lives! I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah and Savior of the world. There is a love and joy that all can obtain, but it is a gift from God. I know that God wants to give this gift to all of His children, but He has asked that we do a few things. 

The promise for doing these five things are Eternal Life, and that includes eternal joy, eternal love, and eternal families. 

These are the five things we must do/obtain:

1.) Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement

2.) Repentance for our sins

3.) Baptism by immersion for the remission of our sins. (Being cleansed through Christ)

4.) Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. (Given the Holy Ghost through the power of God)

5.) Endure to the End.

I know that as you fulfill each of these steps, your love and happiness in this life will grow exponentially. You will never be without difficulty, but the challenges become lighter burdens as you give yourself fully over to the Lord. I know that I am going to Africa to share this message with other of God's children, and the one thing that I want out of it is to know that others have the opportunities to spend eternity with those that they love. Eternal Families is what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is all about. God is our loving Heavenly Father, He wants His family to come back to Him.

That is my testimony, and now I would like to share that of the Church's. It is in

 The Family: A Proclamation to the World

THE FAMILY

A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

IN THE PREMORTAL REALM, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

WE DECLARE the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

The Referral Center

Christus Statue in Salt Lake City, Utah

'Tis Bittersweet:

This is most likely my last post before I leave on my mission to Bénin, so I will tell you all about these past four months in the Referral Center in the Provo Missionary Training Center.

The beginning
of this story is a little further back than four months though, in fact it began March 7, 2012, the day I originally entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC).  Like I have said in one of my previous posts, I was called to serve a mission to Benin Cotonou and March 7th is the day that would begin.

Well, I only made it until May 20, 2012, unfortunately. I wasn't ready to serve a mission, nor was I ready to do everything that the Lord would ask me to do. I didn't know that at the time I left March 7th, and I'm grateful I didn't know that. Coming home from my mission has been the biggest blessing in my life, which may seem strange but I will explain.

When one is called on a mission they are asked to live a life devoted to God. They put away their personal affairs and focus on the work to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and inviting others to come unto Him through faith in Him and His Atonement, repentance of their sins, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end of their lives (keeping the commandments, living worthily, etc.). The work isn't as easy as that because people don't like missionaries very much. The work is physically, emotionally, and spiritually demanding, and I wasn't ready on all of those demands.

When I came home from my mission, it wasn't because I didn't know what I was doing was true, it wasn't because I didn't want to serve God by bringing others into Christ's fold, it wasn't because I didn't want to be there, it was because I didn't know I knew these things.

Sure, I may have been raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  all of my life. Sure, I may have had the Holy Ghost tell me that I should serve a mission. Sure, I may have known that the things I was taught in church were true. Sure, I may have been wanting to do the things asked of me, but in the end, I didn't care.

I knew that there were blessings in store for those that abide by the commandments of God, and I knew that God loved me and wanted to give me those blessings, but I didn't care. I wanted to live in a way that made me happy, and a way that was easy. I wasn't ready to know that my whole life depended on knowing the things that I already knew.  There was something lacking in my life, and it was caring. I didn't have the motivation in life to do those things that would bless me.

As I was on my mission between March 7th and May 20th, I saw the blessings in other people's lives and I saw that I could have them in my life. I became scared of the idea of having those blessings in my life. I had never really sought after them and so I didn't think that I deserved them. Religion had always just been a fun thing, an extra subject to learn about, a good way to live life, I never went out of my way to know things, it seemed to just come naturally and easily. I went through the motions of life, and being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a mission was one of those things.

I got out to the mission, I started to feel a way that I didn't know that I could. I started to see that my feelings for the church were filled with emotion, and that I actually KNEW that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. With these new found feelings came feelings of doubt and despair that I took the time before my mission for granted, that I didn't know the things that I should have known to be the best missionary that I could be. I chose to come home.

I didn't know if I was going to go back out on a mission, but I knew that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true. I knew that I had to live more devoted to the teachings of Jesus Christ. I had hopes to go back out on a mission, so I did what I needed to go back out, but it was a hope nonetheless.

I went to therapy sessions to analyze my personality to see if I was actually cut out to serve a mission. I went to church each Sunday to better learn the gospel and its principles. I studied my scriptures to become more in tune with the word of God. I was living my life so that I would be better, but I was still in the depths of depression for "throwing away" my opportunity to serve in my dream mission. I had always wanted to speak French and to go to Africa.

The months that followed my coming home were filled with bitterness towards myself.

I wanted to go back out, but with the therapy it proved to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated previously. It would appear that I was more "messed up" than I personally had thought myself to be. There were talks about how since I was raised by a single parent that I held on to anger towards others for being "abandoned" at birth. Something about how I am not willing to stand up for myself, I will just run from a difficulty rather than face it. I don't like things being easy, if they are too easy I make it more of a challenge than it needs to be.

So with those challenges presented, the time came when I felt as though I was ready to go back to serve a mission, my therapist thought otherwise. They thought that it would be good for me to "test the waters" by doing a service mission. Service missions are where you aren't doing it 24/7, you just do that work for an allotted time a couple days a week until they feel that you are able to serve or until they prove you to be unable. My "sentence" was for 90 days, 6 days a week, 12 hours a day in the Provo MTC Referral Center.

It was here that I gained a better understanding of the gospel. Here I was to preach the gospel through social media networks, emailing, phone, Skype, Facebook. With this being my focus, I had a lot of time spent on LDS.org to study the talks from Apostles and Prophets. I began to devour all the knowledge that I could gain. I had my testimony and will tested, but I learned that I wanted to be here.

The misssonaries that serve in the Referral Center are the best missionaries that I know. They know the gospel, they live the gospel, they bless the lives of those that they teach, and they have a love for God that you scarcely see else where. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to serve alongside such amazing and devoted missionaries. If you ever want to learn about the gospel, go to Mormon.org and click the "Chat With Us" button. They are here, and they will help you.

I am going back out on my mission on May 21, 2013. I am picking up one year later, but I am going back with more devotion to this work than I thought imaginable the first time round.

My sister or mother will be posting my weekly letters on here that I send from the mission field. So, continue to check it out and see what adventures await me in Africa.