The Good Things on a Mission

Good Afternoon!

Congrats to the sister and brother-in-law of my best friend on his mission in Germany, Elder Hale, for bringing a baby boy into the world! Yay Brett and Tara!

I am reflecting back on the week that has just passed and I was touched by the words given in this passed April's General Conference by Elder Holland. He is so sincere with the simplicity of the words used, "Lord, I believe." I just never thought of how amazing those three words can be. How much power we can have just by showing the inkling of faith that dwells within our hearts. Just showing that we wish for something better and that the key to that is within the Savior's hands.

I pondered the concepts that Elder Holland shared, such as beginning our desires with an honest assertion of our faith, not by leading with our weaknesses. That is something that I lack in, I always look at my faults and try to excuse them before I show the faith and confidence that I have in these things. It is easier for us to see where we lack, to see the difficulties that are present than to see the hope and optimism that should be shining brightly forth from amidst the shadows of the pains in life.

Among that effort of trying to be more faithful through the difficulties of life, I am trying to make an attempt to be more in tune with the Holy Ghost. The problem isn't that I won't follow the promptings, the problem is recognizing the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I much prefer it when somebody is straight-forward with me, this whole "still small voice" thing is harder to hear through the tumult of my mind and heart. It is almost imposxsible to describe the noise that runs constantly through a missionary's mind.

I mean, it is an amazing opportunity that we have to spend these two years of our lives away from the distractions of the world. but I find that my mind doesn't enjoy being left alone with itself. I find that there are crags, alleys, darknesses that have yet to be explored in the depths of my mind, and delving into these places shows different aspects to me that I have yet to develop and hone into my personality. I like sitting at long lengths with my thoughts and feelings, but I just can't express what it is that I am thinking or feeling.

A good thing that is present each day of the mission is wonderful opportunities to learn and to grow as we work among the good people around us. It is such a tender mercy of the Lord to see that He has placed me here to find friends that I would by no other means have met or made such a special and spiritual bond with. You see them from a light of the everlasting gospel, and not just through the eys of some random passer-by. A man isn't a man until he has gone through the refiner's fire!

I enjoy this truth that the challenges and trials that are just before us are those set by the Lord for us to show our faith. The Lord doesn't like to see us suffer, but we sometimes find ourselves ungrateful for the grandeur and joy of Christ's infinite Atonement. We are given the means of becoming like our Heavenly Father, and that includes an eternal process of progression, for if we aren't progressing we are damned, où bien?

I learned another vital lesson from the Group Leader Frère Marcelin this week also! Just a wonderful week of learning for me! He said something profound, yet falls so humbly into the simple category as well. He said, in stating his desire to help the Group of Kodjoviakopé, that "my past errors are behind me." How prolific! It wasn't a statement of perfection, it wasn't a statement clearing him from further errors, it was a heartfelt proclamation that eyes are meant ot be fixed on the eternal prospects ahead not caught up in the griefs and toils of yesterday's regrets. Let yesterday slip away, the dawn of tomorrow will forever be more beautiful than something you cannot relive. As beautiful as memories are, God has, and forever will, promise that today is better than all the yesterdays combined, so long as we make it what we want it to be.

I can promise everyone trials, heartache, pains and troubles. I can promise everyone an Armageddon, but with that comes the hope and light of Adam-Ondi-Ohman! (Stole that little idea from Neal A. Maxwell.)

I love my mission, always will be grateful for what time I have to be in the service of my Lord. I love each everyone of you, you are in my prayers, and as angels continue to bear me up I know that I am in yours. I could go for some letters from folks though, so feel free to send those my way. Heck, if you send them today they might even be here in time for Christmas! ;) 

Here is my address:

Elder Robert Haggard
Mission Bénin Cotonou
Cadjehoun Lot 1158, Bloc F
01 BP 3323 Cotonou
Bénin
(No need to write "West Africa" it is built into where Bénin is located.)

A bientôt mes amis!

Sincerely,
Elder Haggard

Elder Haggard's Week

Dear Crowd,

Happy Birthday dearest brother, Matthew Haggard! You are now 22, and that is how old I will be when I get home from my mission..... sounds like quite a length of time.

Anywho! Another week has flown by here in the tropical oasis of Kodjoviakopé. In hindsight every day bullets by me here on the mission, but each moment that you are living it seems to be a "groundhog day" moment. Though, since I am speaking French each day, I can use the term "deja vu" to explain it all.

So this week we have had a focus on helping the members of the group here learn the cantiques because they... have difficulties... I don't blame them in the slightest though, there is no piano to help them along, and all a capella groups in French needs some fine tuning. They sing the same six cantiques over and over again, and as good as "Sauveur d'Israel" is, it gets kind of old. They have now taken a liking to "Fais ton Devoir" and it's nice to have a new song in the book to turn to.

So I have thought of something that I feel as though I lack and I now want to make an effort to improving, being an example. Ironically an example is something that we all are. There are always those that look at us, and based upon what we are doing, whether it be good or bad, it adds a type of witness to that thing which you are doing.

It was strange how this thought came to me. We were on our way back from a rendez-vous at Soeur Sonia's with her friend Gloria, and it was a good lesson, but I felt a distinct impression that I hadn't been asking her the right questions throughout the lesson. I continued to think of what I needed to ask her to see if there was something special that needed to be asked, but by the standards of a lesson going in the right direction, it met the criteria. So I tried to ask the most simple question that I had thought we had covered in talking with her in multiple lessons, the question I asked was, "who is God to you?"

Honestly, this is probably the most disputed idea that has ever been presented to humanity since the time Adam and Eve were made to part from Eden. So there was a pause following the question, my companion looked at me like I was an idiot, he hopefully thought the same thing as me prior to asking the question, that we had covered that subject thoroughly. She responded with the best response you can ever give, if we had first taught her the lesson, "I don't know."

Disheartened this sweet girl looked to the ground, but for some reason I couldn't help but smile. (She would be made uneasy by this, obviously.) There are two things  that I love beyond anything in teaching on the mission, and in general. The first, due to my love of my Savior is the Atonement and the many wonders and glories that therein lie. The second becomes a hybrid because it starts with God being our Heavenly Father, but there is no way to continue on that subject without the bright hope and love that we too can inherit a family of our own and dwell eternally in the celestial kingdoms above.

Confession to the world. I wasn't always the best child to a loving mother, though she rightly deserved my love and respect. Luckily I have all of her life to make that right with her, if the cards are played right, if they aren't, I have all MY life to make it right by her. This ties back into that example thing I was talking about... (Sorry kind of scattered hope this all makes sense at the end.)

Gloria! So as we go into explaining this amazing hope and promise of God that HE is in fact our Father! He has given us the divine means and resources to seal our families for time and all eternity, and He will stand at the head of it and bless those within that keep His commandments. She, Gloria, is a single mother at 21 years of age, which is not uncommon here sadly. Her young son, though he is currently a little devil, is the family that she has. This message gave her hope, and I feel it may have made a difference in the teachings that follow.

You see, that is what we become, as an individual or within our families, examples to those around us. We can set the tone for those around us that are lost and searching for the true and proper way to raise a family, or feel a sense of belonging. The world around us has many that are in the darkness, though we don't know it. We MUST be the light that illuminates the road to life, and joy, and the hope of never-ending joy ahead of them. That is the goal that I have, be an example that even I could look up to.

The next exciting thing that happened was this Sunday as I was asked to speak in la Réunion de Sainte-Cène alongside the other missionaries. My talk was on the Atonement! :) It was my choice, but it was something that I feel isn't very well understood here. There is an amazing thing that happens as you speak about the Savior in reverance and love, an outpouring of the Spirit is felt and leaves a burning within your heart of the truth and divinity of the Savior's infinite sacrifice for the children of God.

I am eternally grateful for those sacred hours under the moonlight in Gethsemane. The moments that only can be described with words of awe and adoration, though even in complete humilty our words can't describe the fulness of what transpired there. The presence of an immortal being suffering anguish that wasn't His own, with the support of an angel, still bringing the most perfect and pure Being to shudder and ask for the cup to pass from Him. Followed by the humiliation of a criminal's death, as even His closest friends turn away from Him. His suffering upon the cross in which the world around Him was engulfed in blackness as He felt the bitter sting of loneliness as He was doing this for all those that were betraying Him.

At the end of all of this, after He had suffered the pain, affliction, sickness, and sin of each and everyone of God's children that has, or ever will come to the Earth, His perfect heart broke. I, with a heart full of regret, contributed to my Savior's death. Though a voluntary death, the broken heart was not His doing, that was each of us. I guess that is the sombering message I want to leave with each of you, remember that perfect One that suffered and died for you. He is there with open and out-stretched arms awaiting to embrace those that find themselves upon the path to everlasting life.

I love you all! Pray daily, preferably twice or more daily, read your scriptures. Find the faith!

Sincerely,
Elder Haggard

Another Day Older and Hopefully Wiser too!

Good Afternoon!

A time of reflection about the world as I begin my letter. The world is such a big and mysterious place, and there really is no way we understand it. There are billions of people that are living, that have lived, and that will live upon this beautiful little speck in infinity that are shaping it into what it is, and where we will go.

The things that make the world go round are based upon factors that are incomprehensible, and to think that the grandeur and the spectacle that goes on around us in the universe are made to mean next to nothing because we have MORE important things to worry about. Can you believe that?! We have more important things to worry about in this life than figuring out the secrets of the universe.

Maybe we need to think about what the answer to life is, anyone care to take a guess? I am sincerely interested in knowing what the secret to hope is in this life. I know how to find it, and what it is centered around, but it seems that when we find ourselves personally in trouble we tremble with fear and the faith we so cherished is chased out. What are people's thoughts on this subject, faith, hope, and overcoming a personal challenge and not this hypothetical idea of "if it were to happen."

I look around me and I see a world that is in desperation, it is crying due to an unknown pain. I see it written on the face of those that I teach each day, and it is churns my stomach in such a way that I am physically pained for these people. The answer is simply the same as everything else, it is Jesus Christ.

Hope is solely based on Jesus Christ, for without Him there is no need for hope in this world. He is the only way. Do you know what He did for us?

I can't even begin to tell you of my love for the Savior of the World, and the eternal joy that I feel through His infinite Atonement. Those merciless hours spent in Gethsemane when He felt the temptations of my soul, my giving in, my soul's remorse for my sins, the pains of my flesh, the heartbreaks, and the tears that have fallen down my cheeks. He has felt it all before, and He knows what my soul needs to recuperate and overcome these challenges. He is there to succor His people, and that is why my hope for this world is unquivering, but it doesn't take back the sorrow for the steps people take to get to that hope.

We must give ourselves to the will of Heavenly Father. We can only find ourselves when we lose ourselves in such an amazing cause. We have nothing more expected of us than to give our lives for the cause of eternal life. Are you ready to die defending your faith? Are you ready to spend your last moments in knowing what lies ahead, or would you prefer to pass those precious moments thinking it is the last time you will see your loved ones? Would you like to think that all the love and joy you have felt in this life is just about to be over forever? That is the biggest lie that man has ever invented. A life without God isn't a life at all.

I honestly have had an up and down week here in the mission, but that is how life goes here. You can't expect life to pass simply and easily in the service of the Lord, I can just hope it doesn't end like most of His apostles, the whole crucifixion and death parts sound unsavory. I prefer the two years go home and get married alternative. Here's to hoping! ;)

Oh, an interesting thing I learned this week, in my own words but inspired from Jeffrey R. Holland. "We reap what we sow." It may be a little cliché, but it helped me learn a little bit more about human nature.

When we fill our heart with good emotions, love, happiness, charity, hope, and others like those, are souls are filled with light and our capacities for these emotions grow and we increase in our lives in many other aspects, not just personally but it stretches to those around us. If we plant just a tiny seed of these in our heart it will blossom into so much that we won't know what to do with it all.

With that, it also works in reverse. When we fill our hearts with darkness, hatred, jealousy, rage, and more we fill our souls with a fast growing rot. It tears us apart, and it tears us away from those around us while planting in them this contagion of rot. It is something that we must strive to avoid with all of our might.

I love the Lord, and the abundance of blessings poured into our lives. I would implore each of you to find out who your Savior really is, what He did for you, and what path He wants you to walk in life. He loves you! He has your name engraved into His feet, hands, and wrists. He knows your pains and He will aid you. He will send angels from on high to bear you up and lift your wavering spirit. I know it! I know that my Redeemer lives!  Don't doubt yourself, the Lord is on your side when you keep His commandments and strive your hardest. He helps those that take the first steps themselves.

Have another awesome week world! I will talk to you again soon.

Sincerely,

That one kid in Africa

God Bless The Rains Down in Africa

God Bless the Rains Down in Africa

My Dearest World,



I will start with saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend Tylan!



TRANSFERS!!! They came! Though… it didn’t effect my apartment at all.

*Whosoever therefore shall bbreak one of these least commandments, and shall cteach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and dteach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)*

So this week I bumped heads with “authority” due to the principle taught within that scripture. The small things are what makes this world great. It isn’t us doing amazing and spectacular things, achieving the grandest rewards, fighting off the mightiest monsters, it comes through us being in the fight. You often find differing opinions amongst missionaries, and for some reason my “leader” didn’t appreciate me putting my foot down for the things I know to be right.  Respect is something that is meant to be earned through being a righteous example and a loving leader to those asked to follow you. Respect doesn’t come because of seniority or because you demand it, never has it been that way, and never shall it be. Intimidation and fear are sure ways to personal demise.

*Mildly frustrated interjection… I don’t like the computers or the internet here. They put a hamper on how good our time in the cybers is supposed to be.*

I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways. That is the only thing that would make sense in this struggling world of poverty, greed, starvation, wars, lusts, secrecy and carnal sensations. It would take so much time to fix the problems of the world, so much that nobody but the Savior could fix them.  I guess that is the perfect reason as to why we must EACH strive to become more like Jesus Christ and to follow His example in everything. It is something that I struggle to do everyday; find a way to humble myself enough to be corrected by His loving hand. In my pride I am nothing, but when I gain humility and charity I open the way to receive the blessings of heaven.

When you find yourself with nothing, you are as close as you can be to having everything, for when one has things that distracts the heart they turn it cold and black. An abyss is an ineffable darkness, that loses those that wander within it, do you want to be lost?

I had a wonderful experience this past Saturday as we went over to attend the baptism of someone I didn’t know in Kégé. The service was beautiful, you can’t go astray when the work of the Lord is being fulfilled, and the hymns invited a marvelous and warming spirit. The service ended, the pictures were taken, my companion disappeared with the other Ivorians, and I sat around for a few hours waiting.

The storm clouds gathered upon the horizon, and we watched as the blackness swooped in over Lomé. The sprinkles of rain began to descend, but before we could get back into the Church building it was beating down. The Africans ran to and fro because none of them enjoy rain. Firstly because it floods their homes, floods their roads, and makes it colder than they typically enjoy. Secondly, motos aren’t very good at driving through rainstorms, nor do people trust them and so the industry takes a bit of a dive during a storm.

My companion came back, we made our way to the big road to find a taxi, but they feel as though the rain creates desperation and they try to raise the prices of the trip. Unfortunately for them, I don’t mind a little bit of rain so I can stand there all day if needs be. The only problem was that day had already passed and we needed to get back to our apartment. Kodjoviakopé and Kégé are essentially on the opposite sides of Lomé from each other. Taxis kept stopping for us, they never wanted to give us a reasonable price, so a good twenty minutes passed while doing this all. Finally, and much to our surprise, a car stopped to give us a ride.

Now, some people may not think that is much, but here in Togo it is unheard of to do something like that. He was a German Togolais. He had been born and raised in Koln, but his family was from Togo and so he spent many summers back here. He was really kind to us, he wouldn’t accept the money that we offered to him for his generosity, He drove us all the way from Kege to Hotel Palm Beach which is just “down the road” from us. So we made a 2000 cfa trip into a 500 cfa trip with a taxi on the last leg.

The thing that really touched me in this whole experience was how he said that it was God that touched his heart to pull over for us. It made me so grateful for the love of my Heavenly Father and strengthened my testimony in knowing that He is truly there looking out for each of us in our own trials and adversities. Nothing more magnificent than feeling God’s love for you.

I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He is there for us all! I know that He loves me, and that He will stand by me through the hardships in life. He will never let one of His children suffer beyond what they are capable of. He is there in our times of need, and in our times of peace. Don’t forget Him for the wonderful blessings that He pours out upon EACH of us everyday. Whether you feel down in life or not, He is there. I know it with all of my heart. That is why I am here. I am here to spread the message that our Father has prepared a marvelous plan of happiness for all of His children, and we know each of the steps because of the restoration that took place with the help of Joseph Smith.

Love you all! Keep praying and reading those scriptures of yours. :)

-Elder Haggard

The Things I See‏

Well world, how goes it ?

This week has definitely gone by in the blink of an eye, not to mention all of August !! (I never understood that expression, you still say what isn’t mentioned….) So things that transpired this past week…

I forgot my planner !!! Well not so much forgot as I started a new one today ! The first thing to say is HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM !!

I feel as though nothing SPECTACULAR happened, but it was a reflective week. I spent a lot of time writing in my journal and just trying to figure out a lot of things of spiritual worth. It typically comes through the question that sits in my mind, how can I make the situation that I am in better? It is a question that can branch out to areas further than just a mission, but something I feel I will start learning here on my mission.

I don’t remember what lead me onto the idea of improving my situation. It is a feeling that is related closely to a brick wall at times. A daunting task of changing how this mission can progress, whether it be through my direct help, or the influence of example that I show. I have heard some pretty discouraging things from other missionaries, and it is a challenge I have taken upon myself to not be a missionary that will have millions of regrets with each passing day.

The most disheartening thing that I have ever heard drip from the mouth of a foolish missionary: something that would shatter an Apostle’s heart. It is something that automatically made me pity this missionary for how long he has wasted his mission. He said, « in my two years, my testimony hasn’t grown. »

HOW ON EARTH !!!?!?!?!?! There is no clearer sign of one that came into the mission, either not prepared, or for the wrong reasons. He is going home in a month, and I am scared where life is going to take him. I don’t know if the way he treated his mission will be an exact reflection of his life after his mission, but it will have an impact that will definitely originate from how he treated his responsibilities here. He being a « leader » here on the mission is something that I can see obviously as why it is slow going in this mission.

I have a hard time with figuring out why some people are serving their missions… I wasn’t one to talk very long ago, but I could never let anything deter me from this great opportunity to share the testimony that I have strived to acquire. This mission is literally everything to me. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world; the price of my eternal salvation is too steep to trade for anything. There is nothing bad that could come from a mission; it is exactly what you make it out to be. The Lord has promised all of us blessings, and it becomes our choice to accept them or not.

So, after two months since my last baptism I got another! It is the cousin of my first one, Edem was the first on July 6 and Abel was on August 31. 

Abel

It was a great opportunity: events like that where you see someone accept to follow the Savior‘s example and enter the waters of baptism! He was happy, and that makes the weeks of working with them and helping them find their own desire to do these things. That is the most important thing that we as missionaries do, we help others take the information that we share with them and teach them how they can turn it into a self-witness through the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Nobody knows the truth of the things that we teach until they try it for themselves and see the blessings come into their lives.

Edem

So we had a strange event happen on Thursday, our mission president, President Weed came and worked with my companion and I in the morning. It was strange, it isn’t something that happens too regularly here, so I may read into it too much. It was probably nothing, which is what I hope for. The sad thing about Thursday is five of our scheduled baptisms fell through…

The mother of the children that we were planning on baptizing wanted to have a party (not necessary with baptisms) but she couldn’t afford it. Her husband, he is living in Nigeria for a little while, said that if the church demanded a party for baptism the children couldn’t get baptized. This was following her asking us to find someone to give her 25,000 cfa around 50 dollars, but NOBODY has 25,000 that they will just give away. People here fight to save 500 cfa (one dollar) in every situation. They enjoy negotiating prices here, but mostly because arguing is something that seems natural in this culture.

The next thing that happened was she « sold » her son into « bondage » at the request of their landlord. The landlord felt him, the son, needed more male influence in his life and recommended that she lend her son to the landlord’s sister for a while because she has a son around the same age. It seemed without reluctance that she sent him away… It was sad to see so many baptisms dropped. The children were all sincere and really wanted to be baptized, but the parents haven’t gotten to that point yet and so it affects the children. We can’t do much because the first thing of importance with this gospel is uniting families, so we weren’t going to force it down their throats to be baptized.

The mission is always full of unique and exciting surprises each and every day. There are good things and experiences to learn on a mission. The hard parts are the ones that mold us like a refiner‘s fire, and we need to learn how to submit to the blows of the hammer at the forge. The Lord is working with the missionaries and those we teach equally. We are learning and growing together, so there isn’t a lesson where both aren’t edified and spiritually enlightened together. I love my mission! Each day is a blessing to be here in this magnificent part of the world. Learning and growing through the joy and love of the gospel!

Sincerely,

Elder Haggard

Je suis disciple de Jésus-Christ, le Fils de Dieu‏

Hi.

Once again another week has come and gone and the blessings of the Lord have shone forth in great abundance over the land of Kodjoviakope. I have yet again found my way back to a cyber to spend these wonderful few minutes sharing with you my life and my joy here in Africa. The joy of serving a mission has been truly noted by my soul in this past week.

Not to get anyone’s hopes up. I didn’t march down to the waters of Mormon and baptize 500 people, nor did I march with a very toned body in the army of Helaman (the young women know what I am talking about ;D ), don’t worry I giggled a little as I wrote it too. I didn’t stand with John as he told the world of the light that is the Christ. Nor was I there when Peter proclaimed without hesitancy that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, and in turn Jesus gave unto Peter the calling of Prophet and President of His church. I wasn’t there on the road when Paul was visited by the voice of the Lord.

Yes, it is true that I wasn’t there for these monumental events, but I know for a fact that they happened! I have felt the Spirit’s gentle presence bear testimony of their truthfulness, and no it was as though I was there. That is the magic (not really magic, just a gift of God) for those that read the scriptures and study them truly with an open heart and mind. I was truly blessed by the scriptures this week in my studies.

This week, was full of great rendez-vous and opportunities to share the everlasting gospel with those kind-hearted and sweet spirited people that live in my small plot of the earth the Lord has entrusted me with. Isn’t that something to think about? It almost sounds daunting knowing that the Lord, through His servants the Prophet and my Mission President, has entrusted me and my companion to bring back His lost sheep (see Luke 15). The Lord has high expectations for those He has called to do His work, and it is my heart’s sincere desire to do this work with as much devotion and diligence as it deserves.

This is to build up hopes and aspirations for the next week, but we have six baptisms planned for this Saturday, the 31st of August. I am not sure if I had mentioned that again, but we have been planning these for a while, so long in fact that our Zone Leaders gave us a call asking why we ALWAYS have six baptismal dates fixed. It was a good moment to laugh for a second. We are proud that our six baptisms are just one short of matching the amount of baptisms had in the whole zone last month, of course I boast in my Lord like Ammon did. ;)

We had a good moment in one of our lessons as we were reading over the power of God and the producing of miracles here on the earth. There are things that are hard to explain here in Africa due to every corner having a different church performing “healings” on a regularly scheduled basis. The question that is often asked is why we don’t have regular programs like that in our church, and I think that I may take a crack at answering that question for the benefit of others as well as myself.

When one saw the Savior of the world, he was filled with an often new yet familiar feeling. That was the thing that we were blessed with recognizing as the creator of the individual particles that form us, they know their master. So upon the healing of one being sick and afflicted, the body and the disease or invading virus recognize their supreme creator and are put back in their proper order. That is the same power that we carry with us as holders of God’s Holy Priesthood upon the earth. We represent our Savior when performing these sacred ordinances, and these things are not for spectators. It is an individual’s faith that brings forth these miraculous things, as well as it being according to the will of God.

The next thing that we need to realize is the devil has power to fool the mind and grant unto men a false power to perform what the eye may deem a “miracle.” Therefore, one must learn to recognize a true wrought-by-God miracle, and then those wrought by the elusive and cunning wiles of the devil. For the plan of the Devil has always been to stand in defiance to the Father’s eternal plan of happiness for His children. He assumes the appearance of an angel of God and tricks the frail minds of man as he wreaks havoc across the land. For as stupid as his first choice was, he is a very smart man. But then we remember that intelligence is only a blessing when one gives into the wisdom of God.

That is where the message that we carry to the world comes in. We bring them the way in which one can find out for themselves the truthfulness of the everlasting gospel and not depend upon the words of another to convince them. They will gain a relationship between them and a loving Father that eagerly awaits them with open arms, for our message is the one that allows families to be bound for time and all eternity and not to fade away with the wearing of time here upon this earth. The message that we carry is one where an eternal joy and peace is found in each moment. It is a protection from the hardships of this world, and a way to be healed from emotional, physical, and spiritual maladies. It is something that can never be fully described until you try it for yourself. For one cannot describe salt to someone who has never tasted it, it is much the same unto the gospel.

I am grateful for a living prophet. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and his humility and desire to know the truth, to know where our Heavenly Father wanted him to be to live life in a manner pleasing unto Him. It is something that I hold very near and dear to my heart. I cherish each moment in which I can feel the presence of the Holy Ghost, a very sacred and personal friend. It is a gift extended unto all who do the things the Lord has asked, have faith in Him, repent, and be baptized and in return He will send unto us the Holy  Ghost through His servants who hold His holy priesthood on the earth. This gift, this holy and sacred gift, is a blessing to allow us to live out lives in harmony to His teachings and be able to return and live once again in the presence of God, our Heavenly Father.

There are many missionaries like me around the world; they are facing difficulties and challenges of their own. Each has his or her own testimony, and to some degree or another they know the same things as me. We stand alongside the prophets and apostles as representatives of the Savior Jesus Christ. It is not something to be taken lightly, and it is something that will bless the lives of those that speak to them, even for just a few minutes. 

Those who are not a part of our church, I encourage you to invite your local missionaries over and hear what they have to say. You don’t have to join our church, that isn’t what is expected when you just speak to missionaries, but they will invite you to do things that will enrich your lives in ways that you can’t even imagine. If you do these things, your life will be filled with joy; it is unavoidable joy that is directly tied with this gospel.

Those who ARE part of our church, I encourage you to feed the missionary in exchange for them feeding your soul with the gospel. Allow the testimonies of the missionaries to fill your homes and introduce them to your children, friends, and families. The members, I dare say, are better than missionaries in the bringing others into the church. Overcome fear that your friends may judge you or think less of you for being a part of this great and noble church. Take upon you the desire of the sons of Mosiah and cringe at the thought of one soul perishing in darkness for not having the light of this gospel in their lives, and the attitude of John and be not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.” (3 Nephi 5:13) I know that this is true. I love you all. You have been an influence in my life, and all of you combined have played a role in getting me to this point in my life where I am eternally happy. This gospel has changed and will continue to change my life. I love you all.

Sincerely,

Elder Robert Eugene Haggard II