"Behold, they have been sent to preach my gospel among
the congregations of the wicked; wherefore, I give unto them a commandment,
thus: Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent
that it may not be known." -D&C 60:13
I've been trying to figure out what I am "good at"
being a missionary and in my work. What I have found, is that I love the scriptures! I love how the scriptures correlate between
each other and to our own lives; but most important how the scriptures will
build a testimony of the truthfulness of our gospel. We all have gifts that we
should not "hide", refer to Matthew 25:14-29. The Book of Mormon is
special, and has touched my heart in a number of ways. I think the most
powerful thing about it is the its power to convert and testify! There are many
instances of people who love our gospel, love the people in our church, and
appreciate how we run things. But these same people fail to gain a testimony of
the Book of Mormon, and thus cannot enter into a baptismal covenant. Having
faith in God and trusting His spirit will bring you a testimony that you need.
If you can't say you believe "all" the words of the Book of Mormon,
what do you believe? Do you read it and ponder its message in your heart? Most
importantly do you apply the principles and application that you learn in your
study?
I have felt a great amount of grief and anguish for the
people in my new area. They have the audacity to say we don't believe in Jesus,
and that we have not accepted him as our savior. How foolish are they? His name
is in the name of our church! His name is on the cover of our book! How can you
then say we don't believe in him? ESPECIALLY when all we do is in HIS name! As
you can see I'm very passionate about this. I digress...
This week was full of service. Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday. A grand total of about 12 hours within those 3 days. Thursday was our
usual service at Catalina State Park. Friday, we (along with about 20+ other
missionaries) helped out a non-member weed and mend their yard. It's funny to
see the people who obviously have never done yard work before; they don't even
use the tools haha! The best service was Saturday, where we got to help work
and tend the grounds of the Arizona, Tucson Temple! What a privilege! I could see the love and care the members
took while working on the temple grounds, even as we put in new flowers and
arrangements outside. I could definitely feel peace just being on the grounds
of the temple. I've felt this on all of
our temples. And what a treat it will be to one day make more covenants there,
and set up an eternal family. Most people don't know of this joy, and my job is
to help them!
What a blessing it is to be on a mission, I've learned so
much about myself and the Gospel! I don't even know where to begin. I wish you
all a good week. And if at times you do feel weak, and you think you are below
the Savior's mercy, read "It Isn't a Sin to Be Weak" by: Wendy
Ulrich, in the April 2015 Ensign. I loved it and hope you can learn something
new also. Have a good one!!!
Love, Elder West
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