Hmmmm. AZ Winter & the Sabbath

Hi everyone!  Sorry, but we don't have much to report this week. We got poured ON, (lots of rain that is) one day this week, and I'm pretty sure that was the reason for our recent potential investigator.  I guess the blessings do come from above; wet or not.  So this Gentleman waved us over and let us in his home.  haha. We set-up another time for us to come back when we're are not so dripping wet.  We are hoping this develops into something. 

We are loving the Arizona winter.  Compared to the rest of the states, I'm very pleased with the weather we are having. I guess Tucson isn't so bad after all (until the summer hits).  But I will take what we have so far. 

To follow-up to the talk by Elder Stoddard from Stake Conference last week I mentioned in my previous letter.  One main point of doctrine he discussed was on the importance of the Sabbath day. We can't just show up to church and expect help; we need to attend prayerfully, have a purpose and an open heart searching for guidance. Church is for those who are not perfect, which are basically all of us.  We go to become better and to prepare ourselves for the protecting guidance of the Holy Ghost. Preparing for the Sacrament and the "rental" of our Covenants will enable the God's Spirit to cleanse the wrongs we have committed. An important part of repentance is first recognizing we have done wrong. Not always are we going from bad to good, but sometimes it's good to better, or better to best. No one is godly or 100% Christlike, we all have room for improvement.

That's it.  Sorry there isn't much more to tell.  But...Remember to do those "Primary Answers", read your scriptures, pray always and go to church ;)  Our time on earth is a testing period, so we should do the best we can and the Lord has promised us a GREAT REWARD!!

Love everyone!  Thanks for everything you do for me!

Love,

Elder West

God, The Holy Ghost etc etc

Hello again from Oro Valley, Arizona.  Nothing new to add from last week.  Sorry.  We are just as disappointed as you are.  But we continue to knock on doors, work with members and the Ward mission leader, but our teaching pool is not where we want it to be.  We are doing what we can and planting lots of seeds!!

This week we had the wonderful opportunity to have William H. Stoddard from the Quorum of the Seventy come and speak to us at Stake Conference. He is a funny guy. He talked a lot, and shared a lot of good insight on making the Sabbath more sacred. He also talked a lot about Missionary work and the need of our members to aide the full time missionaries, which I loved of course. I hope the members got the "hint". Maybe I'll share more next week when I have more time to read through all of the notes I took.

"But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." 

-Acts 8:20

I think it's amazing to realize how the best gifts in life are those that cannot be bought with money. Hardly do I ever remember the presents I've received, or the trips we've gone on, or any other amount of gifts given to me. What I remember mostly is the love I felt and the care and attention of those who showed their love. Love is a fickle thing. Lust is not Love. Lust is Satan's counterfeit to love, and he tries to persuade us to believe in his counterfeits every day. Yes, there is "opposition in all things", but the Adversary rarely presents us with the black, in exchange for white, that's too obvious. He molds and creates something close, when in reality it is just a sad attempt. We need to be attentive and aware of what comes from God, and not our common enemy.

How do we know what is good? Let me refer you to a few scriptures.

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." 

-John 14:26

Heavenly Father will send his Holy Spirit to guide us, help us, and direct our paths. 

How will we know if it's the Spirit? "Ye shall know them by their fruits."

-Matthew 7:15-20

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"  "Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

-Galatians 5:22-23

How will we know if it is not by the Spirit?

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness," 

"Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,"  "Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

-Galatians 5:19-21

Remember, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..." 

1 Corinthians 14:33

We can trust in a God that wants us to know we are on the right path and are doing the right things. If it is confusing and we don't know why we're doing it, that might be a good indication that you should stop and reevaluate yourself. If anyone has made it this far through my rant or have been paying attention to the scriptures I've used, you may notice they are all from the Bible... You're welcome in advance haha. 

Peace off! 

Love Elder West

A lego scene we put together in our spare time.  Not a bad photo huh?

A small desert gecko I caught. 😊

Thank's family for coming in clutch and saving my ankles.
... haha.  Really needed them!

Knock, knock...

"Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God."

-Mormon 9:28

I've had an incredible experience in the La Cholla Ward. I'll be here a little longer, and I'm happy about that! The work has been slow, we walk and knock, and knock again tracking in our streets most of our days. I know we are planting seeds, we just aren't the ones who will be harvesting! That's difficult, especially when there are so many others who seem to be having so much more "success" than us. But we determine our worth from within, and I feel that Heavenly Father is grateful for our diligence and hard work. Sorry there is not much to report. Sorry.

One cool experience I had this week was with a few answers to my prayers while doing my regular studies. I've felt like the adversary has been working on me, and has warped my thoughts; he is definitely trying to get me down.  But have too much energy and work to do to let that sway me! But still, you ask questions and get down when things aren't going the way you would like. The Ensign answered that question for me. "The War Goes On" April 2017, really helped remind me of the influence Satan can have on us if we let him. He knows not our thoughts, but he can put them in our minds if we let them "fester." That gave me comfort and solace in a time of need.

God's love surpasses all comprehension. His depth and care cannot be described. As we walk in His ways, we are following a path that has been laid for us long before we were. They are footprints in the sand, with every careful step placed, we move forward towards our divine potential. No one knows where it may take us! But with a foundation built on Christ, that faith can make anything happen. Past life, our greatest gift is Eternal Life in the presence of whose latches I am unworthy to loose. Jesus' final sacrifice set us at liberty to act for ourselves, so we would not be acted upon. We owe everything to our Lord.

Pictures:

Elder Remus and I helped set up some roosters on top of our Ward Mission Leader's cabinets... Not to bad if I say so myself! 

Teaching a lesson to some members' kids

Some Legos Elder Remus got for Christmas, haha

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone! It's been a good year and a good time to be a missionary! 

As I contemplate this new year and what opportunities are in store for us, I think of the wonderful opportunity it is to look forward, make changes, to repent and become better.  As we look back and reflect on what we have accomplished in 2017, we can now begin to look forward; we can seek to become better and to change ourselves. I think of Alma 11, and the story of Zeezrom, a lawyer from the city of Ammonihah. While he made grave mistakes, we must remember that no one can stoop lower than the atonement can cover, and that the holy spirit of promise is available and that His spirit will testify to us that we are good in the eyes of the Lord, if we forsake our faults and become true to our conversion.

Oro Valley, AZ has been good.  Our members have been extremely loving and are taking good care of Elder Remus and myself. Despite what you might think of the desert, this area has some big hills to climb, and biking is tough at times, but I'm enjoying the good weather and enjoying being outside. It didn't feel like Christmas this year, due to the lack of snow, but I felt the love from everyone at home. I greatly appreciate all of your letters, cards, gifts, and support during this season.... that was a real treat!

We've been going through our pool of investigators and beginning to "weed" out the "searchers" of the Gospel from the people we "babysit" haha. As missionaries and servants of the Lord, we are called to both harvest and plant seeds. Most of the time, we don't reap the harvest we sow... but hopefully the people we are contacting, teaching, providing service, and introducing the true Gospel may accept it another time (if not now, we'll get them when they're dead). I'll send a picture of an interesting guy, Shane, whom we recently dropped from our regular teaching pool. He listens, but doesn't want to commit or change. We will keep in contact, but we can't spend all of our time with him if he's not willing to change or try to move forward. It's sad to see a person who could greatly benefit from the gospel, and then reject it. Oh well!

My favorite chapter right now in the Book of Mormon, is Mormon, Chapter 9. I think Mormon is speaking to these same unrepentant souls who refuse to change, and he describes clearly their faulty thinking but further gives them the admonition and invitation to revert back to God. If you haven't read it in a while, read it again.

I think all of us should think of what we can sacrifice this year in order to accept Christ's ultimate sacrifice more completely in 2018.

Love you all, and thanks again for everything you do for me!

Elder West

Meet Shane!

                                                                   

AZ Desert Christmas Serenity

Awesome New Year's Eve