Week 25

Hello Family and Friends,

This week has been pretty good once again. I feel like I'm becoming a bit redundant with my writing, which isn't my fault entirely. Missionary work is consistently stressful, mundane, and absolutely rewarding. As I told my family on Mother's Day, I could easily be a missionary every day for the rest of my life. This is the most consistent happiness I have had in my life. I have changed so much, learned so many new skills, and developed a deep sense of self motivation for sharing the gospel. Having seen what I have seen, and experienced the things I have experienced, and know the things I know, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. More than that, I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

 

Elder Tebbs and I taught Sunday school in church this week. Luckily our assigned topic was the Atonement so we could talk about that all day. Right after the opening prayer, we asked the class why they decided to come to church today. Answered varied between spiritual nourishment, remembering Christ, and taking the sacrament. Each answer had an underlining tone: the Atonement. Each principle, ordinance, and commandment is a means to get to the Atonement. They help us apply it more fully in our lives. Sometimes as a missionary I forget that my first and most important responsibility is to testify of Christ. The restoration, Book of Mormon, prophets and apostles, temples and baptisms for the dead are significantly less important than Christ suffering in Gethsemane, death on the cross, and Resurrection. If we each truly understood the Atonement, we would not be able to stop talking about it. It would take center stage in our minds and our perspective on life would change.

Things I learned:

• If you do your part, the Lord is bound to do his part. D&C 130:20-21 puts it like this," There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it was predicated. " There are so many little things that happen from day to day that prove this principle. Most of these can only be seen looking backward and watching the Lords hand guide and direct my life. 
• If you ever want to know what its like to have a community perfectly following Christ, read the first half of 4th Nephi. If you want to see what happens when people don't, read the second half. 

I love y'all,

-Elder Shill