Jan 31, 2011 ...Dear Family,
This last week was really busy! Monday was a successful day. Elder Hammond and I found a few new investigators that night. Tuesday was a super busy day. I went to Jacksonville again for a Leadership Training Meeting. It was really great. I really love going to those meetings because everyone there is really focused and it's super spiritual. The only down side is that we were there literally all day. I left Gainesville at 6:30AM and got back to Gainesville at 8:30PM. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of that time wasn't very productive. We rode up to Jacksonville with the Zone Leaders and they had some stuff they had to do on their laptop after the meeting and it took for-ev-er! Elder Hammond and I were still able to get in a lesson when we got home. It went pretty well. The rest of the week was great things mixed with not so great things. I don't know why, but it's like I hit a wall for a few days there. I just didn't have any energy and felt really distracted. There are probably a lot of different reasons, but I honestly think a lot of it is because I hadn't been eating very well or exercising. Another disappointing thing is that we rescheduled Bob's date. We moved it to the 19th of this month. That isn't really all that disappointing. The really disappointing thing is that he has been acting really shady lately. I don't know what's going on with him. I think part of it is nerves, but there seems to be more to it. We set another date with an investigator. His name is Robert and we set his date as the 19th too. It's actually going to have to change because he didn't make it to church this week, but we're going to reset it this Wednesday.
That website that I put in the subject head is for my mormon.org profile. You should all check it out and create your own too! It's a really great way to share the gospel with others without really doing anything.
So there are a few really cool scriptures I noticed during the last week of studies. One of them is in Moses 4:25. It talks about work and it really hit home that work is so essential to all we do. When we really work hard and put effort into all that we do great things can come about. It's a concept that way too many people just don't understand. We expect things to be handed to us, or seem to think we're entitled to things we didn't earn. If more people really understood what it means to truly work there would be much more happiness in life. Especially when it comes to living righteously. If we think we can go to church for three hours a week and then just return to whatever it is we're doing without continuing to work to stay spiritually focused throughout the week we are wrong. We must work to keep the Spirit with us. It's often through small and simple things (Alma 37:6) that we can find great and lasting happiness. However, those small and simple things do require work! As I've learned this concept it's brought so much more joy to my life and it's filled voids that I didn't even know existed. I love working hard.
Another scripture that really stood out to me is Alma 60:16. It's a pretty long verse, but the end is what really hit me. It says, "...if we had gone forth against them in the strength of the Lord, we should have dispersed our enemies, for it would have been done, according to the cfulfilling of his word." I thought about it and if we are unified in a righteous cause then we will be able to defeat any of our enemies. While we may not have literal enemies there are things that we have to deal with everyday that could be deemed "enemies." It's such a wonderful and simple concept. This especially applies to families. If we're united as a family, "in the strength of the Lord" we can do all things! It can be applied in so many different ways. It's beautiful how the gospel can be applied to our lives in such simple ways.
I've gotta go now.
Love Always, Zach
http://www.mormon.org/me/2K0M-eng/
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Jan 24, 2011 ...Dear Family,
How is life going? For me it's going really well. This last week has been really busy! We had transfers on Tuesday and then on Saturday Elder Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve came and spoke to our mission.
The week started off pretty well with transfers. Elder Morris left and my new companion is Elder Hammond. He is from Las Vegas and has been out for six months. He is a really great Elder. We get along really well. One crazy thing is that he's been out for six months and is in his fourth area, but I've been out nine months and I'm still in my second area. He's still a little green in some aspects.
This email is going to be really short because of time restraints. Last Saturday Elder Oaks spoke to our mission and it was incredible. One thing that always amazes me is how spry and happy the Apostles are. When Elder Nelson came he was the same way. They always look so serious when we watch conference, but they are really happy and healthy people. He talked a lot about revelation and how to receive it and recognize it. It was definitely what I needed to hear. Actually the things he said were great, but most of what I got came from the Spirit. It was a great experience. I definitely will be going over the notes I took a few times.
The rest of the week went well, and this week is going to be busy too. I've gotta go now. Sorry it's so short.
Love Always, Zach
http://floridajacksonvillemissionnews.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Split Decision...
Jan 17, 2011 ...Hey Family,
This last week was pretty good. It definitely was busy. My district meeting was good. We talked about receiving revelation through church attendance and how important it is to keep the Sabbath holy. In D&C 59:9-18 it talks about the many blessings we receive through keeping the Sabbath holy. It's really incredible how much we're promised as we keep this commandment. We're basically blessed in every aspect of our life. I really enjoyed learning about it.
Sister Stephens came to church again. She showed up late and I was worried she wasn't going to be able to make it. She did show up though. We also were able to set a baptism date with one of our investigators. His name is Bob. He was at church too! He enjoyed it. We didn't find as many people as we did the other week, but we found a couple. We had quite a few lessons fall through last week. It was disappointing, but we found other good things to fill the time and keep us busy.
Well, transfer calls came on Saturday, and I'm not getting transferred. I'm not surprised. Elder Morris is being transferred. We both expected it because trainers usually only stay with their trainees for two transfers. So, tomorrow I will be getting a new companion. I'm a little nervous. I just hope I get a companion that will work hard.
The reason I titled this email "Split Decision" is because I split my head open above my eye on Thursday morning. I wake up at six to exercise and I keep my alarm clock in our study room. When it went off I was rushing to turn it off so it wouldn't wake up the other Elders. I thought I was lined up with the hallway, but instead I ran right into the wall. It was a pretty rough wake up call! The cut is just above my left eyebrow. It's similar to the one I got over my right eyebrow a few years ago, just not as big. It's about half and inch long.
Okay, that's all for this week. I've gotta go. I love and miss you all!
Love Always, Zach
This last week was pretty good. It definitely was busy. My district meeting was good. We talked about receiving revelation through church attendance and how important it is to keep the Sabbath holy. In D&C 59:9-18 it talks about the many blessings we receive through keeping the Sabbath holy. It's really incredible how much we're promised as we keep this commandment. We're basically blessed in every aspect of our life. I really enjoyed learning about it.
Sister Stephens came to church again. She showed up late and I was worried she wasn't going to be able to make it. She did show up though. We also were able to set a baptism date with one of our investigators. His name is Bob. He was at church too! He enjoyed it. We didn't find as many people as we did the other week, but we found a couple. We had quite a few lessons fall through last week. It was disappointing, but we found other good things to fill the time and keep us busy.
Well, transfer calls came on Saturday, and I'm not getting transferred. I'm not surprised. Elder Morris is being transferred. We both expected it because trainers usually only stay with their trainees for two transfers. So, tomorrow I will be getting a new companion. I'm a little nervous. I just hope I get a companion that will work hard.
The reason I titled this email "Split Decision" is because I split my head open above my eye on Thursday morning. I wake up at six to exercise and I keep my alarm clock in our study room. When it went off I was rushing to turn it off so it wouldn't wake up the other Elders. I thought I was lined up with the hallway, but instead I ran right into the wall. It was a pretty rough wake up call! The cut is just above my left eyebrow. It's similar to the one I got over my right eyebrow a few years ago, just not as big. It's about half and inch long.
Okay, that's all for this week. I've gotta go. I love and miss you all!
Love Always, Zach
Monday, January 10, 2011
Roller coaster...
Jan 10, 2011... Dear Family,
The last week has been really good for Elder Morris and myself. We found eight new investigators and a few of them are really great. The others have potential, but will take more time. We also found a less active lady who is really great. She's been away from the Church for so long that she is more like a new investigator. She was there yesterday and did enjoy it. It will be awesome if we can get her strong and active. It was a really busy week. We taught a lot of lessons and spent a lot of time finding new people. I honestly think it was all around one of my most successful weeks. So I feel really great about it. Last night and today have been a little stressful. The rest of my district had a really bad week...actually they've been consistently having bad weeks. It's hard finding out what I can do to help them. I'm not sure how to help missionaries who aren't motivated. Some of them don't see a need to change. It's really disappointing. That's part of the reason my emails have been shorter. I could have a really great week, but then Sunday night when I get the numbers and they're lousy it is a downer. Then I spend a lot of my time thinking about what I need to do to help them. It's not an easy task. So, I am usually distracted while writing my email. I know the Lord will help me figure out how to help them. He always has, but it does take effort and thought on my part. I think that's part of the reason I'm not a big fan on P-day. During the week I'm so busy that I don't have time to worry about things much, but on P-day there is a lot more down time. Some weeks are better than others of course. The biggest struggle is figuring out what I need to teach at my district meetings. I was having a hard time figuring it out this morning, but then my prayers were answered. There are a few things President Barry wants us to teach before the end of the month. I was planning on teaching them the last two weeks, but I found out this morning that there are going to be other meetings so I won't be able to have District Meeting next week and the week after that. So, I have to teach one of those things this week. Which makes it a little easier. I'm actually going to teach about receiving revelation through church attendance. I have to study up, but I look forward to it.
Anyway, the week went really well for me. I'm happy with how things have been improving. The last two weeks we've actually found a lot more investigators than in the past. Now I need to work on teaching them clearly and helping them become converted. We also have about ten potential investigators. Hopefully we'll be able to turn them into actual investigators!
Being a missionary is a lot of work! It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. It's also the best thing I've ever done. I've learned so much over the last...almost nine months. My testimony has really grown. I'm really happy I'm out here. Even though there are some really hard days.
So, last week Elder Morris and I prepared a short lesson that we can share with members on the Doctrine of Christ. It's pretty sweet. These are the scriptures we use: Helaman 5:12; 3 Nephi 11:39; Alma 32:21, 27-28, 37-38; Alma 34:17, 33; D&C 20:37; 2 Nephi 31:12; and 2 Nephi 31:20. If you look through and study the scriptures they lead from one to another. The Doctrine of Christ covers faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It's a constant cycle that we all are on and repeat. It's really the way we find happiness in life and in the life to come. We start by building our faith. We do it by reading, praying, and going to church. That leads to repentance, which leads to baptism, or renewing our baptismal covenants, which makes us worthy for the Holy Ghost, which leads to enduring. Enduring is repeating the process over. It might not make a whole lot of sense right now, but I could explain it better if I had more time. Just study it and pray about it and it will make more sense. It's really cool.
Ok. that's all for now. Sorry if this email is confusing. My mind is all over the place right now. That's part of the reason I titled this "roller coaster." This last day or two was like a roller coaster and my mind is going nuts. We get transfer calls this Saturday and I'll let you know what's happening next Monday.
Love Always, Zach
The last week has been really good for Elder Morris and myself. We found eight new investigators and a few of them are really great. The others have potential, but will take more time. We also found a less active lady who is really great. She's been away from the Church for so long that she is more like a new investigator. She was there yesterday and did enjoy it. It will be awesome if we can get her strong and active. It was a really busy week. We taught a lot of lessons and spent a lot of time finding new people. I honestly think it was all around one of my most successful weeks. So I feel really great about it. Last night and today have been a little stressful. The rest of my district had a really bad week...actually they've been consistently having bad weeks. It's hard finding out what I can do to help them. I'm not sure how to help missionaries who aren't motivated. Some of them don't see a need to change. It's really disappointing. That's part of the reason my emails have been shorter. I could have a really great week, but then Sunday night when I get the numbers and they're lousy it is a downer. Then I spend a lot of my time thinking about what I need to do to help them. It's not an easy task. So, I am usually distracted while writing my email. I know the Lord will help me figure out how to help them. He always has, but it does take effort and thought on my part. I think that's part of the reason I'm not a big fan on P-day. During the week I'm so busy that I don't have time to worry about things much, but on P-day there is a lot more down time. Some weeks are better than others of course. The biggest struggle is figuring out what I need to teach at my district meetings. I was having a hard time figuring it out this morning, but then my prayers were answered. There are a few things President Barry wants us to teach before the end of the month. I was planning on teaching them the last two weeks, but I found out this morning that there are going to be other meetings so I won't be able to have District Meeting next week and the week after that. So, I have to teach one of those things this week. Which makes it a little easier. I'm actually going to teach about receiving revelation through church attendance. I have to study up, but I look forward to it.
Anyway, the week went really well for me. I'm happy with how things have been improving. The last two weeks we've actually found a lot more investigators than in the past. Now I need to work on teaching them clearly and helping them become converted. We also have about ten potential investigators. Hopefully we'll be able to turn them into actual investigators!
Being a missionary is a lot of work! It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. It's also the best thing I've ever done. I've learned so much over the last...almost nine months. My testimony has really grown. I'm really happy I'm out here. Even though there are some really hard days.
So, last week Elder Morris and I prepared a short lesson that we can share with members on the Doctrine of Christ. It's pretty sweet. These are the scriptures we use: Helaman 5:12; 3 Nephi 11:39; Alma 32:21, 27-28, 37-38; Alma 34:17, 33; D&C 20:37; 2 Nephi 31:12; and 2 Nephi 31:20. If you look through and study the scriptures they lead from one to another. The Doctrine of Christ covers faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It's a constant cycle that we all are on and repeat. It's really the way we find happiness in life and in the life to come. We start by building our faith. We do it by reading, praying, and going to church. That leads to repentance, which leads to baptism, or renewing our baptismal covenants, which makes us worthy for the Holy Ghost, which leads to enduring. Enduring is repeating the process over. It might not make a whole lot of sense right now, but I could explain it better if I had more time. Just study it and pray about it and it will make more sense. It's really cool.
Ok. that's all for now. Sorry if this email is confusing. My mind is all over the place right now. That's part of the reason I titled this "roller coaster." This last day or two was like a roller coaster and my mind is going nuts. We get transfer calls this Saturday and I'll let you know what's happening next Monday.
Love Always, Zach
Monday, January 3, 2011
"Remember who you are and what you stand for."
Jan 3, 2011 ...Dear Family,
Things here are going pretty well. Elder Morris and I had a good week. We found quite a few new investigators. I'm hoping we can continue to find many new investigators each week. Our other investigators are coming along slowly.The end of the week was a little rough. On Friday night my stomach felt terrible so I didn't get much sleep. That made it so I had no energy on Saturday. It was not pleasant. It pretty much carried over into Sunday as well.
Last week we had interviews with President Barry. It went really well. I really enjoy talking to him. He definitely is a man of God. He also told us that we're going to have Elder Dallin H. Oaks come and talk to us on January 22nd. I'm really excited for that!
I've been reading the New Testament this past month or so. I really enjoy it. I felt like I didn't know enough about Christ and His life. So, I started reading and have learned a lot. I'm in Mark right now, so I still have a lot to read. Every time I read I get a little more. It's wonderful.
I've also started reading from the Book of Mormon everyday again. I've actually read from it, or studied some scriptures in it, everyday, but now I'm continuing to read through it from the start, instead of jumping around and studying different things in it. I've been learning so much. It's incredible how much a person can gain when they read and really look to what is happening and apply it to their life. The Book of Mormon is incredible. It truly brings the Spirit and we can find answers to our questions by praying and studying it. As I've been out I've really been able to see how critical it is that we always read the Book of Mormon. When we stop that's when our testimony starts to grow weaker and we fall away. That's why we always invite people to read it and pray about it. They must do this to gain a testimony.
So, I really don't have much else to say about last week. Like I said earlier, it was good. There's nothing that really sticks out in my mind. We did have some really good lessons. Unfortunately the people we taught haven't been very responsive.
Now for the reason of the title of this email. Like I said at the end of my call on Christmas. That little saying of Mom's is really incredible. In the past I never gave it much thought. I would just shrug it off. Now I think about it more and it's got a lot of meaning. There are a lot of different ways to look at it, but at the very core of it we are all the children of God. There's nothing better than that. When we understand that our lives will change. When we make that our identity we will see incredible blessings. I learned something about that a few months ago. Our identity drives our values, which drives our rules and beliefs, which drives our attitudes, which drives our behaviors, which drives our actions, which drives our reality. So, to change our reality we need to change our identity. There is no greater identity to possess and understand than that we are the children of God. Well, I've gotta go.
Love Always, Zach
Things here are going pretty well. Elder Morris and I had a good week. We found quite a few new investigators. I'm hoping we can continue to find many new investigators each week. Our other investigators are coming along slowly.The end of the week was a little rough. On Friday night my stomach felt terrible so I didn't get much sleep. That made it so I had no energy on Saturday. It was not pleasant. It pretty much carried over into Sunday as well.
Last week we had interviews with President Barry. It went really well. I really enjoy talking to him. He definitely is a man of God. He also told us that we're going to have Elder Dallin H. Oaks come and talk to us on January 22nd. I'm really excited for that!
I've been reading the New Testament this past month or so. I really enjoy it. I felt like I didn't know enough about Christ and His life. So, I started reading and have learned a lot. I'm in Mark right now, so I still have a lot to read. Every time I read I get a little more. It's wonderful.
I've also started reading from the Book of Mormon everyday again. I've actually read from it, or studied some scriptures in it, everyday, but now I'm continuing to read through it from the start, instead of jumping around and studying different things in it. I've been learning so much. It's incredible how much a person can gain when they read and really look to what is happening and apply it to their life. The Book of Mormon is incredible. It truly brings the Spirit and we can find answers to our questions by praying and studying it. As I've been out I've really been able to see how critical it is that we always read the Book of Mormon. When we stop that's when our testimony starts to grow weaker and we fall away. That's why we always invite people to read it and pray about it. They must do this to gain a testimony.
So, I really don't have much else to say about last week. Like I said earlier, it was good. There's nothing that really sticks out in my mind. We did have some really good lessons. Unfortunately the people we taught haven't been very responsive.
Now for the reason of the title of this email. Like I said at the end of my call on Christmas. That little saying of Mom's is really incredible. In the past I never gave it much thought. I would just shrug it off. Now I think about it more and it's got a lot of meaning. There are a lot of different ways to look at it, but at the very core of it we are all the children of God. There's nothing better than that. When we understand that our lives will change. When we make that our identity we will see incredible blessings. I learned something about that a few months ago. Our identity drives our values, which drives our rules and beliefs, which drives our attitudes, which drives our behaviors, which drives our actions, which drives our reality. So, to change our reality we need to change our identity. There is no greater identity to possess and understand than that we are the children of God. Well, I've gotta go.
Love Always, Zach
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