The Manual of Our Lives

     I hope this week was a great week! I hope everyone looked for new ways to do some service! This week we had a baptism! Her name is Daisy, she is the girlfriend of another investigator we have and started to going to church with him. After the first time she liked it and wanted to get baptised as well so we set up a date and she went to church more and was baptised! she was actually supposed to get married as well but her boyfriend is battling with alcoholism and so he got drunk that day and she didnt want to get married. So we are still working with the boyfriend so that he can be baptised as well. Pictures will be sent shortly.
     This week i would like to touch a little on scripture study. Why is it important to study the scriptures? Gaining knowledge of the scriptures and the gospel is vital to our eternal progression. Life is like a school class. Our teacher is Jesus Christ, he shows us the correct way we can pass the class with a good grade and pass the final test. The scriptures are like the books and manuals that must be read in order to gain more knowledge and understanding concerning the doctrines of life. if we first, listen to the teacher and only listen, we may gain a broad understanding of the subject, and learn of what we generally need to learn to pass, we may do well on the final test, but we may have those moments when we just cant remember what the teacher had taught. When we read the manual as well as listen attentively to the teacher we gain a deeper understanding of what it means to learn the doctrine and how it is applied. we can see beyond just the teaching and see the exact why and how of the situation, we can see through the very eyes of our Grand Creator.
     As i study the scriptures i gain a greater understanding of the gospel principles. i also gain the knowledge i need to be able to better teach people the gospel and make them understand. My freinds, we have been so blessed to be in this day and age where so much of the Words of Life have been made available to us that we couldnt even know them all in this life time. imagine, less than 200 years ago all we had was one volume of sacred scripture. you could read that more than once in a lifetime. i hope you can appreciate the scriptures more and learn to make scripture study an essencial part of your life. i know it will bless you profoundly.

Changes - A New Way to Serve

     So things have changed a little bit these last few weeks. We had transfers and now i am serving in the mission office as a secretary in charge of the mission convert retention program. Along with my new calling and assignment i have a lot more opportunities to do service. Now much of my work isnt about serving my investigators alone but as well the missionaries here in this mission. I am now in an area called San Judas with Elder Weyand, who happens to be from Tri-Cities, WA. I also get to work closely with my old MTC companion, Elder Thomas, who as well is serving here in the mission offices.
     These last few weeks have seen many changes in schedule, proselyting, diet, and work. Its strange to be thinking about numbers and spreadsheets one minute and then getting into the gospel and teaching people the other. it definately has been a different experience but I feel this is where i need to be. As for my spiritual message, i would like to talk about service. I like to think that service and charity are tied together. As we act in favor of another person we bring not only goodness and blessings to others but to our ownselves.
     When i think of service i always look to the Savior as my example. even though he was greater than us all he still descended below us all to pay for our sins and mistakes. before his atonement and death he washed the feet of His Apostles and said that those of us who are greatest should be servants. As we search for opportunities to serve the pure love of Christ will descend upon you and you will become sons and daughters of God. (Moroni 7) I know that the blessings of service are real, and you can make a difference in someones life everyday if we act in humility and charity.