Whaddup folks! This is going out to everyone on the list, I want to see how everyone´s Mother´s day was. Elderes, Sisteres, Family, Friends, let me know!
It is friggin cold here (I can hear Miles laughing from here), and it´s hard for my hands to type these letters right now, but I´m sure I´ll manage. This week has been a roller coaster, ups and downs, and it was over before I knew it. It´s already Pday again, and I´m sitting here thinking about what I want to say to you. So, for starters - I love you, and I am grateful for everything that you´ve done for me. If you´re reading this it´s because you´ve changed my life in some way, and I wanted to continue talking to you. I am so grateful for the blessings that I´ve recieved in my family, my friends, my leaders, and my fellow missionaries. I dont know why I´ve been blessed so much, and the only thing I can come up with is because I´m supposed to help others, where much is given much is required and all that. I´ve been so blessed to be a member of the only true church on the face of the earth. To have this knowledge, that God has called another Prophet, just like He´s always done (amos 3:7), to lead and guide us. Because God is our Heavenly Father, and He loves us. He cares about us just as much as He cared about the people in ancient times. I cant understand why people would think that He would be any different now than He´s always been. They all know that He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. Yet they shake their heads when we tell them that He has once again reached out to His children, and restored the sacred ordinances of Baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and others. Because without these ordinances, we cannot return to live with Him (John 3:5). People even get mad at us, people throw stuff at us on the street, spit on us, because we teach the truth. But, I guess I´m in good company, because not only has every other Apostle, every other Prophet, felt what it´s like, but the Son Of God Himself was rejected also for teaching the truth. I dont understand it. In a talk I heard from Elder Holland in the MTC he said that I will ask myself why this has to be so hard. This is the truth, we have the truth, and you´d think people would be knocking our doors to hear about it. God has called another Prophet in our day! The saving ordinances of the Gospel have been restored! We can return home to live with our Heavenly Father! And that´s not all! He´s given us soooo many tools to help us. The Book Of Mormon, which works with the Bible to create one powerful testimony of Jesus Christ, has been brought to pass to help us understand more about God, and Jesus Christ. We even tell people "Hey, dont take our word for it, ask God if what we´re saying is true, and He will answer you." Ask yourself, right now, what kind of church will teach you about something, and then tell you to pray to God if it´s true. Who else does this? Why do we do it? Because we are the true Church of Jesus Christ.
And yet, people dont want it. I seriously dont get it. Eternal Joy, eternal progression, eternal families are what´s promised. People can be happier than they´ve ever been, and it´s free! You dont have to pay a single dollar. In fact, we´ll even come to you. Kids, who are just starting their lives, are giving it all up, to come and teach you. I gave up everything I loved, and if you knew me, you knew how hard it was for me to do that. I gave up everything to come to Brasil, and to teach as many people as I can. If you knew me, you knew I loved three things -
Girls (nuff said)
Guns (I slightly prefer guns to girls because they only make noise when you want them to, and you can buy silencers when they get too loud)
Music (Norma Jean, Tool, City and Colour, Deftones, Cat Power, and others)
And out here, I cant flirt with girls, I cant even touch guns, and I cant listen to music. I always had music, driving, chilling, working, whatever. I always had a gun on me to, and here, I cant even carry a knife. The girls here are GORGEOUS and I cant even talk to them. Why did I do this? I even paid money to do this. I gave it all up because I know it´s true. I came out on a mission later than most, I fought real hard to be here. Some of my leaders back home had given up on me, but I never lost sight. I knew what I needed to do, and it was going to take everything that I had to make it. And the battle isnt over, it´s still raging. But I know why I´m here. I know why I´m in Brasil. I´m here because my brothers and sisters, who, having never met them, I love. I love them with all of my heart, and I would do anything for them. I want them to have the same blessings that I enjoy, and more. I know that through the Atonement (sacrifice) of Jesus Christ we can be healed of anything that´s ever happened to us. I know, personally, that Christ is our Saviour, He is our Redeemer, and His sacrifice is real. His grace is sufficient for all weaknesses. This is my message to the world. It all comes back to Jesus Christ. Everything comes back to Christ. Everything comes back to His Gospel, His sacrifice. It´s not about Mormons VS. (insert apostasy church here). It´s about right and wrong. It´s about Good vs. Evil. All this help we´ve been given, prophets, families, scriptures, it´s all here to help us accept that Jesus Christ is our Saviour. The Prophets have authority to administer the ordinances of the Gospel which help us to not only return to our Heavenly Father, but the Atonement of Jesus Christ can heal everything. Families help teach the Gospel, through the scriptures we learn more about who He was, and what His purpose is. Luke 4:18 is probably my favorite scripture out of the entire new testament. Just some background, Jesus is reading from the book of Isaiah -
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
This is Jesus Christ´ purpose. Why did He do this? Well here´s what Alma 7:11-13 says about it -
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
(emphasis mine)
He did this so that He can succor His people according to their infirmities. What does the word succor mean? To run to someone´s aid. Because He took upon Himself my sins, your sins, and everyone else´s sins that´s ever lived, will live, or is living, He knows how to help us. How to heal us. When someone hurts us, or when we hurt someone else, it dosent have to remain. It dosent have to be brought up again for the 1000th time, it can be washed away, and according to ezekiel 18:21-22 they wont even be mentioned! What a blessing! All of the stuff that I´m ashamed I did, that I wish I´d never done, wont even be mentioned if I repent, and turn to the Lord.
This is why I´m here in Brasil. This is why I gave up everything that I loved. To let others know of this knowledge. That we can be freed from our sins. They can be washed away. We dont have to hang onto them, we dont have to feel the shame and the guilt of a past mistake if we repent. It dosent matter what you´ve done, because He´s already suffered for it. in Only our Church can offer this, because only our Church has the proper Priesthood authority to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. This is why I wear a tie everyday, this is why I can deal with rocks being thrown at me, because I know it´s true. I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that it´s true. And the only thing you have to do to know is to pray directly to God, your Heavenly Father, if these things are true. I know that He will answer you. Because He loves us, and He wants to us to follow the path back to Him. He will not lead you astray. The way is prepared, the help is there, it just depends on you if you accept it.
I testify that these things are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Elder Standard
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