Gotta get that dirt off ya shoulders

Hey folks!

Just a quickie email, sorry I dont have time to write everything this
week, there was ALOT happen. But, I´m writing to let you know that I
will no longer be writing to everyone of you individually. In an
effort to be more obedient and to focus solely on the task at hand, I
will only be writing family members and the Mission President. I know
that through my efforts to do this I will help you more than the way I
have been doing it. I thank you all for your suppport and I love you
all. If you want to keep checking in on my weekly emails, you can go
to my blog, which I created before my mission for this very purpose.
Here is the link:
http://elderstandard.blogspot.com/

You can save it in your favorites (because I know you just LOVE to
read my emails) and voila, you are instantly plugged into the Elder
Standard pipeline.

I love you all, and I hope to see you after the mission.
Elder Standard
--
Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

60% of the time it works everytime

Hey folks,

Today during personal study I was thinking about what I read in Jesus
The Christ about the pre-mortal council. I then pulled out my
patriarchal blessing and read and pondered. While I was thinking about
the pre-existance I thought about my choice to follow Christ. To
follow the plan of the Father. I have no clue what was said or how the
meeting was conducted, but I know that I chose to follow Christ. I
accepted to do that thousands of years ago, and it is my plan and
desire to do so now. Mate Standard will follow Christ. Before the
foundation of this world was laid I had already made my decision. I
knew the good, and I knew the bad. I dont know if I knew everything
perfectly, but I knew enough to make an everlasting and eternal
decision. I knew that this state would be tough, that it would be
almost impossibler to overcome. The stakes were so high that some of
us were not going to make it back to the presence of the Father.

But I chose anyway.

This, to me, is a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. That, in
spite of all the pain and the problems, of me constantly falling down,
that I would have a way to get back up. That I would have help and
strength beyond my own. That there would be someone bigger than all of
this to help me find my way back home. Jesus Christ is the way. The
Gospel is the way, and it was restored in our days by the prophet
Joseph Smith. Yes, I will follow Christ and do what the Saviour asks
of me. There will be no second-guessing, no what-ifs. I have made my
decision and nother under the heavens will remove me from my place.

All of you made the same decision that I made. Back before the dawn of
time. So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to continue with
your decision or will you change teams half-way through the game? On
one hand we have life, and the other death. Make the choice this very
instant, because we do not have the time to waste.

I love all of you, and I hope you choose the good part.
Elder Standard

--
Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

no subject

Hey folks, here I am, once again.

There was ALOT that happened this week. I almost cant believe that it
all got crammed into just seven days. So, here´s a quickie backstory -

Me and my comp got into, multiple times. One day I asked him straight
up what he didnt like about me and it all came out. After everything
that he said about me I couldnt work with him anymore. It wouldnt have
been good for our investigators or our area. We had to do divisions
and I went with another Elder in his area. Of course, Presidente was
called during all of this. It wasnt until a few days later that we got
a call from him. We did a conferance and it was just me and my comp
and President on the phone. Now, President just came from the Church
Educational System, so he knows the scriptures forwards and backwards.
So, the first thing President has me and my comp do is open the
scriptures. We do a mini scripture chase with President expounding on
all of it while we flip to more scriptures. After a couple of
scriptures I got so ashamed and afraid to flip to the next one. I knew
the Lord was guiding President and He was just burning us left and
right. That was one of the most humbling days I´ve ever had in my
entire life. Near the end of the phone call President promised to us
that we will become good friends. In my usual prideful manner I just
scoffed. I thought that there was NO way that we would ever be
friends, not after everything that was said. Even after all of the
scriptures I still didnt believe that it would happen. I was doubting
all the way until President asked each of us to pray. First my
companion Elder Alves prayed, and then me, and then finally President
prayed.

And here´s the miracle.

After we prayed, Prez asked for us to forgive one another and to start
over. To look past the others faults, the differences. I just felt
this feeling of peace come over, and that everything would be ok. I
still doubted a little, but after I got off the phone with President I
went and said another prayer. One of the most fervent prayers of my
life. Asking, no, pleading with my Heavenly Father to help me to do
this. I knew it wouldnt be easy, even after talking with President,
even after praying, and for this reason I needed alot of help. I
pleaded for strength, for humility, for guidance. After the prayer the
same feeling of peace came back to me, but stronger. Now, ya´ll
remember that scripture in John, when Jesus says that He will leave
His peace, and not the peace of the world? I experienced that peace.
The peace of God is unlike anything you´ve ever felt. Because you
KNOW, without a doubt, that everything will work out, regardless of
what happens. I could have been walking to the gallows at that moment
and I wouldnt have feared a thing. I KNOW that God lives. I KNOW that
He loves us. After that moment the only thing I wanted to do was ask
forgiveness from Elder Alves and just hug him.

And, that´s exactly what we did. After that moment I knew that
everything would work out, and that the Lord was watching out for us.
This happened on friday or saturday, I cant remember right now. And,
until now, we´ve been getting along great. We´ve been teaching some
awesome families, and we had a slew of peóple in the church yesterday.

So, here´s the lesson that I learned. Once again, humility is the key.
Prayer and fasting are two of the strongest tools that we have in our
arsenal. I promise you, right now, that you if are passing through a
trial, and if you want help, then to pray and fast. I promise you that
you will recieve help and strength. I´ve been awed and amazed this
week, in more than one way.

Sei que Deus vive. Sei que Ele nos ama, e que ele fica preocupado
conosco. Sei que quando nos temos problemas em nossas vidas, Ele está
lá. Por meio da Expiação de Cristo todos nos podemos vencer nos mesmo.
Há realmente uma maneira de fortelecer-se. Há uma maneira de voltar à
presença de nosso Pai. Cristo é esta maneira. Ele é o caminho. Só por
meio Dele que nos podemos ter felicidade em nossas vidas, e, mais do
que só felicidade, mas alegria. Podemos ter paz, podemos ter a paz que
vem por meio do Espirito Santo. Esta paz que trancende qual quer outra
coisa no mundo. Sei que estas coisas são verdadeiras. Sei porque estou
vendo com meus própios olhos. Eu não posso negar as coisas que estou
vendo. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, ámem.

Elder Standard

Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.