Heyyyy

Hey again everybody

This week was pretty alright. The highlight was definitely learning how to shoot a carrot like a slingshot by just using my fingers. Elder Pugsley showed me this secret and I didn’t hesitate to use it against him. Pretty sweet!

I really don’t have much else to say unfortunately. We did a lot of missionary work. A lot of contacting, a lot of rejection, a lot of learning. It was a good time. Most of our friends we’re teaching ghosted us again this week but we were able to get back into contact with some. We also found two new people and they both seem pretty solid! 

My most spiritually moving moment this week was while listening to the “Saints: Volume One” audio book. I’ve read it before so I thought I’d just listen to it. So every morning I’ve been playing it on my phone while I’m in the bathroom getting ready for the day. I finished the book this week, and one of the final chapters recounts the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. I’ve already had lots of really spiritual confirmations in regards to whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet, but this one was especially memorable. As I listened to Joseph’s last moments on earth, I just started sobbing. Like full on sobbing haha. I get teary eyed sometimes when I have a cool experience but this time I just totally lost it. Joseph Smith was really a prophet, and I’m grateful for what he did to help restore the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. 

And it’s so obvious to me that Joseph was really a prophet. So why don’t more people believe it? And in addition to his prophetic call, why can’t more people see that the Book of Mormon is true, and in it, the fulness of Christ’s gospel has been brought back on earth?

The people who have trouble seeing this are always those that aren’t studying. They aren’t reading, and they aren’t praying. And if they are reading, they are putting their time and effort into sources that twist the truth and focus on the insignificant secondary questions instead of the overwhelming amount of positive truth. 

The scriptures describe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be an “anchor” in our lives. As my good friend google describes it, “An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current”.

So an anchor is there to keep us in place when the “wind” comes. So isn’t it implied here that if the Gospel is an anchor, then there is going to be wind? Too often people lose their faith because of the metaphorical “winds” that come in our lives, but the winds and the trials are a part of it. So once you have an anchor, like Joseph Smith being a prophet and the Book of Mormon being true, then you need to let that anchor hold you in place despite the winds that come. And don’t let the fact that there are winds shake your faith. Winds are a part of the experience.

I just want to bear testimony to you guys that I have never been more sure at any point in my life that this is Christ’s true church. I always believed it, but I am seeing it more clearly now than I ever have at any other time in my life. I can feel the Lord shaping me into a better man and strengthening my faith. I really wish the whole world wanted to know that these things are true as bad as I want them to.

Anyways that’s about it this week! The mission is a very eye opening experience. I’m learning a lot of stuff. I’ve also started keeping a gratitude journal which has helped me a lot. Would highly recommend it. 

Ciao

- Elder Wride