Now don't go thinking that I'm starting each email in a different language, cause the last one in my repertoire is sarcasm, and I don't know if that'll go over well with the man upstairs. Just kidding! I'll make up some introductions, cause I'm so excited to TALK TO YOU ALL AGAIN.
HEY WHATS UP HELLO. If you're reading this, it means Elder Boyd has surpassed WEEK TWO in the MTC. Bless up. Seriously, I feel so fortunate to be here, and I can't wait to tell you about all my experiences and all that jazz. Thank you for all of your support. I feel your prayers, seriously, and I am just so grateful to be called to this work. And considering that so much happens in one week here, I thought I'd start with a little, "daily schedule update" so y'all know (wow. I just said y'all. Louisiana here I come) what I'm doing when I'm not thinking of each and every one of you and counting my many blessings.
We wake up at 6:30. And although I'm a morning person, I can't say the same for my companions. The entire residence hall is plagued by "Sith Lords" as Elders mope around with their blankets draped over their heads, and I can't help but draw similarities to our ever "forceful" friends. Also, side note, my companions and I LOVE Star Wars, and you'd be surprised with all the spiritual allegories we can draw to the gospel. The Light Side of the Force.. are the good guys- Jesus and Heavenly Father. The Dark Side, of course, Satan. And the Force? Well, that's the Holy Ghost baby! We must channel the power of the Holy Ghost to conquer our enemies.We can either use it for the benefit of God or for the benefit of man. Don't abuse the sacred gift God has granted his children. We have a member of the Godhead as our constant companion. A GOD. Do you guys realize that? It's so humbling when you recognize the capacity God grants us to bless his children through this privilege gift. It doesn't come easily- we have to be concentrated and focused on the work. We can't let distractions skew our judgment, lest we are conquered by the Dark Side. Okay, Star Wars tangent over.
If that doesn't tell you that there's a little bit of that same old nerdy redhead you left at the airport than I don't know what will- haha!
Okay so, we get up at 6:30, sith Lords roam the halls, and we say our prayers, and then I personally hop in the shower. This is a very special time for me. Just like at home, showers are great places to ponder and sing. I think about my day, I say a prayer or two, I kinda get in the "spiritual zone" per say. One of my favorite parts of my day is singing amid that glorious bathroom acoustics. It's such an incredible start to my day to just hum some hymns and create own personal Mormon Shower Choir. Starring Me. :) It's a very special part of my day that just gives me time to think about the Savior and ponder the words of the hymns I sing.
Straight up people, look up the stories behind the hymns you sing every day. Don't make it a routine to just sing- make it an opportunity to receive revelation and inspiration. These men and women are my heroes. They prevailed against some of the toughest trials and tribulations and came out on top through music- through their passion. Find your passion and make it a strength- use it to overcome the adversary and triumph over your foes. The hymns are sacred words that we are privileged to sing. I feel so blessed to be apart of a church with such beautiful music.
After I shower, I usually get ready for my day, take a few selfies for you peeps back home, and get a bit of the Book of Mormon in before I even leave the residence.
There is so much power in the Book of Mormon. Let me tell you Brothers and Sisters and family and friends. I've started "annotating" my Book of Mormon- and let me tell you that participation promotes revelation. Participate in your personal study. Now that may sound weird, but be anxiously engaged in the words your reading, and I promise that you'll discover that, "there's something there that wasn't ever there before." Try this. Wake up every morning with a question. A question that you HONESTLY and sincerely want an answer to. Don't play games with God. Be genuine with what you ask him. And then open the Book of Mormon. I promise you, that if you have a real intent and a sincere heart, God will reveal whatever he sees fit unto you. God doesn't necessarily reveal the answers we want, but rather the answers we need.
As we teach our investigators, be teachable yourself. Be willing to accept whatever answers he affords you, and work with it. God never loses sight of our eternal potential, even when we do. The church is true, and the book is blue- never forget it.
We had a mission conference on Sunday where we were all required to read Mosiah 4 ( I highly recommend it, King Benjamin is a baller, and he lays down some righteous words). We spent a solid thirty minutes dissecting the doctrine. It was incredible. (I've learned so much, and I'll go more into detail after I finish sharing my schedule, haha.)
So after a little personal study, we have companionship prayer, and then we're off to breakfast. The food here is muy magnifique. Oh my gosh. I love breakfast. And once again, the diet room always comes in a clutch. I mean, we even had Chick-Fil-A yesterday (I know you're jealous, Xela.)
After Breakfast, we usually have time to head back and do some more study. I've found great value in Teachings of the Presidents and various conference talks as companions to my Book of Mormon and New Testament reading.
Then we head to class (I'd love to share some experiences I've had this week). We each create our own investigators, which is awesome cause it gives me a chance to try out my acting prowess (Just kidding! It's awesome because the perspective is essential). One of my "investigator personas" names is Seamus (sick name, I know.) But Seamus is essentially, what Elder Boyd would be like if he wasn't Mormon. Wow. That hit me hard. I am so blessed with such a powerful family who raised me on these principles and taught me through example, the Doctrine of Christ.
We totally take for granted our membership. We are blessed children of God who have received the tender mercy of knowing about the Gospel before others do. Personally, what this Gospel is to me, is neverending happiness. In Mosiah, King Benjamin says, "Blessed are the happy state of those who keep the commandments of God." It is a commandment to keep our covenants. Our first covenant is baptism. Baptism is basically what makes us members of His church; therefore, by the transitive property of the Gospel, it is a commandment to be a member of the church (baptism is essential, you see what I'm saying?). By keeping that commandment, upholding our membership worthily and righteously, we are blessed with happiness. I feel that. I can't tell you lovely folks enough how loved I feel. When you come to terms that Heavenly Father loves you SO MUCH that he let his only Begotten son suffer for the sins of mankind so we could be happy.
Jesus Christ loves us SO MUCH that he volunteered.. ahem let me say that again.. he VOLUNTEERED to sacrifice himself for us. That was a hard thing for Christ, yes, but he wasn't doing it for himself, he did it for us. Like us on missions. I realized that because we represent Christ, we represent his love for His children... WE should be willing to sacrifice ourselves (our time, our thoughts, our efforts) for the happiness of others. YES, this mission is hard- but so was the Atonement- and we're not doing this for us, we are doing this for Christ. His sacrifice is NOT in vain as we respect him and what he did by honoring him through this work.
I have such a profound and powerful testimony of the love of God. Seriously, when we say he is our Savior and our Redeemer, I think we don't truly comprehend how much that precious man loved his brothers and sisters.
"As man now is,
God once was.
As God now is,
Man may be."
What powerful words. And what a powerful love. May we channel that love and help others realize that whenever they feel weak, our Saviors love can make them strong.
Another experience: I was a missionary teaching two investigators, and I have such an appreciation for the Holy Ghost, don't even get me started. But the investigator said.. my family is broken.. what if I don't want to live with my family forever. Through the Spirit, I said, "Sister, there's no sorrow that heaven can't heal." She cried.
I love my family. So much. I am so blessed. I feel so emotionally invested in these people, I carry my love for you and reflect it onto them.
We are all brothers and sisters, and I'm starting to feel that connection with the people I teach. The Spirit is a miraculous gift.
Another experience: the same scenario, except this investigator, was afraid to be baptized. I can tell you that the second they say something, these scriptures race through my head, and I am instantly aware that the Holy Ghost is working in me. I looked this brother DEAD in the eye, I knew I loved him, and I asked him to read this scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants: "fear not little flock"- I continued and said, the Shephard has never abandoned his sheep, why would he start now? They refuted, "but I don't know if I can keep my commitments...I don't have a lot of faith.." Immediately I was drawn to Alma 32, and as the investigator read, once again, tears welled in his eyes, "if you can do more than exercise a particle of faith.." he stopped... And I looked straight at that Son of God and said with every ounce of my testimony, "he's not asking for a tree.. all he wants is a seed." I'm getting chills just writing this. The power of revelation is real people. I am merely a mouthpiece and a representative, everything I have, I owe to Him.
We continued to teach Olegsander and Quinn this week HAHA. OH, MY GOSH. Olegsander has become known in the district as the SINGLE hardest investigator to teach. I'm definitely humbled as I realize like Moses did, "I now know that man is nothing."
He won't pray cause he doesn't believe in God. He wanted to know the HISTORY of our religion and asked why we're asking him to do so much stuff. SO we took it slow.. and read the Book of Mormon.. my companion (Elder W.) said Nephi's two brothers, Laman and Lemuel... IMMEDIATELY he was stopped and the Ukranian, Olegsander, said, "Ha, silly Elder. Nephi had three brothers." We also read about Lehi sacrificing at the altar, and he was like, "MORMONS SACRIFICE ANIMALS"(insert Ukrainian accent here) so we talked about Tithing.. and he said the church sounds like a great business. So I guess some people just aren't ready to hear the gospel, HA.
But Quinn is an actual legend. He's so receptive, and he asked amazing questions and EVEN ACCEPTED OUR INVITATION FOR BAPTISM. So hey, you win some, and you lose some, but never forget to endure to the end.
We have two- three-hour classes, one before and one after lunch, and our TRC's [Insert mom ?? here. What is a TRC? Anyone?] are usually either during class or at night, so it's a pretty busy schedule. But I like it. I love it here. And I love you all.
Can I ask you all to please pay for my companion Elder S? I've been praying for him a lot lately.. his girlfriend, who was on a mission in Brazil, came home on Tuesday because of depression. He's really struggling. Elder W. and I have had to do a lot of waiting in waiting rooms this past week as he's received counseling. I know he would appreciate your prayers.
After the last class of the day we usually eat dinner and then play basketball for an hour, then we shower again, prepare for TRC, and go to bed.
This past Fast Sunday was incredible. Fast Sundays in the MTC are like... General Conference. Seriously, I started my fast with a question.. and sitting there in testimony meeting.. I discovered that my answer lied in bearing my testimony, so I did. God answers our prayers in mysterious ways, but wow, I feel so blessed.
I'm not really feeling any pain being here, so I feel blessed in that way, and all of your emails and letters only push me to Invite EVEN more people to Come Unto Christ.
I saw Meet the Mormons 2 on Sunday night, so that was also awesome.
I'm also gonna try to sing in devotional, maybe? In front of the entire MTC? I have to find an accompanist.. but I'm gonna try- so wish me luck, more updates on that next week. :)
I have to say, in closing, that I love you all so much. I know that this church is true and that without Christ we are nothing. Compared to God we are nothing, but we are everything to God. I feel my Savior's love, and I pray for you all that you will feel it too. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. That by reading it.. it is the most correct of any book, and we can come nearer to God by reading its pages than by doing anything else. The Holy Ghost is real people. Joseph Smith DID restore this Gospel and Christ did atone for our sins. There is a plan for you and me, and I know that God is on our side, and as we do our part, we can become more acquainted with our dear friend and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I love this Gospel. I love being a missionary. I can't wait for what the Lord has in store for me, and what he has in store for you. May we all remember that Jesus is the Christ and may we all be found on the right hand of God. We are so blessed. Never forget that. This ginger is out here for Him, and for all of you. I carry you all with me in my mind and in my heart. I love you all. See you in another week with some RIGHTEOUS UPDATES
With the utmost appreciation and love,
Elder Boyd
No comments:
Post a Comment