Aloha Ohana,
My friends, my friends, I feel like the CEO of a high-class hospital- t'was CONFERENCE WEEK. Not in like the "yay, it's time for the apostle smackdown of pure revelatory awesomeness" but like a low-key, "wow, Stake leaders exist and this mission is full of some of the most debonair disciples." However, not even crazy conferences can stop these elect-finders- it was a wonderful week for sure- and on that note, welcome one and all to your favorite weekly... CHALMETTE CHRONICLES: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
I suppose a chronological recountenace will suffice- ZONE CONFERNCE.
So, this past Tuesday happened to be my first "normal" Zone Conference- meaning, a general authority wasn't blessing our lives, and the white elephants were kept in the kennel. However, that didn't prevent the day from being a totally uplifting and edifying experience. There is certainly a special spirit that is felt when righteous disciples congregate together- I am sure you can delineate and identify the Spirit of God as it is present in sacrament meetings around the world- but I personally feel that feeling magnified when surrounded by covenant keeping saints in close proximity. Like, it may sound weird, but being around other missionaries exhibits a collective spirit. A spirit that testifies and validates, "yes, these are my children.. yes, this is my church.. yes you're in the right place." There were some incredible instruction and counsel given that I think we could all really benefit from. "Faith does not exist unless coupled with the impossible." "Failure should always be an option." "Reprove privately- praise publicly." "Joy is not about our circumstance but our focus." "Fill your mind with truth, your heart with love, and your life with service- this is the guide to a successful life." I personally had quite the participation in the said conference. I gave a wee instruction on Doctrine and Covenants 121:43 (which is essentially the pattern for heavenly discipline).
"Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy."
Sometimes, we feel like the spirit of criticism and contention are inevitably unavoidable. However, there is a sacred way to reprove that invites the spirit- as is indicated in this scripture. Some of you may wonder whether or not it is in your court to be the reprove-er.. well, fear not little flock- we need not wonder because the Holy Ghost is the qualifier. But, what is most important in this process of discipline? Love. Simply, love. Love is the motivation- love allows us not to increase our relationship with the one we reprove, but their relationship with the Savior. If we do not prioritize love, we become victim to the rationalization of our own self-caused contention. Think of it as a doctrinal marriage- with reprovement should always come love.
In the wise words of our former prophet:
"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."
No compromise should be made- without love, we lose the essence of the Gospel. I also was privileged to participate in a select choir of the most elite singers as we serenaded the congregation with, "How Great Thou Art" (see the LBRM Mission Page for a recorded performance of such melodic magnificence.) All in all, Zone Conference was well catered to every question I had. Like I have said previously, we should make a habit out of asking questions.. before scripture study or meetings of any sort.. if we're listening for answers they will come. SO yes, Zone Conference- would recommend for any missionary looking for a good time.
BRANCH CONFERENCE-
This is the first official Branch Conference I have attended since our time in the vivacious foothills of Plentywood, Montana. I love this branch. The people down here have adopted a sort of familial quality to them, and however wacky, I love each of them individually.
Something I look forward to in the millennium, however, is the absence and abolition of fiddling with time. Yes, Daylight Savings has its benefits- no longer can the home-bodies of Louisiana hide under the umbrella of, "quiet- time" when we knock their doors at 4:30 in the evening. With the postponed New Orleanian bedtime, I can see great opportunity in finding the nocturnal elect.
Anyways, when we showed up for our early morning meetings on Sunday, an entire platoon of Stake troopers scurried out of their mini-vans, crock pots in hand, and into the Lutheran pre-school we congregated in. When I say a plethora of the platoon showed up, I mean like.. tripled our branch size. I didn't know if we even had enough chairs to sit the spiritual squadron- but when there is faith, there is always a way. The Spirit has a loving way of testifying to me personally of divine leadership- and I know that each and every member of this celestial army was ordained of God.
The topic of our conference was ministering- uplifting the individual, and seeking out the, "one."When Christ ministered, what did he do? As one of our recent converts put it, "he made house-calls!" He went TO the lost sheep, whether it be in the streets or in their homes, Christ was the epitome of home teaching. Not only did he seek them out, but when they sought HIM- he distributed complete and unconditional attention to the singular soul- one by one. We likewise can follow his example and abandon the ninety and nine to care for the "one." It was a perfectly catered message for sure. This branch exemplifies ministry- countless experience have I seen someone sacrifice personal time for the salvation of another. The reason we have such early church meetings is so that the leadership can be on time to pick up less-actives and investigators. Quite the Christlike bunch is found within the humble walls of the Chalmette branch. And to top it all off.. randomly, our Stake President, President Stock (who if you remember the MLK march, he's one of the noble and great ones for sure) beckoned me up from the congregation and requested that I sing his favorite song in the ensuing Sacrament Meeting. He's a rather, "interactive" speaker, and so he just periodically calls up select members from the audience to join him at the stand. He's an inspired man for sure, but I really wasn't expecting to sing, "If You Could Hie To Kolob" on this Sabbath Day. However, I am never one to turn down authority, so I sang some wonky arrangement of the beautiful hymn and went along my merry way. I think it allowed members of the branch to see me as a person.. and not just a missionary.. like, we are capable of more than just preaching the Gospel (but that is our number one priority.) It was a completely uplifting experience, very well needed for this beautiful branch we have down here. Just one recommendation: never make eye contact with the presiding authority, five minutes before the meeting starts. :)
Well, that concludes the conference section of this week- now, on to finding the elect!
Elder Carter and I have formed quite the bond. Something acquired and something that makes tracting streets whole heck of a lot easier. We kind of get into this habit as missionaries, of knocking doors when all else fails- I'd say its in part because of our, "aDOORable" personalities... ANYWAYS, in short, we went finding for a good minute. Whether it be blistering hot or cryogenically cold, we exposed our knuckles to the metal gates of the East, and put our faith in the fact that some tender-hearted soul would be receptive to our exciting message. Now, I will say, you have variety in recpetion.. not everyone is going to recognize you as a sent disciple of the Lord with the keys and authority to preach the Gospel and claim to Christ's restored church. If we lived in a world where everyone accepted the message.. would faith even be necessary? Would we have the opportunity to appreciate acceptance when we encounter rejection? To increase our own testimonies as we share with others our own personal conversion? No. God made missionary work hard because he knew it would be exactly what we need to become completely converted ourselves. Even if no-one listens to your message, if you come out better because of it.. that will be the success of your mission. So, that is exactly what Elder Carter and I did. We knocked.. and rang doorbells.. and knocked some more, and no, not even half of the people we met were interested.. but the margin who were, made the previous rejectors that much more worth it.
We met a guy who went on this boisterous rant about vitamins. We're pretty sure he was going for a metaphorical application but forgot about why he was so passionately discussing our essential nutrients, so he just continued to scream about B12 with no conscious awareness of why he was so invigorated in the first place. We met the loveliest lady from out of town who has been searching for more scripture; she has the most radiant smile and contagious laugh- and she was more than willing to meet with us again and accept a copy of the Book of Mormon. We met a guy who just got off work, and only gave us the time of day because I guaranteed him that it would MAKE the day.. well, the spirit is a miracle worker, and he really enjoyed the message of the Restoration. He wants us to come back to teach his family because the feelings he felt reminded him of something indescribable that he has surely felt before. See? Variety. But what do they all have in common? The need for the Gospel. These are the elect; God is no respecter of persons- especially when it comes to preaching the Gospel.
Every door is an opportunity to share the happiness we have found- and with God's glasses, and when we envision each individual dressed in white and prepared for baptism.. the motivation of love becomes the achievement of salvation. I love tracting because it gives the preacher the opportunity to share happiness and create conversion... even if the most important conversion and happiness found is for the preacher himself. Finding is a great tool in our repertoire for repentance, so don't knock it til you try it (actually do knock it AND try it. 😉
I also went on exchanges with Elder Flores this past weekend, and though I was not able to showcase my newfound gift of tongues, we had a mucho bueno time together declaring repentance and baptizing converts. It's so cool to me that each missionary has a different, "style" of sorts.. a different emphasis on gospel principles when teaching lessons, a unique testimony, and a particular approach to recruit converts. Isn't that just so cool?
Perfection has variety- God has enabled us with a multitude of ways that we can share his good news. We are each individually moulded out of the stuff of eternities, and I can really see the divine potential and capacity in every Child of God. We are not sent here to be like one another.. but different, and like our Savior Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if you're not like anyone else.. you are sublime and idvine creation.. and the only thing you need to strive for, is perfection- eventually. :)
Well y'all, that's our week. I conclude this briefing from our crazy concoction of catastrophically cool conferences, with my testimony:
I KNOW this church is true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's kingdom on the earth. Jospeh Smith is the prophet of the restoration and through divine inspiration and guidance, he translated the word of God- the Book of Mormon. Coupled with its companion volume, the Bible, these books are the instruction manuals for eternal life. Likewise, the words of our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, are the necessary counsel that we require to return and live with our Savior. I look forward to hearing his words and the words of modern day apostles in the coming weeks. I know that Jesus is the Chirst- I have an undeniable conviction that he suffered for our indivual souls and lives again. I know His Gospel is the way of life. I live it and Iove it. And I love all of you.
This week's FB post:
Happiness does not depend upon our circumstance. We can choose to be happy no matter our external influence. We can choose to sing away the darkness and smile away the clouds.The power of choice gives us complete dominion over the radiance of our attitude.If we internalize optimism, even the cloudiest days can be smiled away through sunshine in the soul.☀️
Don't just take my word for it, a modern day apostle has some thoughts of his own that can really help us all channel our inner sunshine.
Thank you for your kindness, your prayers, and support. Transfers are next week y'all, so by the time you hear from me next- my fate will be decided. Pray that i'll have the eternal perspective to accept and embrace whatever comes my way. Y'ALL ARE THE BEST. ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU!
With quite the awesome amount of arduous love and appreciation,
Elder Boyd
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