SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Drum roll please,

Prayer works. There is no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father is really there and hears and answers every child's prayer. I'm gonna phone a friend on this one and allow an apostolic amigo to say it best, “Remember the real thing. Remember how urgently you have needed help in earlier times and that you got it. The Red Sea will open to the honest seeker of revelation. The adversary does not have power to hedge up the way, to marshal Pharaoh’s forces and dog our escape right to the water’s edge, but he can’t produce the real thing. He cannot conquer if we will it otherwise. “Exerting all our powers to call upon God,” the light will again come, the darkness will again retreat, the safety will again be sure. That is lesson number one about crossing the Red Sea, your Red Seas, by the spirit of revelation.”  

That is right my friends...

Transfer week is here...

PLOT TWIST: I'M STAYING IN SLIDELL.

The day of miracles has not ceased. There CAN be miracles when you believe. A dream is a wish your heart makes. And every other cliche exclamation of divine power... WHHEEEWWWW-EEEE! If we ain't fixin' to have a flipper flapping transfer for the ages! If you can't tell, I'm kinda excited... looks like the scroll continues, so stay tuned for another volume... revelation, rambunctiousness, and romance (kidding) await us as we PERSIST and enjoy yet another SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR. 

First, a spiritual thought:

The floodgates of revelation were rampant in my studies this week as I pondered the subject: the fear of the Lord. There is a strict doctrinal contrast between fear and faith- in fact, they're quite opposites. Fear and faith cannot coexist. This antithesis is quite common in the scriptures and is used to represent two natural principles that are arguably essential to salvation. Now that the facts are out of the way... we can build on our foundation with incremental revelation. It struck me as I read in the Bible- faith and fear both demand that we believe in something we cannot see. Faith is evidence of things not seen as we read in the book of Hebrews; but do we ever consider that fear is sometimes the same thing? Every Satan-like quality has a foundation of fear. For example, 

Pride = fear of failure. We do not see the benefits of failing and how it can contribute to our successes... 

Defiance= fear of submission. We do not see how being a follower is often times the best way to be a leader. 

David A. Bednar says, 

Upon hearing the voice of God after partaking of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve hid themselves in the Garden of Eden. God called unto Adam and asked, “Where art thou? And [Adam answered], I heard thy voice … , and I was afraid” (Genesis 3:9–10). Notably, one of the first effects of the Fall was for Adam and Eve to experience fear. This potent emotion is an important element of our mortal existence.  

Sometimes we sin for fear of mortality. Conforming to societal norms is often a relapse of fear, is it not? Submitting to peer pressure? Fear of fitting in. Depression? Fear of inadequacy. Anxiety? Fear of the unknown. We live in a fallen world... and being lost is a scary thing. However, there is hope. Fear is not new. So much of the extremes of mortality can be cured with one prescription from the Great Physician: faith. As we contemplate the fruits of faith we can see healthy side effects of overcoming fear: security, hope, love. The only answer to fear is faith. But now that I have rambled on for a scroll and a half, I get to my point... the fear of the Lord. 

Would you say, there is righteous fear? If we are commanded to place our fear in the Lord, is that a righteous pursuit? Y'all, this study had me on a cross-reference coaster... and I think I have finally come to a conclusion. To fear the Lord is not the opposite of faith... but rather the purpose of faith. Faith is to trust in God, to submit our wills to his, to believe that he has all power and wisdom... and to fear him is to acknowledge this holy trifecta.  If perfect love casteth out all fear then I would argue that the fear of the Lord is to love him perfectly. Elder Bednar says that, "as we fear the Lord more completely, we love him more perfectly." Therefore, the purpose of this life... is not to fear- but in fact, to displace our fears in the Lord and to strengthen our faith through perfect love. 

And that, my friends, is what I did Thursday morning. 

Contrary to popular belief, Thanksgiving is actually a perfect time to knock doors. Families are home, people are in a, "giving" mood, and the season points everyone's thoughts towards the Savior as they ponder their many blessings. We had a great holiday here in the promised land, cherishing the great members we have been blessed with! I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving filled with several DAIRY FREE tender mercies. :) 

STORY TIME:

Due to the festivities and an emporium of exchanges, we didn't get many opportunities to labor in our blessed portion of the Lord's vineyard. Haha, I am now realizing that this is a theme of like, every scroll I write, so I PROMISE y'all we're good missionaries, just a busy bunch with an atrocious agenda. ANYWAYS,

Saturday is a special day, is the day we prepare to INVITE EVERYONE TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY. I was honored to enjoy an exchange with one of the homies in the quad-ship, Elder Hendry. We're both training in the quad-ship, so we planned a busy day with the intent of seeing many miracles as a result of our hard work...

Well let me tell ya, this day was a trip...

A chronological sequence of Saturday's events:

• We met a hometown rap star named STB Slim who has a pit-bull/storm-trooper hybrid tattooed on his upper right calf and has a hit single called Psalms is your mom. 
• We taught a home-slice named Geno who said he'd only believe a prophet who was a Saints and proceeded to drown out our message by slowly muttering under his breath, "who dat.... we dat..." 
• We fellow-shipped a family of all different shapes and sizes by teaching them the Plan of Salvation after finding out about the recent passing of their mother. Well, in order to get their attention, Elder Hendry pinky-promised the younger one who plays the ukulele, that I would sing if she sang. Mind you, I had no participation or approval of this agreement... but I am not one to break the ultimate covenant of a pinky promise. Let's just say I haven't sung Death of a Bachelor in a good minute... 
• We met the most willing and incredible 19 year old Latina woman who said she'll be baptized, come to church, and read the Book of Mormon (not necessarily in that order...) 
• We knocked on a door around a recent convert and a young girl opened, said her name was Shakira with the honest hips, and commanded us to bring her to church tomorrow. So, that was cool. 
• We finished out the night as we bore the most powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and delivered a pie to one of our most progressing people. She is truly the elect and a sign from God that he is proud of the work we have accomplished in the promised land. 

It was a fantastic week, to say the least. I love Elder Jones more than a man can comprehend. It is an honor and a privilege- an utmost PLEASURE to be his companion. He has been a great support, companion, and most of all... friend. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We are so blessed down here... I pray the Lord's richest blessings on all you sweet folk. Remember to always make Saturday a special day and to develop your righteous fears through perfect love! Oh and... GET PUMPED FOR MORE SCROLLS! Have a great week y'all! ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU!

In the utmost spirit of gratitude,

Elder Boyd

This Week's Pics:

More food zooming in going on to show Mama that he's makin' yummy food:

Elder Jones/Elder Boyd

The Quad/Friends

Misc. Pics with No Explanation

SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

T'is the season to eat turkey,

...or whatever suits your belly this holiday season-

Hey y'all. Hope you're well and having the best day, week, month, LIFE ever! It has cooled down in the bodacious bayou and that makes for one very happy fair-skinned Elder. Sweater weather has never felt better. WELL, this week was a learning experience, one that I will never forget. If you've ever wondered why we are sometimes required to withstand the figurative weight of the mountains of Nova Scotia and to be thrust into pits of deepest woe- then you came to the right place. No, I do not have a mountain on my chest, and yes, I would consider Louisiana a lot better than a pit of despair- but we HAVE learned an eternal principle this week, one that you might not recognize you are striving to keep every day... Stay tuned for spirit, shenanigans, and stories as we enjoy another edition of SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE. 

Enduring to the end is an eternal principle. 

Far too often overlooked in the doctrines and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the lifelong commitment and eternal obligation to endure. With the people we teach, the difference between membership and conversion in the church is that great and last principle of the Gospel; to endure to the end. Truly, enduring to the end is a much bigger responsibility than, "doing our best every day to follow Jesus Christ." To endure is to enjoy. To improve. To withstand and to overcome. To develop and to make a difference. To make everlasting and omnipotent. In the end, if we have chosen to endure, we will have chosen to become like Christ. He is the end to which we endure to- his qualities, attributes, and character is what we are expected and promised to develop through this everlasting principle. But, as my boy Neal. A puts it, "in the end if we have not chosen Christ, it will not matter what we have chosen." 

Have you chosen Christ? How do you endure to the end?

Well, in the mission field, every day is a test of endurance. Something I have recently learned is that our response to life's challenges is what ultimately determines our growth. It matters not how other's choose our agency- that has little to do with our personal consequence - but what will affect our character and progression most, is our response. We can choose to be happy and to be optimistic. We are agents unto ourselves to create our own consequences. I heard it best in this quote, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Missionary work is hard, yes, but in the midst of difficulty lies opportunity- and that opportunity is found through optimism! I am a most sincere believer that attitude is the antidote for any kind of anxiety. NOW ONTO THE STORY:

I had the utmost privilege of going on exchanges with one of the Elders in our quad-ship- Elder Xiong (pronounced with an "sh"... something my family is very familiar with. :)) We had a great day planned- probably one of the busiest days of the week- and were very excited to learn from each other and to lose ourselves in the work. I'd say we had twelve teaching appointments scheduled? It was a full day. However, the caveat with enduring... is that true endurance is never comfortable.

Every appointment canceled. 

Call us Elder Endurance. People who had never contacted us, texted us just to say don't come over. Of the 12 appointments, we had scheduled... 12 canceled on us. Now, I don't think this was a poor act of planning on our part or insufficient faith... but in hindsight, as I reflect on the events of that day, I realized a very valuable lesson that God was trying to teach us. We continued to work hard all through the night, knocking doors and such. We tried a few part-member families and a plethora of people who just wouldn't answer their doors. It had neared the end of the night, and though we hadn't seen much success, we didn't lose hope. 

We decided to drop in on one of our girls who had come to church this past week. She is sixteen years old and we had first met her through her mother (who was on the phone with our Relief Society President when we felt the prompting to go up and talk to her. ) Well, we taught her a brief lesson and got to know her some more... when suddenly... SHE PUT HERSELF ON DATE TO BE BAPTIZED. We were talking about her sister being sprinkled when she was younger and she asked if she could do that too. I mean, we explained immersion and everything, but she's super excited to be baptized next month! Isn't that the coolest? I feel so much joy just in writing this. She has come to church now for two consecutive weeks and is the kindest woman. We don't find the elect, the elect finds us- and she alone has restored my faith in the harvest. 

NOW THE MORALE OF THE STORY: There is no doubt in my mind that because we were willing to work hard in difficulty and endure, God showed us that miracle. There is such a great reward in store for those who endure. My testimony of this great principle of the gospel has astronomically grown this week. God is easily pleased but hard to satisfy. Yes, he is ELATED when we take our first steps in salvation- but in order to achieve true discipleship... and to maintain our course on the straight and narrow.. we must accept and apply the vitality of endurance. The words of prophets and apostles say it best:

“In this work there must be commitment. There must be devotion. We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very souls of the sons and daughters of God. We are not losing. We are winning. We will continue to win if we will be faithful and true. We can do it. We must do it. We will do it. There is nothing the Lord has asked of us that in faith we cannot accomplish.” Gordon B. Hinckley,   

And...

"The basic requirements for enduring to the end include knowing who we are, children of God with a desire to return to His presence after mortality; understanding the purpose of life, to endure to the end and obtain eternal life; and living obediently with a desire and a determination to endure all things, having eternal vision. Eternal vision allows us to overcome opposition in our temporal state and, ultimately, achieve the promised rewards and blessings of eternal life."   Robert D. Hales 

Another spiritual highlight of this week was so simple... but so profound. As we enjoyed dinner with some beloved members, it became time for us to share our spiritual thought. Something had been pressing upon my mind throughout the entirety of the evening... so I decided to volunteer this particular night. It was nothing much... just a few insights about love from the Bible. As I read the scripture, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," I realized that we are never more Christlike than when we are a friend. This thought I shared with my testimony and thought nothing of it... until one of the friends of the family, a young woman in the ward, came up to me afterward and said something I will never forget:

"That was the first time I have felt the spirit since my baptism."

My heart went out to this young girl as I remembered where I was before my mission. Was I in a position to feel a constant flow of the Spirit? Did I have daily spiritual experiences? Was I completely attentive to and worthy of the great gift of the Holy Ghost? 

These thoughts raced through my mind as she looked at me with sincerity in her eyes. There was no coincidence in my thoughts that night. I knew that God had answered a humble child's prayer through a simple spiritual thought that night. So it is with us- God is willing to give us the spiritual experiences we desire. We just need to be in a position, similar to baptism, where we are prepared... sanctified.. and humble enough to feel a similar spirit. As Alma has said, 

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"

Well y'all, the harvest is great and the laborers are few. Elder Jones is still as incredible as ever. We have seen so many miracles- I cannot even begin to express my gratitude. In this time of thanks, I challenge you all to not only take count of your blessings... but to make your blessings count. I know that we truly qualify for blessings when we express gratitude- and in that divine relationship, we touch a bit of heaven. I hope y'all have a fantastic holiday full of much food and many thanks! I am most grateful for all y'all and this beautiful Gospel that allows families to be together forever. It is truly a privilege to serve the Lord, one I will be forever grateful for. LOVE Y'ALL! HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

From your favorite Elder Endurance,

Elder Boyd 

This Week's Pics:

Elder Boyd:

It wouldn't be Elder Boyd if silly faces were not included in every photo shoot!

The Tag:

The Companion:

The Crew:

Let's ZOOM in on that food, shall we (showing mom he's eating healthy 😃👍):

Random Pics Without an Explanation: