Elder Jeremy Ashton Boyd: SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Just when you think you're proselyting, you're suddenly a service missionary-

Why do we serve?

Honestly, if I learned anything this week, it was to focus on the, "why" of life. In terms of the Gospel, the, "why" is the doctrine. SO, by the transitive property of congruence, we can ask, what is the doctrine of our lives? What are the plain and simple, eternal truths that make up the fiber of our being? In a filter of sorts, we particularly were motivated to ponder and remember the doctrine behind our service...

Why do we serve?

Well, let me tell y'all, I gained a greater appreciation for Ammon this week, as we scrubbed some kings horses of our own. Sometimes you need to scrub in the stable before you teach in the temple... we saw that in great retrospect through our own series of unfortunate events.

And on THAT NOTE, I welcome you all to SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

STORY TIME:

“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”

Have you ever looked at a heavy object and thought, 'there is no way in the deep blue bayou that I am I hoisting that mass off the ground?" This week, we accomplished ten hours of service. Two moves and a funeral in one day and four hours at the local food back rendered us acquainted with grief. I found myself personally in this position during our first move of the morning. We had loaded all of the tables, the wardrobes, and an obnoxious plethora of pillows-- similar to a Nintendo game, all we had left was the boss at the end of the level; the grand piano. These things are called grand for a reason, my lanta. At first, it seemed like we were just sizing up the piano to see how we were ALL going to lift it- on the other side was a professional mover, cross fit giant, with the biggest forearms I had ever seen in my life. If there was ever a time to feel like such a David with a Goliath, it was in this present moment. Well, he lifted his side... and thinking we were just getting a feel for things... (mind you, never in my mind did I ever rationalize the thought or action that I would ever be able to muster the superhuman strength to lift where I stood) I lifted mine... and before I knew it, we were shuffling our feet out the door, just the two of us, with this massive piano is our grasp. When all was said and done, I received a few surprised glances, having summoned the spirit of Nephi by lifting with large stature.

Now, I do not share this story with the intent of convincing y'all that I am indeed ALSO a professional mover with a sub-alias of a cross fit guru. But rather, upon reflection, I saw a spiritual theme in the midst of this all...

Sometimes we set mental restraints on ourselves, doubting our own strength and ability. Take pianos for instance- does anyone just look at a papa grand and think, "I dead-lift that in my sleep?" Probably not. So it is with spiritual obstacles in our lives--- too often we discourage ourselves with the pianos of our lives thinking we don't have the strength to overcome-- but in fact, if we would just put our faith in the strength of the Lord, we would surprise ourselves with the pianos we are able to lift. You are stronger than you know and doing better than you think. BUT, don't blow out your back trying to lift the pianos of your life... it takes patience, preparation, and perseverance to bring out the Goliath within you and tackle our spiritual obstacles!

...and because of a surplus of service, we climaxed in stress with a depressed drought of knocking doors! After Friday, we had only found three new people to teach... much less than our goal of twelve for the week! Well, Mosiah 2:17 had never felt more real than it did at this moment:

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

..and because we were in the service of God, he knew our struggle and had prepared a way for us to meet our goal for the week. We prayed diligently, SO DILIGENTLY, that Saturday would be a day of miracles. Well, our God is certainly the God of miracles, because everywhere we turned... there was someone ready to listen to our message. We didn't even need to knock doors- because at our disposal, in the great outdoors, the Lord had put the elect in our reach and blessed our spiritual eyes to recognize them. It is ALWAYS worth it to be in the service of your fellow men because God notices... and God rewards those who dedicate their time to helping others. And the miracles didn't stop there-

With a lackadaisical commitment from our people to attend church on Sunday, we expected very little results. Well, it was time to raise our expectations because the Lord provided. Two of our more progressing people, unannounced, attended sacrament meeting on Sunday. And in that same meeting, one of our recent converts requested a Book of Mormon because she had been teaching this family next door to her about the Gospel and they wanted to come to church and know more about what we believe. MIRACLES.

AND, before we could finish the week...

We followed up teaching this Puerto Rican family and stumbled across the most humble and prepared soul. We shared poems, we spoke about the Book of Mormon, and as a result, she has committed to be baptized and come to church with her family. MIRACLE.

There are miracles in service for those who put the needs of others over the needs of themselves. There is a ginormous goodie bag of blessings waiting for you if you would only just take the time... to move two people and attend a funeral and work at the local food bank. :)

Well y'all, that's about it for this week. Surely, my testimony of service has strengthened. I pray that y'all too will feel the miracles that are in store for those who serve. I challenge you ALL to acknowledge the pianos of your life, to maybe spend some time in the stable, and to sit back with no reward... I can promise that if you do, you TOO will unlock magnificent miracles in your own lives.

In closing, a quote from our dear former prophet, Thomas S. Monson: