THE VICKSBURG VOLUMES: CHAPTER THREE

The hills are alive, with the sound of screeching thighs,

For those of you who know the reference, I invite you to replace the melodious soprano descant with the sound of Elder Sellers and me on hill 25 in gear zero with 20mph winds as we go where no thigh has gone before. No, but in all seriousness y'all, Vicksburg is a promised land! The miracles are aplenty- and I'm actually convinced there is a celestial correlation between the number of hills we bike and the number of commitments the people we teach keep. The Bike Boys (Elders) have been beyond blessed with the bountiful fruits of the great harvest in Mississippi! Stay tuned for thigh puns, doctrine, and fun as we enjoy the third edition of THE VICKSBURG VOLUMES: CHAPTER THREE. 

It was a great week! And if you're ever wondering, yes we know there isn't a bike lane, and yes we are aware we look like Quasimodo in a circus going up the second half of this hill.  

NOW TIME FOR THE SPIRIT:

Thematically speaking, I wish to draw upon the allusion of an animated Moses to relate a well-learned lesson from the volumes of Vicksburg this week: we must look at our life through heaven's eyes. 

A beloved quote articulates this development better than any quirky wordplay ever could, "

Now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye’

'Tis the secret to charity, to happiness, to growth, to humility, to the influence of the spirit, to repentance, to Christlike character, to diligence, to hope... the list goes on. Heaven's eyes, though often underlooked (pun intended) are the secret to success in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The scriptures even teach us how integral this development is to are becoming more completely like Christ-- to quote the Savior himself to one of his progressing servants, 

 "But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

What are heaven's eyes you might ask? 

The key to the eyes of heaven is hidden in the heart. 

To develop heaven's eyes is to reach beyond the veil to see something we wouldn't otherwise see ourselves if we were caught looking down. To use the eyes of heaven is to look up! And in simpleton terms, to have heaven's eyes is to have perspective. 

Perspective. 

This word has come to me with more power than any word has to any man this week. 

Perspective.

The antidote for anxiety, the remedy for remorse, the cure for catastrophe, and the medicine for mortality. All of the frustrations in life can be healed through the Christlike attribute of perspective. Have you ever thought of it as an attribute? Perspective is not just an idea, but a fundamental piece of character. One that fulfills the balance between realism and optimism, goals and dreams, progression and exaltation. Christ has a perfect perspective, doesn't he? He demonstrates this attribute in every encounter throughout scripture. One of my personal favorites is the woman caught in adultery. Yes, she sinned. Yes, she made a mistake. No, that did not change the way the Savior felt about her. He saw her not for what she was, but for what she could become. His love for this woman allowed him to heal her wounded heart and pave the opportunity for her progression and forgiveness. Christ can perfectly love us because he has a perfect perspective. He knows our capacity perfectly. He has not foreordained us to fail. Even when we lose sight of who we are and what we can become, God's impression is constant-- and he is always willing to help us achieve what our natural eyes cannot see. 

Perspective is to have the eyes of Christ. 

However, I wish not to address this principle only in terms of our impression of others. We oftentimes focus so much on how we should view others, that we neglect our vision of self. The second greatest commandment wasn't a petition to develop charity for your neighbor as a sacrifice for your self-worth, no, that is not the Gospel. We are commanded to, "love thy neighbor... as thyself." Love others as intimately and patiently as you should love yourself. As an omnipotent and omniscient being, we often think of the character of Christ as something unattainable and unfathomable. We distance ourselves from the reality of the Atonement when we lose faith in ourselves and our divine capacity to become like the Savior. However, this is not the case. As saints in the gospel, our goal is not to BE Christ-- someone far greater, and far more capable already was himself and was quite perfect at it too. Only he could be Christ- and because he was, you and I don't have to. We are only commissioned to be LIKE Christ and that includes being ourselves. To be Christ is to be perfect, to be like Christ is to be perfect... eventually. To have the eyes of Christ is to look at ourselves in an eternal perspective-- which includes patience in who we are and hope in what we can become. 

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”

New eyes for ourselves, and in our case this week, new eyes for the people we teach. This past week, God tutored us in the ways of perspective. I wish to illustrate what I have discussed with a little story- starring two eagerly enthusiastic Elders and a prophetess. Now, before I begin I wish to say, that in no way am I bashing, complaining, or trying to make an example out of this woman. Rather, in eternal hindsight, I have viewed this experience as a beautiful representation for how we should view others and what we can do as members and missionaries alike to, "love (our) enemies, bless them that curse (us), do good to them that hate (us), and to pray for them who despitefully use (us) and persecute (us)."

THE STORY:

It was a crisp winter morn in the highlands of holy Vicksburg. Elder Sellers and Elder Boyd had predetermined to embark on an early journey to teach one of the Lord's elect. The clock struck 9:00 and off they went in the fifth gear to surmount the mountains and annihilate the altitude! Over the river and through the woods they peddled their cereal away and promptly arrived at their desired destination. With all the enthusiasm and excitement these lads could muster, they entertained three knocks for salvation. Sadly, our heroes were shocked to find out that the four-mile journey was all in vain... work had called in early. Alas, their spirits had been smooshed under the weight of a federal obligation. This, however, would not discourage our Elders! Jauntily one of the young men looked at the other and remarked, "Elder, God could've told us she wouldn't be home. He knew that we would bike over here in the cold wintry air, yet he restrained to prevent our journey. We are here for a reason." So onto the next door they went, and to the next, and... to the next... and to.... the next.... a...n...d.... to the.....n....e...x....t.... until finally, a rustling echoed behind the door. Hope! Purpose! Determination! Exhausted! As a fine young woman answered the door, Elder Sellers delivered an eloquent introduction-- vocalizing both their purpose and their desire for salvation-- with a cheeky grin upon his face! "Maybe this is the reason why we're here," they remarked. And just when the divine intervention couldn't have seemed any better...

The response cut through the air like a battleax in Babylon...

"I'm actually a pastor and a prophet and allow me to give you some word for your day. If you intend to go around representing the Lord, I strongly suggest that you don't force your way into people's lives. The Savior was gentle, easy to be entreated, and loving... if you expect yourself to be any kind of missionary you need to stop harassing the people in this area and learn how to do your job. Don't try to be like the Savior if you don't even know how to be a missionary." 

"Yes, ma'am. You have a nice day. We're sorry if we harassed you, it wasn't our intention."

Was all they could utter...

Defeated, our Elders marched their way up the street with the analysis of a thousand mathematicians as to what they could've done wrong. "Are we not worthy enough?" "Do we need to change our approach?" "Do we know how to 'missionary'?" And just as the adversary seemed to wave his flag of carnal victory... Elder Boyd bowed his head, folded his arms, and began to pray. As if he was blessed with a special endowment of charity for this woman, he prayed with all sincerity of heart that she would have a better experience with the next missionaries. He prayed that although they may have somehow ruined her day... that somewhere along the hours she would see miracles and blessings that reminded her just how much God loved her. As he said amen, a smile graced his face as he said, "Everything is going to be okay, Elder. God doesn't love us any more than he loves her." And with that, a lesson was learned in perspective. They went on to knock many more doors, with the same approach, but a determined disposition to share their life-changing message! Many miracles were wrought that day- one of which, if not the greatest, was a special portion of heaven's eyes to see all of the people in Mississippi as children of God.

And that concludes our story. Friends. Family. I testify that perspective changes everything. The Gospel is far too important to be temporary. We are made of the stuff of eternity! The love I felt for this young women was the Saviors love. As we try to understand people as they are, not as we are, I can promise that we will develop the gift of charity for all men and women, and find ourselves in a position to look at our lives and the lives of others through heaven's eyes. 

We also had a special visit from yet ANOTHER general authority; Elder Vinson of the Presidency of the Seventy. He is a profound man with a cool accent, let me tell ya. The Gospel is true in Australia too. One of my favorite things he said was, "we must learn to do missionary work on this side of the veil in a normal and natural way. Nowhere else in the world do people teach as well as we do as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. That is because we teach in the Saviors way."

Like I said, profound man. And one of the highlights of his visit was actually when one of the people we were teaching (ELECT) who came to the meeting high-tailed his way up to meet Elder Vinson after his remarks and said, "I can do volunteer work." Random, yes. But even more humorous was the fact that Elder Vinson for the life of him could not understand his thick Southern accent. I, as a 15-month Southern native, have acquired the interpretation of Cajun tongue- but Elder Vinson was clueless. He actually, "phoned a friend", the Stake President in fact, and when our man repeated his serving desires, the Stake President couldn't understand him either! Who knew I would become one with the culture and be called upon to interpret the Southern tongue for Elder Vinson. The South is a hoot y'all! :) 

Well y'all, that was our week! We are growing every day, both in the size of our thighs and the strength of our testimonies! The Gospel is so true!! I have never been more aware of my weaknesses in all my life, and I have coincidentally ALSO never felt so close to my Savior. I adore being a missionary- this is the greatest thing I've ever done! It is an honor and a privilege to bike hill.... after hill... after hill... a..f...t...e...r... h...i...l...l... for the Lord! My calves and my confidence have never felt better! I'd invite you all to introspectively think about how you can develop heaven's eyes this week! How can you develop the Christlike attribute of perspective? What can you do this week to view ourselves and others as a sacred being? I promise that as you do so, you too will feel the great promises this Gospel has in store for all of those who are willing to surrender their eyes for the sight of the Lord! I guess that's what it means to have an eye single to the glory of God: you can only behold his glory through his eyes... HAVE A GREAT WEEK Y'ALL! ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU!

Sincerely,

Elder Thighrannasaurus Boyd 

This Week's Facebook Post:

Search, ponder, and pray.

The pattern for revelation.

To search: the activity of looking thoroughly to find something or someone.

To ponder: to think deeply about a subject or question for a period of time.

To pray: to address a deity in an act of worship.

Or in other words-

We must throughoughly look through the scriptures to find what we desire and then think deeply about the question and subjects which we discover, and in an act of great supplication address our Heavenly Father in a spirit of worship to call upon the powers of heaven and receive inspired answers to our inspired questions.

This is the spirit of revelation.
Your heart wont tell you things that your mind doesnt know, if you dont give your mind something to think about, or you heart a concept to confirm.

This pristine pattern, if mastered, is the key to inviting the influence of God into our lives, to recognize his impeccable answer delivery, and to receive those things which we most desire.

As a fellow scavenger of the scriptures, I can promise that if you search, ponder. and pray the spirit will guide and deep inside you will know the scriptures are true.

Start today to search ponder and pray.

#LBRMSingingSunday

This Week's Pics:

VICKSBURG VOLUMES: CHAPTER TWO

Week two and my thighs are weak too,

Taken from this months ensign. There are no coincidences in the gospel. 

Mountains: “Mountains are not easy to climb. Then, as now, the Lord called His disciples to climb mountains to emphasize the efficacy of effort and obedience. He will ask the same of you, figuratively and possibly literally, also.”

PHYSICALLY AND LITERALLY the hills of Vicksburg are the way the Lord distinguishes his disciples. Will you bike or blubber? Will you cycle or complain? The choice is yours. But with our tyrannosaurus thighs and boyish enthusiasm, we choose the hills. God uses mountains as preparatory consecration and in his flawless arithmetic, delivers his most powerful sermons on the highest hills. Don't give up before you reach the top- what's waiting for you at the top of your mountains? It's time to put some metal in your peddle and find out. WELCOME MY FRIENDS TO VICKSBURG VOLUMES: CHAPTER TWO. 

One of the biggest highlights of this week is that our mission was visited by yet another general authority, Elder Foster! It's basically been like General Conference around these parts with all these inspired men and their divine messages. Elder Foster certainly didn't disappoint either with his magnificent mantle. The biggest impressions I took away, weren't necessarily in what was said... but what was felt. To quote my journal, 

"I felt two great impressions today: God knows my name and the nametag is precious."

These nuggets are what prompted these realizations...

"Don't give up until you've reached the top. When you start to view yourself from an eternal perspective, you will stop expecting perfection and start cultivating progression."

"If you're never challenged, you're never changed."

"No mission can achieve its full potential without member help. The Lord's way- is not for members to help the missionaries... but the missionaries to help the members." 

So yeah, if you're a member-- make sure you know that you are indispensable to this work. You are valued, you are essential, you are loved, and you are needed. As we develop our spirituality and skills as missionaries and member missionaries, we will hasten the effectiveness of the work of the Lord. As Paul says to our fathers, I say to our relationship with our members-- "for we without them cannot be made perfect- neither can we without our members be made perfect." It is a perfecting relationship that we should have, as missionaries, with our members. 

Oh, and just as a quick side note, I had a personal interview with Elder Foster-- and I can testify that the general authorities of this church are called of God according to his purposes. His words will forever be written on the "fleshy tables of my heart." 

Something else that has "fostered" (pun intended) in the fathoms of my mind this week is the authorization of God. As members of the church our minds are constantly centered on our own personal power and authority but have you ever contemplated the authority of God, and how we authorize him to exercise his power? This principle here, I have found, is the fine balance between agency and omnipotence.

Isn't that astounding to think? An all-knowing and all-powerful God, who can execute every endeavor to perfection without restriction, allows us to authorize him through our own agency? "I the Lord am bound when you do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." He is literally, "bound" to fulfill his part when we authorize him through our righteous exercise of agency. 

One of the greatest ways we authorize God is through faith. The principles of the Gospel are organized according to essential spiritual priorities. "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, FAITH."  To draw upon the powers of heaven, we must first believe and trust that they do in fact exist and they can, in fact, offer us the divine assistance we require unto salvation.  

I wish to avoid vain-jangling (a beloved term here in the South) and hold this truth to be self-event through scripture we find in the Book of Mormon. In Moroni 10:7 we read, 

"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by POWER, according to the FAITH of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever." 

God's power is permitted through our submission to believe in Him without surety of his existence. However, it is through this same principle that we can attain a surety of that very existence, and we acquire such a witness through the "power" of the Holy Ghost. 

I wish to liken this relationship to a parable of Boyd: 

My parents used to hold blessings ransom on the condition of the righteous exercise of obedience. I remember specifically throughout my years as a little boy(d), the rewards that would come from unloading the dishwasher. Whether it was recreational time with friends, a tasty treat, or the positive affirmation of a proud parent-- blessings would come as I willfully did what they asked. And, if I might add, if I did it without being reminded or requested, the appreciation was increased ten-fold. Over time, I grew to associate unloading the dishwasher as a rite of passage per se to doing the things that I desired. This correlation both made for an obedient son, two happy parents, and a very clean kitchen. 

How relevant this comparison is to our relationship with Heavenly Father and the blessings he has in store for us. Easily, my parents could have granted the freedoms of adolescence without my indentured servitude, but it was the obedience to their commands that permitted them to bless me with those things that I desired. It wasn't me unloading the dishwasher that made the treat exist, or the time with friends relevant... that was already there, but it was my willingness to comply that permitted my parents to endow those things upon me. Our Heavenly Father has issued unto us, "the unloading of many dishwashers." He gives us commandments, upon which our desired blessings are predicated through obedience.  Do you think the blessings he has don't exist if we don't unload our dishwashers? No. Of course not. God would cease to be God if he wasn't, "all-blessing." His blessings are however contingent privileges. As missionaries, is it our faith that constitutes the existence of the elect? No. They already exist. But, it is our faith that authorizes an omnipotent God to direct our paths to their location. Was it ACTUALLY the touching of the garment that healed the woman having an issue of blood? No, it was her FAITH that made her whole. It wasn't the touching of the garment that made her complete, but her faith in that very act that authorized an all-knowing and powerful savior (who knew where she was, what she was struggling with, and how deep was her faith) to allow such an exercise to draw upon his power. Our prayers authorize God to bless us with answers. Our studies authorize God to bless us with wisdom. Our good works authorize God to bless us with Christlike attributes and strengthened relationships. And THAT is the balance between agency and omnipotence-- although God knows what will happen, he cannot allow such without our decision to obey and authorize. 

So yes, spiritual tangent over. But, I challenge you all to think of what ways you can authorize God in your life, and how you can, "unload your dishwashers" to draw upon his power and permissive privileges. :) 

The reason this has been on my mind so much is that Vicksburg has been both a refiner's fire and a gateway to my own developed discipleship. It isn't just agency or faith that authorizes God either, he's actually a pretty easy man to please if you just do what he says. Sacrifice, consecration, repentance.... literally every principle of the Gospel is an opportunity for authorization. For example...

Sacrifice: If the Vicksburg Elders go biking in sub-freezing temperatures with sore thighs and hoopla of hills, God will bless them with an elect emporium. 

Consecration: If the Vicksburg Elders will set aside the luxuries of life, the embellishment of eloquence, and the comfort of a car... submitting all their desires and motivations to the will of the Lord... the pews will overflow with peculiar people.

This week was just evidence that the Lord is mindful of us and our missions- and as long as we do our part, he will do whatever it takes to let us know he is there. We found more people to teach, some came to church, and the Lord provided a way for us to accomplish the things the Lord commanded us. Thirteen more people have been recruited to our teaching roster- and the work moves forward in Vicksburg. As long as we are willing to bike I know the Lord is willing to show us the miracles he has in store for those who stretch themselves spiritually, emotionally, AND PHYSICALLY. 

Well yall, I hope this coming week is just BLESSED with the authorization of the Lord. Evaluate your faith and ponder in what more you can do to bind the Lord to the blessings he has in store! Unload your dishwashers and I know the Lord will unload his rewards. Take those mountains with pride-- actually, that's impossible... hills are the slopes of humility... take those mountains with HUMILITY and the Lord will use them to teach you how to magnify your callings through your mountains! I love you all. I know this church is true. And it is my prayer that through the power of the Lord you all know, that in and through Him and your tyrannosaurus thighs, you can do all things. HAVE A GREAT WEEK Y'ALL! ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU! 

With all the strength of a great "thigh"phoon,

Elder Boyd 

This Week's FB Post:

There is an hour of peace and rest, unmarried by earthly care. Tis when before the Lord you go and kneel in secret prayer.

Before this life, we comfortably conversed with our Father in Heaven and our elder brother Jesus Christ. We talked openly with them. Their faces were familiar to us-- and as children of God, we lived blissfully in free communication with a divine family.

However, now in mortality and under the spiritual anesthetic of forgetfulness-- they yearn for our remembrance and conversation. Instead of our oft correspondence with our Father, we touch base with him... maybe once or twice a day? Pray, he is there! Speak, he is listening! You are his child, and in his infinite wisdom he has hidden you from perfect knowledge... but that doesn't mean he doesn't miss his father-daughter/son talks.

When we know who we are in our relationships, it changes us. Secret prayer is the secret to finding your true identity. Sometimes you may think that who you really are is one of those mysteries yet to be unfolded through the windows of heaven-- but that's the biggest secret of all- there really is no secret to who we once were, who we are now, and who we are becoming. We are most ourselves when we are on our knees and prayer is the key to finding one's true identity. Prayer, better than any other communication, will give you a greater and broader sense of how chosen you are and how willing the father is to give to them that asketh. Prayer authorizes the Lord to bless us and is truly the gateway to knowledge and blessings. When you're down to nothing God is up to something-- it's no coincidence that you are quite literally at your lowest when you pray. It is from there that God can build you up through the blessings and answers he has in store for you, and the communication he has been waiting for.

May your heart be turned to pray and your soul be united with heaven as you remember the secret to who you really are and the answers and identity you can find through secret prayer.

#LBRMSingingSunday.

Shoutout to the smiles of singing. That's another secret, the secret to happiness: laugh about your imperfections! And find someone to laugh with you. :)

This Week's Pics:

Zone Conference with a visit from Elder Foster:

Elder Boyd is turning into a chef! 😲😲