Well top o' the morning to all lassies and laddies,
Your favorite Elder Leprechaun here. Any luck you experienced this weekend was probably on account of the Lord's mercy and infinite blessings. Fun fact: luck, in fact, is just another word for blessings. By that definition, we were very LUCKY this week and I hope the same for all y'all. So, kiss a blarney stone, find the end of your rainbow, and grab a bowl of "blessing charms" cause we're about to enjoy a heel-clickin' good volume here in the VICKSBURG VOLUMES: CHAPTER TEN.
The reason we were so blessed is probably that we experienced so much opposition, yet again! Isn't opposition the best?
We actually met with a public official this past week: the __________! We prepared for our appointment by studying Alma 18-- creative, right? We 'cleaned our stables', 'sliced some arms', and 'studied the scriptures' in preparation for our beckoning. _______summoned us to his court at 1:30-- and twenty-five minutes later we exited the summoning with greater respect for the divine identity of all of God's children. Even the greatest among us is a child of God. That knowledge makes every interaction more precious. I love our Father's plan-- and know that the Restoration on the Gospel is a message intended for everyone-- both old and young, both bond and free, both Elder and King.
We also had a great experience, teaching in Spanish! A returned missionary helped us with the appointment and the Spirit was undeniable. The Gospel is true... in all languages! And from the words of the friend we were teaching himself, "I feel good when you teach in English and Spanish... the feeling is the same even when the words are different."
Its been quite the week! The bikes are still kicking, and thighs are still aching, and the Gospel is still true!
Now that the logistical technicalities are out of the way...
Lets SPRING into the Spirit:
In Nazareth, the narrow road,
That tires the feet and steals the breath,
Passes the place where once abode
The Carpenter of Nazareth.
And up and down the dusty way
The village folk would often wend;
And on the bench, beside Him, lay
Their broken things for Him to mend.
The maiden with the doll she broke,
The woman with the broken chair,
The man with broken plough, or yoke,
Said, “Can you mend it, Carpenter?”
And each received the thing he sought,
In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;
The broken thing which each had brought
Returned again a perfect whole.
So, up the hill the long years through,
With heavy step and wistful eye,
The burdened souls their way pursue,
Uttering each the plaintive cry:
“O Carpenter of Nazareth,
This heart, that’s broken past repair,
This life, that’s shattered nigh to death,
Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?”
And by His kind and ready hand,
His own sweet life is woven through
Our broken lives, until they stand
A New Creation—“all things new.”
“The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,
Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,
Mould Thou into the perfect part,
O, Carpenter of Nazareth!”
I imagined a vision of sorts regarding the journey of mortality after I read this poem and it went something like this:
Imagine a simple fragment. A part of a whole. A piece of something greater. Imagine that fragment... is you.
You've just begun your journey in mortality. With a great big world before you, the possibilities are endless. As far as you can remember, this is the beginning. An opportunity to learn, to grow, to develop, and to become. You look around and see fragments, just like you! Some more complete than others, with pieces of different shapes and sizes. You want to be JUST like them! You want to be complete, you want to be whole, you want to collect all of your pieces! And so, the journey of mortality begins:
So, as all fragments do, you take your first steps at experiencing life, hoping that maybe you'll find yourself along the way.
What am I apart of? What is my purpose? What is the plan? In an effort to understand who you are and why you are here, you decide the best and only option... is to try!
Through experience, you learn a little more about yourself and the journey you are on.. There is a pattern to become more complete. One time you helped another piece [cross the road] and suddenly a man appeared with another part of you. As the two pieces joined together you felt a greater sense of who you are and why you're here. You felt more motivated to help your fellow pieces to become more complete! On the contrary, however, after you cut in front of another piece in the line, one of your pieces fell off and disappeared. Devastated, you retreated to a quiet place, and with godly sorrow apologized for the very act you committed. As if by some miracle, your sorrow is simultaneously replaced with joy as the same man appears with the missing piece! You are moved by this man's compassion: "I am so undeserving of such mercy" you think. However, this very act of kindness inspires you throughout your life to be and to do good to earn your way to completion!
Eventually, through the good times and the bad, you begin to fulfill your purpose-- you are becoming something! With each piece and each righteous deed, you begin to see who you really are! As you continue to apologize for the bad and embrace the good, you begin to take the form of the very man in charge of the pieces! The pattern of this life proves to be rewarding as you discover true joy; to be yourself and to become what you are intended to become by helping others along the way!
Towards the end of your life, you realize-- there's just one piece left! There is one piece left between you and the fullness of your mortality! Determined, you venture to do everything in your power to earn that final piece. Helping others left and right, avoiding transgression at every cost, you serve more than you've ever served before! Waiting for the man to come, your love for your fellow pieces intensifies-- this is perhaps the best you've ever been! One...piece... left! For days and weeks on end, you dedicate your life to the service of others; anything to earn that final piece! The other pieces look at you as an exemplar-- for your kindness and love you are awarded friendship and family and love and happiness. What once was the purpose of earning another piece... has now turned into the great satisfaction of ministering to others! You MUST be close now-- one...piece...more. And just when it seems like you can't serve anymore...
You die.
Right there.
Your spirit separates from your body; still missing the piece.
WHERE. WAS. THE. MAN?
In your moment of greatest need, he wasn't there. Feelings of frustration, regret, anger, disappointment... they all race through your mind. Was there more I could do? Was there something I didn't apologize for? What did I do wrong?
Dejected, you float there and reflect on your journey. Suddenly, as if by some magical power, you begin to ascend high above the world you were placed on. What you thought was the end... was only the beginning. As you rise higher and higher, you pass concourses of completed pieces. Your friends and family-- all their holes filled. You begin to notice, you're surrounded by those who were with you in the world-- but as completed versions of themselves! Everyone seems so... happy. So content. So... complete.
Your ascension has taken its course. And here you are-- stopped at the beginning of a great and spacious hallway. Figuring this where you're meant to be, you anxiously walk towards the end. You see, a personage. The shape of a man. He's holding something. As you inch closer... you begin to recognize his face. It's the same man from the world down below! He motions for you to come closer... and in that recognizably soft and tender voice of his he says, "come unto me and be perfected." It is then that you notice, in his hands is your missing piece. You embrace. And as your tears soak his shoulder he whispers, "let us go down and finish what you started." Together you descend to the world you'd loved before and place the final piece in your incomplete collection of fragments. Suddenly, you take upon yourself the very form of the man with all the pieces. You've become like Him. Together you ascend and join your family and friends. All complete, you live in a state of never-ending happiness, having completed your journey in mortality. Forever grateful to the man who holds the pieces-- and who helped you become who you always wanted to be.
A simple fragment, a piece of something greater-- and that something greater, is you.
This is all a metaphor for mortality. As made quite evident through the story, we are fragments! The fragment is you... literally. We all come down to Earth broken and incomplete. We, of ourselves, are just a piece a greater whole. We realize more of who we are and what we can become when we serve others and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. We become more ourselves when we forget who we are and focus on what we can become through service and obedience. When we sin, we separate ourselves from who we truly are and from God. We distance ourselves from divinity and our divine identity. God has promised, however, that as often as we repent, he will fix our broken pieces and make us whole. As we continue to serve and to love, we become more of what God needs us to be. Jesus Christ is the peacekeeper-- or should I say... the "peace-maker." There is only true peace in Christ and we can only find our true, "pieces" in Him as well. He comes to us with the completion of forgiveness in reward for our diligence and repentance. He has proved his credentials through his sacrifice to fix our broken pieces. He might have been bruised, broken, and torn for us... but because of Him- no bruise, break, or tear ever need be permanent because he has overcome them all! He rushes to our aid with blessings whenever we do good, and with forgiveness whenever we apologize for doing bad. However, despite all of our best efforts in this life, we cannot attain completion nor perfection here. Perfection is in Christ-- and it is only after this life that he can fill us in with the final piece. The peace of the resurrection! And it is then, at that moment, that we shall dwell in the mansions that are prepared for us in heaven above, in a state of never-ending happiness, in our perfect families, and with our perfect peacemaker! This life is a time for men to realize... that they are broken. They are apart of something so much greater than they even realize. We may be fragments-- but through Him, we can be made whole, perfect, and complete.
I think we all have those weeks where we feel a little broken-- and I think God does that on purpose. Naturally, we all need fixing. But we in our imperfect states, don't realize we need to be mended until we are obviously broken. The best way our Heavenly Father has found to help his children to access the fullness of the blessings of his son's sacrifice, is to challenge them. To try them. To give them opposition and hard times. It is then, in our brokenness and in our greatest need, that we realize we can't do it alone. We don't realize we need help until we're helpless. And our loving, "one by one" God is always there to provide the blessings we need for our spiritual healing. His son has all the missing pieces-- we just need to realize we are incomplete to be perfected.
We felt a little broken this week. The opposition continued, but so did the blessings of the Lord. If you're having a bad week... or bad week[s]... prepare for a blessing... or many blessing[s]. Whenever an appointment fell through, we were able to see a miracle in opposition. When one door slams another opens!
My dearest friends, I love this Gospel. I love being a small fragment in the work of the Lord. I am humbled by my brokenness and recognize the greatest need for the peacemaker himself. I know that this Gospel is in the only way that we can discover who we really are! The Father has a great plan for all of his precious pieces and we each individually fit together to complete and fulfill all his purposes. This life is the time for men to... be a fragment! Perfection doesn't come in this life-- he holds the final piece. So be patient with your pieces, and embrace your journey here in mortality! I love you all so dearly. And the GREATEST shoutout to my beloved Sister for starting HER journey this Wednesday. Sister Boyd finna enroll in the Lord's University. I couldn't be more proud. LOVE YA XELA! And ELDER BOYD LOVES THE REST OF Y'ALL! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!
From an incomplete fragment, trying every day to be more complete
Fragment (Elder) Boyd
This Week's Facebook Post:
Xela, my literal sister in Zion.
Ill love you forever. And I know that the blessings of God will be upon you as you earnestly labor in his service. You will play an irreplaceable part in the building up of his Kingdom as you comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.
I couldnt ask for a better sister. And I know that Texas couldn't ask for a better sister either. You will be a blessing in the lives of so many others-- like you have been a blessing in mine.
In the words of Ammon, "I can only say the smallest part of what I feel." But in the greatest way, I wish the Lord's choicest blessings of success, safety, and love to be upon you as you serve Him and the people of the South.
Luck be to Texas for the matchless gift of sister Xela Boyd. My sister in Zion.
This Week's Pics:
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