Elder Jeremy Ashton Boyd

Happy Holidays home boys and girls,

One way in which I have been converted on my mission is made manifest in the amount of attention I paid at Stake Conference this weekend. I'll be honest, I wasn't one of the snoozers in the back pew, but I certainly had my distractions. In case you were wondering there are indeed 12 hanging lights in the above portion of the chapel in my home ward. Anyways, I wasn't the most attentive squirrel in the colony, but I have certainly seen great change in myself from this weekend as I truly feasted upon the great meal that the Lord's appointed servants cooked up this weekend. I hope you TOO found yourself more converted as you have acknowledged your weakness and gloried in the opportunity to be strengthened through Christ. This week could be summarized in one word... OPTIMISM! Optimism through the spirit, and optimism about the work... so saddle on your happy pants friends and family, 'cause we gonna get joyous in this weeks edition of the SLIDELL SCROLLS: TWENTY-SIX.

In the paraphrased words of Elder Bednar, it wasn't so much of what was said... but what was felt that helped me most. I strongly exhort you all to write down the impressions you have when listening to your leaders. Whether it be conference or even a Relief Society luncheon, you will benefit most from what you feel, not what is said. Follow even the little promptings, every whisper of the spirit is worth listening to. But don't just listen... ACT! Faith without works is dead, but impression without initiative is just as muerto. AS you obey, the impressions from the spirit will come more frequently, becoming closer and closer to a constant companionship. As a matter of fact, if you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost today, you may take it as evidence that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is working in your life. SO, take this opportunity, in the season of giving, to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost! I think it no coincidence that the world feels most edified and motivated to serve one another consequently in the same period of time that we celebrate the birth of the Savior... Perhaps the reason people feel so willing to give, is because they feel the Spirit? Perhaps the reason this is everyone's favorite time of the year... is because that favorite feeling is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. As missionaries, all we do is invite people we help every day to feel like Christmas. To make every day, a day accompanied by his sacred companionship. Imagine if you could feel, how you feel around Christmas, all year around? Ask the missionaries, they can help you.

The promptings and impressions I felt this Stake Conference was individually catered to satisfy my spiritual appetites. A few needed nuggets the spirit prompted me to feel during this weekend's 184th semi-annual Stake Conference:

God knows we are weak and simple. So, why should we expect ourselves to be any more than what God already expects us to be?
Most people we teach as missionaries aren't only kept from the truth because they don't know they don't have it.
Our homes should be a reflection of the temples that we are. A place of reverence- the temple may be the house of the Lord but are homes should be houses for the Lord.
When we are impatient with imperfection we are denying the purpose of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

It truly was an edifying instruction that will help me as I continue to help the men and women who will help themselves come unto Christ.

The rest of this week was just, as my other son Elder Cox would call it, an absolute grind. The rains have poured down, but the "sons"( of God) came up! We may have been rejected but not once were we ever dejected! There's actually a super awesome insight in Preach My Gospel that totally applied to this week,

“Discouragement will weaken your faith. If you lower your expectations, your effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken, and you will have greater difficulty following the Spirit...When you have done your very best, you may still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you.”

Although we may not have baptized every day, we didn't let a moment go by where our enthusiasm wasn't a hundred percent. We street balled with the best handles of Miss Franklin's third-grade class. After dunking on my boy Jabari, we earned, "respect" and are now teaching their families the Gospel. I'm sure if Ammon could, he would ball up with King Lamoni instead of cleaning his stables and then teach him the Gospel. We went puddle jumping with a humble Honduran family after the great storm of '18 and shared the Light the World message shortly after. We knocked on a door and a woman said, "you better give me that book" (referring to the Book of Mormon in Elder Jones hand) and covenanted with us that she'd have it read by the morning. There were SO many tender mercies throughout the course of our affliction that we couldn't help but rejoice.

God is so good y'all.

Well, that'll be about it for me this week. We were so blessed and I can't say even the smallest part of how happy and motivated this work makes me. It is the utmost blessing to share the Gospel with my brothers and sisters. I love you all! I have a testimony that his church is truer than true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and through our Savior Jesus Christ, we can all fulfill our purpose in mortality and return to live with our Heavenly Father again in a state of eternal happiness! Don't forget to think about how you feel... to follow every prompting... to be content with being weak, and to NEVER BE DISCOURAGED! You are enough... and those words will change you if you let them. LOVE Y'ALL! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

From a spiritually nourished saint,

Elder Boyd

This Weeks Video & Pics:

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

"The same God that placed the star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem has given equal attention to the placement of each of us in precise human orbits, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well."

In this holiday season, I am most grateful for loves pure light; Jesus Christ. All truly can be calm and bright through the light and life that is our Savior. And although we may not be the light OF the world we can be lights IN the world. In this holiday season, we not only remember and commemorate our Savior but embrace the opportunity to serve and become like him.

Radiant beams will glow from your holy face and glories will truly stream from heaven afar as you strive to consecrate Christmas this season and become more like the Savior. To become a light even as he IS the light.

Though the night may be silent, it need not be dark. Perhaps, the spirit speaks loudest in silence and as we embrace our every day promptings we truly can light the world, one light at a time.

I invite each of you to expect miracles. To share miracles. To be miracles. To expect light. To share the light. To BE the light.

Even as he is loves pure light we truly can illuminate every silent night as we consecrate Christmas through Christ.

#LightTheWorld
#LBRMSingingSunday

Have you ever failed?

I mean, I know it is entirely a personal definition- but according to your own standards, have you ever failed? There are some of you literary gurus out there who would condemn for rhetoric- and yes it is an inevitable happenstance for us mortals, but I think there is so much more to failure than we care to admit. And THAT is what I would like to expound upon in this weeks scroll... A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying and a winner is a failure who never gives up! Where metaphors are in multitude and comparisons are constantly created... we welcome the failures of the world as we enjoy another edition of the SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE!

Failure.

Some would define failure as a lack of success. A missed opportunity. A surplus of difficulty and opposition that prevents our progression. However, I believe perspective is everything when we contemplate the true nature of failure. Now, of course, this is doctrine according to Boyd *casually flips tie over shoulder* but I cannot deny the spirit of revelation. I would rationalize that failure is not a lack of success but rather an alias TO success. Failure is not a missed opportunity but rather in the midst of difficulty (failure) lies opportunity. And YES, failure may be a surplus of difficulty and opposition, but instead of preventing... it prepares our progression. Have you ever planted a village of tomato plants, only to find out a carnivorous bunny has munched your crop? Have you ever slaved the night away on a molecular model for your AP Chemistry class, only to absolutely propel your face into a door and shatter your scholarly dreams away? Failure is a fact of life. As missionaries, we do our best EVERY day to bring souls unto Christ. We carry with us a priceless message that changes the lives of those who have sufficient faith to accept it. We labor with all of our might, mind, and strength to invite families to accept the blessings of eternity... but we fail every day. If you have ever wanted to absolutely devastate a representative of Jesus Christ, promise to come to church on Sunday and then sleep in with your family. One can tell the true love a missionary has for the people they are teaching by the amount of time they spend outside the door waiting when the sacrament has already begun... Failure is to be a missionary. I have not met ONE Elder or Sister who hasn't failed. But the difference in a successful missionary is not measured in the number of failures... but rather the power in trying.

No one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying.

To be worthy does not mean to be perfect.

So have we really failed if we have not succeeded, but have subsequently not stopped trying?

Without effort, we would inevitably fail. And without failure, we would never succeed. Failure sows effort and effort reaps success. Failure is not a mistake... the mistake is in not trying. If you are afraid to fail then you are afraid to try. SO once again, no one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying. One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final. We almost certainly will fail, at least in the short term, but we need not be discouraged. We can be empowered because this understanding removes the pressure of being perfect now. Because of the Atonement, all failures are changeable and temporary except the one that occurs when we give up. So don't EVER give up. The moment we decide to try again, the Atonement can help us. As Brigham Young puts it, "the men and women who desire seats in the celestial kingdom will find that they have to battle every day." Trials will be one of our qualifications to inherit eternal glory; our hardships have an eternal purpose. I have such a testimony of these concepts, they are SO true. Failure is essential to exaltation... pivotal to progression... and integral to improvement.

Okay, I've gone on for a few paragraphs now, so I'll close with this little thought. We are more capable than we realize. It is in our divine identity to do everything God requires of us. As President Nelson put it in the Christmas Devotional, "we have an unlimited capacity to love." No, our ability is not unlimited, but our capacity is! That is a beautiful eternal truth. Maybe, our prayers shouldn't be so much of a plea to change our situations, but rather a humble request to change ourselves so that we can handle the things God is putting us through.. You don't find the happy life, you make it. Mother Teresa says it best, "

“I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I'm supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I'm praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.”

Sometimes we just need to be ducks. Now you may ask yourself, "Elder Boyd why in the great big bayou would I want to be an aquatic water bird?" We can learn a lot from aquatic water birds, random citizens. Underneath the water, they're paddling their little lives away. Wading through water must be incredibly difficult and I am sure it is quite the strenuous task. But, on the surface... the duck is calm, cool, collected. So can we be when we are wading through our own waters... no matter what may lie underneath the surface, we too can be optimistic in opposition.

OKAY, A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WORK:

The day of service was incredible- I love the Light the World Christmas initiative. I encourage you all to participate and share your light! We spent the day moving families, putting up lights and singing songs with the elderly. I can't even EXPRESS how joyous this season makes me. 'Tis the season to light the world!

After what seemed like the craziest week ever, we were rather discouraged about our church prospects. Like I said, the reason failure was on my mind... is because it seemed like left and right people just didn't want the Gospel. Normally it's the missionaries who decide to stop visiting the people they are teaching... but on the contrary, the people we have been teaching have exercised their agency to not see US anymore. SO, you can probably guess why we thought church was going to be a struggle. WELL, IT WASN'T! Ten people out of nowhere, that we have been teaching for some time, just decided to put on their best and come to Sacrament. As I was contemplating the ordinance... I looked out in the foyer and saw our family of five. My joy was full. God truly does know our struggles and rewards our work in his own way!

Other than that, life has been really good. Still blessed with the best and blessed to be in the promised land of Slidell. Elder Jones is truly a friend for life and the MIRACLES ARE COMING! Thank you all for being lights in my life. I am truly grateful for everyone who has helped me to feel the light of Christ! Well y'all, that's about it for this week. REMEMBER, failure is essential and you don't have to be worthy to be perfect! We are ducks... just paddling our way through life... remember to keep a smile amidst all the hard work and opposition. Oh and most important... ELDER BOYD LOVES YOU! HAVE A GREAT WEEK Y'ALL! GO AND LIGHT THE WORLD!

From a constant failure who keeps on trying,

Elder Boyd

This Week's Pics: