Hello Everyone! I hope you are all just having an absolutely wonderful day. Mine has been good. Every P-day morning starts right with Zumba. I forgot to include it in my email last week, but President and Sister Merritt came down and did Zumba with us! It was fun to have them there too.
This week has been good. I've tried to focus on really stretching myself when it comes to talking to everyone and it has led to more good fruit! I have found I just have to open my mouth and the words just come. Sometimes it doesn't work and I say something weird or wrong, but most of the time it works and I have utterance. We've also been giving out more copies of the Book of Mormon than the past few weeks, which would be a natural fruit of talking to more people. Been thinking a lot about the scripture D&C 123:17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed".
We went up to Calipatria on Sunday, which has the "World's tallest flagpole" according to the town. But, according to Google, the Dushanbe Flagpole in Tajikistan holds the Guinness record at 541 feet high, versus Calipatria's 184 feet. It was probably the tallest at the time that it was built, but it's not anymore. This member lady on Monday, Sister Gow was talking about it. Calipatria is below sea level, but the flagpole is tall enough that the flag is just above sea level. She feeds us the Missionaries every Monday and gives them a Lei, which is a Hawaiian necklace thing, at our first time there. It was my first time this week because we've had things come up the past few Mondays and haven't been able to go.
Not much else for this week. Our friends are kind of progressing, a lot of them just need to come to church. Only one of them did out of our goal of 4. A lot of them weren't able to meet this week. Yolanda had a good week though. She didn't come to church, but we had a lesson on Wednesday and emphasized the importance of reading/listening to the Book of Mormon. She said she'd do it and listened to the first bit of 1 Nephi, and then she went crazy on the Book of Mormon videos and binge watched at least like 70% of them. That was awesome, but when we went over on Saturday we also said actually listening to it would help fill some gaps. Her progression seems to be picking up though. She wants to come to church, and she'll eventually make it.
On Thursday? (I think) we had exchanges and that's when we met with Dane and Lacey (our friends from last week's email), or at least Elder Creasy and De Osambela did. They taught them the Restoration and said it went really well. Dane asked "What if I wanted to become a Mormon" and Creasy told him if the Book of Mormon is true, then that means he should get baptized into the church. They said they would read it. We haven't been able to meet them since, and they've been busy with Memorial day weekend, but I am excited for them.
For my spiritual thought, I wanted to share the talk that I gave in Sacrament meeting this past Sunday. Warning: It's a little bit on the longer side, but I enjoyed giving it and writing it. It was a cool experience writing the talk, because it just felt like it all came to me almost all at once. I wrote it faster than I have any other talk.
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Good morning brothers and sisters! It is good to be with you this morning.
For those who I have not yet met, my name is Elder Hyrum Wride. I have been serving here in Brawley just for a couple weeks, and I am enjoying this place so far. All except the heat which, I know, has scarcely started. I have been on my mission for over 20 months, and have served in 6 other areas in the San Diego area: Poway, City Heights, Otay Ranch, Lakeside, Encinitas and National City. I go home at the end of August and Brawley will likely be my last area.
I am originally from Sandy, Utah and I come from a big family of 13 kids! Yes, that is 13, 10+3. My mom is a tough lady. I am the 4th oldest and we range from the oldest being 23, to the youngest turning 1 this Wednesday. It was, and still is crazy, but I loved growing up in a big family and each of my family members are dear to me. Before my mission you could find us traveling a lot, trying things like mountain biking and skiing, or doing music! We play a decently wide variety of instruments including the Saxophone, Flute, Violin and Trumpet. We have not yet started our own band, but it is still a possibility. I also enjoyed hanging out with my friends doing airsoft, playing xbox, or doing other fun things. When I return home, I will be going to BYU Idaho this fall.
My mission thus far has been both a difficult and rewarding experience. As I am coming up on the end, it feels like my whole mission is flashing before my eyes! I am excited to go home, and see my loved ones again, but it will be hard to leave because from my mission I have gained the greatest blessing of my life, which is the growth of my testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Today, I wish to speak on conversion and testimonies.
Our Prophet, Russell M. Nelson, has invited us to know the truth of our conversion and our testimonies. He has said:
"I plead with you now—to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women. As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life."
Our day to day life has many demands, and it can be difficult and rigorous to consistently keep our focus on the Lord and on our testimonies. But it is the most important thing for us to gain during our mortal experience and we can never lose sight of that.
I wish to share my personal experience. There is a saying that I like, that whether you grow up in the church, or convert to it later, we are all still converts. I grew up in the church and in the gospel to a wonderful and strong family. As a young man, I had a testimony of some things in the gospel, but it was greatly lacking. I wasn't putting in much effort into the gospel or into my own testimony and I felt like I didn't really understand or believe a lot of it. However there were some reasons I believed, or what I like to refer to as my anchors for why I stayed:
- Number one was my Patriarchal Blessing. If you don't know much about Patriarchal Blessings, they are basically special blessings available to baptized members of the church. You only receive one for your life, and it will be written out to review again and again. It gives words of promise, counsel, and lifelong guidance intended solely for the recipient. Reading it again and again can bring me new meaning through different life experiences. I received my Patriarchal Blessing at 14 years old. Looking back, I am not sure if I understood or prepared for it as much as I should've, but it was still a powerful witness to me of the gospel and it continually grows to be. I had never previously met the Patriarch who gave the blessing, and yet, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he gave very specific counsel, and foretold of events and blessings that would occur during my life and even during my full-time mission. Many of the promises have proved true, and others will come in time.
- Another anchor was when I went to an EFY experience, which is a week long church sponsored event for youth full of activities about gospel learning, making friends, and just having fun! It was a great experience to be more personally immersed in the gospel than I ever previously had been and I felt a lot of happiness and joy.
- My family was another witness to me. Both my parents had served missions, as well as much of my extended family, and I could discern how the gospel had blessed our lives. There were many fruits of the gospel and of the church as a whole that I both saw in others lives, and in our own. It felt like our home was a sanctuary, or a little bubble from the rest of the world.
These things stood as anchors for my testimony during my childhood and youth. They helped me feel that there had to be something to the church. But like I said earlier, I felt like I was still missing a huge piece of the truth and I depended on the testimony of my parents a great deal. When I read the scriptures, I was reading more words than concepts and teachings and it was rather boring. Overall, I was very unsure of the Scriptures, the Book of Mormon, of Joseph Smith, of the church in whole, and of Jesus Christ.
As my mission drew closer, I got scared! I always knew I was going to serve since I was young, but the idea of flaking out of it seemed like a much more appealing path as the clock was ticking. I knew the Mission would be hard and long and it scared me. Eventually the time came and I was set apart. As I went into the first few days into the Missionary Training Center (or MTC), it almost felt like EFY again. I got to know more people, and my MTC District, and I remember feeling the spirit and joy more abundantly. For the first time in my life, I would be free from a great deal of distractions or other cares of day to day life for 2 years! I felt like I could finally really dive head first into the gospel and I loved it. I fell in love with the Personal Study time I had to read the Book of Mormon. Before my mission, I had read the Book of Mormon, back to back, on my own 3 times and was very familiar with the stories, but this time it was different. The teachings and doctrine weren't boring, but they came to life! And, in a way, it felt like I was reading it for the very first time! I couldn't believe the things I was reading had always been there. It was amazing to me.
To come to know the Book of Mormon is true, there is a promise in Moroni 10:3-5. It says
"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
As a young man, I had always imagined a singular moment where I would pray about it and find out that it was true. But in my experience, there wasn't just one moment where I learned it was true, but overtime, I received frequent and consistent spiritual witnesses as I continued to study. It is just as it says in 2 Nephi 28:30
"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have."
The Lord will do His part and teach us by the Spirit, but we are asked to study, be humble and open hearted, and to have faith. We have to be patient in the little by little process, and as we keep going we will find our faith growing.
The Book of Mormon Prophet Alma the Younger is a great example of this. He went around seeking to destroy the church and did a lot of damage, and the Lord sent an angel to appear to him to call him to change. Alma was struck dumb, fainted, and for some time he "was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins" (Alma 36:12). He called upon the Lord for forgiveness and he received great joy. His experience was miraculous and we sometimes may wish for a sign or witness as extreme as an angelic appearance. But Alma, when bearing his testimony of Jesus Christ says
"Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me." (Alma 5:46)
It was not just the angel that converted Alma, as miraculous as that was. It was his consistent study and effort in learning the gospel. To gain and strengthen our testimonies, we must do the same thing. We focus on the little daily things like personal prayer and scripture study, church attendance and spending time in the temple. Anything that centers our lives on the Savior, will invite the spirit and confirm truth to us. The spirit has confirmed the truth of the Book of Mormon to me time and time again. I am so grateful for the testimony I have gained on my mission. It is scary to consider the thought of how my life would've been different if I had chosen not to serve. I don't know that I would stay active in the church, or if I ever would've understood the gospel to the same level.
I still have a lot of questions and wrestles, but these are secondary to the primary questions. In fact what really matters are the primary points and the core doctrines of the gospel. The 3 main primary questions are
1) Is there a God in Heaven who knows and loves us?
2) Did Jesus Christ really live, die, and rise again and enable us to live with God and our families again?
3) Was Joseph Smith a Prophet who translated the Book of Mormon?
These questions are the important questions. Other questions may be difficult or confusing, but when compared to the primary questions, they are insignificant. Because of the primary answers, we can see things with an eternal perspective and know that because of Jesus Christ, everything will be okay!
President Nelson has also said "The joy we experience has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives". If I were to put this in my own words, I would say: Any and all types of adversity, when compared to the core truths and promises of the Gospel, become small. Despite all the sufferings, temptations, weaknesses and all other types of mortal trial, we have no reason but to have joy! We have the answers! We know what the ultimate outcome will be! That, if we are faithful, and by the grace of Christ, we will one day return to the presence of our God and we will become as He is. That is the eternal perspective and that is what really matters, and it is all because of Jesus Christ.
If you don't yet have a testimony, or feel that it is weak, I either refer you to Alma 32:27 which says
"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words"
Faith starts small, and that is okay! That may have been the way it was intended to be. From that small seed of faith, or desire to believe, your faith can grow until it becomes unshaken faith.
I hope we can always remember that we are abundantly blessed. We have Jesus Christ, we have modern Prophets and Apostles, we have the Priesthood on earth, we have Temples, we have the scriptures, we have the gift of the Holy Ghost. I hope we will accept President Nelson's invitation to take charge of our testimonies and to live true to our conversion.
Now, a quick word on Missionary work and the gathering of Israel. The gathering of Israel is the most important work happening on the earth today. It is the sharing of the gospel to all people everywhere, and welcoming them to become a part of the House of Israel, who are the Lord's people. This gathering body is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Anciently, the Lord promised that he would gather together his people and that his sheep would hear His voice. As members of the church, we are asked to love, share and invite those around us to come and see. All people are children of God and he desires them to experience the blessings of the full gospel of Jesus Christ. As His servants, we can be the means by which the Lord does His work and be instruments in His hands.
But, we are not asked to engage in the gathering of Israel because it is dependent on our participation. The Lord is able to do His own work, and if we choose to not engage or are passive in the work, the gathering will continue without us. The reason the Lord asks us to engage is because He is eager to bless us and His children around us. By sharing His gospel we can experience great joy, rest, and the greatest of blessings.
Concerning this work, may I offer a few suggestions of things that you can do:
1) One of my favorites is when members simply invite their friends, neighbors, or others over to their home! That could be for a meal, FHE, or other activity. This gives them an opportunity to feel the Spirit in your home which, according to the Bible Dictionary, is comparable to the temple in terms of sacredness. In that visit, focus on getting to know them and building your relationship with them.
2) Share the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is our sickle, or gathering tool that has been given to us by the Lord. It is convincing evidence of the Restoration. You might consider re-listening to Elder Rasbands talk from the October 2022 General Conference called "This Day". You could share a Book of Mormon verse, the app, or personally deliver a hard copy. This is what the Prophets and Apostles are doing with world and government leaders! Surely, it is not too much to ask to share it with your friends or neighbors.
3) Reach out to our inactives! We have so many of them and every member here has access to contacting them through the directory which is on the app LDS tools. A simple phone call or visit that sends the message "We are thinking about you" is worthwhile.
I also share the Prophet's call, that the Lord has asked every able young man to serve a mission. I promise you Young Men that it will be one of the best decisions you ever make. I also invite the young women here to consider if the Lord would have you serve a mission. I promise you great blessings if you do so.
I invite you all to consider those around you who you could share the Gospel with and to involve the Lord in the process. I promise that the Spirit will impress upon you what you can do, because everyone can do something. I know you want to share the Gospel and that you have been sharing it, but I am just asking that you keep going and seek ways that you can take it to the next level. I invite you to take the work of the Lord seriously. To, as Brigham Young said, pray as if everything depended on the Lord, then work as if it all depended on us.
I leave you with my testimony that the Church is true. As a kid, I always was bothered by the phrase "I know" because I wondered how? I think I understand it now. When I feel the Spirit, and understand, the closest word I can find to expressing my feelings are the words "I know". I feel it and understand it so strongly it is as though I know. But, I do not have perfect knowledge. I have not seen the Savior's face, or felt the prints of the nails in his hands or feet. Neither was I present for the events of the Book of Mormon or early days of the Restoration. I still walk by faith, but it is faith built upon the evidence for, and witnesses of the gospel. One of my favorite scriptures in Hebrews 11:1 says" faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Having faith is not being gullible or naive! We have found very strong evidence to the faith that we have and we can be confident in our testimonies. We can be confident in the witness of the Holy Ghost to our hearts.
Thank you for your goodness and your faith (Finish bearing testimony)
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Hope that wasn't too long. Thanks for reading! Love you guys and I'll check in again next week!
- Elder Wride
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