500+ Days

Hello everyone!

 

Are my emails boring? I'm kinda tired of emailing each week. They seem pretty redundant. Like. "This is what happened this week... the end." A lot like my journal entries. haha. Actually, I started trying to write more insights from my studies in my journal so that I would have things that are actually worth reading after my mission. Wish I would've started that a year ago.

 

Well, anyways, we focused more on working with the investigators we do have and spent a lot of time working on a list of less active members that the bishopric doesn't really know. A lot of that time is spent with people not answering doors, but we did find 2. One isn't interested but another asked us to call her later this week when she will have her work schedule.

 

Teaching Taylor has been more of a challenge than I thought it was going to be. She thinks that the Book of Mormon says we basically have to be perfect or we can't obtain celestial glory, and we've been trying to tell her that the Book of mormon doesn't say that. Comp study has been pretty boring for a while until this past week. haha we met with her twice and apparently she said she prayed about the Book of Mormon and felt a "no" answer. We told her to try again haha. She wants us to show her that the Book of Mormon is true. She's a factual person and wants that kind of evidence for the Book of Mormon. We tried to emphasize the importance and power of a confirmation from the spirit, but she keeps saying she wants facts. Goodness. There are plenty of factual stories that show the Book of Mormon must be or should be or probably is true and inspired, but that is relative truth, not absolute truth, the difference of which Elder Richard G Scott has talked about before. It's kind of crazy. Testimony based solely on factual evidences and relative truths will not hold the strength necessary for conversion to the gospel. We just need to somehow get that into her head. haha.

 

We started teaching Val this week. He really likes everything to do with the church and is eager to be baptized. He's an odd kid. He likes dancing and video games. haha. His mom wants to take things slow since she's been out of the church for 10+ years so we're setting up appointments with them twice a week. We set a goal with him to be baptized at the end of the month.

 

Lee, the man who took us bike riders as a sign, is getting baptized this saturday. So that'll be pretty cool.

The mission officially splits on July 1st. Transfers are on June 25th, so wherever I end up is the mission I'll be in. I don't really care where I go. Part of me wants to stay here because I know more people and missionaries here but part of me things it would be cool to overlap with Jeren or Grandma and Grandpa. No one knows where they will be since President is having everyone pack, write white wash notes, and go to transfer meeting.

 

So one thing I wrote in my journal from studies was something I realized about all the wars in the Book of Mormon from reading 3 nephi 4 (specifically verses 8-10 and 30-33). Every time it mentions the people praying for strength and support, they succeed, especially when they give thanks afterwards; and when they fail to do so, or are lifted up in their pride, they get totally wiped. I think we can apply that to our individual lives. Wars were some of the big trials they went through back then, and luckily our trials are different. Not necessarily a lot easier, but different. But it applies to whatever we're going through: if we supplicate to the Lord for strength, really putting our faith in him, and give thanks afterwards, we'll always make it through.

 

And with that... I'm out!

 

Love,

Elder Nelson Browning