"Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken" (D&C 43:16). In this mission, we change natures. Heavenly Father's whole purpose for us coming to this earth, and receiving a body, and being tested and experiencing mortality, is for our natures to be changed. He is not content with us just "getting through" this probationary state. He wants us to thrive, to stretch, to grow, and to become like Him one small step at a time. To leave this experience changed and experienced, and ready for whatever comes next. A mission is the same exact concept. We don't come out on our missions, contrary to popular belief, to "pass something off" of the check list of Mormonism, to gain some R.M. status so that we can get married quicker, etc. We come on our missions to invite others to come unto Christ, to submit our whole will and whole soul and whole heart to God, and allow Him to change us in the process. We come out as blobs of clay, and Heavenly Father starts to make us into something much better than we can ever imagine.
But this change of nature doesn't just start happening as soon as we are set apart and we clip on that famous black name tag. It doesn't just happen one night when we're six months out and realize that this isn't a summer camp anymore. No, this change of heart, this complete and utter makeover of our natures, is a choice. Just like everything in the gospel, we must exercise our agency and CHOOSE to change. Now, how do we do that? I firmly believe that we need to purify our hearts if we want to change anything. And that is the quest that I embarked on yesterday with my amazing companion, Elder Robinson. If this Work is truly to be driven by the Spirit, then we need to be clean and able vessels of the Spirit, to be the tools or the instruments in God's hand that are ready and clean enough for the job at hand. We can't get by on our own strength, intellect, charm, etc. (All of which I basically don't have, anyways...) Rather, "if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach" (D&C 42:14). So Elder Robinson and I have begun a 40 day fast from the behaviors and tendencies that we have that don't necessarily invite the Spirit into our lives and our hearts. And our goal with this is to change our natures, so that we can change the natures of those in our zone. Crazy, huh? Yeah, it's pretty awesome. And it's been very rewarding so far. I feel like the Spirit has been with us in an abundance recently, and we're becoming a lot better at teaching by the Spirit, which is what we are called and set apart to do.
And because of this, "this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work" (Alma 26:3). Our week has gone by so well. We're finding so many new investigators to teach, and we're teaching more than ever in this area, and we're preparing people for baptism, finally! It's the greatest feeling in the world to start to purify yourself. Something that I've struggled with my whole life. But I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that we all can change. We can all become better, and He can cleanse us and purify us. He can change our natures.
This week, we were able to do many things. We enjoyed an awesome BBQ at one of our member's homes. I didn't realize how much I've missed home grilled burgers until that night. SO good. We also got to do another social media blitz, this one wasn't nearly as big, but it was still fun. Our ward mission leader, Brother Silva, is a boss. We're gearing up for Canada Day this Wednesday! It's basically the Canadian Independence Day. Our ward is having a hugh BBQ, and tons of nonmembers and investigators are expected to be at the event. We're pumped. It's just fun to go out now and to talk to everyone. Just to share the message of the restored gospel brings me a lot of joy. Those we're working with are awesome. PLEASE pray for Norman, Nhi, Basil, Kris, Angela, Jerusalem, and Suki, that everything will go well with their teaching, and that they will all have a strong desire to be baptized. Thank you all so much for everything that you do. For the support through prayer, the counsel that you have given me throughout my life, for just being good friends. I hope and pray nothing but the best for you all, because you are all awesome. So have a great week, and keep praying for opportunities to serve and share the gospel with others!
Sincerely,
Elder Stock
Elder Robinson and I emailing
Elder Robinson's GQ-creeper-monkey face
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