"There they are...." Elder Stirland said, staring at the gargantuan ferry gliding into the harbor. The dark evening water swirled in defense.
Missionaries from various areas in the mainland began to walk from the ferry to the terminal across the bridge. Gleaming with fresh faith for their next transfer assignment.
"You know what we have to do now..." said Elder Stock.
"What's that?"
"Put this faith to work..."
Missionary work is like anything in the gospel and in life. You get out of it what you put into it. Having faith in missionary work consists of firstly BELIEVING in the work. That it is divine. That it is the cause of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That it truly is the lifeblood of the church. That salvation truly does come through it. Secondly, we need to ACT on that belief and truly give of our whole souls in the work. This is the part that gets all of us. I bet you that almost everyone of us that is an active, even halfway faithful member of the Church has a BELIEF in missionary work. But that is sadly only one half of faith.
It's the DOING that is challenging. And even as a full-time, set apart missionary, I can attest that sometimes it is not easy to do what we do. But I was reminded this week of the principle of faith that keeps us all going. And it is that fear, which is the only obstacle we face in this work, is opposed to faith. And that as we have true faith in Christ and His work, that fear will be dispelled and we will find success.
I know that as we truly continue to always be partaking of the fruits of the gospel and continually come unto Christ, that we will have that true faith that dispels all fear. And we will find success. No matter what we do in our lives. As the prophet Jacob said during an incident in his life that was meant to shake his faith, "I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken..." (Jacob 7:5). Let's be more like Jacob this week, and remember the conversion we have. Let's remember, as he did, the countless experiences we have had with the Spirit of God, and hold fast to those. And as we do, we will not be shaken.
This week, our whole zone was basically changed as we started the new transfer with new transfer assignments. And everyone seems to be so excited to start working so hard in their areas. We are truly grateful for everyone's enthusiasm. I myself am grateful to be here. Nanaimo is a blessed place, and I am with an awesome companion. SHOUT OUT TO ELDER STIRLAND!!!! HE IS THE BOMB!!!
I had the incredible opportunity this week to teach a kid named L more of the restored gospel. He is so excited to join the church and continue to learn more about Jesus Christ. We have been using some videos from discover.mormon.org that really help people, especially kids, to learn and understand the gospel.
I am amazed at how simple this gospel really, truly is. We fasted for our investigators and our area, that more would hearken to the Spirit and progress quickly in the gospel. As we did so, one of our investigators, G who has struggled with drinking for his entire life and has been scared to progress to be baptized, called us and told us he wants to stop drinking and be baptized, that he needs to get over his fear. I know that the Lord is in this work.
The joy I feel from living the gospel is so intensely real and enriching. It is true, and it will bless lives forever. I am grateful for everything that we have as members of this restored Church of Jesus Christ. Especially for the Book of Mormon. I know that it is true, and that it is the words of Christ. I know that as I have testified countless times of it throughout my mission, and as I continue to testify of it throughout my life, that it will never cease to be true. I know that as you and I always continue to be partaking of the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we will not be shaken. I testify of this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Sincerely,
Elder Stock
The elders in the zone for the new transfer. Let's go, Nanaimo!!!
Planner cover for the new transfer!
A sick 1970s Book of Mormon with RED pages that I scored in an apartment I cleaned out!
Photo from Ashwani Kumar Sinha in Nanaimo.
No comments:
Post a Comment