WEEK 68 - GRATEFUL in OUR CIRCUMSTANCES

Happy Thanksgiving, Universe!

I might be a few days late, but at least I got to say it! Anyways, hello friends, family, and beloved comrades in the battle we call life. 'Tis I once more, the great and hilarious elder from South Jordan, Elder Z.S.Weber, here reporting in once again on a wonderful week spent out here in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. Now, normally, I go through every day of the week (or at least most of them) and explain the wonderful and fantastic things that happened over the course of the past seven days. But, to be completely honest, this week was mostly a blur. I mean, you know how it is with weeks that have holidays right in the middle of them! It just seems as though all days preceding the event are a mixed blur of colors that you can't quite clearly remember.

So, rather than struggle to remember what we actually did over the past week, I've decided to just skip straight ahead to Thanksgiving morning, and spend the bulk of my email there. Here we go!

So, Thanksgiving morning was honestly one of the greatest mornings on my mission so far. The first reason was because we were invited to have breakfast at the Taysoms, a senior missionary couple that serves in the Mission Office, and breakfast was going to be pie! So, we quickly got dressed and headed out to go when we saw the second reason that morning was so great. It snowed! Finally! I can't recall all the number of times Yahoo and other weather services had predicted snow and had been wrong, but there were a lot of them. To see the white fluffy coldness all across the yard and driveway, even while knowing we'd eventually have to shovel it clear, brought a familiar happiness to my heart.

After we scraped the ice off of the car and eased our way out of the snow-covered drive, we quickly made our way over to the Taysoms, at about the same time that the Zone Leaders, Elders Shawcroft and Lete (Leh-tay), got there. While we waited for the other Elders to show up, we decided to give the Taysom's son and grandson, who were over for the holiday, a hand in shoveling their drive-and-walkways. Elder Oaks also lent a helping hand in getting their Christmas tree up and spruced up (heh, get it, spruced! 'Cause it's an artificial pine tree, and spruce is a pine tree, and...yeah). After the lights were all strung up and the drive was clear, a few more companionships (Elders Hancock, Lester, and Murphy from Big Thompson, and Elders McMillan and Thompson from Longview) showed up, and it was finally time for breakfast.

Oh my gosh! There were so many different types of pies out! There was Razzleberry (I practically dove to claim that one), Pumpkin, Apple, Lemon Meringue, something delicious made of coconut milk and chocolate! It was awesome! After everyone was done with their pies (I had about four slices...bad decision), Sister Taysom asked us if we thought we had time for a game. Seeing as none of our dinners started until about noon that day, and there was no way you'd be able to get any of us to work in that frozen wasteland outside, we quickly cleared the table and started an interesting Domino game called Mexican Train.

Mexican Train is a lot like Chicken Foot, if you've played that, where in the center of the table you place a double Domino (six-six, five-five, zero-zero), and you play off of it. Each player had their own chain of Dominos they played off of, and there was a separate chain of Dominos called the Community Train, which anyone could play on. If you couldn't play on your chain or the Community Train, then you had to put this little plastic train on your train chain, which wouldn't come off until you could play on your chain. If you had a train on your chain, others could play on that chain as though it was the Community Train chain. The first person to use up all of their Dominos was the winner. I know, very confusing to explain in writing, but it was a lot of fun, and we played quite a few rounds of it (probably around ten or twelve...they were fast-paced rounds, though, so...).

After we were done with our last round of Mexican Train, we all decided it was probably a good idea for us to get back out into the snow once more and get on with the day. Bidding the Taysoms and fair farewell, Elder Oaks and I got into our car and drove off to our dinner, which was only a five-minute drive from their home. While most of the other missionaries had several dinners throughout the day (some had six!), we had only the one. But, with pie for breakfast, and a long day of shoveling our member's mile-long driveway awaiting us, having just the one dinner was fine by me. And it definitely was great. We had dinner with the Harris', an older couple that had served as a senior couple in the Mission Office when I first came out into the mission. The dinner was wonderful, a very classic Thanksgiving dinner with chicken and stuffing and yams and mashed potatoes...it was great.

...Well...mostly great.

As we were finishing our dinner and began sharing our Thanksgiving message with the Harris', I was suddenly overcome by this terrible stomach-flipping feeling in the pit of my stomach. Most likely, I just over-ate, and ate way too much in a short amount of time. Whatever it was, though, it was incredibly troublesome. Once we got home, Elder Oaks told me to just lie down and get some rest. I would've fought him on the subject, saying that he needed help shoveling the driveway, but my stomach spoke louder than my mind, and so for the rest of the day I pretty much just laid out on the couch and waited for my stomach to settle. Thankfully it did, and so the rest of the night was spent at the home, studying and playing the board games our members had lent us.

So, yeah, that was my Thanksgiving this year. Pretty awesome, if you ignore the whole eating-so-much-I-got-sick part. But, yeah, this year's Thanksgiving was great. Plus, with that time at the end of the day, I was able to get some good studying in, which means I've got a great Spiritual Message today! Hope y'all like it!

Recently when I've been doing my studies, I've been reading General Conferences from the last few years. Something surprising to me is that a lot of the brethren speak about being 'grateful in our circumstances'. In the Doctrine and Covenants (as well as other bodies of scripture), we are asked to "thank the Lord (our) God in all things" (Doctrine and Covenants 59:7). In the Book of Alma, Alma the Younger counsels his son Helaman to "let thy heart be full of thanks unto God" (Alma 37:37). These prophetic counsels from the ancient prophets are echoed to us in our day, yet the desire to be filled with thanksgiving unto the Lord is hard to find. Many of us face trials in our lives that are hard and burdensome. This world is a hard and burdensome world to live in, and as such, it can be hard to see what we have to be thankful for.

May I share a story with you of how we can be continually thankful? The story is one you all know well (if you're members, that is). It is the story of Nephi and his family traveling across the seas to the land of promise. After they had been sailing for a while, Nephi writes, "behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.

And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak to them with much soberness; but behold they were angry with me, saying: We will not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us.

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.

And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work." (1 Nephi 18:9-12)

Now, here I will break for a moment. Keep in mind all that Nephi has done for his family, as according to what the Lord has commanded him. He reclaimed the Brass Plates from Laban. He made a bow of wood and went hunting to save his family from starvation. He built the boat that they were currently using to sail to the Promised Land. And yet after all of this, his brothers continue to scorn him, even to the point of binding him to the mast of the ship.

Most of you should know how the rest of this story goes. Because of his brothers' selfishness and stubbornness, even their binding of their younger brother—in short, because of their wickedness—the Liahona stops working. A storm rises, tossing the ship to and fro for four days. Finally, on the fourth day, Laman and Lemuel repent of their actions and free Nephi, who helps them sail through the storm to safety. Now, what stands out the most to me in this story is the attitude of Nephi, who says, regarding the whole event, "I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions." (1 Nephi 18:16)

Throughout that entire experience, Nephi didn't murmur once. He didn't even pause to wonder, "God, why must I suffer this?" He didn't say anything like that. Instead, he praised God. He knew in his heart that all would be right. He was able to look past the terrible conditions he was in, and praise and thank the Lord. Even in his terrible conditions, he was able to see the blessings the Lord had previously given him, and continued to give him. He was able to take a step back and say, "I understand, Father. This is a moment for me to prove myself to you. Thank you for trusting me that I can overcome this."

This is the counsel I give us all, including myself as I know I still need to work on this. If we only take the time to look past our trials and see the blessing of God around us, we can find our lives filled with happiness. You can start small if you need to. You have families that love you, friends to support you. You have the love of the most supreme and powerful being in existence to strengthen you. You truly are blessed. Be of good cheer, and praise the Lord, for his goodness surrounds all of us. There is much to be grateful for in our lives, regardless of our situations. We just have to open our eyes to it. This I say in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 67 - UNITY, DUTY, DESTINY

Hello and aloha, my dear family, friends, and extended acquaintances!

It is I, the great and impressive Elder Z.S.Weber, back from another
long and laborious week of work, and ready to start a new one off
right, here in the Mariana Butte Ward, the Loveland Stake, the
Colorado Fort Collins Mission! To start off, things have been going
alright here for me and Elder Oaks. We've had a few vicious bouts with
the weather (just when I though Nebraska was the windiest state I'd
serve in), but other than that we're doing well. The work is slow, and
incredibly hard, but it's well worth any amount of trouble. I'm glad
to be out here.

Okay! Enough with the sappy beginning! On to the week-summary!

So, this week started off like a bullet shot from a sniper rifle. Some
of you might remember that every once in a while on my mission, I've
gone on Exchanges with the District Leader or his companion. Well,
that's how we started the week off—with Exchanges with our District
Leader, Elder Hancock. 

Now, in most Exchanges cases, the senior
companion in a companionship and the District Leader swap companions
for the day. However, because Elder Hancock is in a tripan (three
elders instead of two) he was able to leave his area with his
companions, and come be a part of a temporary tripanionship in our
area.

How'd that go for us? Absolutely great! After doing service at the ARC
thrift store, we headed out for dinner, and then made our rounds
throughout the Ward. Elder Hancock really wanted to stop by some
members that had recently merged into the Mariana Butte Ward. One of
the members just so happened to be the very same one that shouted at
us last week to leave him and his family alone. Needless to say, we
made certain to give that house quite the distance. However, when we
thought the evening wouldn't end well, we decided to stop by a name
Elder Hancock thought he recognized. It turned out it was the mother
of a former companion of his, from back when he was serving in Maine.
After sharing a spiritual message for the night, we headed back home,
pleased with our work for the day.

Tuesday was quickly followed by Wednesday, with another District
Meeting. As part of the District Meeting, Elder Hancock asked all of
us to show up in athletic clothes, with a change of proselyting
clothes. The message he wanted to share with us was the importance of
trust in a companionship, so we started the District Meeting off by
playing some relay games in the gym. These included—but we're not
limited to—the wheelbarrow race, leap frog, and the trust fall (felt
so bad for those missionaries whose companion was almost twice their
size...). It was loads of fun, and actually got all if us thinking as
to the importance if strength and trust in the companionship.

Thursday was an interesting day, as for the first time in a long time,
we had appointments that completely filled out our time for the day.
Usually, we have a couple of hours at the end of the night where
everything is dead, and there's very little to do. However, this week,
we got a call from one David, who was an inactive member hoping on
returning to activity, and wanted to take the lessons. So we set an
appointment with him, got all set up to teach a lesson. We visited the
other less active members we had set up for appointments that evening,
and then swung by his place to end our day on a high note!

...he wasn't home. So, we're working on getting in touch with him, and
getting a new appointment later this week!

Finally, this week really came to a close on Friday. The day had been
filled with rough times—rejections at the doors, many rude less
actives, and very exhausting hours of nothingness. Luckily, we were
able to end the night fairly nicely, as we were able to go to an
Elders Quorum social at the church. The Elders brought ice cream,
fixings, and several different games to pass the time by. Now, I know
it's not as satisfying a way to end the week as, say, teaching an
investigator and getting them lined up for baptism...but chocolate ice
cream and a few games of Uno and Spoons can at least come close!

Anyways, on to my spiritual message for the week! Remember earlier,
how I said for District Meeting, we did a lot of trust-based
activities done to show the importance of trust in a companionship?
Well, there was one companionship that was clearly divided. One had
followed the District Leader's counsel, and came in athletic clothes.
His companion, however, had chosen to be strict about the White
Handbook rules, and came to the activity dressed in a suit. His
companion was eager to do the activities, but he simply sat back,
saying, 'object lessons in District Meeting are stupid, and I'm not
going to be a part of it'.

Luckily, the District Leader was able to help the companion that
wanted to join the activity, and served as his temporary companion.
However, the exchange between the two companions stayed with me. In a
companionship, unity is one if the most important principles. A house
divided upon itself shall not stand, and neither can a companionship.
If one companion wants to go out tracting—because he wants to be
obedient, even though he knows it's hard work—and the other doesn't
want to do anything, it will cause a divide in the companionship.
They'll start to argue, and before you know it, the work is at a
standstill, because the two cannot work together.

This doesn't just apply to missionary work, though. All our lives, we
are going to have to work with or be around other people. We can't do
everything on our own, and we're gonna need help. Fortunately, I was
blessed with loving parents who understood the importance of unity in
marriage, and (from my point if view) always stood united in their
actions. They might've disagreed in some places or some points, but in
spite of that, they worked past their issues, learned to look at the
bigger picture, and—together!—decided on a path that would best
benefit the both of them, or their children.

That is the type of unity we all should seek for in life. We might not
be able to get along with everyone we meet, but we can at least work
together in unity, putting our personal views to the side. If we learn
to do that, we can find this world to be a much more peaceful one to
live in. This is my personal prayer, in the sacred name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 66 - YOU NEVER KNOW...

Hey everyone! It's-a me, Elder Z.S.Weber, sending out another epic
weekly email on how my life in the mission is going. And, well, things
are going okay, aside from me and Elder Oaks being completely ticked
off with the weather. If you're thinking about what weather app you
should get for your newest digital device, let me give you some
advice. Whatever you choose, do not go with Yahoo weather! It's crazy,
but it seems like every other hour, it has a different guess as to
what the weather is gonna be. This last week, it said we were gonna
have a big storm come through, drop about a foot of snow, get down to
below freezing all week. Well, we did get snow...a half inch of it
that melted before the sun even finished rising!! And that's just one
of the many weather predictions it botched up!

So, yeah...that was my rant on weather apps...anyways...

This week was pretty different, all things considered. So, this week
started off with Tuesday. This Tuesday was going to be fairly special,
because we had planned to go out on Exchanges with our District Leader
and his companion. I say 'had planned' because at about three in the
afternoon, we got a call from the District Leader saying that that
Exchanges were being cancelled. Apparently, he wasn't feeling well
(out of respect, I will not go into any specifics, including his
name), and after getting checked out, his condition was deemed bad
enough for him to need to go home. So, that meant we'd be without a
District Leader. The Lakeside District was District Leaderless. Talk
about scary situations.

Now, the reason why the situation was so scary, at least for us
elders, is because we know that there aren't any extra elders just
sitting around, waiting for a calling to be vacant so they can swoop
in and fill it. Which would mean the title of District Leader would
fall onto one of our shoulders. And as the elder with the least
leadership experience in the group, I was pretty much betting that
just for the heck of it, they'd give the mantle to me. (cue sarcastic
'yaaay') Thankfully, that was not what happened. Rather than suffer
from the struggle of assigning a new District Leader, President Brown
dissolved the Lakeside District, and Elder Oaks and I became members
of the Berthoud District.

Because of the reassignment, Elder Oaks and I had our District Meeting
the very next day. After a brief introduction to everyone there, we
were able to enjoy a nice District Meeting that I quite honestly can't
really remember anymore. But, it was a good one, that much I do know.
Right after District Meeting, though, we headed back home, got
changed, and went to work at our newest service project. Called Hearts
and Horses, it's a fairly small organization situated right beside our
host family's house. Basically a horse boarding and training ground,
our duties lie mostly in being the extra muscle they need to keep the
place looking nice—sweeping the dirt off of the walks, taking care of
the garbage, and other basic duties. All in all, it's looking to be a
nice service opportunity for us!

So, that was our Wednesday from this week. Thursday, as well, was very
interesting. This last Sunday, we decided to plan to go on splits this
last Thursday, with some of the Melchizedek Priesthood holders in our
Ward. Well, Thursday evening comes rolling around, we've got a short
list of names of people to look up and visit, and pretty much no one
shows up. Really, it was just us, Elder Oaks and me, and our Ward
Mission Leader, Brother Thorpe. So, with the three of us, we decided
to drive out and meet some of the less active members of our Ward we
had yet to meet. The very first house very much set the mood of our
visits for the evening, though, as the man there just popped his head
out, scowled, and pretty much just shouted at us to leave and never
come back (as well as several other crass and crude words I'd rather
not mention).

So, after several other meetings similar to the one above mentioned,
we decided to just go to the local Dairy Queen, grab a treat, and have
Ward Mission Correlation Meeting. Not that bad way to end the day, all
things considered.

However, throughout all of the craziness throughout the week, perhaps
the best send-off for my week came on Sunday. This past Sunday,
yesterday, was Ward Conference, where members that serve on the Stake
Level come to minister to the members in our Ward. Because these
members can come from several different awards in the stake, I
wondered if I'd recognize anyone from my first area, Fossil Creek,
among them, though I highly doubted they'd remember me. After all, I
was always the quiet one in the companionships I was a part of in my
first area. I was still pretty shy and reserved when it came to
discussions, so I doubted I'd left much of an impression.

Boy, was I wrong. I recognized at least four different Fossil Creek
Ward members there during the Ward Conference—President Crane, the
Stake President; Sister Baer, whose house I went to for Christmas last
year; Brother Adams, who lived across the road from my first host
family, the Houses; and Brother VanTassel, whose family fed the
missionaries just about every other week. Much to my great surprise,
every one of them could clearly remember me! Brother VanTassel even
said that some of his kids had been asking about me and Elder Proffit,
my trainer, to know how we were doing! It all just blew me away, and
brought tears of joy to my eyes.

Which just so happens to bring me to the message of the week.

To most of you reading these emails, I probably sound like a very
confident and charismatic elder, someone who always manages to smile
even the metaphorical sun if missionary work isn't shining. The truth
is, I'm just as susceptible to depression and discouragement as the
next young man, perhaps even more so. I'm very self-conscious, and I
worry about the impressions I leave with people. It doesn't help,
either, that every Ward I serve in, there're stories of 'Legendary
Elders'. You know, elders who always seemed to be in the right place
at the right time, were loved by the entire Ward, and served to the
very limits of their physical, mental, and emotional capacities.
Against that, how was I supposed to measure up?

Yet here I was, almost a full year after leaving my first area, and
the people there were able to recognize me, recall my name, and
welcome me with open arms! I didn't do anything special to earn their
affection, certainly not something to make my memory last even for a
year. All I did was the best that I could do, which I considered to be
not that much, and learn to love being a missionary. And that is what
I've come to a realization this week. You truly never know what impact
you have on the lives of those you've met until you turn back and
look. Oh, I'm not certain for how long my memory will last with those
that I've taught or served beside. Perhaps I'll live another year in
their memories. Perhaps I'll last a lifetime. But one thing I know for
certain is that when you do your best, and serve with all your might,
you leave an impression.

In the name if the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 65 - HURRAH for ISRAEL

Good Morning Universe and all that inhabit it! This is your favorite
Elder from the Colorado Fort Collins Mission, the funny and
charismatic Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in once again with a quick
update on life in the Mariana Butte Ward. But before I get to my
dealings this past week, I feel I should apologize for last week's
summary—or rather, lack thereof. After I got through describing my new
companion, Elder Oaks, I sort of just speedily summarized the rest of
the week into a quick paragraph and then rushed into the Spiritual
Thought. So, this week, I'm happy to declare that I've got some actual
details for this week's update. I hope you enjoy every moment and
message I have to share. With that now said, let's go!

This week started out pretty rough for me, as late Tuesday evening I
came down with a rough bout of nausea that forced us to go home early.
Luckily, after receiving a blessing from Elder Oaks and laying down to
rest, I woke up the next morning ready to get to work, and get to work
we did. Wednesday started off with a Zone Meeting with the other
missionaries in our Zone. It was, by far, the most interesting Zone
Meeting I'd ever had on my mission, because there were a lot of
testimonies given, and several more trainings than what we would
normally have. Perhaps one of the most profound messages was given by
this Elder Hancock, who bore a powerful message on the importance of
continually keeping the commandments of God and not straying from the
path beside the iron rod.

However, because of the depth of the testimonies and the powerful
presence of the Spirit, we ended up going over by about an hour than
what we'd been planning with the meeting, so we had to rush straight
off to service the moment the closing prayer was given. As we went to
work after the meeting, I couldn't help but notice that Elder Oaks was
visibly irritated, obviously because of how late the meeting had run.
I tried to find a way that I could help alleviate his anger, but
finding none, I just hoped that something would happen that would
distract him from his frustrations. As it so happened, Heavenly Father
was able to give me a hand there, as we had a wonderful chance to
teach this woman named Carolyn about the Plan of Salvation and the
purpose of the temple. The spirit was powerful, and afterwords, both
Elder Oaks and I were just broad grins, all thoughts of the meeting
lost in the past.

Thursday was also another awesome day, as we had another wonderful
chance to do service. This time, it was at the local thrift shop,
called the ARC. Our duties at ARC are very simple—we put clothes out
on the racks and keep the clothing area of the store nice and
organized. It can be really rough sometimes—last week especially, with
all of the people coming in last-minute for a cheap Halloween
costume—but it's actually a really nice experience, one that I really
enjoy. Though, I will say that it never ceases to amaze me what you
can find in those thrift shops. Some of these clothes are practically
brand-new from the store! They aren't out of fashion, either, which is
what really has my head spinning. Anyways, it was a great way to spend
the afternoon, just helping people out and doing some very simple
service.

Not much happened on Friday, besides a few meetings with some of the
members in the area and some further digitizing of our area book
records onto our iPads, so we'll be moving on to Saturday! Initially,
not much happened on Saturday, at least for the large bulk of the day.
However, come evening, that changed greatly. Come evening, we had the
happy opportunity to teach the recent convert in the area, one
Richard, right after we had dinner. The lesson—or rather, the
follow-up lesson—was on the Plan of Salvation, a topic that I happen
to know a lot about...perhaps too much about...Nevertheless, the
lesson went great, and we were able to leave the house with a great
feeling in our hearts. Even better, Richard's friend and
fellowshipper, Sister De Giulio (Dee-Jew-Lee-Oh), had her less-active
son over as well, and he seemed to be listening in on most of the
lesson!

So, yeah, this last week was great! It's been a long time since I've
had a week this good—far too long, if you ask me. Now, with our weekly
summary done with, I think it's time we get to our Spiritual Message
of the week!

This week's topic comes from the Zone Meeting we had back on
Wednesday. Towards the end of the meeting, one of the Elders that was
going home at the end of this transfer, Elder Torres, was asked to
give his testimony. His testimony was directed towards being someone's
hero—the person to introduce them to the gospel, or to lead them into
the waters of baptism. At the end of his testimony, he showed a short
clip from the movie, The Other Side of Heaven (if you've never seen
it, I highly recommend it. It's a great movie). The clip showed Elder
Grober and his companion walking down the beach, and Elder Grober
asked his companion why he has so much faith in him. His companion
gave a stunning and powerful testimony about his faith in the church,
of his conversion story, and how he knew Elder Grober's message he has
to share is true and powerful.

As part of this elder's testimony, he shared a story of some of the
first missionaries from the restored church leaving their families
behind as they left for a mission in England. Though they were sick
with fever as they left, still they soldiered on, proud to go about
serving their brothers and sisters. To them, the sacrifices they were
making were small in comparison to the work they were being given the
happy occasion to fulfill. As they rode off, they stood in their
wagon, looked back at their families, and proudly cried out with
voiced like angels, "Hurrah for Israel! Hurrah for Israel! Hurrah for
Israel!"

That same cheer that those missionaries declared is the one I echo now
in my message today, geared towards all those who have been called to
serve—in missions, in callings, or in family. In other words,
everyone. It is expected of us to sacrifice much for the Lord, and
indeed for others. Dreams and visions we have for the future must be
put on hold, or completely set aside, so that the work our Lord has
for us can be accomplished today. Yet, there is still cause to rejoice
and raise our voices in praise. We are doing a marvelous work in our
day. We are building the Kingdom of the Lord where we stand now. Be
not weary of the sacrifices we have given—for the blessings our Lord
has in store for us for serving Him, and serving our fellow men, will
more than make up for it.

Some might say that this is simply wishful thinking, that the
sacrifices in our lives are meaningless, and have no true weight or
value. In truth, they would say that we are wasting our lives in our
service to our God. But these beliefs are false. I bear solemn witness
that the sacrifices we make as members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints—as servants of the One True God—are not simply
wastes of our time, nor are our beliefs that our blessings out-weigh
our sacrifices unfounded or foolish. I know from experience that when
we give our whole selves over to the Lord and let Him lead, He can do
far more great things with us, and make much grander beings out of us,
than we could on our own. This I bear proud witness of, in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 64 - STRENGTH of MORONI

Hello my fellow brothers and sisters of the mortal existence! It is I, the great and incredible Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in to y'all once more with an update on the epic life I'm living as a missionary here in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission! Man, has a lot of things changed since the last time I emailed y'all or what? First of all, I've got a new companion, a new area, and a new Ward that I'm very excited to be working with for the next few months! With so much that's changed, and so much to tell, I guess it's best I just start from the beginning of this week and work my way to today. So, without further ado, here we go!

This week began with me heading out to my new area, the Marianna Butte Ward in Loveland, Colorado—a fairly simple trip from my old area of Erie, Colorado. At least, that's what I thought it'd be, after hearing from the Zone Leaders that I was going to be traveling to my new area via the Transfer Van. 

So, I boarded the van at the Longmont Stake Center with the other missionaries that were heading on to new areas, and got dropped off at the Windsor Building, where I assumed I would wait until my companion came to pick me up. That was why it came as such a great surprise to me that, apparently, my new companion had been told to go pick me up at the Longmont Stake Center, the very building I had just left when I'd boarded the Transfer Van!

After an extra hour of finding a way back down to Longmont to retrieve my companion, I finally got the chance to meet Elder Kendall Oaks, my sixth companion since I started serving in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. Elder Oaks, who was originally serving in the Montana Billings Mission until the big mission change back in April, is a very calm and friendly Elder from San Diego, California—an odd coincidence, because it just so happens that I was born in San Diego, California, just over nineteen years ago. Not only that, but Elder Oaks happens to also be a major Magic: The Gathering player, is a fairly skilled musician, and a very active and eager missionary, happy to do the work he was sent to do. Already, I knew we were going to get along just fine.

The first few days in the Marianna Butte Ward were a little rough on me, as they usually are for any young missionary in the mission field. I was unfamiliar with the streets, the people, and the way the work was handled in the area. However, the usual anxiety that comes with this lack of knowledge quickly swept away as Elder Oaks and I put our hands to work. Between service at the local food bank and thrift shop, to the Ward Trunk-or-Treat and other activities held over the past week, I was able to quickly fall into my proper place in my new home-away-from-home. The Marianna Butte Ward, and the part of Loveland it resides in, is a wonderful place, filled with kind and friendly people...though not all are so willing to listen to the words we have to say...

Still, the work pushes onward, and I couldn't be happier serving where I am now. I'm glad to be doing the Lord's work, and doing whatever I can to bring my fellow brothers and sisters closer to Christ—which just so happens to bring me to the Spiritual Thought!!

This past week, I've spent a large amount of my time reading in the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon—specifically, in the portion of the book known to most members of the Church as the War Chapters. While reading about the different conflicts waged between the Nephites, the Lamanites, and the Nephite dissenters, I came across a passage of scripture that I felt impressed to share with y'all today. Speaking of Captain Moroni, the chief captain or general of the Nephite armies, the ancient prophet Mormon said;

"And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood...

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." (Alma 48:11-13, 17)

Try to stop and imagine that right there. If every person on earth were like Moroni—if everyone was firm in the faith of Christ, and followed after Him as closely as they could in their lives—the very powers of Hell would've been shaken forever, and the Adversary would have no power over us. We would be a people that could stand up against the trials and temptations around us, and never falter, because of the faith we would have in Christ, the Son of the Living God.

This promise that Mormon gives us stands true even now. If we turn our whole hearts to Christ, and seek to follow him in faith, we can have the strength and the power to overcome every temptation or trial the Adversary dares to send our way. Now, don't take this lightly. It takes a lot of work to get to that point of total dedication to God. Even as a missionary, who is expected to keep his mind solely focused on the work, my mind still betrays me every once and again by thinking of things I could be doing back home. So, for now I won't ask y'all to completely focus on Christ-like life. All I ask is this.

Take a look at your lives now. See where your personal worthiness with God stands right now. Could you use some work? Sure, we all do. So find out what part of your personal worthiness you're lacking in—personal studies, personal prayer, virtuous thoughts, clean language, whatever—and improve on it. If you feel you're doing pretty good where you're at, then great! Now push yourself further. God doesn't expect us to be completely perfect during our mortal existence...but He does expect us to try to get as close as we can. As we do, we'll find that our lives will be even greater filled with happiness and light, so much so that we'll practically be overwhelmed by the level of love our Father feels for us each and every day.

This promise I give unto each of you, in the name of our Lord and Master, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber