Hey everybody, how are y'all doing? It's just me again, Elder Z.S.Weber, sending out another quick (not) email-update on how my life as a Missionary is going. And I have to say that things are going good...but first, let's check out the weather for the last week. Starting late in the evening of Wednesday last week, the Boulder-area of the Colorado Fort Collins Mission got hit with a crazy series of storms that lasted up to about Saturday Morning. The storms varied largely from thick snowflakes to pea-sized hail, from slimy sleet and buffeting rain and wind. In spite of the harsh weather conditions, however, Missionaries from the Lafayette, Coal Creek, and other Wards in the area were able to brave the wind, sleet, snow, hail, and rain, and continue serving in their respected callings and duties. Now, the sun is back out again, and as long as the clouds remain on the horizon, it looks to be the start of a nice, clear week, one that we hope will lead to much success and growth. That's all for the weather today, and now back to our main subject for today.
Now then, my week started out with a very surprising change of pace last P-Day (Monday, in case you were wondering), when some of the other Elders in the Boulder Zone asked Elder Buchanan and me to join them on a "quick" hike up the mountains towards the west of us. We decided to go along, hoping we'd be able to get straight to our work again after the hike and get on with the schedule.
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| The "quick" hike |
Well, it turned out that the hike wasn't quite as short as the other missionaries had suggested it to be, and we ended up climbing for about two hours. Now, I have to admit that it was a really fun activity, except for when we were getting back down and my legs were well past the point of feeling like jello. But because the hike took so long, we ended up getting home around five o'clock. Meaning that we had literally a half hour to get showered, dressed in proselyting clothes, and head out the door to drive to dinner. Through it all, we forgot that we hadn't gone to Walmart for groceries yet, so as soon as dinner's lesson was done, we booked it over to Walmart, grabbed what we'd need for the week, and just barely managed to make it back home in time for curfew.
At the moment, I didn't think too much about how the day had gone. It was P-Day, after all, the one day in the week when us Missionaries are given a chance to relax for a bit and relieve ourselves from the stress of our work. But the next day, Tuesday, I was brought to a full realization of my mistake. You see, Tuesday was Interview Day, and I just happened to be the first person that day that President Brown got to interview. The more I talked about the schedule, the more frustrated and disappointed he became. Finally, I told him about how we had gone out in the evening the day before for groceries, because we hadn't had the time in the day to get them. I have never seen President Brown so upset before in my life. He made certain, in that moment, to chasten me as hard as possible and show me that what we had been doing, how frivolously viewing the schedule, was being harmful to us as missionaries. I left that interview room with my tail between my legs and my head bowed. But though I had felt slightly beat and depressed, I knew in my heart that President Brown's words weren't of anger, but of kindness. He wanted me to reach my full potential as a missionary, and with that in mind I vowed in my heart to work as hard as I could to being obedient this week.
This wasn't exactly the brightest idea I'd had, however. In order to follow the schedule with exactness, Elder Buchanan got me involved with an intense workout system for thirty minutes every morning, as the white handbook explains we should do. For the entire week, I could barely lift my arm to a perfect square-angle over my head without feeling my entire arm, chest, and back scream in pain from soreness. The soreness is gone (for now), and the exercise helped to wake us up every morning. The only down side was that by the end of the day, we were truly exhausted. Even with taking a twenty minute nap in-between tracting and lessons, we still were unable to keep ourselves from falling straight to sleep the moment we got ready for bed. However, in the end, it was all worth it. Though we haven't had an increase of success as missionaries yet, our desire has been noticed by the Ward, and we're receiving more referrals and contacts than ever before. We even may have an investigator who may be ready for baptism by the end of this transfer. So, things are definitely looking up for Elder Buchanan and I.
So, what message can I say today, to summarize my week? Simple; the importance of obedience. In Lehi's dream (found in 1st Nephi 8), Lehi sees a marvelous and beautiful tree, one whose fruit brings the eater eternal joy and happiness that fills their entire being to over-flowing. Keeping people away from the tree is a thick, black mist of darkness that is impossible to see through, even with the tree being so marvelous and bright as it is. The only way through the darkness and to the tree is an iron rod, guiding along a very, very, very strait and narrow path. There are many different interpretations and explanations for this dream, and Nephi himself is given a very profound clarification from an Angel later on (found in 1st Nephi 11-14). But for now, I would like to liken this story to the importance of obeying the Lord with absolute exactness.
Imagine the tree in Lehi's dream is representative of blessings from God. These can be any kind of blessing, from Eternal Salvation to even just being able to make it through the month on a tight budget. In modern-times, the Lord has told us that "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated--And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21)" In order for us to receive blessings in this life, we have to be obedient to the commandments God has given us already. Not only that, but we have to do so with the intent in our hearts to please and obey God. If we obey the commandments, but do not truly believe in them or desire to obey them in our hearts, then we are no better than those who do not obey. In fact, we're even worse, because we know what is true, yet even in seeing we are still blind. This is the lesson that President Brown was trying to teach me last Tuesday, and it is my hope and desire to learn it to the best of my abilities. I bear my testimony that I know that God does exist, and that He truly desires to bless us. But we must first be willing to submit to His will, obey His commandments with all our hearts, and humbly follow Him. This is bear sincere testimony of, in the name of our beloved Savior, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
Well, that's it for this week! Hope to hear from y'all again soon! Ciao!
--Elder Z.S.Weber
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