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
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