WEEK 80 - WHY WE BELIEVE

Hello universe and all that inhabit it! (Or at least, all that are
willing to read this email) 'Tis I, the ever magnificent, wondrous,
and humble missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, Elder Z.S.Weber, serving you here in the Colorado Fort Collins
Mission. This last week has been great, for a lot of reasons but
mostly because it's the first week in a long week where I haven't
spent at least a little bit of time sick. After who knows how many
weeks of being sick, I'm finally better, and ready to get to
work...right as the sixth and final week of the Transfer is starting
up. Yeah...I really didn't time that very well...

Regardless, this week has been great, and I am glad to be able to
report on it. So, without further ado, here we go!

Tuesday started off with what has to be one of the most dreaded and
anticipated moments of mission life—missionary interviews. I don't
know what it is about getting interviewed by the Mission President,
but everyone seems to be a little more nervous when it comes their
time to be interviewed. We ended up getting there early, due to us
ferrying the Harmony Elders whithersoever they needed to go, so we
spent a good deal of time at the Stake Center sitting quietly in the
foyer with Sister Brown, anxiously waiting for the office door to open
and for President Brown to usher one of us in. Like I said, for some
reason it just seems so much more trepidatious in the moment than it
actually is in reality.

After both of the Harmony Elders were done, it was Elder Anderson's
turn, and then it was my turn. Then the interview began. Thankfully,
there was nothing really to worry about with my interview. It was sort
of like Parent-Teacher Conferences back in high school—President asks
me how I'm doing, I respond truthfully to his questions, he asks if
there was anything I needed help or advise in, I offer something that
I'm lacking in currently (this time it was my skills as a District
Leader), and we have a short discussion on how we can improve. Barely
fifteen minutes have passed by, and the interview is already over, yet
it hasn't even felt like it began.

It was also nice to hear from President Brown how some of my former
companions were doing. He had already interviewed most of the other
Zones in the mission, so he had heard from most of my companions that
hadn't gone home yet. Elder V, who had been my second companion in the
mission field, is serving in this Zone, actually. I was happy to hear
from President that though we had dealt with a rather rough transfer
together, there were no hard feelings between myself and the cheerful
Tongan. Though we didn't see eye to eye (literally, seeing as he's a
good half-foot taller), we were able to learn from each other, and
take what we had learned into our future companionships. Hearing that
our transfer together had done us both good brought a feeling of peace
and happiness into my heart.

Then, with that, Interviews were over, and I was pumped to get to
work. Sadly, such was not to be, as on Wednesday, sickness struck the
Prairie Ridge/Taft Canyon Elders once more. This time, though, it
wasn't me, but Elder Anderson that was struggling. Unfortunately,
Elders Noh and Klain, our Zone Leaders, weren't about to let a little
sickness hold us back from our responsibilities as missionaries. So,
even with Elder Anderson running a pretty decent fever, we drove down
to the church for District Meeting. Now, not to sound vindictive or
anything, but if it turns out that the Zone Leaders caught whatever
Elder Anderson caught, all I can say is that it was their fault.
Still, the meeting was actually very good, and the part of me that
wasn't worried about Elder Anderson's condition felt very glad we had
been able to be there.

The rest of that day and the next was spent at home, trying to get
Elder Anderson to recuperate. About halfway through Thursday, though,
we had to attend our Ward Correlation meeting with the other Ward
Missionaries. Elder Anderson was feeling well enough to go out for the
meeting, so we headed out and spent some time discussing how the work
in the area was going for us full-time Missionaries. After a while,
the discussion turned to ways to get the members excited, and that's
when we found out the shocking news. The date for the Fort Collins
temple's dedication had been announced! Unfortunately, it's in
October, after I've left my mission, but oh well. It just means I have
to find a time to come back and go through it! Still, what great news!

When we were done with the meeting, we headed back home to let Elder
Anderson rest some more. The next day, Friday, Elder Anderson was
feeling much better, so we were able to go out and do service that
morning. Now, I don't think I've touched much on this, but every other
Friday, we help the Bishop's Store House sort and distribute food to
member families in the area. This week, there was quite the load of
food. There was almost so much that we didn't have enough room for it
all. In spite of that, once we got to work sorting it all out, we were
able to get it all distributed to all those who needed it most in only
about an hour. Incredible pace, considering how much was actually out
there.

And then it was Saturday, the moment Elder Anderson and I had been
waiting all week for. As I stated last week, our progressing
investigator Janette was planning on getting baptized that day, and
baptized she was! It was a great service for all those involved. She
brought her daughter, Piper, who was glad to see her mother taking
such a major step in her life. President Brown, also, was in
attendance. Apparently, because he had been the one to interview
Janette, he had managed to work his schedule out that he could attend
her baptism also. It was truly a wonderful experience, with the spirit
so strong in there. It was just an incredible moment to witness, and I
was glad I was able to play even just a small role in her conversion
story.

Many people ask us why we believe the way that we do, why we put faith
in this church, why we are Mormons. To those of you who wonder why
yourself, might I offer some quick reasons as to why we chose to
believe the Mormon faith?

We believe in new beginnings. No one is condemned to live in darkness
forever. God would not want us to just stay trapped by our own
decisions and held back by ourselves. He offers us a way to return to
Him, to change ourselves, to start off fresh. We turn to our Father in
Heaven, and follow His commandments, and He promises us that He will
not remember our past sins. We are given a new, fresh slate to start
off on, and are no longer held back by the chains of our past.

We believe that love conquers all. The pure love of Christ, charity,
never faileth, as Paul in the New Testament teaches us, and that is
absolutely true. Christ will never turn away his love for us. Whenever
we need to turn to him, he will always be there for us. His atonement
made in the Garden of Gethsemane allowed him to clean the sins from
our garments and wipe the tears from our eyes. He, the perfect savior
of the world, will always be there to help us reach our true potential
and more perfect disciples of Christ, sharing his love with those
around us.

We believe in happily ever after. God is our perfect Father in Heaven,
and wants all of us to be happy. The Plan of Salvation has taught us
that even if we fall short in our earthly lives, we aren't condemned
to an awful and terrible hell, but that we will be able to enter into
a level of Heaven that we will feel most comfortable in. Those that
follow God through-and-through will receive the highest glory, but it
won't be so stark as day-and-night. Everyone will dwell where they
will feel the most joy for the eternities.

These are just three of the reasons as to why I am so devoted to the
Mormon faith, or faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. With these reasons to
believe in, I don't see much reason not to be a member of the church.
There is so much good that comes from living according to the
principles and commandments given to the church, I can't see life
being any better away from it. Those of you that are questioning
whether you should stay in the church, because of trials of your faith
going on around you, might I ask you to ask yourselves if you believe
in those three principles above, and that the Mormon Church can help
you receive it. If yes, wherein can you doubt? This is Christ's true,
restored Church. I know it as assuredly as I know that the sun rises
in the east each morn and sets in the west each eventide. I know this
to be true, in the name of he who is mighty to save, the Lord Jesus
Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber