Good Morning Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and any other planet willing to listen in today. Once more, it is your favorite missionary with the last name 'Weber' reporting in from the Prairie Ridge and Taft Canyon Wards. Yep, you guessed it. It's me, Elder Z.S.Weber. It's been a pretty long seven days since the last time we talked with each other. Heck, it almost feels like an entire month has passed by...though that might more be because I wrote this in April, and we are now in May. However, thought the week was long, it was also very profitable, and much more enjoyable than last week was. If words could show the expressions of their writers, each one of these words you are reading right now would have a beaming smile from the joy their writer felt this week.
As I stated in my last email, things were pretty bleak for me and my new companion, Elder Pember. We had a lot of investigators that were coming along very well. They were progressing and learning and growing. And then, right around the time that Elder Pember came in and joined me here, pretty much everyone we had been working with decided that they needed a little break from us. Those that were still on board with getting taught either had things going on, so we could never teach them, or they ended up moving to another area of the Zone. So we were pretty much left with whatever teaching pool we could fish in that was left over...and the investigators that lurk in that pool don't like to rise to the surface much, let alone even try to nibble on the lines we cast in for them.
So, last week was really rough, and I have to be honest here when I say that we had some moments where we just felt like doing nothing. It was a very depressing state to be in, at least for me, and I found myself questioning why I'm still out here working when it seems like nothing is going on. Sadly, that state of thinking continued for about half of this last week as well. We had managed to get some plans set in place, but our planning skills were still subpar, and we struggled in the actually getting out and getting our work done part. It was very tough, and still I found myself questioning why I was still out. I don't think I've ever prayed as much as I did during those last few days when my spirit so much longed to do the work yet my mortal so much longed to do anything but.
And then something changed. I guess it mostly happened through an exchange that Elder Grossarth and I had in my area. Apparently, Elder Pember had been feeling the same disappointment and discouragement that I was feeling, and wanted us to have our exchanges with the Zone Leaders a lot sooner in the transfer than usual. So, we decided to set up that the end of the week, Friday and Saturday to be most accurate, would be spent in an exchange between the four of us. Elder Grossarth came to my area, and the first thing we ended up having to do was gather the other elders (Elders Christenot and Swann) and take them up to this member's apartment where we were helping them move out.
Did I mention that this was going on during the rain? Yeah, that was interesting.
Regardless, we got the move done, and got most of the large stuff moved into their new house when we had to leave to get to dinner. After dinner, then, Elder Grossarth and I discussed what would be the most effective way to spend the exchange. I mentioned that we had been struggling (especially me) with bolstering and rallying a desire to do the work of the Lord. He suggested that we go out and tract for a while, do some serious finding. Again, there was quite a good deal of rain outside. Not only that, but I don't think I've mentioned how much I loathe tracting. I would be willing to do anything rather than stand out on a person's front porch, listen to them curse out the religion I love with all my heart before slamming the door in my face.
And I really didn't want to do it while getting drenched by the rain.
However, we needed to get a fresh and new teaching pool to work with. The only way that was going to happen—short of Heavenly Father dropping about a dozen people on our front porch—was if we went out and sought out those to work with ourselves. So, I decided to level with Elder Grossarth, and we agreed that if we found two of God's children who were willing to listen to us and our message, we would then return home and finish the day with a good planning session to close our day.
What happened, though, was incredible. We decided to go tracting in this trailer park not that far from our home. While we still got some curse words thrown our way, had a few doors slammed in our faces, and got pretty wet, it was a great experience. We met several people (about five or so) who were willing to listen to us and hear us out at least for a few minutes. We even set up appointments to meet with them this coming week. I was very thankful to be the prepared instrument for the Lord during those moments when it was my turn to speak, and when I was able to bear my personal testimony on the truths of this church which I hold so dear to my heart. At the end of the night, we had about two new investigators to work with, and at least four we could meet later in the coming week.
That wasn't the end of it, either. By Sunday, we had part-member families we were setting up appointments with, members that were wanting to come back to church, and lessons with members that we hoped would flourish into wonderful chances to teach the gospel to those their friends that they were preparing. It just made me so grateful to see that where we had previously had nothing to work with and were drowning in a sea of our own despair, now we had those we could teach. Now we had children of our Father who were willing to listen and to learn, who had been prepared to accept our message and take it into their homes and their families.
Through all of this, my thoughts have come back to a phrase I said while tracting with Elder Grossarth Friday night. As the rain had poured down and as we had marched from one house to the other, I couldn't help but revel in this wonderful feeling of joy that was blossoming inside of me. The work was long and tedious, yet I couldn't help but smile. It was going well, it really was, and I felt so glad that we had decided to go out and at the very least try to find children of our God to bring back to Him. At some point, Elder Grossarth asked if I was glad, and how I was feeling. I conveyed these same thoughts I've already shared with you with him, and then I said something that will forever be etched in the small plates of Great Weber Quotes.
"If I can do this in the rain, I can do this anytime."
That is a bold statement, but it's true. If ever after this moment I felt depressed because I didn't want to go out tracting or talking to some of our less-than-potential investigators, I could now always look back on this moment. I could remember the joy I had felt as I and Elder Grossarth walked from house to house, getting drenched from head to toe and meeting my brothers and sisters in the spirit. Sure, not all of them were willing to listen. But there were some that were ready and prepared to take the message into their hearts. My faith in tracting grew a little, and while I still think there are much better ways to get very strong investigators, I could no longer say that tracting was a completely useless endeavor.
I'm certain you are all thinking now, "this is all well and good for you, Elder Weber, but I'm not a missionary, so this doesn't really apply to me." Actually, it does apply to you, and I'll explain why. What I'm talking about here isn't just TRACTING. The point I'm trying to get across is the principle of OBEDIENCE. As missionaries, we are asked—or rather, commanded—to fill our days with moments of effective missionary work. We have been called to serve for two years, and we are expected to spend those two years doing as much of the work as we possibly can. If we disobey this commandment, our missions are depressing times in our lives, and we miss out on so many chances for the Lord to bless and teach us. When we return home, we will feel so disappointed in ourselves for not doing more.
The same is true in life. If we don't follow the commandments and choose not to listen to our Father in Heaven, then our lives lack that wondrous joy that He so much wishes to give to us. Certainly, we can find ways to keep ourselves happy during our lives—missionaries employ the same tactics by playing games or watching movies (more things that they shouldn't be doing, but have brought them pleasure in the past)—but we won't have access to that wondrous joy that stays with us regardless of our situations. Eventually, we will return to our Heavenly home above, back to the presence of our Heavenly Father, and have a full recollection of what we did and did not do while on Earth. While I have no proof otherwise, I can't help but feel that the more moments of joy we realize we missed out on in our lives, the more depressed and disappointed in ourselves we will become.
Therefore, be obedient. The secret to joy in this life is to obey the commandments of God. "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) So long as we are obedient to the Lord's commandments, we can be assured that the blessing will pour down upon us, as did the rains on that day when I learned what a delight tracting can be. It might not be easy to change our hearts and to willingly obey our Father. But nothing in life that is worth doing is ever easy—and there is nothing as worth doing in this life than seeking after that wondrous and eternal joy our Father has in store for us. This I bear my witness of, in his son's holy name, even the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
—Elder Z.S.Weber
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