300,000 people live in my area of Gunsan, with two people making sure they all get to learn about the restored gospel. That is about as many people as the whole Provo Mission that has 150 missionaries in it. About 35 of these 300,000 people are active members of The Church. Yay! Those 35 people are the best people in the world. There is a 17 year old sister named Kim Jeeun who is any missionary's favorite person: she refers her friends, fellowships investigators, and bears her testimony to our English class.
Speaking of member missionary work, it's not optional.
"We will obtain our exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom only on the condition that we share with our Father's other children the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and observe the commandments that will bless our lives here and hereafter." "Freely you have received and our Heavenly Father will expect you freely to share with his other sons and daughters these glorious truths."
-George Albert Smith
I can't believe how little member missionary work I did before this. Missionaries are supposed to have a member with them for every single lesson they teach to investigators. Make sure that the missionaries in your area are doing that. Call them and make sure they know that they can use you at anytime. Missionaries will talk about you, they'll pray about you, they'll brag to other missionaries that they have someone like you, and they'll write about you in their emails home.
I've been wondering why I didn't make any member missionary efforts before this and I remember thinking: "I have so much personal progression I still need to be working on, that's what I need to be doing first." "I need to be focusing on my own gospel living inconsistencies" "I'm still working on myself"
This was a selfish thought process. We will always be working on ourselves. We have no excuses at all! I found a quote somewhere that said "Missionary work doesn't require the pure, it purifies the unclean"
"Let there be cultivated an awareness in every member's heart of his own potential for bringing others to a knowledge of the truth. Let him work at it. Let him pray with great earnestness about it."
-Gordon B. Hinkley
It is so easy to just focus on personal progression. I wish I could just read about church history, the teachings of the prophets, all the Church's library of wealth all day. That is easy. Talking to people about the gospel is the opposite of easy. This is the hardest thing in the world. Missionary work is so so hard. Koreans are terrifying. Member missionary work might be even harder. I just have to talk to strangers that I won't see again, members have to talk to their best friends. I have nothing to lose out here. You have friends you can lose. You have to talk to people you have known your whole life. That is way way harder. But the gospel was never meant to be easy. Eternal life was never cheap, it demands everything we have. "Why should it be easy for us when it was never easy for Him?" -Elder Holland
Alright listen up. This is huge principle I didn't learn until now. Everyone knows the famous primary answer: "follow the prophet" "listen to the prophets". What does that even mean? It means we need to study the most recent general conference session as hard as we study the Book of Mormon. Mark the Conference edition of the Liahona or Ensign like you mark your scriptures. Keep them in the same place in your room. Memorize the scriptures that come from the mouths of living seers. Don't just listen to conference.
I love Korea and Korean people, but Korean food is a struggle... Kim-chi is an interesting concept. I've decided that in the beginning if they could have avoided making it they definitely would have, but they made it, and after eating it for a while you start to crave it apparently, so then they fed it to their babies until the babies liked it and fed it to their babies etc. It's a vicious cycle. Most of the other traditional cuisine follows this pattern. I'm clinging to the hope that I'll start craving it because right now I'm still in the mood for chicken sandwiches constantly.
I finally brought my camera and camera card this time, but not my SD card adapter.
I'm over it already. I'm not even mad.
I don't even want to show off my awesome pictures.
-Elder Brown
No comments:
Post a Comment