Eighty-fifth Week - March 6, 2016

Pretty slow week.  Nothing special.  Another transfer, check. Two more... Wow!

On Wednesday, we had a pretty cool experience.  It was like 6 pm and most of our citas were falling, but I had a feeling to go and visit Danny (my convert from two weeks ago).  So we walked all the way to his house and... he wasn't home.  But he has a brother (Angel) that's like 27.  He never talks to us, he has had a super crappy life, he's still in high school. But he came to the gate and told us to come in.  We walked in and started to talk.  After like 10 minutes of talking, he said to us that something crazy just happened right before we showed up at his house.  He said that he was feeling so lonely that he decided to go and pray for the first time in years.  In his prayer, he told us that he asked God to send him angels to rescue him, something to help him find the right way.  He said that right when he said, "Amen," I yelled "Buenas" (here you don't knock on the doors, you yell "buenas" at them and they come to the door) at the front gate.  He said that he walked out of the front door and his jaw just dropped.  He knew that God had answered his prayer.  He said that he knows that it is a sign that this is the place where he needs to be.  But... he has a lot of things that are stopping him still from following the example of Jesus Christ.  On Sundays, he goes to school.  It's a pretty big obstacle.  We will see what we can do with him.  Pray for him so that he can find a way to go to church so that he can get baptized.

On Thursday, at like 7, we were just contacting and we saw a teenage girl sitting on a little rock by herself with her head down.  So we decided to talk to her.  We asked here where she lived.  She just lived a couple houses down, so we went to her house and talked to her and her mom.  She is super awesome.  She wants to go to church and everything.  We will see what happens with her this week.

Friday we had our zone meeting.  It was good.  We talked about The Book of Mormon.  Still don't know or understand how this world just won't accept the Book of Mormon.  I love the book.  I'm going to read it one more time before I get home.  I just finished 2 Nephi this morning.  I got a long ways to go, but I'll finish.

Sunday, we had a multi-stake conference all around Central America.  They ordained two of my converts, Manuel (the one arm man we married and baptized in December).  Also, Julio Bendaña, my convert from January.  They both received the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Pretty cool.  But the conference kept freezing like every 5 minutes, so we didn't get to watch much of it.  Elder Anderson spoke. 

This morning, I read a conference talk called, "Meeting the Challenges of Today's World,"  by Elder Robert D. Hales.

Meeting the Challenges of Today's World 

 (Click on the link above to read or listen to this talk in its entirety.)

I read it cause I am about to enter for real into the world and not gonna lie, pretty nervous!  It first off tells me to tighten my grip to the iron rod, then says that I am living through a critical period of my life, with the choices that I make - mission, education, marriage, career and service in the church all being crucial.  And the correct decision needs to be made!  We need to "fly right" it says in the storms of the last days.  We are the pilots.  We are responsible to think about the consequences of every choice we make.  In all situations before making a decision, ask ourselves, "If I make this choice, what is the worst thing that could happen?"  Our righteous choices will keep us from getting off course.  Think of it.  If you choose not to take a drink of alcohol, you will never become an alcoholic!  If you never choose to go into debt, you will avoid the possibility of bankruptcy.

One of the purposes of the scriptures is to show us how righteous people respond to temptation and evil.  In short, they avoid it!  Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife.  Lehi took his family and left Jerusalem.  Mary and Joseph fled into Egypt.  In every instance, Heavenly Father warned these believers.  Similarly, He will help us know whether to fight, flee or go with the flow of our unfolding circumstances.  He will speak to us through prayer.  We have many tools:  scriptures, living prophets, patriarchal blessings, padres, church leaders and above all, the still, small voice of the Spirit.

The Lord promises to lead us along, but will we let ourselves be led?  If we are there for the Lord, he will be there for us.  (Doctrine and Covenants 88:63)  If we love Him, we need to keep His commandments.  If we do keep the commandments, the Spirit will guide us Doctrine and Covenants 11:12,14.

He then goes on to talk about many young adults are in major debt, but he says, "You are rich if you can live happily within your means."  How can we do that?  Pay our tithing and then save!  When we earn more, save more.  Don't buy what we can't afford.

He goes on to talk about education and the importancia of getting a good education. Then marriage, that we don't marry perfection, we marry potential.  

 

Right now my responsibility is to be worthy of the person that I want to marry.  If I want to marry a babe, honest, happy, hard working, smart, spiritual person, I need to be that same kind of person.

We need to exercise our faith in every aspect daily.  If we do it, the scriptures say that we will wax stronger and firmer in the faith of Christ.  We need to learn how to reach up, not across.  No one can reach upward for us.  Only our faith and prayers will cause us to lift ourselves and have the might change of heart.  Only our decision to be obedient will change our life.  Because of the Savior's atoning sacrifice for us, the power to change is in us.  We have our agency to reach up or across.

After praying, spend some time alone.  Think about what is ahead.  Ask ourselves:  "What areas of my life do I want to strengthen so that I can strengthen others?  Where do i want to be a year from now?  Two years from now?  What choices do i need to make to get there? Remember, we are the pilot, we are in charge of the flight.

Have a great week.

Elder Copeland