Letter 11-20-2012

Happy birthday mother. 

It's been fun this week to see everything progress so fast. This was the last week of the reporting transfer, and we have quadrupled our weekly lessons since the beginning of the transfer. Missionary work is always a bit more fun when you're busy teaching :)

As we start teaching, the struggle (as all missionaries know...) is getting people to church. It's a little frustrating to be sitting in sacrament meeting, alone, when someone is supposed to be there sitting next to you. Darn agency. Our investigators on date right now have come to church enough in the past that they "technically" didn't need to come this week but it's still not the point. We'll be trying to fix that this coming week. Alec is still on for the 8th though, and Kaylee is still on for the 15th as of now.

This week turned out kind of funny though. On Sunday we got a call from one of our bishops, Bishop Goddard, that he had a new investigator for us at his home. We were just around the corner and now are teaching a girl named Sinead (Shin-ade). She's working towards a goal for baptism on Dec 15th. Only in SLC.

Also, only in SLC will come things like going to Berlington Coat Factory to browse ties and having a member hand you a $60 gift card. I have a couple fun new ties to wear around now. People are so nice to us here. All those poor people serving outside of Zion... :)
Thanksgiving plans are going to be fun. Oh I guess I should say that Elder Jackson and I are staying here for another transfer. This one goes all the way through January 2nd so we'll get all the holidays spent in this great, great area. Hip hip hooray!

Hope all your Thanksgivings are just as delicious as ours will be,

Elder Chandler

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Thought: Developing Christ-like Attributes

This last week Elder Jackson and I have been spending time in personal and comp study going over chapter six in Preach My Gospel. There was a section header before a scripture that intrigued me one day - "What is the relationship between the first principles of the gospel and Christlike attributes?", which directed me to Moroni 8:25-26

And what I found there was a process that we can go through to endure to the "end" (which I think in this case means until you receive the second Comforter). If it looks like -this-, it's a finite way to tell where you are on the scale:

1) Faith
2) Repentance
3) -Baptism-
4) Obedience
5) -Remission of all Sin-
6) Humility
7) -First Comforter-
8) Hope
9) Diligence
10) -Prayer- (true prayer that reflects the will of the Father)
11) Charity
12) -Second Comforter-

So I get a way to evaluate where I am on the scale. I get a chance to consciously work on the Christlike Attribute where I feel I'm at. From there I get to try and progress up the scale.

I don't mean to say you can't develop attributes that would mean "skipping" steps, but this is a process in the scriptures so I can see it being a bit easier to do it this way. In any case I thought it was pretty cool. Have a great week.