Letter 05-13-2014

Elder Bass is getting transferred into the Murray YSA Stake, so that means I'm getting a new companion - Elder Interaminense! I'll have been companions with every single Elder that came in last June's transfer group now (Oliveros, Mintey, and him). He's from Brazil originally and is another one that English is his second language. But he's been out for a year now so it's really good :)

The weather has been pretty bipolar lately. We were biking through below-freezing weather this morning to go to zone workout, and by this time today its almost in the sixties. It's also rained most of the week. It makes things kind of interesting because no one is outside at all when it's raining (so no talking with people outside), and people around here don't like to answer their doors (which means we struggle to meet anyone!).

But still we had some success in finding people to teach! We picked up a lady as a new investigator that's hit a bit of a rough spot lately. We're teaching her again on Wednesday. We're also now working with a boy that the sister missionaries in the Murray Parkway stake were teaching even though he lives in our area. He has a little sister who is baptism age as well. And there are always others! So I'm still working hard to reach six more baptisms in my last six weeks to reach my mission goal.

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thought: faith and works

Sorry this might get long.

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about the born-again (we keep running into them lately so it's on my mind. Props to them for always making me think harder about my Faith) belief of faith and works.

Pondering the gospel more has led me to see more of the way faith, in a way, encompasses all of the steps in the gospel. Definitions of gospel words and how I'm using them to clarify:

faith - revelation that Jesus is our Savior. (Alma 32:21 is a true definition of faith in general, but in the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ faith is defined more specifically)

repent - a change in the way we see ourselves, others, God, and the world.

baptism - a promise (covenant) with God that we will make our "repentance" (remember, change of the way we look at things) that we just had permanent.

GotHG - a immediate blessing for keeping God's commandments (Mosiah 2:24)

It's no wonder that faith must always lead to repentance. Does not a revelation of the truth of the mission of our Savior change the way we see everything? And if it does not, was it faith in the first place? (No!)

It's no wonder that repentance must always lead to baptism. Does not a significant change in paradigm change us forever? And if it does not, was it repentance in the first place? (No! step 5 - never do it again!)

It's no wonder that baptism must always lead to the bestowment of the Holy Ghost? Does not a promise with God to keep His commandments forever bestow upon us the ability to have the Holy Ghost dwell with us forever? And if it does not, was it a covenant in the first place? (No!)

Isn't it so interesting that the core of all of these changes aren't "works"? Each one of them is a change in the way we see, (a change of paradigm), a mental and spiritual "rebirth" of sorts.

The flow between the four is seamless. And the great news is - it doesn't end there. Any revelation given to us that builds upon the foundation of Jesus Christ being our Savior (for instance, the witness of the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was a prophet) will naturally follow the exact same process, with attending repentance, covenant-making, and blessings until it will fill us full.

Without the changes in us made by following the gospel of Jesus Christ, true good works aren't possible. We'd be doing works with the wrong paradigm. (It's like a business who spends time planning, creating, developing, marketing, and distributing a new product for which there was no audience in the first place. All of that work - yes, they might have made a really fine product, but in the end, doesn't even do what the business wanted it to do in the first place - make money!) It is in this sense we will be "judged for our works"; if we were called to be painters, even if we didn't paint very much, did we at least paint on the right wall?

This process as it works with a born-into-the-LDS-faith child is seen in Enos. This process as it works for an inactive member is seen so smoothly in Alma 36. This process as it works for a friend of another faith is seen perfectly in Alma 18-19. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, in its purest form, allows us not just to "see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3), but to "enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

PS: ordinances are important parts of these steps but for the sake of time I didn't go into it :)

PPS: the largest insight in this for me is the idea that sincere repentance actually always starts with a -revelation-. So if I'm wanting to change the way I see things, I must first seek and ask God to see something different!