Transfer 7 Week 3

Dear Everyone,

 

    I got transferred to Dunn! I am now working with Elder Bentley from Sandy, Utah and we have had quite a time tracting and teaching. We had sacrament meeting with a pretty medium sized ward and the Stake President was there giving a talk on being active participants in the work of salvation. Whether it be service to our fellow men or our kindred dead. I have been learning a lot about being humble and having more charity for those we meet and teach. I was reading Alma today and I read the verse where the sons of Mosiah were heading out to try to convince the Lamanites of the error of the traditions of their fathers. They loved them so much that the thought of any soul perishing caused them great pain. The thing that stood out to me was that in the verse right after that, I think, it says that so had the Spirit worked upon them, for they were the vilest of sinners. They went from being so hard hearted that they were tearing down the church and persecuting members, to having such broken and changed hearts as to desire the salvation of all their brethren, even those who murdered and robbed his people for the fun of it. That is the power the Spirit has in converting the hearts and minds of men and it is that very Spirit that we seek to cultivate in our lives and in our homes. That we, our children and those around us might feel of that Spirit and receive that great gift of conversion, that change of heart that causes us to "shake at the appearence of sin." That we have no desire to do evil, but to do good continually. May we so cultivate this Holy Spirit through fatithful prayer and by obedience to the will of the Lord.

 

I know that by following the will of the Lord we will attain greater levels of joy, peace and happiness in our lives. I know that this church is true. I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's Prophet on the earth today. I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and with the Holy Bible, it stands as another witness of the divine sonship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I know that Jesus is the Son of God and that He lives. He lives and guides this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

With Love,

 

Elder Roberts. 

Transfer 7 Week 2

Dear Everyone,

This past week has been pretty wonderful. My best friend received her call to Eugene, Oregon and I couldn't be happier for her. She will be an amazing missionary. We had Zone Conference this last week and we switched it up abit. Instead of having it in the chapel we had it in the gym and the tables were set up in a conference position. We were able to see everyone, but the acoustics were lacking. Needless to say, much that was said was not heard by all. However, I heard the things that I needed to hear and was much edified therefrom. I volunteered at Meals on Wheels, Helping Hands and the library while working with the missionaries and helping them get where they needed to be. We had another baptism just yesterday! I am so happy for her. She has worked hard to get where she is and she will go far with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in her life.

Well, I have been studying about repentance, obedience and sacrifice this week and have gained many insights from the scriptures and from the mouth of one of Christ's latter day apostles. When Christ appeared to the Nephites in 34 A.D. the first words that came out of His mouth, when He had the attention of everyone as far as the eye could see, were testimony of His divine mission, the fulfillment of prophesy and taking upon Himself the sins of the world by partaking of the bitter cup. In all these things He declares "I suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." That is a powerful declaration of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, what it means to truly say Thy will be done and mean it. It is the calling of a saint, meaning the calling to be a member of His church, His fold. It means that you are willing to sacrifice riches, dreams, ambitions, offices, prestige and the honor and praise of the men of the world and all these things because of your faith in and love for God. " It means you kneel when you might not want to kneel, you bow when you might not want to bow, confess when you might not to confess, even if it is a confession born of experience that God's thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways." We give all we have, all we are and all that we hope to be the God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We tear down our idols and are determined to have no other Gods before Him, "especially if that would be God is [ourselves.]" We go and do what the Lord has commanded, for we know He will provide a way for us to accomplish those things and in doing these things we strive to be as Christ and "suffer the will in all things."

I know that God is Our loving Heavenly Father and that His will is that His children return to live with Him again. He desires our eternal happiness and welfare. I know that Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son and that He truly did the Father's will in all things that we might be able to return to Him. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that through him the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored with all the authority that was necessary. I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's Prophet on the earth today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With Love,

Elder Roberts

Transfer 7 Week 1

Hello everyone,

    Well, another week has gone by quite nicely. I returned to volunteering at Meals on Wheels and at the library and helped the Spanish Elders by driving them around. I spend the first half of the week using a mini van to get around. It worked out fine though and I got my car back a few days later. We've been teaching one of our "recent" convert's family and it has gone pretty well. We watched "The Restoration," and they were able to finally understand what we meant by a restoration. I find that that movie clears up a lot of questions concerning the basic principles and doctrines concerning the need and also the events of the restoration, even if certain aspects of the restoration were left out. Well, that went quite well and we had a few really other good lessons during the week. I am looking for other volunteering opportunities, so if you have any, even if it is a garden to be weeded, I 'd love to know.

    Well, I learned a lot this week and my Spanish has improved. I read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon in Spanish and I am working on recognizing common words and the pronunciation of the larger words. I was teaching our Japanese foreign exchange student a few of the basics of Spanish and I noticed just how much oral word goes into it. He noted that a good number of the sounds correspond with some Japanese sounds. I wonder if Jeff noticed that during his mission? Well, on my Meals on Wheels route there was an elderly lady who had her husband pass away. I was glad to be able to go over and deliver her meal and have a prayer before I went. I am very grateful for how much strength both prayer and the knowledge of the gospel give. I have used both quite frequently these past months to over come many a trial.

    We had a marvelous sacrament meeting on Sunday. It was themed around Mother's day of course and the primary children got up and sang a few numbers. There were three speakers, but the second speaker really got to me. I don't remember specific words or anything in particular, but there was a confirmation of the sacred calling that motherhood and womanhood are. Thank goodness for mothers, none of us would be here without them.

    Therefore, let us all be more appreciative and show greater love towards our mothers, whatever type they may be; by type I mean friends who mother us, mothers who mother other mother's children, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, or just women and young women who exercise inherent mothering traits.

    I love this calling. I love the opportunity to serve and to reach out to those I may not have met otherwise. I love the opportunity to learn and grow ever so much. I love this church and the opportunity I have to serve within it. I know that this church is the true and living church of Jesus Christ. I know that Thomas S Monson is His Prophet and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God along with the Holy Bible; both are testaments to the divinity of the Son of God, even Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that "by Him and through Him and of Him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants are begotten sons and daughters unto God." In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With Love,

Elder Roberts

Transfer 6 Week 6

Dear Everyone,

    It feels so good to be home, literally; about two Saturdays ago I started having sharp back pain. I took ibuprofen and that did not really help, so I just decided to bear it for awhile. I got worse on Sunday and then was pretty fine throughout the week. It flared up the following Saturday and I ended up seeing a doctor from one of the other wards. He told me to take ibuprofen and call him the next day. No change. So, I ended up getting checked again and calling another doctor over the phone. I was told to get an x-ray, so I went to the hospital and ended up waiting six hours there and ended up leaving and coming back home so I could see my usual doctor. Within 30 minutes I had a diagnosis without an x-ray and medicine to make it go away. As of today I feel no pain in my back :D. Though, I am still a bit stuffy. To pass the time these past few recovering days I listened to many talks by Elder Jeffrey R Holland and attended the Temple and a Family History Conference. All were edifying and I began to feel a lot better emotionally too. Just coming home felt like giant weights were being lifted off my shoulders.

     Missionary work is not easy, it never has been and never will be, but it is worth every effort, pain and failure just to have one success, one heart turned toward God and everlasting salvation. Our mission president put it really well with the phrase "If they are not baptized, they are damned." I think more than a few of the missionaries were struck by that, even if we don't envisioned damned as being stuck in fire and brimstone, we know that they cannot enter into a fullness of joy if they deny the saving ordinances in this life when they had the chance.  That's why we are here, that's why we keep knocking, keep pestering members for referrals, busting our butts on bikes and wear out coats and shoes. We are here to give them that chance to accept  an invitation to drink from living waters and partake of the bread of life. We are here "to invite others to come unto Christ  by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." This is my purpose as a missionary, service or otherwise, to bring others unto Christ. For He is the Way, the Truth and the Light of this world. For there is no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved. No other way.

    I know that Jesus is the literal Son of God. I know that He lives. I know that God is our Literal Father in Heaven and that He loves us with perfect parental love. I know that they appeared to a young boy, Joseph Smith, in the year 1820 and that through him the church was restored in 1830. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God and a companion to the Bible to testify of the divinity of Christ. I know that this Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true and living church on the Earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's Prophet and that the twelve apostles and first presidency are the foundation spoken of in Ephesians 2: 19-20 with Jesus Christ as the unbreakable chief cornerstone. These things I know. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With Love,

Elder Roberts