Transfer 10 Week 4

Dear Everyone,

    This week has been a very interesting one. The missionaries and I had a great lesson on Monday night where one of our older investigators agreed to work towards a baptismal date. I remember meeting him back when we were meeting with a friend of his and how I was only a few months into my mission. Now with five months left, he is on his way. :D I had the blessing of working in the Temple Tuesday night and had some wonderful experiences and one very interesting one. I was at the recommend desk and two elderly ladies were getting some help from the Temple President. Once they were finished they started to talk to me. Once they discovered I was a missionary they tried to persuade me to move near them and their granddaughters after my mission. XD  Is there anywhere safe for a missionary? On Wednesday I had the opportunity to visit the Temple again and then head to District Meeting. After District Meeting I accompanied the other Elders to Hibachi Express and then to a few lessons. We had a lesson with Alfredo who up till now was okay with coming to church, but not willing to progress or accept a baptismal invitation. However, there seemed to be a change of heart and we were very grateful for the presence of the Spirit and the sweet boldness of Elder Olaya. We had a lesson with Carla after that and were able to watch a clip from General Conference. We watched President Monson's address concerning the resurrection of Christ and the hope that it gives us of live after death. We were able to answer some questions that she had concerning the Bible and resolve some concerns. She is so ready though. We had dinner at the Santiago's and then had a very interesting lesson with a man named Jose. He is searching for the truth, but his heart was not open to it. We left that lesson pretty saddened, yet we remembered that we fought a battle in the preexistence so that our investigators could have the chance to say no. On Thursday I spent most of my day serving a member of the Spanish Branch and Friday was a pretty hectic day. I went to the Temple and had two wonderful sessions. Then I headed over to the Santiago's and helped Brother Santiago out for a few hours. Afterward I went with the missionaries and we had a lesson with Silu. After that I tried to see a Sister in the ward, but she was not home. I found out later that she was in the Hospital and will try to see her in the next few days. Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to General Conference and gladly so. I had a wonderful experience listening to and taking notes during General Conference and look forward to listening to it throughout the year.

    I am so grateful to be a missionary and to have this chance to devote all my time to serving God and His children. I know that this is His Church, that we have a Prophet on the Earth today, even Thomas S Monson, whom I had the pleasure of sustaining Saturday afternoon.  I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the promised savior of the Old Testament. I know that He lives. I bear my witness of these things, in the name of Him who makes all possible, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

With Love,

Elder Roberts

Transfer 10 Week 3

Dear Everyone,

    This week I was able to do a variety of service. In addition to my usual service at Meals on Wheels and the Healing Place Thrift Store I also went with the Full-time missionaries, a ward missionary and went to the Temple. I have started having study sessions with the Spanish Elders on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so that we can work on role plays and I can improve my Spanish. Those have gone pretty well so far and I look forward to them tomorrow morning. We have a few progressing investigators and I am really excited for them. They have been coming to church, even though it has been hard catching up with them. When we are able to teach it is definitely a blessing for all of us. We had a really good lesson last night with one of our investigators and we were reviewing the first discussion. It was really nice to see them come to a better understanding of why prophets are so essential. I was glad to be able to help in a small way, even if I do not speak the language as well. It just makes it all the better when the Spirit takes over and I am suddenly able to speak fluently. I have noticed that I think too much when I am trying to teach. I sometimes mentally prepare against so many things that when none of that happens I freeze and wonder what to say. It doesn't help when I don't always understand what exactly is going on, but thankfully I am not able to "bash" because of that. That being said, it is better to do what you can to prepare and then just listen with love and reply by the power of the Spirit. Without that Spirit it is impossible to teach the restored Gospel. You can share information, but you cannot teach.

    I felt more useful at the Thrift Store this week now that I am used to how things go. I almost feel like an assistant manager, or the manager's voice for the back. In the back we sort clothes and other purchasable items and prepare them for pricing and organize them in various parts until they can go out. Only two people have pricing authority, a few have clothes sorting authority and even less have toy bagging authority. Most of the people who come in to volunteer end up straightening up the room in the back, which is constantly needed due to donation traffic. Those who come in on a more regular basis decide the places for the sorted items to be placed prior to them going out and accept other such orders from the manager of the store. All in all it has been a neat learning experience.

    I know that I am engaged in the work of the Lord. I am so grateful for the blessings I have experience as a missionary and the opportunities I have had to extend the blessings of the Gospel to others. I am extremely blessed to be a member of Christ's church and to have living apostles and prophets on the earth today. I am grateful for the blessing of being able to listen to their counsel. I am grateful for the opportunity to listen and watch General Conference this weekend and hear them speak. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the World and that He leads and guides this church. I have a testimony of the Gift of the Holy Ghost and of the Gifts of the Spirit. I know that the Gospel can heal families and individuals and bring them closer to their Savior. I know that God is our Loving Heavenly Father and that through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end we can return to live with Him again. I know that the plan of salvation truly is the plan of happiness, showing us who we are, why we are here and where we can go as we hearken to the precepts and doctrines taught in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Christ lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God to His covenant people is these the latter days. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that through him the Book of Mormon was translated, by the power of God, to stand as a testimony that the Gospel has been restored. I have read, I have prayed and I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that has been. I invite all to come unto Christ and partake of the blessings He has prepared for us. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Roberts

Transfer 10 Week 2

Dear Everyone,

    This week I volunteered at the Healing Place Thrift Store and also at Meals on Wheels. On Tuesday night I worked at the Temple and was able to go as a patron on Wednesday morning. I usually go to District Meeting afterward, but when I went there was no one there. I waited for quite some time and then found out they were all at a training meeting. Well, I went out with the missionaries several nights this week and we had some great lessons. We had an especially good lesson last night with one of the families in the branch. The Spirit was very strong there and we were able to teach by that Spirit and help bring someone closer to Christ. It was that lesson, more than any other in my mission, that highlighted the importance of eternal families and the role the Gospel of Jesus Christ has in forming and sustaining such families. I know that as they continue to learn and grow in the Gospel, their lives will be after the manner of happiness.

    Wednesday night I was able to go with one of the Ward missionaries and have a spiritual discussion with one of the sisters in the Ward. It went really well, though I think we were the ones being taught. I hope to make visits with the Ward missionaries on a weekly basis to different families, but am still in the early stages of implementing it.

    Well, all in all this week went pretty well, but was over too quickly. I know that this is the work of the Lord. The Spirit testifies of it. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of all mankind that will humble themselves, come before Him with broken hearts and contrite spirits and accept Him as the Way, the Truth and the Light. I know of the great Plan of Salvation prepared by our Heavenly Father from the beginning for the happiness of each and every one of His children that would choose to follow it. I know that this plan can and does bring lasting happiness, yea, even eternal happiness. I know that I am a child of God and that I do have great worth in His and in my Savior's eyes. I know of the great darkness of the universal apostasy and the glorious light of the restoration. I know that we have a Prophet on the earth today, even Thomas S. Monson, who, under the hand of the Messiah, leads this church. I have a testimony of modern day revelation as manifested in the Book of Mormon and other the other standard works, along with the day to day revelation that comes through the Holy Ghost. Of these things I bear my witness, in the names of Him whose church this is, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Roberts     

Transfer 10 Week 1

Dear Everyone,

       This week has been a pretty interesting week. I spent quite a lot of time with the Elders and went from place to place eating and teaching with them. On Tuesday I spent most of the day driving back and forth from Cary to Raleigh to Cary to Raleigh to Cary to Garner to Apex. I had a wonderful time at transfer meeting because I was able to see so many of the missionaries that I have come to love. Sadly, Elder Larsen's mission had come to an end and he was departing with a few other missionaries I knew. Thankfully, I was able to bid him farewell. We lost two missionaries in the transfer, but their replacements are wonderful missionaries. One of them has been out one week and the other is on his last transfer, so we have both ends of the spectrum. We have some new investigators and have been having quite a time getting in touch with them. We also have some not so new investigators where we are having the same difficulties. Well, the work shall go on. We were able to have a really good lesson with one of our contacts from this past week and the lesson went really well. The Cary Spanish Elders did really well in cultivating a spirit of reverence and peace during the lesson and inviting the family to act. I was grateful to be able to share my testimony and add my witness that those things spoken by the Elders were true. As far as service outside the full time teaching Elders goes, I went and volunteered at Meals on Wheels and also at the Thrift Store. I was down a day at both of them due to transfers, so it was good to return on Thursday and Wednesday respectively. I spent Tuesday night after transfers at the Temple, I look forward to going more days this week.

    I have a goal of reading the entire Book of Mormon this 6 week transfer and am currently reading 12 pages a day to complete it. I know that as I do I will draw closer to the Savior and invite the daily revelation that I need as I read, study, ponder and pray about the will of the Father. I love being a missionary. I love the time that I have to reach out and serve others in the work of the Lord. I know that this church is true, that it is Christ's church restored once again upon the earth. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father in the flesh. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that we have a prophet on the earth today, even Thomas S. Monson. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is real and baptism truly is essential to salvation. There is only one way and Christ is that way, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

With love,

Elder Roberts

Transfer 9 Week 6

Hello Everyone!

I can hardly believe that not only another week has past by, but as of now I am also at my one year mark. So much has happened in the past year to change me in so many ways. I have a deeper love of the Gospel and the doctrines and principles therein. I have a stronger testimony that I did before. I have a brighter view of what direction my life should go. Yet, I am more aware of the many faults and weaknesses that I have. It has been an incredibly humbling experience to try to consecrate my all to the Lord and to make inviting His children home my primary focus. I can definitely say that I have a long way to go with that, but I am so very grateful for the tender mercies that I have experienced each and every single day as I have tried to put off my wants and tried to be like Christ in living for others instead of self. There was a really good talk I was listening to a few weeks ago and I may have made mention of it before. The title is "Being a Christian Perfectly" by David C. Perry. A point in the talk has been bouncing around in my head the past weeks, and for a good while in my heart. It is that to be perfect is to be whole. It means that no part is working against the other parts in a goal or purpose. If your purpose is to be like Christ, then if there is any part of your life that is preventing it, you are counseled to cut it off and cast it away. I was reading Alma chapter 24 where the Anti-Nephi-Lehis are burying their weapons of war and the reason they are burying their weapons of war is because they have been guilty of murders. They have a problem with, I would call it, bloodlust. So, they bury their weapons of war. Not that the weapons themselves are evil, but because they are a source of temptation inasmuch as they are working against the whole in being righteous. This meaning of perfection has really illuminated my mind. It touched me that at so great a cost they buried their weapons of war and kept their oath even as they were being slaughtered. All because they recognized the great mercy of the Lord in forgiving them of their great sins and they wanted to be clean and whole. I find that I struggle a lot with trying to keep myself whole. I feel pulled in so many directions in this life, voices from every direction are calling, loud, soft, sweet, harsh. Each beckoning in their own way while leading the ear and tugging at the heartstrings of emotion. There truly are so many directions to go in this life, but we are taught in Nephi to hold to the iron rod. Which rod is the word of God through His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Prophets leading and guiding the children of God to the tree of life or Christ, which fruit is His Atonement. Christ is also known as the Word or the Word of God. So, the iron rod, or Christ leads to Christ whose fruit is the Atonement. So, we hold onto Christ and His teachings, His light and His example and He will lead us to partake of the fruit of His Atonement. Just some interesting things I studied this week. 

This week I was able to go on splits with the Spanish Elders a couple of times and also once with the Zone Leaders. I continued to serve at the Healing Place Thrift Store and at the Meals on Wheels foundation. My favorite part of the week though, was being able to serve and work in the Temple. That is the place to truly lay aside the things and voices of the world and tune in the the voice of the Spirit. I am so thankful that there are hallowed places on this Earth where we can feel a little closer to Heaven and things celestial. I know that the Temple truly is a House of God. 

I know that Jesus is the Christ, I know that He is the Son of God and that He lives. I know that He is everything, the Alpha and the Omega,  the beginning and the end, He is the creator, enabler and exemplar. I know that God is our Heavenly Father who loves us and cares for us. I know that He has a Prophet on the earth today, even Thomas S. Monson. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that Christ's church was restored through that Prophet and that the Priesthood is once again on the earth. I am humbled and grateful to be a bearer of that holy Priesthood and know that it is a blessing and is only a calling to reach out and serve and bless as if we were Christ's hands on earth. Of these things I testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

- Elder Roberts

Transfer 9 Week 5

Dear Everyone,
       
        This week has passed by so quickly. I was able to learn a lot about patience and about losing myself in the service of others. I was able to serve at Meals on Wheels, The Healing Place Thrift Store and with a few of the Elders in the stake. We were able to review the first and second discussions with one investigator and I tried to help out, but I ended up tripping over my words and making a mess of things. The missionaries handled it well though and we ended on a wonderful note. I was also able to attend District Meeting this week where we talked about the Spirit's role in conversion. I was able to do a roleplay with the District Leader and it went really well. :) I was a bit nervous since the last time I tried teaching it didn't go over very well, but thankfully this time it did. I did a little study on how the Spirit enlightens our minds and helps us to discern between darkness and light. That which does not edify is darkness, that which is light edifies and builds up us and those around us. As we are full of the Spirit and have an eye single to the glory of God we can be full of light to the point that there is no darkness. It is when we are burdened and blinded by the glory of the world that we stumble and fall as those who were ashamed after eating from the Tree of Life in Lehi's vision.

    I also had an opportunity to study the roles of Christ in the Three Pillars of Eternity, namely the Creation, the Fall and the Atonement.   In the creation He is the great creator, in the Atonement He is the Savior and the Enabler, not only saving us from death, but enabling us to have faith, repent, be baptized and endure to the end through His grace and mercy. However, in the fall it is a little different. In the Fall His role must be traced back before the world was, where the great debate over the Plan was held. He contended for agency which allowed mankind to choose to partake of the fruit and take upon themselves mortality. It was this agency that made the Fall possible. I had never thought of that before. The role of agency in our lives and in the Plan of Salvation is essential to our progression. Without it we could not learn or progress, there would be no way to righteous, for we could not choose either righteousness nor sin. We would be acted upon and not agents unto ourselves. In this we learn that there must be an opposite force, and we must be enabled to choose to follow it, for without it neither righteousness nor sin, misery or happiness brought about. As it says in 2nd Nephi Chapter 2.

    I am grateful for Jesus Christ and the many roles He has and does yet perform in the grand Plan of Salvation. I am grateful for His Atonement and for the cleansing and enabling powers that flow from that. I am grateful that He is, not was or will be, but is. That He lives and is the great mediator. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve Him and to be a representative of Him in His Church.  I know that He lives, I know that this is His Church and that He has called a Prophet in these the Latter Days. I know that the Book of Mormon is with the Bible the Words of God unto His Children. I know that I am a son a God and a bearer of His Holy Priesthood. Of these things I know and humbly bear witness of, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With Love,

Elder Roberts

Transfer 9 Week 4

Dear Everyone,

    This week has been an interesting one. I continued my work at the Temple, both as a patron and as a worker. As always, being in the House of the Lord was a sweet and humbling experience. I am grateful for the time I am able to spend there and cherish each moment. I was able to deliver on three days this week with the Meals on Wheels organization, which is one more day than usual. It was much easier to deliver on one of the routes since the road construction near where I deliver was nearing completion. I was also able to continue volunteering at the Healing Place Thrift Store where I was able to talk about my views on morality and modesty once more. I was also able to share my opinions on the family and the importance thereof. Well, I went with the Spanish Elders and we were able to teach a few lessons and even found out that one of our members was coming back to town to visit. The week ended with a baptism in the branch. The daughter of one of our recent converts made the decision to move forward in faith and partake of the sweet blessing of baptism. One of the Elders in the Spanish branch performed the baptism and the little girl was all smiles afterward. It was a very touching experience to witness that. We had a great sacrament meeting on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the purifying and enabling powers of that infinite and eternal sacrifice. In my study this week I read many chapters out of Genesis and studied the topics of holiness and charity. The different meanings or facets of holiness particularly intrigued me. In Jarom 5:1 it states that the Nephites kept the Sabbath day holy unto the Lord, which could be wholly unto the Lord, meaning that in that day all they did was unto the Lord. In this same instance it could also mean completely. Holy could also mean set apart or consecrated as possibly dictated in D&C 124:44. In 2nd Nephi 31:5 it could be complete or pure as in, if Christ being pure or complete needs baptism, so do we as sinners. Finally, a cross reference of Alma 12:30 speaking on holy works leads to Luke 8:14-15 which shows a comparison of those who flourish in the gospel and bring forth fruit and those who are choked by the cares of the world. Fun stuff :D. Charity was an equally edifying topic to study and I invite all to seek understanding of the principles and doctrines associated with charity. I know it will be a blessing to you and to those who you associate with.

    I love being a missionary. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ and of His church. I know that The Book of Mormon is true. I was reading this past week in second Nephi chapter four and the spirit pierced my heart with a powerful yet delicate witness of the divinity of the Book of Mormon. I know that the Holy Ghost is real and that He truly is the Comforter and testator of truth. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He is God's Son. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father, the perfect parent who knows and loves each and every one of us. He rejoices with us and mourns with us. May we all remember that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father with our own divine attributes. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

With Love,

Elder Roberts