Hey everyone!
Okay, the week has been an interesting one, for mostly two different reasons. The first is the addition of twelve new young elders to the mission! Of course, I am hosting again - this time, they are Elders Heath and Haroldsen, from Orem, Utah and Gilbert, Arizona, respectively. They are still adjusting the the mission, as is to be expected. If they can adjust to living up to mission rules, then I feel they will be great in this mission! I think back to the other times which I have hosted - the two times back in the beginning of my mission, when I was still training myself, and the two previous months, where I have gotten them started in their mission. All whom I have previously hosted, who have not already gone home (who so far only include those from my very first time), are currently doing quite well in the mission, so I have pretty high hopes for seeing what these two can do.
The other big thing which made this week interesting was Pioneer Day. As I am sure you have already guessed, the day was scheduled for us all. The first thing which we had an opportunity to do was attend the Pioneer Day parade. I wanted to go, but my companion did not; he said that he does not like big crowds like this. Therefore, I stayed back at the apartments with him through the morning. In the afternoon, we had planned on all hiking up to Ensign Peak. We were taking vans on up there; however, the logistics of moving a mission which now has 100 young elders with four vans which carry five missionaries each was a bit inconvenient. But, by and by, we eventually were all driven up to the trail head, where a clever family had set up a snow-cone stand. Needless to say, they had earned my dollar. We then hiked up to the peak. The hike was; not quite as long as I remember it having been; however, it was just as exhausting!So, we all got to the top, and enjoyed the view together.
We were then directed to hike back down to President Fenn's house for a barbecue which he was putting on for us all. We went, and were greeted with a hearty brisket dinner! So, we ate until we were all stuffed, after which President Fenn shared a short message with us all. Once this was done, we were set to go back down to the apartments in the vans; however, as I am sure some of you may know from the news, there was a fire up on Capitol Hill, where President Fenn's house is. This fire was close to us, but not so much that it posed a danger to the mission. However, the roads were all still closed off. so, the elders waited at the house while President Fenn went down to negotiate something with the authorities in charge of taking care of the fire. The decision was that we could walk around the blockade by foot, and go to the apartments like this. While walking down there, I was able to catch a glimpse or two of the hillside where the fire happened, and it was utterly blackened! Of course, no houses were down where it happened, and to my knowledge, none of them went up in a cloud of smoke, but it was still quite a sight to see; therefore, I have a picture of it attached to this E-mail for you all to see.
Once all of this excitement was over with, we had a short break at the apartments, and we then went to watch a movie, which I believe to have been titled "The Work and the Glory", covering events surrounding the Restoration. It is actually a part of a three-part series, so though the movie was pretty good on its own, I would also like to see the other parts so that I can get the full story. Anyway, after this, there was not much else going on this day.
Now, Sunday was also quite interesting. Of course, I had helped out at St. Joseph's Villa again. This had gone similarly to my previous experiences, which experiences are great! It will almost be a bit of a shame when it all ends next Monday, when I will not be able to attend every Sunday anymore. But, I guess that almost every assignment has its end. After St. Joseph's, I went to Sacrament Meeting, where I actually shared a message. The subject of my message was on Elder Uchtdorf's recent General Conference talk, "Behold the Man". As the talk already cover's its own subject pretty well, I felt that it would be better to simply describe how it applies to our mission. After this, me and my companion had a dinner appointment. I am not sure I have talked about these previously, so here is what they are all about. The seniors on the mission love us, to the extent that, a while back (long before my time), the mission had to control how they prepare us meals. This comes in the form of "dinner appointments", which are assigned to elders in the mission; every Sunday, if one gets an appointment this week, they eat a dinner with a senior missionary host or hosts. This week, I had eaten with a few senior sister missionaries, as well as my companion and another companionship in the zone. A picture of this happening is attached. This happening is also a pretty enjoyable experience on the mission, which I do look forward to. It is nice being able to talk to the senior missionaries a bit, and get to know them.
We also had a Hail and Farewell dinner for our incoming and departing missionaries. I have talked about what this is before, so I will not share a ton of details about what exactly it is. All I will say is that I was reminded in some ways of my first few weeks on the mission. I was once up there on the stage introducing myself; someday, I will go up there again to announce my departure. Much has changed since then. There are now few elders on the mission who have been here longer than me, and they are all somewhat soon to depart. It is a bit of an odd experience, to realize that I am no longer the new guy in the mission. In some ways, I still feel like I am a bit new to everything. But, then again, I have changed much since this time. So, I will spend my time remaining doing the best that I can out here before I am through, because it is not over until it is over.
So, there is my week. Of course, the Hail and Farewell indicates that the next transfer is soon to be. I am not sure what exactly this will mean, but knowing that it will be next Tuesday, this will be my last E-mail which I send until then; therefore, the next E-mail could come in any day of the week after that point. So, don't panic if you do not receive an E-mail from me next Wednesday - I have not forgotten you! Anyway, I will let you all know how transfers go, and what fun and crazy things happen therein. Have a good one everyone!
--
From,
Elder Bryce Petersen
Challenge: This week, I don't have much of a formal challenge in store for you; instead, I have my aforementioned Sacrament meeting talk attached to this E-mail. I would advise reading it, and seeing if there are any potential applications therein.
SM Talk 07/22/2018
Elder Bryce Petersen
Good afternoon everyone, my name is Elder Petersen. I am currently serving in the Data Services zone, which is one of the zones in this mission where missionaries have constant access to a computer. This means that I have access to all the tools necessary to prepare a talk for sacrament meeting, and so had no excuse to use to get out of this.
It is a beautiful (though hot) day today, isn’t it. The weather was cooler and more pleasant last April, when we had our most recent General Conference, given on Easter Sunday. Of course, a day coinciding with such a holiday is truly a good opportunity to share a message on the reason why we celebrate Easter Sunday – the Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. On this Easter Sunday, Elder Uchtdorf did just this in his talk “Behold the Man,” which address is the subject of my talk today. I feel that it would be somewhat superfluous to expound more on the doctrine than what has already been taught in the message itself; therefore, I wish to consider together with you how the teachings in this talk can apply to us as missionaries serving in the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission. For those of you who are visiting, and not serving in our mission, I would invite you instead to consider what the talk has to do with family history work, and our responsibility to redeem the dead.
First, the talk summarizes the Atoning sacrifice of our Lord, including the agony of Gethsemane, the humiliation of His trial, the horror of the cross at Calvary, and finally the glorious Resurrection. We are reminded that the motivation and purpose behind such a sacrifice is deliverance from both temporal and spiritual death, and eternal life for all of God’s children, which goal is His work and His glory. As God is no respecter of persons, we can know with a surety that such an infinite sacrifice could not be confined within the veil of mortality; all that Elder Uchtdorf says regarding the Atonement applies to those on the other side of this veil as well, as we learn in D&C 138. As a result of this, all members of our families, dead though many may be, still have the blessings of the Gospel available to them in the spirit world.
Elder Uchtdorf then tells us what must be done on our part to take full advantage of this priceless gift. To illustrate his point, he shares a more detailed story of Christ’s trial before Roman authorities, shortly before He was nailed to the cross. Extremely exhausted by the events of the day, and beaten to what would be near death for a mortal man, Jesus was presented to the mob who thirsted for His blood by Pilate, who declared, “Behold, I bring him forth to you that ye may know that I find no fault in him. … Behold the man!”
This final profound statement is, of course, the theme of Elder Uchtdorf’s talk. He admonishes us to, in our times of trouble, behold the Man, stating that “those who find a way to truly behold the Man find the doorway to life’s greatest joys and the balm to life’s most demanding despairs.” Beholding the man, in this context, is to remember all that He has done for us, and the more things which He is willing to do for us if we will so much as come closer to Him, and partake of the blessings of His Gospel.
This is all good and true, but what does this have to do with family history work? A person can only progress so far in the Gospel, and may have a strong testimony coupled with faith to move mountains; however, this only can get one so far, as the Savior Himself teaches us that “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Can one fully behold the Man if he is still separated from His presence by a lack of baptism and other saving ordinances? The work that we do connects people – real people living in the spirit world – to their God, and allows them to enjoy fully the blessings of the restored Gospel. With every record added to FamilySearch’s database, every account someone receives help registering for, and every visitor to the Family History Library introduced to family history – as well as all else that happens in this mission – people on both sides of the veil are blessed to be more able to behold the Man, and more fully accept His invitation to come unto Him.
As we have all heard before, family history work is not only for those who have passed on. Joseph Smith, in an epistle on this subject, taught us that “we without [our dead] cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect”. We can also behold the Man as we take part in this work, as we are perfected with our dead. When one thinks about it for a moment, the work which we do in the temple for our kindred dead is truly all about the Savior – without what he did, salvation would not be possible, neither for ourselves nor for our dead. Temple worship, when done in the right frame of mind, can help us to more fully appreciate the Atoning sacrifice of our Savior, as we remember that it extends to every single person for whom we receive baptism, and all else required to connect them to their Father in heaven.
In closing, I would challenge us all to accept Elder Uchtdorf’s invitation to “behold the Man”, seeing him for who He truly is, the Son of God who Atoned for the sins of all who have ever lived, regardless of which side of the veil they currently dwell on; let us also strive more earnestly to work so that those who have passed on may be able to do the same. I pray that those of us who are missionaries of the Headquarters Mission will be able, through our service in this mission, to assist others in doing the same, that both living and deceased may be more able to come unto Him who is holy. I testify that He lives, and because He lives, so can we all, including those who have passed on. I testify also that, as we work to bring our kindred dead to the Redeemer, we all will be more able to experience the full blessings of this Gospel. Of this I testify, in the name of He who made this all possible, even Jesus Christ, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment