Hey, everyone!
Well, it was a bit of an interesting week. After a bit of somewhat unexpected events coming up, one thing led to another, and I am now in a tri-companionship for the rest of the transfer. The newest companion, Elder Rasmussen, had been in my district for quite some time already, so he is not completely a stranger to us! His home is not far from mine - though he had lived in a few places over his lifetime, his current home is Brigham City, just a skip and a hop from home for me! I don't have any pictures currently on me, but I will get some sent out with next week's E-mail. (You'd thing that the grandson of professional photographers would be better about photographing his missionary experience, wouldn't you.)
So, this is my second time in the mission being in a tri-companionship. I did not suppose that it would be happening to me again during the course of my mission ever since the last time (some of you may remember Elders Lindsay and Reeves), but lo and behold - here I am. I am not mad or angry - as mentioned earlier, it has been nice having another person around the otherwise-quiet abode. However, this will only be lasting until the end of the transfer, at which I will end up again in a normal companionship. I may keep Elder Rasmussen or Elder Cole - I may even get yet another new companion. But, I guess that we will wait and see what the future holds in store for us.
The zone work has been somewhat typical this week. I had been working to keep things in line. Sometimes, I have been successful; other times, I have not been quite so much. Some have concluded that, when calls are not coming in, then there is no work to be done. Therefore, when things are not coming in very quickly, they tend to get a bit bored, and talk amongst themselves. This in and of itself is no problem, when done with some level of moderation; however, at times, it goes past that point. I don't mean to sound negative about anyone else who serves with me in the zone; I love them all, and I want them to see what they are capable of, and accomplish much in doing the work of the Lord. I will say that I have learned an important lesson with serving in this mission; when it comes to work, there will always be something more to do - you just have to be willing to go out, find it, and get it done. This is especially important in the work of the Lord, and it is also important with any sort of job out in the market. I just hope to be able to teach this to the other missionaries with whom I serve.
My pinkie finger has been healing up now! It has not entirely disappeared yet, but it no longer hurts, and I have been able to wash dishes and do other such activities which I had been needing to do for a while! Washing dishes will be more important to do than ever now though - having three people living in the apartment generates just that many extra dishes! (All my cooking still generates the bulk of the dishes though.)
That said, I will have more manpower to help me out with doing this, as well as with keeping the apartment clean - Elder Rasmussen is a clean freak very great at keeping the apartment clean, which will be very helpful in maintaining the place! I have been doing some to keep the place up - I am a ton better than I was when I had first joined up with the mission - but I still have much I could improve upon in this regard. So, I feel that it is a good cooperation - he helps to keep things clean, I help keep everyone fed, and Elder Cole does much to help out wherever he is needed! I understand why tri-companionships are avoided wherever possible, but in this case, I feel that we all do much to help out!
Well, that's about all I have for this week for you all! I do enjoy reading about life at home, so if you do have some time, I would enjoy hearing from you. Thanks for the support! I will see you all again next week!
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From,
Elder Bryce Petersen
Challenge: One concept of the gospel of Jesus Christ which many people have some trouble with understanding is "grace". Now, what exactly is grace? I personally did not know much concerning it until recently, and I feel that it is an often misunderstood Gospel concept. This is because there are many who believe that we are in this life to learn how to repent so that we can be redeemed from sin; their belief is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ repays the debt to justice which, through our obedience, we were not able to repay ourselves. However, the infinite Atonement is not limited simply how much we can repay a debt; Christ's suffering delivered us entirely from this debt. After hearing this, one could understandably ask, "Then why does it matter so much how we live our lives if Christ already redeemed us?" This is because this life is not simply the time for man to repay debt to God; the scriptures teach that "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32). If a natural man were to meet God, he would want nothing more than to hide himself from His presence with whatever means possible (see Alma 12:14). To word this in a easier-to-understand way, let's say that a member of the Church were to enter into a bar; would he be comfortable to be there? And again, if a lifelong alcoholic were to listen to a sermon in which the speaker condemned such practices, would he want to stay? And so it will be with us and God on the day of judgment. If, throughout the course of our lives, we had done nothing to prepare ourselves to meet with our Heavenly Maker, we would be much happier to inherit a Terrestrial or a Telestial kingdom of glory than to endure His presence. And so it is with grace - it frees us from having to separate from God, and gifts us with a chance to prepare to return one day to His presence. I challenge you to use this wonderful gift to it's fullest extent. If you feel you keep falling down, understand that Christ has already taken away your burden - you aren't expected to be able to walk perfectly after having fallen down once. You may continue hitting the ground over and over again, but if you are able to take one or more steps than you previously were able to, then you are on the right path. The Lord will help you back up, and encourage you to keep going (see "Choose You This Day", Elder Renlund, October 2018). But please do not give up because of your failures - that is what Satan would have you do. Instead, resolve to improve, and then act upon that resolution! This is what life is all about - preparing, improving, and getting right back up after every time you fall down. One day, I promise that you will find yourself, though still imperfect, leaps and bounds above where once you were, and capable of the tasks you previously thought impossible!
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