Monday, 11 December 2017 ~ Week #20

Well, this has been quite a week. I must say, I started the week high in spirits, ended in low spirits, but though the work is hard, I am learning a lot. In terms of the missionary work alone, I realize That the success is a lot in what we do, not in what happens. Missionary success, because of this, can be visible when there are baptisms and people taught, but the missionary success is really in going out and being a friend and helping people to grow their relationship with their Savior Jesus Christ.

A missionary's purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them to receive the restored Gospel throught faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.

Success is based upon how well one completes his purpose. If one knows his purpose, he can determine what he needs to do to meet that purpose. And thus, if he doesn't do what he needs to do to achieve that purpose, he does not reach that purpose. And the success overall is according the efforts, not to the results.

I have been thinking a lot of what kind of missionary I want to be, as I have been confronting with many challenges in my area. Then I was inspired to look in Alma 48:11-17. This speaks of the example of Captain Moroni, the most notable war general in the Book of Mormon, and perhaps in all of American History. It reads as follows.

11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.

15 And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;

16 And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

How much do I love the people around me, that I would be willing to serve them? How many times do I ignore the needs of those around, the needs of my brothers and sisters whom I have bypassed? How grateful am I to my Heavenly Father, knowing that He has blessed me without ceasing? How firm am I in my faith in Christ? How willing am I to obey His commandments, that I might show my love for Him as His humble servant? How perfect is my understanding? How much of a grasp does Satan have on my mind and my soul? What am I willing to change in my thoughts and actions that I might overcome my flesh and act in service of God?

Our Lord Heavenly Father loves us very much. I know that He wants to gain a relationship with all of us. He wants to reach out to us, and help us overcome our trials. And our Savior Jesus Christ wants us to become strengthened, and learn from our suffering, as He had already suffered the same. I know that true peace, true joy, true happiness, true strength, all of these things, only come by living the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, exercising the principles of faith, repentance, keeping covenants, following the Spirit, and persevering to the end daily. We may be weak, maybe even in our faith in Him, and because of this we may stray away and rather become discouraged. But I know that our Lord is pleased with our efforts to try, every day. I know He has a plan for us all.

Overall, this week in the process, I realize that I've become a good pal of many of the members here. Piano lessons have been going super well; we had 14 students in the first lesson, in the which I taught fingering, rhythm and a few hymns from this. Everyone was learning, and using their mental piano when they were not playing. It was incredibly cool, and it went better than I thought. This was much cooler than what I was doing in Ermita, haha.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week, and that we can all be a better person each day. If you have not checked it out, look up mormon.org and get started on the Light the World iniative. There are two more weeks until Christmas. Our Heavenly Father's best gift for us was His Son. And His Son's very best gift was providing us a way back to the Father. Let us think of ways of how we can give back to Him. When we serve our neighbors, we serve our God. (Mosiah 2:17) Do not get too busy this season, and enjoy the company of your friends and family.

I love you all.

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission