Hey folks!
I hope everyone has been getting lots of sleep and have been keeping warm every night and day. During the days I have been fine, but Elder Dredge has not been sleeping too well. I would wake up 2 or 3 times each night in the middle of the night or early in the morning, and shivering a ton. This has been going on for about a week. Thankfully I called the mission nurse with my companion Elder Martinez and she advised to do yoga, listen to nice and relaxing music, and eat a big dinner, but not too late in the night.
She also advised that I shouldn't worry. Preoccupation and worry and stress are things that one cannot sleep well with, and I have been having that every day, despite are increase in success in our area of proselyting. I have been getting a bit hard on myself, seeing that I am almost at 6 months in the mission and I am not at the level of conversion I want to be. I get stressed over the little things I do and think that I figure Jesus wouldn't do and think. I get hard on myself if I'm not being very social, and if sparking conversation or giving valuable input doesn't come naturally. I get hard on myself if I'm not talking to people very much in the streets, or in other places like in the buses and the markets and other waiting places. It just doesn't come naturally.
This has brought me to consider more deeply the Atonement and how I should view it. Truly conversion is a lifelong process. Naturally, there are certain things that people do that come more naturally for them than for others, the which things are things that Jesus would do. These selfsame things are things that perhaps everyone would like to have come natural. Being a goof leader, a good parent, a good friend, a good member of the family, being virtuous, being social, being strong and diligent. Doing the things that come from that. I think there are things we all do of the which come naturally for us which Jesus Christ would do. And I think there are other things that perhaps we would like to have come naturally for our own benefit or for the benefit of others. Whether these things are worrisome or not, I just want to extend the same suggestion that the nurse extended ultimately for me to sleep better after work: No se estrese. "Don't stress yourself."
This is why we have the Atonement. The Lord gave us this life so we could grow, thus He grants us the experiences we need so that we can do so. The Lord is patient with us as well, and because of this sees need for us to improve poco a poco, little by little. And our Savior already paid the price for what we lack, so we don't need to worry about perfection. Because of these things, let us improve little by little, but let us also be patient with ourselves. Let us make goals for things which are within our ability but challenge us. Let us repent everyday, and continue to have in our Savior Jesus Christ, believing that He will help us on our path back to Him. We are children of God, thus have we the potential to be like Him one day. And He being our Father, He is just as anxious to share His qualities and His wisdom and His counsel with us as our own father we have here on Earth. I have a personal testimony that Heavenly Father watches over me, because I have looked back at my experiences and how I've grown. And I know that my Heavenly Father has the power to cause a great change in me. He has a plan for me, of this I am sure. And though I don't know exactly what He has in plan, He has the power to put me in the path I should, and to serve others and the way that they need, in the way I can. Of these things I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I also just want to share a few scriptures from the Book of Mormon. Many people don't have a lot of time in Guatemala, because of working all day to support the family. Because of this, when I invite them to read the Book of Mormon, I invite them to read every day, at least FIVE verses. I have always known that even just five verses in the Book of Mormon can invite the Spirit into someone's day and bring the spiritual strength that one needs for one's day. But I haven't taken into account that there are very certain passages in the Book of Mormon, which only have five verses or less, which can be especially strong. Taking this into account, I decided to look through the great chapters of the Book of Mormon and find the gems that have helped me personally. In this process it came to me that the Book of Mormon is truly a precious and sacred book. It is a compilation of extremely special stories and examples of disciples of Christ and sermons, that it just cannot be denied. Truly it is divine book. In the process of compiling for myself just passages of five verses, I decided to limit the number of passages to twenty in total, leaving out portions that are perhaps less powerful without reading the whole chapter. (The accounts of the tree of life, Abinadi, and of Nephi in the Book of Helaman are all incredibly powerful accounts, but you just gotta read it all to feel it.) So here it is!
Passages in the Book of Mormon
(Passages that testify of Christ and show how I can be converted to Him.)
1 Nephi 3:4-8
2 Nephi 2:25-29
2 Nephi 25:22-26
Jacob 4:3-7
Enos 1:1-5
Mosiah 4:9-13
Alma 7:9-13
Alma 22:14-18
Alma 32:26-30
Alma 34:30-34
Alma 36:16-20
Helaman 5:8-12
3 Nephi 11:16-20
3 Nephi 13:30-34
3 Nephi 17:5-9
3 Nephi 27:17-21
Mormon 9:15-19
Ether 3:11-15
Moroni 7:45-48
Moroni 10:1-5
Now, if you don't have a Book of Mormon, I would highly encourage you to obtain one. They are free. Once you get it, these scriptures are simply my suggestion, limited to a list of only twenty passages of five verses, to read upon obtaining the book, and pray about them. However, my suggestion is not to only ever read these verses. The Book of Mormon is dense with knowledge of Christ and examples of excellent followers and disciples of Him. There is so much more that I could include in the list that I would rather just leave you to read. Now, it is possible that even upon just reading one of these verses that it can answer a question you have; if it be so, don't let this be a reason to not read more, but let it be the motivation to read more. I know that this book is true, because upon living its precepts I have become a better person. I have gained spiritual strength from reading this book which has helped me beyond the worst feelings of depression and fatigue and weariness. There has not been one question I have had about life to which I have not received a response, upon reading this book with a humble prayer to my Heavenly Father to understand how I can apply it. The Book of Mormon was compiled by revelation, and was written for our day (Mormon 8:34-35). If you can't get a book within the next 24 hours, copy paste a single reference and search it on Google to read it online, and don't hesitate to pray about the scripture. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I testify of this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Have an amazing week!
P.S. If you come across my sister, wish her a happy birthday. :)
Elder Dredge
No comments:
Post a Comment