Anyway, this was another great week. Seeing a lot of wonderful changes taking place. We have been reactivating a family, helping the father go through the sweet repentance progress, rekindling a testimony of the mother, and working towards helping all their children get baptized. There is such joy in Reactivation. Bringing Gods children back into the fold.
Although my heart aches for some in-actives, that have simply given up. Yesterday, while riding a jeep nee out to our area, I recognized an old face, an inactive member from one of my former areas, in Camaligan. Memories flooded my mind, sitting in her home, trying to help her come back to church. She had an interesting concern, she knew all the commandments, had absolutely no reason for not attending anymore, except that she just plainly didn't want to. She just claimed to be too lazy to go. How can you help the unwilling? I pondering about this encounter the entire day. It seemed to replay in my mind as we visited with another less-active family that evening. 3 Months ago, we had re-activated this family, yet the past month they have stopped attending again. We asked them last night why. They just claimed it to be too tiring. Callings, Service Projects, Early morning Church, Its just too demanding and asking a little too much. Plus Brother trying to conform his standards with the churches (really the Lords) by stopping drinking, just wasn't worth putting forth the effort. I dwelt on this concern, wondering how to overcome this feeling that I'm sure most members has felt at some point. I know as a missionary, I've certainly felt that my calling has been overwhelming at times. Sometimes it seemed the load was too much to bear. I thought deeply about how I was able to push through the Demands and requirements, and why I'm still serving. I then thought, its the cost of salvation. We do these things for our own salvation, and right now I'm paying the cost here in the mission to help others salvation.
I think about what Boyd K Packer said last conference, "If some one is looking for a church that requires very little, this is not the one. It is not easy to be a Latter Day Saint, but in the long run, it is the only true coarse." If you think about it, all we need to do is endure this quick prick in eternity, which we call life, and then we will be at rest. Its like the prick-blood test. Fast, and determines our blood type, or the type of kingdom we will be designated to. Although we are the determiners of that outcome. If we abide by the rules for salvation, and endured through all the requirements. I think it takes a level of motivation. For example, while leaving the inactive families house last night, we passed the roughest area in our area. I like to think of it as an impoverished Sodom and Gomorrah. Poor if not finished educations, live in unfinished homes of card board and wood, lower end jobs- like digging through trash to sell the glass bottles they find. Then any money they do earn, they spend it on lavish drinking and smoking. They live that lower life style, possibly because life just got a bit too hard. But of coarse to be successful in life its hard. I'm sure anyone that has gone through college can attest. Sometimes when you are up to your nose in assignments, you just feel like throwing in the towel. Same goes with job hunting, or anything else that leads to a better life. It takes a lot of hard effort and sacrifice. The same is with our Salvation. Joseph Smith once said that religion and salvation go together. A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never produces the faith unto salvation.
I walk ya through some of my other thoughts as we visited another less-active woman. we talked about why she hasn't gone to church. We talked about obeying the commandments, but not only obeying because we HAVE to, but to do them because we WANT to. I'm sure there are kids that go to church because their mom said so, or teenagers that just go to see a friend, Or even Adults that just go because they know its right, yet are lacking that willing heart. She talked about how sometimes its hard to walk to church in Sunday clothes under the scorching sun. I related that to Utah life, looking out at 5 feet of snow and needing to shovel a way out to get to church. Sometimes if we are lacking that willing heart, when the scorching heat, snowy paths, or "church requirements, obligations ect.. come along, you may be lacking the desire to complete the task at hand. We all run into times when Gods will, doesn't really fit well with our will. I am then reminded of the Bible definition under Prayer. It states " Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the Child are brought into correspondence with each other." Now God is an unchangeable being, he's not going to lift the task, requirement or law from us. But He is willing to aid us through the requirement. Whether its support through the strenuous calling, or even give enlightenment on why He gave you that calling. Also, when we receive more of an understanding on God's commandments or obligations, we gain more of a desire to follow it. I can testify to this concept, for I've seen it in my mission. But, that's more of a personal-spiritual growth matter that I will keep to myself. Basta, Pray and seek for understanding, if you feel like you are going to have to sacrifice something from your life to meet Gods demands. I promise, that you will understand the learning lesson, or gain more of a testimony of important on the commandment, calling, requirement ect..
Anyway, thats all the thought bubbles I got goin on right now.
Love ya tons!
- Sister Hancock
Although my heart aches for some in-actives, that have simply given up. Yesterday, while riding a jeep nee out to our area, I recognized an old face, an inactive member from one of my former areas, in Camaligan. Memories flooded my mind, sitting in her home, trying to help her come back to church. She had an interesting concern, she knew all the commandments, had absolutely no reason for not attending anymore, except that she just plainly didn't want to. She just claimed to be too lazy to go. How can you help the unwilling? I pondering about this encounter the entire day. It seemed to replay in my mind as we visited with another less-active family that evening. 3 Months ago, we had re-activated this family, yet the past month they have stopped attending again. We asked them last night why. They just claimed it to be too tiring. Callings, Service Projects, Early morning Church, Its just too demanding and asking a little too much. Plus Brother trying to conform his standards with the churches (really the Lords) by stopping drinking, just wasn't worth putting forth the effort. I dwelt on this concern, wondering how to overcome this feeling that I'm sure most members has felt at some point. I know as a missionary, I've certainly felt that my calling has been overwhelming at times. Sometimes it seemed the load was too much to bear. I thought deeply about how I was able to push through the Demands and requirements, and why I'm still serving. I then thought, its the cost of salvation. We do these things for our own salvation, and right now I'm paying the cost here in the mission to help others salvation.
I think about what Boyd K Packer said last conference, "If some one is looking for a church that requires very little, this is not the one. It is not easy to be a Latter Day Saint, but in the long run, it is the only true coarse." If you think about it, all we need to do is endure this quick prick in eternity, which we call life, and then we will be at rest. Its like the prick-blood test. Fast, and determines our blood type, or the type of kingdom we will be designated to. Although we are the determiners of that outcome. If we abide by the rules for salvation, and endured through all the requirements. I think it takes a level of motivation. For example, while leaving the inactive families house last night, we passed the roughest area in our area. I like to think of it as an impoverished Sodom and Gomorrah. Poor if not finished educations, live in unfinished homes of card board and wood, lower end jobs- like digging through trash to sell the glass bottles they find. Then any money they do earn, they spend it on lavish drinking and smoking. They live that lower life style, possibly because life just got a bit too hard. But of coarse to be successful in life its hard. I'm sure anyone that has gone through college can attest. Sometimes when you are up to your nose in assignments, you just feel like throwing in the towel. Same goes with job hunting, or anything else that leads to a better life. It takes a lot of hard effort and sacrifice. The same is with our Salvation. Joseph Smith once said that religion and salvation go together. A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never produces the faith unto salvation.
I walk ya through some of my other thoughts as we visited another less-active woman. we talked about why she hasn't gone to church. We talked about obeying the commandments, but not only obeying because we HAVE to, but to do them because we WANT to. I'm sure there are kids that go to church because their mom said so, or teenagers that just go to see a friend, Or even Adults that just go because they know its right, yet are lacking that willing heart. She talked about how sometimes its hard to walk to church in Sunday clothes under the scorching sun. I related that to Utah life, looking out at 5 feet of snow and needing to shovel a way out to get to church. Sometimes if we are lacking that willing heart, when the scorching heat, snowy paths, or "church requirements, obligations ect.. come along, you may be lacking the desire to complete the task at hand. We all run into times when Gods will, doesn't really fit well with our will. I am then reminded of the Bible definition under Prayer. It states " Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the Child are brought into correspondence with each other." Now God is an unchangeable being, he's not going to lift the task, requirement or law from us. But He is willing to aid us through the requirement. Whether its support through the strenuous calling, or even give enlightenment on why He gave you that calling. Also, when we receive more of an understanding on God's commandments or obligations, we gain more of a desire to follow it. I can testify to this concept, for I've seen it in my mission. But, that's more of a personal-spiritual growth matter that I will keep to myself. Basta, Pray and seek for understanding, if you feel like you are going to have to sacrifice something from your life to meet Gods demands. I promise, that you will understand the learning lesson, or gain more of a testimony of important on the commandment, calling, requirement ect..
Anyway, thats all the thought bubbles I got goin on right now.
Love ya tons!
- Sister Hancock
No comments:
Post a Comment