November 17th, 2014

This week went by way super fast, I think itd speeding up too much. I was reading a lot this week from the talk from Elder Holland, the Cost and Blessings of Discipleship, he talks about why its difficult sometimes to live the gospel and serve in it. He mentions how nowadays the gods that people want are the ones who pat us on the head, make us a giggle, and tell us to go run along and pick marigolds. I wish that wasnt so perfectly true here, how much people just want God to be comfortable, loving, and not expect anything from us. I think that is one of the most important things we can learn, that Im trying to learn, is how God really is, if we want to know how to remain faithful to him. Because like Holland says, the question what would jesus do? doesnt always bring a popular response....Even though the image of God has diminished, here especially, we need to serve the same God that we read about in the Bible. Thats super difficult today, but we need to do the unpopular thing and always be a disciple.

That came up from some opposition that was coming up, in other areas closer to the city (luckily were way out in a bubble) theres a ton of antimormon literature going around, and some sisters were getting persecuted pretty bad for it. I know its a lot worse in other missions, but I noticed it was coming up a lot this week, contention and gross words. Investigators that want to stay in sin, or crazy boyfriends that make threats when the other chooses they want to live the laws of God. Its all really fun stuff, but I know all this opposition is nothing near the joy of the gospel...the restored gospel. Its ok cause we still have the power and authority so were gonna win. Its the same power that Christ conferred through his hands to Peter, that Peter conferred through his hands to other disciples like Stephen during his life (Acts6), and after his life as well to another disciple Joseph 200 years ago. It came directly, physically from Christ and not from some dream some dude had. That is why this message is so powerful, and why were gonna top all the ugly stuff and blasephemy and change in the view of God that there is in the world.


Con Amor Elder Crisp


We went to do service at a Cocoa farm and found a field of a [ton] of tabacco and we almost left a pamphlet of the Word of Wisdom by it