tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16977211196024097682024-03-05T14:01:42.437-08:00My Mission to ChileJoshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-67787345792047555122012-12-19T17:02:00.000-08:002012-12-19T17:50:51.521-08:002012 Year in Review<h3>
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January, in Melipilla with Elder Balcón from Concepción (but kind of an Argentino because he lived there for 10 years).</span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">[At this point, let me define "changes" or cambios. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Changes= every six weeks, missionaries are moved around, you may be moved to a new area or stay where you are and receive a new companion. Or you may receive no change and stay together for another six weeks. So Joshua and Elder Balcón stayed together in Melipilla for 12 weeks. :)]</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In March, still in Melipilla, now with Elder Gambini from Argentina.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Elder Gambini far right.</span></td></tr>
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In May, transferred to El Parron, La Cisterna with Elder Inalef from Argentina.</span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">So it feels like a LOT has happened this week, not least of all is the fact that I got to talk to my Mommy and family for Mother´s Day!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tuesday I found out that I was going exactly where I thought I was going- La Cisterna. It´s a tougher zone in the city and I´ve heard it´s also one of the oldest areas in Chile. I´m way excited though because it´s the same zone where Elder Mahoni served for three months and where Elder Champion was for four. It´s a weird turn of events but it´s seems that I met the Bishopric, two of Elder Champion´s super strong converts, and the majority of the ward there in the temple two weeks ago. How crazy is that?? Surprisingly, they all recognized me. I´ve been feeling really loved and wanted here by the members. They aren´t many, but they are united and strong. Hermano Roco said that his family was talking about how it seems like I´ve been working here forever. That made me feel really happy, because that´s exactly how I feel. I already love this ward and I´m so excited for everything we have planned.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Okay, so firstly, my companion, Elder Inalef. He´s from (wait for it) Argentina. Shocker, I know. He has nine months in the mission, same as me, and is 25 years old. And, oddly enough, he was trained by Elder Champion. I love him to death because he´s just the calmest, humblest guy I´ve ever met. With his slow, well-thought out sentences and quiet testimony, he is a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b>perfect </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">complimentary contrast to my loudness and overly-directness. Whenever I feel like I´m being too much, I can just shut up and let Elder Inalef knock ´em out with his simple sincerity. I really want to be more like that kid.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">It´s been a change being senior companion, too. Elder Gambini joked and said that I was always the one in charge (I just walk the fastest and have a very loud, obnoxious personality) but that now it´s ¨legal.¨ Har har har. But I´ve learned that I never really realized that there was always this bizarre security or protection about being junior companion. If something didn´t go well or we slipped a bit on a rule, I always could comfort/justify myself by saying, ¨Well, I´m doing my best, but I don´t know 100% what I´m doing and that´s why I have my senior companion to help me and make the call.¨ There were plenty of times where I panicked thinking, ¨What are we going to teach? What are we going to say?¨ And Elder Barrett, Balcon, or Gambini was there to save me. Now all the responsibility, final decisions, etc, fall on MY head. And it may sound weird but one does feel the weight of that. Sometimes I want to laugh when Elder Inalef looks at me with this blank face that says, ¨Umm...your turn?¨ because it reminds me of times with my old companions.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">My sector is El Parron, in, as I said before, the stake La Cisterna. It´s a really, REALLY small sector. We´re talking like 15 streets by 7. Anyway, judging by the records and information left by other Elders, it doesn´t look like much of anything has happened since Elder Champion left about 15 months ago. My second day there I organized all the records of old investigators (some of them are like five years old) by street. Now any time we have a free minute, we´re passing by old investigators or inactive members to find out what´s going on with everyone. Basically, we´re cleaning up. Haha and I´ve been really enjoying it. There was a day where I was so obsessed with this idea of reactivation that I got annoyed because we had planned to pass by some investigators. My goal here is just to organize the information, figure out who´s a member, and invite them to claim all the blessings they´re missing out on. We already have this great new plan from the mission- we´re dividing up the sector into groups and every two weeks, two or three really active families have family home evenings with less-active families in their homes. I´m very happy with how much planning (and work) we´ve done just in the first week. The ward has been really supportive. It has a lot of potential that´s been left untapped for a long time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">I played the piano tons in Melipilla, and it looks like that´s what I´m going to be doing here. So yes, Mom, all those lessons were worth it. I´m doing exactly what you always wanted me to do haha. We also had our first English class Saturday and eight kids showed up (5 - 13 years old). Sounds like more are going to come next week, including a Tia (schoolteacher) of one of the kids. Haha it´s way different and way hard teaching little kids. I have no idea what I´m doing. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Some random cool things about the pension- we have our own washing machine (I appreciate that so much now, you have no idea) and a random ping-pong table for P-days. Gives me heaps of flashbacks of being in Okada in college (especially of kicking Kike´s butt at three in the morning when we should have been studying) but it´s all good. The shower is awful, as usual, and the hot water shuts off every three minutes. I´m learning to not take so many things for granted. I´m living as a group of four missionaries yet AGAIN (4th time now), which means that I´ve never lived with just my companion. The other companionship is Elder Nilsen and Elder Acosta.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">I´m surprised how many people don´t know where I´m from. I´ve heard Brazil, Central America, Argentina, and Bolivia this week. Sometimes when we say that we teach English they ask who´s going to teach.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A family Josh was teaching was homeless. A TV show spotlighted them and the wealthiest man in Chile donated a lot of money for them to buy land and build a house.</span></td></tr>
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In August, still in El Parron, training a brand new missionary, Elder Tasso, from Utah, aka "la fábrica."</span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Okay, so my greenie. Basically, he´s awesome. His name is Elder Spencer James Tasso and he´s from Alpine, Utah. Haha, I know, I thought it was pretty funny. He actually knows Trevor and they used to go snowboarding together. He was in the same mission prep class as Kim this past year at BYU. He is a really humble, fun kid and his Spanish is pretty good. He can´t understand much (boy do I remember those days) but he is not afraid to just go for it so we´ve been getting him to testify and participate pretty well. He´s getting better in every lesson and all the members are really impressed with where he´s at. I really do love the kid because he´s just so humble and tranquilo. When I went to go pick him up, President and the Assistents just laughed and said, ¨He´s just a blonde Elder Jones!¨ That was actually my worst nightmare (having to train myself), but luckily for me, he´s not proud, obnoxious, and loud like I am and he doesn´t judge me at all. He was studying in the film program at BYU and is thinking about doing something with cinematography. But, like me, he thinks he´ll end up making money for his family in business. Anyway, we have a lot in common and it´s been a good experience. It´s nice because for me it´s like starting the mission again - everything is new and exciting. I love making him do contacts because as he stammers through his broken Spanish, people who would have just slammed the door in my face listen attently and politely to hear what he´s trying to say. I am totally taking advantage of it. I just say, ¨Look, my new companion! He´s only been here four days! Doesn´t he speak just super well?¨ </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It´s definitely funny being with a Gringo again, especially a white-as-cheese, blonde, blue-eyed Aryan. Seriously, this kid´s straight up from Sound of Music. Almost nobody said anything to us when I was with all my Latino comps but just a week with this kid and I´m sick of hearing, ¨ELDER!¨ and ¨HELLO!¨ and ¨GRINGO!¨ Haha and when he says he´s from Utah everyone and their dog laughs and says he´s from ¨the fabrica.¨ </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, he´s teaching ME a lot. I´m learning to go back to the basics and try things that I´ve long since forgotten or lost faith in. He makes me more focused on our purpose and the people and he helps me keep things simple. It´s really nice. I never realized how FUN (and challenging) training would be. It´s like the mission is 10 times more exciting. I seriously would be happy to train the rest of my mission, even if it is tiring at times hahaha.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I know he wishes Kike could be his comp</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">anion!</span></span></td></tr>
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In September, transferred to Maipú with Elder McBride from Arizona.</span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yeah, there are just a million things to do even on P-day. But the good news is that we had lots of great lessons this week. We´re teaching this one family, Sylvia and her sister Mari, Sylvia´s daughter Kuki (nickname), and her boyfriend, Rodrigo. It´s cool because even though Rodrigo and Kuki are super atheist, they´re really impressed with our religion. They say we entertain them and that they like how our faith seems to go right along with science, history, etc. They read but they´re not super ready to pray yet. What I love about teaching with Elder McBride is that we basically only teach the Restoration and focus on getting them to read, pray, and go to church.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We´re sharing a lot with Hermana Olea and her family. She´s the only active one in her family and her husband is a nonmember. The cool thing is that her son is serving a mission in Peru (he has exactly the same amount of time out as I do).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shout out to Mom's mission to Ecuador. :)</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #38761d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">In October, Elder McBride goes home, Joshua stays in Maipú with Elder Britt from Orem, Utah.</span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Elder Britt, who I love, is dying (going home) soon haha. He was with me in Melipilla (he was actually my district leader) and I was hoping I´d get him. Although it is funny becuase it seems that now I´ll kill him (he finishes the mission in two changes, in January) and I´ll probably stay one more change here in Maipu with someone else. I´ll finally have to work in a zone for four changes [24 weeks] haha. I´m pretty stoked though because he´s a super sweet, goofy kid from Orem. He just loves everyone and he makes up random songs that he sings around the house. He´s a good kid. We´re pretty excited too because Sylvia is progressing really well, going to church, reading, and praying. We have a noche de hogar this Tuesday with her with the Bishop´s family. Felipe and his little brother, Celo, came to church this Sunday too. Seeing so many investigadors in church gets the members excited and makes them want to start working with us. We´re starting to apply the new mission plan of dividing up the sector and working in just one part (mostly with the members) for a loooong time. We´re saving lots of time.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">[<a href="http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/what-are-prophets/bio/david-a-bednar?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Bednar</a> came to visit the mission. So amazingly, Josh met Elder Bednar three different times on three different continents, Murrietta, CA (2004), Okinawa (2009), Santiago (2012).]</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So things have been pretty good. Last Monday we went to Santa Lucia and it was pretty cool. We ran into some Brazilians so now I´m studying (in all the spare time I have haha) Portugese. My Bishop is a linguistics fanatic and has every book on every language ever (I´m pretty sure he´s got Adamic and Reformed Egyptian somewhere back there) so it wasn´t too hard. Supposedly we can understand Portugese a lot more than they (the Portugese speakers) can understand Spanish. I wonder if I´m going to come home and actually study all the languages I want to study. There´s just so much power in speaking languages and it´s so much fun. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But that day was one of those days where all the pressure and weight of things hits you at once. I´m amazed how often it happens on the mission. Before my life was so EASY. Anyway, You know, it was one of those hot, sweaty, sacrifice-lots-of-time-and-<wbr></wbr>have-no-time-to-sleep kind of days. I really don´t mean to be a complainer and I just try to put on a happy face every day when we go out but there are days . . . . I feel like I´m so inadequate, so weak.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think I received revelation this last week in Church. I was sitting there thinking about how my companion and I as missionaries simply can´t worry and keep tabs on and notice every member, investigador, and family that we need to. We get people to come out and start turning things around and then they just don´t have support from the ward (you know, everyone´s nice and everything, but nobody actively makes the effort to be a true friend) and so they go inactive after joining or refinding the church a few weeks after the missionaries leave. There is so much inactivity. I´ve never seen a ward here that has a functioning home teaching program. As I thought about everything we were trying to do to get the ward going with activities, family home evenings, etc, I realized something- <b>a ward is only as strong as its <a href="http://www.lds.org/topics/home-teaching?lang=eng" target="_blank">home teaching program</a></b>. Just about every problem there is could be solved if every Priesthood holder just did his home teaching every month. I´m convinced missionary work would increase too, if only because those the missionaries find and baptize would have real friends and attention from the ward. And you know? It´s nothing very complicated or difficult. But boy, is it complicated and difficult when we ¨go to the rescue¨ after they´ve already been forgotten, offended, or unnoticed. Nobody wants to feel like a ¨project.¨ Nobody wants people to start worrying about them only after they´ve stopped coming to church. And in any case it´s a myth that only the ¨weak¨ or less actives need a strong hometeacher. The program is so inspired. The Church really does have everything figured out. If we could just get it together as Priesthood holders we would see more miracles in this church.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Couple of weeks later . . . </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">On a good note, Elder Tasso and his companion told me that Juan from La Cisterna (El Parron) is passing the sacrament and doing his home teaching! I almost cried when they told me that last part, since I´m become something of a home teaching fanatic of late.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Our ward´s turning into a maquina though, so that´s cool. This week we had 5 investigadors at Church- I was SO proud of Adriana showing up with Felipe, Celo, and Daniela. The Dad still isn´t really a fan but Adriana has progressed so much, from not really being in the lessons to reading the Book of Mormon and coming out for two hours of Church. I think she really liked it (Dani´s been in love with the Primary forever) and even Felipe´s getting excited about things. Sylvia is AMAZING. She has such a young but strong testimony already and she feels very comfortable with all of it. She loves reading the Book of Mormon (she´s crazy about <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/triple-index/ammon-2?lang=eng&letter=a" target="_blank">Ammon</a>) and she´s getting her sister Mary into it too. We´re getting references from members and having lots of family home evenings.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have no idea what you're talking about with an invisible horse and a Korean guy. We don't see anything out here. Chile doesn't have a lot of US infulence, it's not like Japan. There isn't even a whole lot of Gringa music. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">[I told him the the III MEF Marine Corps band did a Gangnam style Santa Claus song and dance "Here comes Santa Claus." Obviously he had no idea what I was referring to. In Ecuador I had often heard U.S. fads on the buses.]</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sylvia's doing really well, already inviting people to her house and everything. We've been struggling as far as finding people to teach and having lessons. We are getting the ward excited for home teaching, ward council, etc.´ I also discovered this week that I like skinny ties a lot.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My mission just got extended two weeks to accomadate all the new missionaries. We're coming back like the 25 of August now or something.Crazy huh? I still have nine months left now! :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We're living with two other elders from Cinco de Abril, so I´m with Elder Nilsen again hahaha. I love that guy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For our iniciative for the zone, ¨Seàmosle fieles¨ I repented this week and started writing in my journal. I didn´t miss a single day. I haven´t written a real entry since November of last year. Ouch. I did write once in February but literally all it says is, ¨So I´m going to be better about writing in this thing.¨ And there it ended. Goal-setting FTW.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some members have already seen El Hobbit oh my goodness TRUNKY!!!! [Trunky=thinking about home and non-missionary distractions ;)]</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oops, somebody needs to turn his temple picture right side up.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A FAVORITE song and scripture.</span></td></tr>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-27424276923877313542012-03-18T21:25:00.002-07:002012-03-18T21:27:27.292-07:00Cute videos<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Joshua asked me to post these videos. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dbFiB7oiQs4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-76833142793175449282012-03-12T02:13:00.000-07:002012-03-13T18:05:35.776-07:00Chileno friends in Fukuoka<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">David and I went to Fukuoka this weekend to visit the Sasebo Branch and go to the Temple. My flight arrived in Fukuoka an hour before David's and I was looking at the subway map. A nice young man approached me and asked if I needed any help. We chatted for a minute when I realized, . . . hey,this guy has a Spanish accent! So of course I asked where he was from. You guessed it -- CHILE! So I hung out with my new Chileno friends, Fabián and Matías, in FUKUOKA while I waited for David to arrive. They are here training in karate for 3 months. Small world. :) Of course we've planned for them to meet up with Joshua in Santiago when they return.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4EaWY8ta0dDE2KDPuYviWMu-ciF3QNVfwTViZ-XCw-_wnm7tvpvrDFkeLuh4O1DjwLDtCCyW8nkTe3inaK3YbqOa0Ym_NJVXHE37ptEcJUP-JX-Lm0MkGZzeM2LWdcb0P2A8P19FkPs/s1600/IMG_1537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4EaWY8ta0dDE2KDPuYviWMu-ciF3QNVfwTViZ-XCw-_wnm7tvpvrDFkeLuh4O1DjwLDtCCyW8nkTe3inaK3YbqOa0Ym_NJVXHE37ptEcJUP-JX-Lm0MkGZzeM2LWdcb0P2A8P19FkPs/s320/IMG_1537.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Fabián y Matías</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3lTA5cnBu8VYlxzvx5TlZjV5xACpP6lJKpuSU2NJtZLN4FDu5mlN_TghXhR0RqDWDKeuoAA4NbDs7rEYgdc-MhtYkKPPx-kz7MzpPNQfKY6fE1dyaMMu4p3QfdKUzbbKoElgzjVU2gE/s1600/IMG_1550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3lTA5cnBu8VYlxzvx5TlZjV5xACpP6lJKpuSU2NJtZLN4FDu5mlN_TghXhR0RqDWDKeuoAA4NbDs7rEYgdc-MhtYkKPPx-kz7MzpPNQfKY6fE1dyaMMu4p3QfdKUzbbKoElgzjVU2gE/s320/IMG_1550.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fukuoka Temple</span></td></tr>
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<br />Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-54788236443781547602012-03-12T01:20:00.000-07:002012-03-13T18:04:49.716-07:00Catching Up<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sorry I've gotten behind again. Here are some more excerpts from more recent letters from Joshua:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrjBIY7Z0ws4DAu8gVjcQLxrT6_Jo_3VFNeIdFl6Cy8xU9DFVV-zT00QqHjFdMw99MEAiyriwCI222sctGeigDpShggH-76wZA-zlc6R_-fH-DtFt5sOXK8VeyUZak-h_2XtgZg0RClI/s1600/Elder+Jones+013_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrjBIY7Z0ws4DAu8gVjcQLxrT6_Jo_3VFNeIdFl6Cy8xU9DFVV-zT00QqHjFdMw99MEAiyriwCI222sctGeigDpShggH-76wZA-zlc6R_-fH-DtFt5sOXK8VeyUZak-h_2XtgZg0RClI/s640/Elder+Jones+013_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Elder Champion (Fremont, CA), Elder Balcón (Concepción, Chile), Elder Jones, Elder Lacambra (Barcelona, España)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">27 February 2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got frustrated with myself a couple times this week. When I mess up as a missionary I feel SO bad. For example, there´s this dog next to our house who ALWAYS goes nuts barking at us when we pass. (All the dogs hate us but this one even more so). Finally I started making a habit of making a juke at him and sending him running. Felt good until this week when the owner saw me and asked me to stop. Elder Balcon was impressed with how I just apologized and didn´t argue about how annoying and stupid his dog is, but I still felt HORRIBLE that I tarnished the missionary name to someone. It´s so hard being an imperfect person and trying to be like the epitome of perfection, Jesus.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8NqZkggxd8aTsnc38B89NN78iBq4GdcI89IEJNgM_ixZb8zOlXDWD4n6Uva9aRE8f7HZAAE_uHH1v9JEawgdwWYI6vgrPNbqM9LMlPr5SvFKRwLDDbQTwIM3NNhGM4xvsTfW0FBl-WQ/s1600/Elder+Jones+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8NqZkggxd8aTsnc38B89NN78iBq4GdcI89IEJNgM_ixZb8zOlXDWD4n6Uva9aRE8f7HZAAE_uHH1v9JEawgdwWYI6vgrPNbqM9LMlPr5SvFKRwLDDbQTwIM3NNhGM4xvsTfW0FBl-WQ/s640/Elder+Jones+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The view from Joshua's desk</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">20 February 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm starting to see what a person looks like who can make it to baptism. We have a few wonderful people who are keeping commitments and want to change, too, so it´s exciting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We´re teaching with a lot of power and feeling the spirit really</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">strongly as we teach. I wish I wrote down all my experiences in a</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">journal, but honestly, I´m always so tired and when I have extra time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I like to study Spanish or Preach My Gospel. But I should share a cool</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">experience I had with Elder Lacambra when we went to Santiago to do our visas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We were coming back waiting in the metro when this guy looked at us, and started talking to us. He said, "You always go preaching two by two, like Jesus taught. I looked over at you guys and I just felt a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">peace. Where can I get one of your books?" We chatted for like ten </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">minutes before we had to switch metros about the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. We got his number and address and sent it to the office. His mom is sick in the hospital and he was going to visit her when he ran into us. It was my first real experience running into someone who was 100% prepared and sincere. It was a big help to my testimony that we are here to find people and that God is in charge of this work. One of the coolest moments of my mission.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm getting more creative. We've stopped knocking doors in the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">mornings. We just go out in service clothes and offer yardwork to the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">neighbors to try and serve them and win their confidence. It seems to</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">be working.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I love when we teach how when I feel prompted to say something out of the natural order of things or not strictly part of the missionary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">lessons, many times my companion says it, many times with the same</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">words or examples. When that happnes, I know the Spirit is guiding the lesson and teaching, not us. Very cool.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDl2r_rVzyGytHDLX8_YpiMj8Z5whcL2SKZ1v0xCPN3hu6ULLShG4cBgd2kSLASFtXxZzBWU4yGyfR45zGhWjbnbEU5p7iDaiiviaB8L1aEB1Pvb6HQNKJveRUUdep0m4rDe86msurcmI/s1600/Elder+Jones+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDl2r_rVzyGytHDLX8_YpiMj8Z5whcL2SKZ1v0xCPN3hu6ULLShG4cBgd2kSLASFtXxZzBWU4yGyfR45zGhWjbnbEU5p7iDaiiviaB8L1aEB1Pvb6HQNKJveRUUdep0m4rDe86msurcmI/s640/Elder+Jones+012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">13 February 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Joshua is not allowed to share names and details of the people he is teaching. But here are general descriptions with no names.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A young man who's been attending church since a Christmas Party. He and Josh have a lot in common, music and politics. :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A single mom with a son Joshua's age and two 2 year old adorable "terremotos" as Joshua describes them. Her prayers get more and more beautiful every visit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another woman we found because I felt strongly impressed that we had to turn back and contact her as she was watering her plants. She's super happy and animated and she adores us. Her youngest son has been playing futbol with us. Seriously, I love soccer now because we can invite TONS of jovenes who actually come and then we can start teaching them the gospel. We actually started teaching her friend and her husband because they were there when we showed up (she thought we were coming an hour later). Nothing happens by coincidence in the mission. There are always little miracles.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-Yr7NQ50JmQ5Kmi41BRn2K4WTuwzxc5i2230lHJU43xywE5UYlxtVNNTcjwpg5NLLe_IFOxMuArTB6ImZPDUU3KZT7lAVHklv1dpED1upNXyoM8K6xP-2k314GP_vZ6rO-6Cc_cHoKQ/s1600/Elder+Jones+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-Yr7NQ50JmQ5Kmi41BRn2K4WTuwzxc5i2230lHJU43xywE5UYlxtVNNTcjwpg5NLLe_IFOxMuArTB6ImZPDUU3KZT7lAVHklv1dpED1upNXyoM8K6xP-2k314GP_vZ6rO-6Cc_cHoKQ/s640/Elder+Jones+014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6 February 2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seriously, the Mexican seems to be kicking in because today everyone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">kept telling me how well I played defense (bajo), even my Chilean</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">companion, who usually likes to yell at me when we play futbol. I'm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">finally the wall you always wanted me to be in baseball hahaha.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We´re working hard </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">but we've been doing fewer contacts. O</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ur sector is OLD and "re tocado" as we say. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The people here have seen lots and lots of missionaries. We´re trying </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to work with the members and focus on the investigadores we have. That </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">said, we always find some good people contacting, even if the vast </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">majority ignore us.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> It´s a hard balance. We alternate between </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">being very powerful testifiers and inviters to more casual, happy </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">jovenes who just want to share a prayer. I know we just have to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">follow the Spirit but man it´s hard. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm excited for the investigators wé´re working with. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seriously, I feel like I´m finally understanding the Atonement, the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">plan, everything. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> I said and did all (well, tried to haha) the right</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">things, but now I actually feel it and "get it" to some degree. I</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">actually feel like I know Him and love Him, and that he´s not just a</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">teacher, prophet, the founder of our faith, or the Son of God anymore. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He´s actually a person who knows me and has a relationship with me. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And it´s true, the more we understand the Atonement, the more we want </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to share the Gospel with everyone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Can´t believe I´m a fourth done. That´s NUTS. Part of me feels like,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wow, I´m so tired already, but mostly I feel scared that my time is</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">very, very, short.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">30 January 2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I thought today- I´m tired of being sick, I´m tired of being hot and sweaty and dirty. But then this new investigator we found last week found me in the street and introduced me to her mom and her sister and talked about how they all want to come to church and needed to know when and where the meetings were. Felt SOOO good. We really work for those little moments. The mission is often hard, but in the end, you really only remember the good times. Pretty much like life I guess.</span>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-28121074865833238872012-01-09T18:36:00.000-08:002012-01-09T18:37:34.048-08:00Excerpts from Recent Letters<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>9 January 2012</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I´m working in the Melipilla Branch, Melipilla District now. It´s a HUGE district (basically a stake) out in the countryside outside of Santiago. There´s like a centro that´s more city and then tiny suburbs and campo campo (like corn fields and cows and horses for days). I´m working in all the tiny suburb areas. The other two elders who live with us have the campo campo and the city. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7E5p55EVLv2VXOOAC-_jmklp1ZI0BYqRKsPRLVvXuDrie0LHTi60o_N9sbQU0ZFWeEfSvHr2Cx-_j24iHcqQJDxcySDMjJpShyphenhyphenYupBdA7qdu0KAVfUwM4KZBkFm3vxQ5paA7mrqtwXIk/s1600/Elder+Jones+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7E5p55EVLv2VXOOAC-_jmklp1ZI0BYqRKsPRLVvXuDrie0LHTi60o_N9sbQU0ZFWeEfSvHr2Cx-_j24iHcqQJDxcySDMjJpShyphenhyphenYupBdA7qdu0KAVfUwM4KZBkFm3vxQ5paA7mrqtwXIk/s400/Elder+Jones+015.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Elder Balcon is my companion now. He just became a District Leader this change and he´s from Concepcion, Chile. I´m so glad I´m living with four again. We actually share the branch (my sector is named Melipilla 1). The other two Elders are Elder Champion (like that?) from Fremont, California, and Elder Lacambra from Barcelona, Espana. I love them all. Elder Balcon and I work VERY well together. It´s funny but the minute I went home with the three of them I felt fluent in Spanish. I could understand them all fine and I´m totally comfortable listening to Spanish and saying what I need to say now. I still can´t really explain the feeling because it´s just different. Still have loads to learn but I feel like now I actually notice words I don´t know now and I can ask for clarification and remember the answers for later. I actually understand the reason for the grammar rules and I struggle understanding why English makes sense now haha. I´m learning great Chileno (en vez de Espanol) from Elder Balcon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I love the branch and her members and the campo is just absolutely gorgeous (just wait until you see my study view!), but it was a very long and trying week. My sector is very small as far as houses and population goes but very loooong, so we walk a ton and still feel like we´re trapped in a box. Elder Balcon has knocked almost every door and most of the time people just don´t come out. Almost every cita fell through this week. We visited a lot of retention this week (people who´ve been baptized in the past 2 years).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I made a decision about halfway through the week that I was just going to be the happiest darn Elder in the world, come what may. I made the change because I remembered something my teacher, Hermana Vance, told me in the MTC. <b>"When people see you, they need to see Jesus Christ."</b> It´s become my motto. It makes the day go more easily but we still haven´t found many people who want to listen to us...so maybe I´m going to have to think of even more different ways to present our message. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Pray for us! I´m staying really optimistic but it has been very rough. I find lots of strength in the scriptures. I love Heleman Chapter 12 and 3 Nefi 7. Isaiah is actually a great motivational speaker for missionaries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Random tidbit. You´ll be very proud to hear that I had Elder Barrett humming Pride and Prejudice music by the end of our time together.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2 January 2012</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">I'm learning SO much on the mission, and not just about the spiritual. After a few different service projects, I'm completely confident putting in ceramic </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">tiles</span> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">in people's houses (WAY fun!). We got to do it again with an investigator and his family this past week. Cool seeing how Christlike service changes people's hearts and receptiveness to the Gospel. I'm meeting tons of people who say after meeting us they're excited to talk about God or learn about the Church, whereas before it was one of the last things they felt like doing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I'm leaving Ochagavia!!! It's way exciting but super sad at the same time because I've really fallen in love with some of our investigators (I KNOW some of them are going to get baptized) and they really love us, too. They're starting to really progress. I feel the Spirit more than ever in our lessons and Elder Barrett and I are just tearing it up. Plus I really don't want to say goodbye to our Bishop and other stellar members of the ward. It's such an awful, mixed feeling. I've been saying goodbyes and taking pictures. I don't know where I'm headed to until tomorrow, so I'll talk more about it next week.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>19 December 2011</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Yesterday was rough with all the rejection and disappointment but like always, we kept working hard and saw some little glimmers of success by the end of the day. We're teaching this awesome girl named Gabriela. She's the girlfriend of Oscar Nunez, one of the sons of a super strong family in our ward. It's amazing how much we can cover when the person is genuinely interested and wants to hear the message. She waited like three hours yesterday in the Nunez home while we got another person in the house with us so we could teach her. Can you believe that? :) It was easily one of the best lessons we've taught on the mission. There were like six members there in the end helping us, and she not only has their support and testimonies, but she has seen how much the gospel has blessed their family...even though they've made mistakes. That's how missionary work should be done. Seeing the difference between teaching Gabriela and when we teach people after we knock doors or street contact is amazing. It's like night and day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>28 November 2011</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">I think it's interesting how being a missionary somehow</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">makes you a certified drug abuse, </span><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">marriage</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">, and family life counselor!</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">They really look at you like you can help them with anything. But more</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">miraculously, the Lord qualifies us and helps us to be able to fulfill</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">those roles for His Children through the Spirit.</span></span>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-69344960206502852942011-12-12T07:32:00.000-08:002011-12-23T17:30:32.585-08:00Extreme Home Makeover and Change<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB8bKs4XtYrm_yOvqBN1uVIyKBN8KpMZ_5YPnl1RVIybsXCYDczcs_jQGWz_lKB3RklpoLTGvtg3EtY4L6vJi1wDf76Fw9-1GizLJhiBddjfnaotajOzOS25HRjZIAIA_eHqk8JISfkI/s1600/JoshJones+114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB8bKs4XtYrm_yOvqBN1uVIyKBN8KpMZ_5YPnl1RVIybsXCYDczcs_jQGWz_lKB3RklpoLTGvtg3EtY4L6vJi1wDf76Fw9-1GizLJhiBddjfnaotajOzOS25HRjZIAIA_eHqk8JISfkI/s400/JoshJones+114.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't think Josh lives here, but it's a picture of a house nearby, so it'll do.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joshua's motivational study area.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hola amigos! Ojala que todos de ustedes esten bien!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just going to apologize upfront for my English; every week when I reread my emails home to see what my family's responding to, I realize how bad it really is. :P Por fin estoy mas o menos comodo con mi espanol. Practicarlo es divertido de verdad ahora, pero es muy chistoso cuando digo frases de ingles en espanol o viceversa, porque me parecen correcto y no puedo darme cuenta cuando un frase es del otro idioma.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A mission inspector came by a few weeks ago and said our pension was the nastiest in the mission (it's seen around forty years of missionaries), so now we have "Extreme Homemakover: Missionary Edition" going on while we're trying to study. I hate the hammering haha. :) But the pension was pretty bad before, so seeing the new floor and working water taps (not to mention toilet flusher) has been pretty sweet. What with all that and having gas for hot showers again, it's been an exciting week. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had a lot of success this week. We found a ton of super interesting Haitians that are excited to hear the Gospel. It's also one of the coolest things that I've ever experienced because being from Haiti, Spanish is not their first language either. So while we teach in Spanish, they alternate asking questions and helping each other understand what's going on in Creole and French...while Elder Barrett and I plan our next steps in English! Is that crazy or what? XD I love it; they're very cool, humble people. It's also interesting being able to recognize Haitian accents in Spanish. It's funny seeing how similar it is to their English accents. :) Anyways, they're learning a lot from their Book of Mormons and Bibles in French AND Spanish. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Our Mission President taught a lesson this week and talked about a meeting he attended with some other Mission Presidents. Elder Holland spoke and asked them why missionary work was so hard. Hahaha President said nobody wanted to answer THAT question! :D Elder Holland ended up answering his own question, though, and said that he believes that </span><b style="color: #222222;">the reason it's so hard is that the Gospel "is a message of CHANGE.</b><span style="color: #222222;">" And people don't want to change. Most of us don't like it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I really liked that; it makes a lot of sense. What we do as missionaries is invite others to come unto Christ by putting their lives in harmony with His teachings, so that in the end they can be happier. We invite them to "put off the natural man," or the natural state we're comfortable with, and CHANGE, be baptized, be born again. Only by doing these things, by following Jesus Christ, can we start on the path to enduring happiness and eternal life. But like Elder Holland said, people don't like change, and really every time my companion and I have been rejected, it has been because the person is comfortable or familiar with their habits, traditions, and day-to-day life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I loved what our President said at the end. "Hay una vida mejor que tienen ahora." "There is a better life than they have right now." And that's why we keep trying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I also love this scripture from the Book of Mormon. It really sums up all of our struggles as we try to help people make and keep commitments to pray, to read, and to come to church...in short, to CHANGE. In Alma 42:27 it says, <i>"Por tanto, oh hijo mio, el que quiera venir, puede venir a beber libremente de las aguas de la vida; y quien no quiera venir, no esta obligado a venir."</i> Or in English: <i><b>"Therefore, oh my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We all have our agency. God's never going to force us to do or have something, even if that something is happiness. So many good scriptures in the Book of Mormon and Bible about that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks Morgan, Sarah, and Neal family for your letters (the pictures were amazing haha(! In all they were very inspiring, even if some of them took a while to get here! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Miss you all! :) Hope you're all ready for Christmas! Remember what it's really about! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Elder Jones</span></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-36447695686166474702011-11-21T03:06:00.000-08:002011-12-19T08:17:13.450-08:00"Uh-oh, uh-oh, trunky, trunky! Change it! NO one's going home for Christmas!"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-UMqE1wD68tDK_XNzo7_PbJTewMZdok3EVtWai2ElJSS6iT9domSDjkK6nUHDAT3mV60WBvix2ZtNopKuzeZxyPwn3MjPth7RfwFFyfrN1RoA8DWxsSQ2biQg2nRmdRSqB7-doQn6JI/s1600/JoshJones+118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-UMqE1wD68tDK_XNzo7_PbJTewMZdok3EVtWai2ElJSS6iT9domSDjkK6nUHDAT3mV60WBvix2ZtNopKuzeZxyPwn3MjPth7RfwFFyfrN1RoA8DWxsSQ2biQg2nRmdRSqB7-doQn6JI/s400/JoshJones+118.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Here is Joshua with his companion Elder Barrett</div>
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and the two other Elders that share a pension with them.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkNVOWrwvzZ-MjrLr-LMAujpwDFMdCA_4n78M7T9LBieKpb_yVh_MEWarwdn-nAmNXM9cKZmY9_q-3DEks79QcLY9StG5pUnDq4yFzK9zuyaeJKRVkTyfa1qgNgd2KFyPxdSvdV4vGgw/s1600/JoshJones+119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkNVOWrwvzZ-MjrLr-LMAujpwDFMdCA_4n78M7T9LBieKpb_yVh_MEWarwdn-nAmNXM9cKZmY9_q-3DEks79QcLY9StG5pUnDq4yFzK9zuyaeJKRVkTyfa1qgNgd2KFyPxdSvdV4vGgw/s400/JoshJones+119.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here's the little BBQ he mentioned in a previous post.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Hahaha if you're wondering about the title, it's just what my companion said when we were studying and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" popped up on our Christmas playlist. Haha you probably have to be a missionary to really appreciate how funny it was. "Trunky" is what we call missionaries who are thinking about home instead of the work or counting down days or something like that. ;)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well, we had changes this week. "Changes" is when everybody gets their new orders for the next six weeks- where they're going to be serving, who their companion's going to be, etc. Our zone hardly got touched, so I'm happy to say Elder Mason, Elder Mahoni, Elder Barrett, and I will be spending the holidays together. We've found a lot of really good people in the past couple weeks that I have really high hopes for so I definitely didn't want to leave yet. Then again, change is really good, especially on the mission, and I would have been excited to see more of Chile and learn new streets and meet new people again. :) It's all good. Where the Lord needs me is where I need to work.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I'm getting really into the language and having a grand old time. I think my only complaint is that I'd sure like to be able to take a break from proselyting and preaching when I'm sleeping! I keep having these half-awake, half-asleep dreams where I'm teaching lessons and testifying in Spanish at like 1 in the morning. My companion's hoping it stops, too, because sometimes I have to wake him up to back me up and bear testimony of Jesus Christ. After all, I can't do it alone! ;) ....Anyways, it might be good practice for my Spanish, but it's definitely not helping my sleep. :P</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By the way, I miss milk. REAL milk. I can't believe it's come to powdered milk. :( Saaaad face. And what's worse, I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I'm USED to it now. :P My workouts every day have become increasingly more creative, too (water storage for weights, using furniture, etc.). Thus far I've been very pleasantly surprised to see how well we're able to stay fit and healthy. Of course, you have to work. We have plenty of elders who've decided it's just not worth the effort haha.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The work's going well. We had a few struggles with investigators this week hearing false information about our church from others. That makes me SO sad.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Special thanks to Kimi, Sister Krogh, Grandpa, Caroline, and Emily for writing me letters! I'll try to respond through my mom or a letter as soon as I can! Anyway, that's it for now. Hope you're all doing great! :) I miss you all so much!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Keep the Faith!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Elder Jones</span></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-31451608498377202442011-11-14T05:26:00.000-08:002011-12-19T08:27:08.921-08:0014 November 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYhtIN7vDrijfWskMMMPQGTDJoKbZKX4hc1f66WZL1B6Mz8-UcHXFiEwIfk-RtLT6L3XT9oixseiXMlsuOb0koNzl0VWQ3Vbowh-tV7QpRHSaeXOFL5bDsFU9WXK0U4mZNjcboYuP-Ao/s1600/JoshJones+113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYhtIN7vDrijfWskMMMPQGTDJoKbZKX4hc1f66WZL1B6Mz8-UcHXFiEwIfk-RtLT6L3XT9oixseiXMlsuOb0koNzl0VWQ3Vbowh-tV7QpRHSaeXOFL5bDsFU9WXK0U4mZNjcboYuP-Ao/s400/JoshJones+113.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PXGkdtFGZbvNWLvqcmA5v4mwVQqCMDBT9ukFOILxGrZP7SdJH0dBShgG6OzGFRZlMGn7Xge28pkQMlEZh9yYfp5RP9Lrht4tr2FRyqKcmRsmertFV2sknwjbLhqJCvfKDyZx8uoao2k/s1600/JoshJones+116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PXGkdtFGZbvNWLvqcmA5v4mwVQqCMDBT9ukFOILxGrZP7SdJH0dBShgG6OzGFRZlMGn7Xge28pkQMlEZh9yYfp5RP9Lrht4tr2FRyqKcmRsmertFV2sknwjbLhqJCvfKDyZx8uoao2k/s400/JoshJones+116.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two reminded me of Okinawa -- <br />squating as if it were comfortable and colorful graffiti. </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hey everybody! I pray you´re all safe, sound, and finding success in</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">your work and studies. :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Things have been going great here! The weather's been alternating</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">from being unbearably hot to being freezing cold. And of course, we</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">always decide to wear short sleeves on days that end up being cold and</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">long sleeves and suits when it turns out to be hot. :P Okay, not</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">always. And when it happens, it gives us something else to laugh</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">about and keep up our animo (By the way, animo is a great word that</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">really doesn't have a good English equivalent; it's just better in</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Spanish). :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We found a few solid people to teach this week and we have some good</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">investigadors right now, but my companion and I are trying to think of more effective ways of finding than knocking doors or stopping people in the street....although we definitely get some good stories out of those methods. :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The members are really nice and feed us lunch every day. Fun fact: my</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">companion and I have managed to eat potatoes (in some form) every day</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">this past week. It's a conspiracy, I know it. Don't get me wrong, I</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">liked it every day....I'm just not sure if our diet of soda, potatoes,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and cereal is 100% in agreement with the food pyramid. Or food plate.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yeah, it's a plate now, right?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's funny how much a mission can change you. I can't believe that</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">now whenever I have down time, I'm super excited to spend it reading</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">scriptures or <i>Preach My Gospel</i>. I'm so embarrassed to think about how</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">much time I wasted with facebook or doing nothing in particular. And</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">all those hours I called "studying"....I had no idea what studying</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">was.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today the four of us had a barbecue. You'll have to wait for the</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">pictures to believe how much meat we ate. And on that note, sorry!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My mom keeps reminding me that the blog is boring without pictures. I</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">don't take tons (we don't really have much time for stuff like that</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and I think we can't actually use our cameras during proselyting) but</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm looking for a way to print them or make a CD. SO...with the</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">super-speedy Chilean mail system we have, you guys should be able to</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">see them....by next Christmas. If not, I'll just show you all of them</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">when I get back. ;)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And thank you so much for the speakers, Mom and Dad!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">:) I was pretty much the hero of the pension (apartment). Now we can</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">blast our Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Prince of Egypt music. Or if</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">we're feeling really cool we'll get some EFY playing up in there!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I should go! Talk to you all soon!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Elder Jones</span>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-89004437251360496282011-11-04T01:39:00.001-07:002011-11-04T02:14:58.076-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaq5gpIGTQ5IZKGKwS-P1UBf87RRUysJbweZvmm70Mp0lF6aUZJek2OV5ELf69m4cRCELvPBxjQhVdgONJi5H7rG30Yz-f5PEPMkrS1ynoCrQtr3CfOSmuK22Y2gFKmq9O7YdtfT6Kg8/s1600/152c381b-b220-481a-869a-b077b9aa5354.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaq5gpIGTQ5IZKGKwS-P1UBf87RRUysJbweZvmm70Mp0lF6aUZJek2OV5ELf69m4cRCELvPBxjQhVdgONJi5H7rG30Yz-f5PEPMkrS1ynoCrQtr3CfOSmuK22Y2gFKmq9O7YdtfT6Kg8/s1600/152c381b-b220-481a-869a-b077b9aa5354.jpeg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://byutv.org/watch/152c381b-b220-481a-869a-b077b9aa5354#ooid=xpaHN1MjoA3CV_8lzmBhXm-JMxz7KCOd" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">5,000 Days Project: Two Brothers</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Meet Luke and Sam Nelson, two brothers who struggled to develop a positive relationship in childhood. The Nelson boys are just two of 60 kids documented over a 5,000-day period by filmmaker Rick Stevenson.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">I just had to post this link here. If you have a free hour, I highly recommend you spend it on this show. I especially liked the last half where they followed the older brother on his mission to CHILE!! He's a typical, flawed kid who gains much perspective over the two years. I served my mission in Ecuador. I think this accurately shows the fears, silliness and growth experienced by very young adults on a mission.</span>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-30814799590077174342011-10-31T17:02:00.000-07:002011-10-31T17:06:31.642-07:00We've started teaching English Classes<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghn2BTALpV6cME1qdI6bEik9c_hzDqzLFw24yLyZRVccrleN6CquENihYHyPzVMG9SeFTT22L1sV-aAktzrmzr5ia6nqrOLY0Ej7jqFxNaFBFs0ONW3YrWVG8RQ9dWGSlPTbNsbZhXZ3U/s1600/Republica+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghn2BTALpV6cME1qdI6bEik9c_hzDqzLFw24yLyZRVccrleN6CquENihYHyPzVMG9SeFTT22L1sV-aAktzrmzr5ia6nqrOLY0Ej7jqFxNaFBFs0ONW3YrWVG8RQ9dWGSlPTbNsbZhXZ3U/s1600/Republica+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recent visit from <a href="http://lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/attempting-the-impossible?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Zeballos</a>. Joshua's Mission is divided into three Zones. This is Joshua's, Zona República.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy2XVHe7qGs_ROxe4aIWDAgkMne2muIZ52jh98E2dceb6tpTAtkggI2eh4DvzAC-XOXmSqjYoQ9A-xRD6ZXhz-08vwXlUKKiQBeAusuPWJwHfbEXTpnzzSMVz2MGoQ2F6GiuOw8EG_yo/s1600/Republica+3_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy2XVHe7qGs_ROxe4aIWDAgkMne2muIZ52jh98E2dceb6tpTAtkggI2eh4DvzAC-XOXmSqjYoQ9A-xRD6ZXhz-08vwXlUKKiQBeAusuPWJwHfbEXTpnzzSMVz2MGoQ2F6GiuOw8EG_yo/s200/Republica+3_2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of a poor quality photo, but you can still see his big smile!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Hello everyone! :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The work's been going really well. Elder Barrett and I are working better together every day. :) Now when we knock doors or talk to people in the street, we're chatting for 10-25 minutes and getting return appointments. I'm learning that just about everyone can feel the Spirit when we testify and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- IF we're in tune and listening to the promptings of the Spirit. When we're being obedient, praying fervently, and staying happy, we know which aspect of the gospel to start with and how to present the message in a way that people's hearts, spirits, and minds are touched. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Some days are rougher than others but, in all...I'm really having fun. Like, seriously. I never get enough sleep and I'm already 100% fed up with soda, but I'm really having a blast down here. :) I'm scared I'm going to get transferred to another area before we have time to do everything we want to here. So many people to meet, teach, and love!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A lot of citas fell through this week but we found 12 new investigators this week, including some great families. We're really excited about that. This one sweet lady has six kids and they're very active in another church right now. They were very sweet and the young girls (though a little giggly at times) were very attentive and I think everyone felt the love of Jesus Christ when our prayer and message were through. We found several other solid people. In short, I'm very excited for this upcoming week.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Also, we're starting our English classes. We were trying to find ways to meet and get to know more people and I remembered all the English classes they'd teach in Japan. Like there, everyone here in Chile wants to learn English and we've been able to invite a lot of people. Elder Barrett gets annoyed (and I just crack up) when people who are practically running away from us stop dead in their tracks and whip around to talk to us when we stop inviting them to come to Christ and invite them to English classes. I just think it's hilarious. I'm thinking, "You just told us you wouldn't care if God existed, if He loved you and had a plan for you, or if there was a way your family could live together forever....but you'll practically have a heart attack when you hear 'Clases de Inglés gratis.'" One lady actually said, "Now THAT (referring to English) I'm interested in." My favorite guy was the one who was "too old" to try and figure God out but apparently thought in his remaining 2-3 years he would be able to use our classes. XD In short, a lot of people are more excited at the prospect of learning English than finding out if eternal life is real and they can have it. Priorities, for the win.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I'm saddened every time I hear people, especially the self-proclaimed, "open-minded," "truth-seeking," or "prayerful" who refuse to simply pray to their Heavenly Father about our message humbly, with real intent, and in the name of Christ. If God exists, and this is really how he operates...how are you ever going to know if you don't try the steps He's outlined? If He doesn't exist, you won't get an answer. If we're liars or deceived, He'll tell you. What do you have to lose? On the other hand, if we're really messengers from God, you're keeping yourself out in the cold from all the blessings of the Gospel- the greatest feelings of peace, cleanliness, and true happiness in this life and in the life to come. And what else do you want God to do? He literally has us knocking on your doors, stopping you in the street. He has his prophets and apostles broadcasting the good news through television and internet. I don't know...It just seems so simple to me. :) We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by simply trying and proving God.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's not super relevant but there's this guy in our ward that I LOVE. He's just this super sweet old guy and he joined the Church a little while ago. He's still learning a lot so he's in our Gospel Principles class. He can't hear anything and says, "Huh?" anytime anybody talks. He accelerates from 0-1 MPH in approximately 2.5 years. He's like a cross between Mr. </span><em style="font-style: normal; line-height: 26px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fredricksen</span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> from "UP" and that little old guy from "Emperor's New Groove."</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Anyway, I should go! Love you all! :) Miss you! Sorry if my English is terrible, this computer stinks and I have Spanish on the brain!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">-Elder Jones</span></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-35242798292601189902011-10-24T12:00:00.000-07:002011-10-25T06:20:56.445-07:00First Impressions of Chile<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no photos from Chile yet, so here's the day we dropped him off at the MTC.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">So mail is weird. They don't really have all that prevalent of a system here in Chile (nothing gets delivered to doorsteps and there aren't a ton of post offices) so for missionaries it's a little sad. Everything gets sent to the mission home and then each week it gets distributed through our pouch system during our Wednesday zone meetings. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Mail OUT is even worse. According to my trainer, since we don't have a post office in our sector, we're supposed to wait until we have big mission-wide meetings every 2 months or so and give our letters to an Elder who lives in a sector with a post office. That sounds a little ridiculous to me so I'm going to ask around and see what I can find. Right now I'm lucky enough to have an Elder in my zone who can take my letter every week to some other random guy he knows in HIS sector to mail it. Yeah....I'm trying to find a less sketchy way to send stuff, but I guess what I'm saying is that even though I'm writing letters, you might not get them for a little bit. Especially with the approximately 13-day trip one way for each letter. We'll see what happens in the coming months and eventually, I'm sure I'll have a good system worked out. :) For now, here's the address:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Elder Joshua <b><u>DAVID </u></b>Jones</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Mision Chile Santiago Oeste</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Casilla 149</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Pajaritos 1921</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Maipu, Chile</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><u>IMPORTANT:</u></b> You MUST write "Joshua <b><u>DAVID</u></b> Jones" because we have another Joshua Jones serving here and omitting David is going to tack another week or so on to mailtime. :) I thought about it this morning haha. :) And apparently another (third) Elder Josh Jones went home from here just a little while ago. Parents giving me a unique name for the win. ;)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The mission's going great. :) We're working hard to find people and getting to teach a lot of lessons. We had a few slow days with citas (appointments) falling through but when that happens, we try to make up for it by contacting more people. Sometimes I still feel like a coward or a dinkus but little by little I'm getting bolder and less awkward. ;) I have to keep in mind that there is NOTHING "creepy" or "irrelevant" about sharing the message of eternal families and how people can have happiness without money and without price. Sometimes it's hard to get people to realize we're normal people (with normal hopes, dreams, and problems) and that we don't "want" anything from them. We're genuine. Santiago's a different beast, too, because there are lots of preachers yelling on the streets (oftentimes not talking to anyone in particular). We've had a few guys jump onto micros (buses) after us so they can yell at everyone that we're preaching false doctrine or going to hell. :) When there are quiet, peaceful missionary gatherings of other faiths on the street, though, I like to go up, smile at them, and shake their hands. My trainer thinks I'm funny but it's all good. :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Spanish seems to have its on and off days hahaha but I know the Lord is blessing me. Sometimes I know what they're saying and what I need to say back even when I don't entirely understand the words that are coming out of their mouth. Does that make sense?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I'm amazed that we have like four hours or more of studying a day and I still feel like I never have time to just relax and read the Bible or the Book of Mormon. And I have so much to do on preparation days that I never have time to take a nap. I'm SO tired....but after two and a half months on the mission, I'm kind of accepting it as my new way of life.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">My sector's pretty awesome. We do a LOT of walking haha. :) Sometimes it feels like half the day. I guess it's just more motivation to find appointments that don't fall through. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">There are some pretty- for lack of a better word- "sketchy" areas in my sector but it's a great blessing to be able to talk to people of so many different walks of life and see how the Gospel could uniquely bless/better their lives. It's interesting because we know a TON of bad stuff with drugs and whatnot is going down, but we don't ever really feel in danger. The only trouble we have is with the Chilenas who blow kisses, whistle, or shout things like "que lindo, Elder" at us from their corners or cars. :P We mostly avoid younger women like the plague because a lot of times they're more interested in Americans than they are in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it's a hard balance between trying to be friendly to everyone (and share the gospel) and making sure our only objective or purpose here is clear.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We had an investigator at Church this week. He's a great kid. We had lots of no-shows though, including some who committed to baptismal dates. :( Hopefully they still have desires to take the steps towards finding true happiness in this life and in the life to come. :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Okay, I should probably wrap up my time here. I miss you all and hope to hear how you're doing soon! :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Love,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Elder Joshua <u style="font-weight: bold;">DAVID</u> Jones ;)</span></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333285605622141398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-32099589959912333652011-10-17T15:18:00.000-07:002011-12-19T08:39:31.640-08:00First Official Letter from Chile<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT3NMVSdjPhp3kTv9spJnDA79u0Vlv-T4bNRXSYlVMcBWKwfn4xiAtdSbDVKHM5M8r6bJDgRMdD_jkWLjyVTaXGmxructArA_aYYXKqNJFVEfA1tVkXTS4wblRIx6qFB-GCp5IEmJUzY/s1600/JoshJones+091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT3NMVSdjPhp3kTv9spJnDA79u0Vlv-T4bNRXSYlVMcBWKwfn4xiAtdSbDVKHM5M8r6bJDgRMdD_jkWLjyVTaXGmxructArA_aYYXKqNJFVEfA1tVkXTS4wblRIx6qFB-GCp5IEmJUzY/s400/JoshJones+091.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First view from the plane.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the airport with his fellow "greenies."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the huge stadium celebration of 50 years<br /> of the Church being in Chile.<br /> He arrived the week of the celebration.</td></tr>
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¡Hola everyone! I'm finally in Chile! :) I've only been here for five full days and already there's way too much to tell you all! The flight was pretty good; it was definitely different being a missionary in public...people definitely look at you funny. I thought it was pretty funny how a lot of people in the States actually had panicked looks on their faces and tried to stay out of our way. Don't they know I'm already scared of them? I don't know how to share the Gospel in English! :D :P</div>
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We met this great cute old Chilena lady on the plane and I'm going to give her number to the missionaries serving in her area. We learned pretty quick that Chileans don't speak Spanish (but seriously...I don't feel too bad because even other South Americans can't understand them at first) but despite the first few days being pretty rough, things are already getting better.</div>
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I'm serving in the Ochagavia Ward in the Ochagavia Stake. It's in the city. Mom will be happy to hear that I'm already getting really humbled up with everything. We thought our cinderblock house in Okinawa was small?? Yeaaaaah right. It's not like these people are living in huts or anything but they're entire houses can't be more than 1,000 square feet....if that. When they take us into their home, they REALLY take us into their home. The members are so in love with us they make us lunch everyday. Even though I've been pretty hungry this week, my first thought is always..."Wow...these people have nothing (compared to us) and they're here feeding us." Incredible. Makes you think about all we've been blessed with and reconsider all the ridiculous things we complain about or think we "need."</div>
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Basically everyone down here is nice and will chat with us but I still want to work harder. My trainer, Elder Barrett, is a stud, and we try to work hard but I'm realizing that there are a lot of things in the mission that are out of my control and I just need to relax during meetings and whatnot. We found a couple awesome people this week that I think we'll be able to teach and that will progress.</div>
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The Andes are beautiful. But here in the city there are filthy, ownerless dogs EVERYWHERE. Basically, Mom would die. There are literally thousands just wandering the streets (like 10 on a block) and they just poop everywhere and bark. It's kind of funny because they'll actually wait for lights to turn green before crossing and everything. They're definitely their own breed. For the most part, they hate us and we hate them. :P</div>
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The work is tiring but not overly difficult. I'm trying to keep in mind that I can only work my hardest and leave the rest to the Spirit and the agency of those I'm teaching. My testimony is getting stronger everyday, although I feel like I only have time to study for the investigators and never just to be uplifted or enjoy the scriptures for myself. And we study 4 hours a day! </div>
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The Church is true. It really is the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth once more. Anyone can know that for themselves if they'll just be humble and open enough to read the Book of Mormon and ask God to tell them it's true.</div>
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The 50th Celebration was SO good. I hope you all can find a way to watch it on BYU TV.</div>
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I want to tell you all so much more but I am starving, exhausted, and still have to do shopping, laundry, write a letter, and prepare for a couple lessons tonight. I love you all and hope you're all well! By the way, mail is almost nonexistent here. We send everything and receive everything through the mission home. Use that address. It's the one with Maipu in it. Anyway, there's something like a 2-4 week gap (with snail mail) each way, so if you write me, just be patient. :) I loved your letter, it strengthened me, and I'm going to respond as soon as I can (the next preparation day, which is every Monday).</div>
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Love,</div>
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Elder Jones</div>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-35190246004521974012011-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:002011-10-24T15:06:08.937-07:00Letter from Joshua's Mission President & short note from Joshua<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYlWRko8AVM5Tq6J0FYl9YOsvnkVrkCpBvYQF6M7mAPFuK3J_YrZ7nkTwhxs7RLR1TKxmk4__xeJ9gSmEZQLE9yA2OQjXzYQXNy5qtpt2MA7QjjZ4s45FNQdlnrxujHfpKakt2OucaZkw/s1600/100_2192-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYlWRko8AVM5Tq6J0FYl9YOsvnkVrkCpBvYQF6M7mAPFuK3J_YrZ7nkTwhxs7RLR1TKxmk4__xeJ9gSmEZQLE9yA2OQjXzYQXNy5qtpt2MA7QjjZ4s45FNQdlnrxujHfpKakt2OucaZkw/s640/100_2192-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Dear Brother and Sister<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Jones</span>,<br />
<br />
Sister King and I were pleased to welcome your son,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Elder</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Jones</span>, to one of the finest missions in the world, the Chile Santiago West Mission. He is well and happy, and we are impressed with his enthusiasm for the work. After greeting him at the airport and a brief tour of the beautiful city of Santiago, we arrived at our mission home. I interviewed your son and gave him a priesthood blessing. My Assistants and office missionaries then gave him a brief orientation to the mission. We had a delicious lunch together, he met his new companion, and that afternoon he left the mission home and departed for his first area of labor.<br />
<br />
<span class="il">Elder</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Jones</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>has been assigned to work with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Elder</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span>Barrett<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>, who will serve as his training companion. Trainers are chosen for their competence, patience and dedication, and are selected after prayerful consideration. With this letter we are including a photograph taken of your son and his new companion with Sister King and myself.<br />
<br />
Please accept our deep appreciation for raising such a fine son. We feel a genuine fellowship with you in supporting and providing him this opportunity to grow spiritually as he labors to bring souls unto Christ. It is my prayer that the Lord will inspire us all to sustain him in this challenging assignment. Please write him frequently, weekly if possible. Express your love, support, and confidence in him. You will witness miraculous changes in his life as he engages fully in the service of others.<br />
<br />
Being parents ourselves, we understand your desire to occasionally send packages. For your information, packages sent to your missionary through FedEx often require large duty fees which must be paid by the missionary. Those sent through Global priority mail, marked missionary supplies and valued less then $100 usually arrive duty free and within 2 weeks.<br />
<br />
If you have any questions or if we can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to write.<br />
</span><span style="color: black;">Sincerely,<br />
<br />
President Richard W. King<br />
Chile Santiago West Mission</span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyMDVgqraJ7uY2dttcjm9eaF8dRfo7MITbC5ks1o3YtiBDeZqacKlfQvsfcAis63DqSwGP-ykGVSO1E-2GCyUEF7Aj8P6d7dy6hq6ASKBSFtJQjU3JLEqqL1OhtuL2XrBgZpHJLGEWJBP/s1600/Elder+Jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyMDVgqraJ7uY2dttcjm9eaF8dRfo7MITbC5ks1o3YtiBDeZqacKlfQvsfcAis63DqSwGP-ykGVSO1E-2GCyUEF7Aj8P6d7dy6hq6ASKBSFtJQjU3JLEqqL1OhtuL2XrBgZpHJLGEWJBP/s1600/Elder+Jones.jpg" /></a></div>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-17434797179743559692011-10-07T14:24:00.000-07:002011-10-24T14:43:08.698-07:00The Book of Mormon—a Book from God<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #f9f6ed; color: #2f393a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 13px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #f9f6ed; color: #777777; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 13px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="clearfix" id="details" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 30px; padding-left: 45px; padding-right: 30px; padding-top: 35px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1; zoom: 1;"><h2 class="author" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2a3753; font-size: 24px; font: normal normal normal 24px/26px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 435px;"><a href="http://lds.org/church/leader/tad-r-callister?lang=eng" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="byline" id="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">BY ELDER TAD R. CALLISTER</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #9a9c9d; font-size: 13px; font: italic normal normal 14px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Of the Presidency of the Seventy</div></div></a></h2><hr style="border-bottom-color: rgb(243, 183, 82); border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(243, 183, 82); border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(243, 183, 82); border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(243, 183, 82); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 7px; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; clear: both; color: #f3b752; display: block; float: left; height: 7px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 30px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 225px;" /></div><div id="primary" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2f393a; float: left; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 45px; padding-right: 45px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 470px;"><blockquote class="intro dontHighlight" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2f393a; font-family: DistrictThin, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://lds.org/church/leader/tad-r-callister?lang=eng" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Tad R. Callister" class="img-decor" id="talkPhoto" src="http://lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/tad-r-callister-10.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) 2px 4px 13px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(158, 160, 162); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(158, 160, 162); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(158, 160, 162); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(158, 160, 162); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) 2px 4px 13px; float: left; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 30px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a><div class="kicker" id="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #2f393a; font-family: DistrictThin, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity.</div></blockquote><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Years ago my great-great-grandfather picked up a copy of the Book of Mormon for the first time. He opened it to the center and read a few pages. He then declared, “That book was either written by God or the devil, and I am going to find out who wrote it.” He read it through twice in the next 10 days and then declared, “The devil could not have written it—it must be from God.”<sup class="noteMarker" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: super;"><a href="http://lds.org/liahona/2011/11/the-book-of-mormon-a-book-from-god?lang=eng&query=*+%28name%3a%22Tad+R.+Callister%22%29#footnote1-09691_000_030" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1</a></sup></div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That is the genius of the Book of Mormon—there is no middle ground. It is either the word of God as professed, or it is a total fraud. This book does not merely claim to be a moral treatise or theological commentary or collection of insightful writings. It claims to be the word of God—every sentence, every verse, every page.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="no-link-style" href="http://mormon.org/joseph-smith/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important; color: #2f393a; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;">Joseph Smith</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>declared that an angel of God directed him to gold plates, which contained the writings of prophets in ancient America, and that he translated those plates by divine powers. If that story is true, then the Book of Mormon is holy scripture, just as it professes to be; if not, it is a sophisticated but, nonetheless, diabolical hoax.</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">C. S. Lewis spoke of a similar dilemma faced by someone who must choose whether to accept or reject the Savior’s divinity—where there is likewise no middle ground: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. … You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. … But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”<sup class="noteMarker" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: super;"><a href="http://lds.org/liahona/2011/11/the-book-of-mormon-a-book-from-god?lang=eng&query=*+%28name%3a%22Tad+R.+Callister%22%29#footnote2-09691_000_030" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 9px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2</a></sup></div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Likewise, we must make a simple choice with the Book of Mormon: it is either of God or the devil. There is no other option. For a moment I invite you to take a test that will help you determine the true nature of this book. Ask yourself if the following scriptures from the Book of Mormon draw you closer to God or to the devil:</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Feast upon the words of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="no-link-style" href="http://jesuschrist.lds.org/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important; color: #2f393a; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;">Christ</a>; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/32.3?lang=eng#2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Nephi 32:3</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Or these words of a loving father to his sons: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/5.12?lang=eng#11" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Helaman 5:12</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Or these words of a prophet: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10.32?lang=eng#31" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Moroni 10:32</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Could these statements from the Book of Mormon have possibly been authored by the evil one? After the Savior cast out certain devils, the Pharisees claimed that He did so “by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” The Savior responded that such a conclusion was nonsensical: “Every kingdom,” He said, “divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every … house divided against itself shall not stand.” And then His compelling climax:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="emphasis" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/12.24-26?lang=eng#23" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matthew 12:24–26</a>; emphasis added).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If the foregoing scriptures from the Book of Mormon teach us to worship and love and serve the Savior (which they do), how can they be from the devil? If so, he would be divided against himself and thus be destroying his own kingdom, the very condition the Savior said could not exist. An honest, unbiased reading of the Book of Mormon will bring someone to the same conclusion as my great-great-grandfather, namely: “The devil could not have written it—it must be from God.”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="no-link-style" href="http://lds.org/topic/bible/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important; color: #2f393a; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;">Bible</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to teach us about<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="no-link-style" href="http://mormon.org/jesus-christ" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important; color: #2f393a; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;">Jesus Christ</a>? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="no-link-style" href="http://lds.org/study/topics/baptism?lang=eng" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important; color: #2f393a; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;">baptism</a>” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/eph/4.5?lang=eng#4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ephesians 4:5</a>). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/2-cor/13.1?lang=eng#0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Corinthians 13:1</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Again and again the Book of Mormon acts as a confirming, clarifying, unifying witness of the doctrines taught in the Bible so that there is only “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” For example, some people are confused as to whether baptism is essential for salvation even though the Savior declared to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/3.5?lang=eng#4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">John 3:5</a>). The Book of Mormon, however, eliminates all doubt on that subject: “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, … or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/9.23?lang=eng#22" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Nephi 9:23</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There exist various modes of baptisms in the world today even though the Bible tells us the manner in which the Savior, our great Exemplar, was baptized: “[He] went up straightway out of the water” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/3.16?lang=eng#15" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matthew 3:16</a>). Could He have come up out of the water unless He first went down into the water? Lest there be any discord on this subject, the Book of Mormon dispels it with this straightforward statement of doctrine as to the proper manner of baptism: “And then shall ye immerse them in the water” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/11.26?lang=eng#25" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3 Nephi 11:26</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Many believe that revelation ended with the Bible even though the Bible itself is a testimony of God’s revelatory pattern over 4,000 years of man’s existence. But one incorrect doctrine such as this is like a domino set in motion that causes the fall of other dominoes or, in this case, the fall of correct doctrines. A belief in the cessation of revelation causes the doctrine that “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9.9?lang=eng#8" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mormon 9:9</a>) to fall; it causes the doctrine taught by Amos that “surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.7?lang=eng#6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Amos 3:7</a>) to fall; and it causes the doctrine that “God is no respecter of persons” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/10.34?lang=eng#33" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Acts 10:34</a>) and thus speaks to all men of all ages to fall. But fortunately the Book of Mormon reenthrones the biblical truth of continuous revelation:</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“And again, I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations. …</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever … ?” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9.7,9?lang=eng#6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mormon 9:7, 9</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In other words, if God, who is unchangeable, spoke in ancient times, He will likewise speak in modern times.</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The list of doctrinal confirmations and clarifications goes on and on, but none is more powerful nor poignant than the Book of Mormon’s discourses on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement—that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="no-link-style" href="http://mormon.org/book-of-mormon/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-width: initial !important; color: #2f393a; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;">read the Book of Mormon</a>. It will teach you and testify to you that Christ’s Atonement is infinite because it circumscribes and encompasses and transcends every finite frailty known to man. That is why the prophet Mormon declared, “Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7.41?lang=eng#40" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Moroni 7:41</a>).</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No wonder the Book of Mormon proclaims with boldness, “And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/33.10?lang=eng#9" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Nephi 33:10</a>). Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity. Together with the Bible, it “teach[es] all men that they should do good” (<a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/33.10?lang=eng#9" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #486fae; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Nephi 33:10</a>). And together with the Bible, it brings us to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” That is why the Book of Mormon is so crucial in our lives.</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Some years ago I attended one of our worship services in Toronto, Canada. A 14-year-old girl was the speaker. She said that she had been discussing religion with one of her friends at school. Her friend said to her, “What religion do you belong to?”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She replied, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons.”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Her friend replied, “I know that church, and I know it’s not true.”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“How do you know?” came the reply.</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Because,” said her friend, “I have researched it.”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Have you read the Book of Mormon?”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“No,” came the answer. “I haven’t.”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then this sweet young girl responded, “Then you haven’t researched my church, because I have read every page of the Book of Mormon and I know it’s true.”</div><div class="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I too have read every page of the Book of Mormon, again and again, and I bear my solemn witness, like my great-great-grandfather, it is from God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.</div></div></span></span>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-45229963784134893042011-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:002011-12-19T08:29:13.970-08:00Final Letter from Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh and our Okinawa friend Troy were in the MTC together. And their moms both thought they needed Route 58 shirts!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVyjJsU76ruKQlsAnYNWOEq8nkYdqijZeyFDpV4Os7HK1ShJHokX-Hp9M1JqdSSltC1ZvvOr_WFqDDPdAJ4OEPzXg_k_UKmPxtLEKoOr8tFf6nRodgvtF8fhm-DjIWL-CVNlMoPKAL5Y/s1600/JoshJones+029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVyjJsU76ruKQlsAnYNWOEq8nkYdqijZeyFDpV4Os7HK1ShJHokX-Hp9M1JqdSSltC1ZvvOr_WFqDDPdAJ4OEPzXg_k_UKmPxtLEKoOr8tFf6nRodgvtF8fhm-DjIWL-CVNlMoPKAL5Y/s400/JoshJones+029.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The famous MTC map pose.</td></tr>
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Hey everybody! :) Sorry, the MTC is pretty busy and I haven't had a lot of time to specifically write anything to share with everybody in general!</div>
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I'm really excited to be leaving; I've definitely needed all the spiritual growth (and more importantly, the Spanish classes) that I've gained here, but I am so ready to leave and head out to share the gospel of Jesus Christ! Did I mention I need to get away from the food? ;) I am going to miss lifting weights though, even if it is just on machines. </div>
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I got my travel plans last Thursday and I'll be flying to Chile this Tuesday, October 11. We'll be passing through Atlanta and it looks like we'll be having plenty of time to feel like missionaries in the real world, both in the airports and on the planes. Pretty nerve-racking! I haven't had my in-field orientation yet (kind of like our last crash course where they try to help us understand better what we'll REALLY be doing in the field), but I'm pretty sure we're allowed to call our families during our travel day. I'm also 95% sure we'll only be allowed to call family but we'll see. I like how they expect us to remember how to use a phone! ;)</div>
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I'm getting more and more excited...and more and more nervous every day. My Spanish is definitely going to get rocked when I have to talk to the native speakers but...I can teach the principles of the gospel and I'm counting on the Lord to help me with the rest! I've studied so much, so hard, and I feel like I've done my part (thus far, haha, I still have plenty to do now and in the field). I guess that's all I can ask for.</div>
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Yesterday was an interesting experience. My companion and I were asked to be one of the companionships to demonstrate how to start lessons for the new missionaries coming in to the MTC. I'm sure this was supposed to be a kind gesture of confidence in us but honestly, it just made me feel like they were expecting things out of us that we didn't really have. We have no experience with "real" people yet. On top of having to "set the tone" in front of 30 new missionaries with an investigator we'd never met, we had to do the whole thing in English. I know it sounds lame, but that was actually REALLY hard. I've been practicing for weeks in SPANISH. It's hard to stay as focused, clear, and simple. It's easy to get derailed when we really just need to have Christ's love shining through us and the Spirit teaching the lesson.</div>
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Thank you so much for all your letters!!! You have no idea how much they really make my day! The mission is very rewarding and wonderful, but equally as difficult and discouraging. Hearing about how you're all doing and hearing your words of encouragement feels so good. You are my angels! I feel so bad for all the missionaries I didn't write consistently. I finally get it. :)</div>
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I love you all and hope you got to watch Conference! It was so amazing and I wish I had time to share my thoughts with you all (and hear yours as well)! Mom, could you post that awesome Book of Mormon one from Elder Clayton? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Elder</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Holland's was absolutely amazing, too. Sister Dalton brought the house down. ;)</div>
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Okay, I'm over time! Got to go! Love you all!</div>
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-<span class="il">Elder</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="il">Jones</span></div>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-66314942512024284042011-06-17T02:09:00.000-07:002011-06-17T02:18:23.066-07:00My Missionary Farewell Talk<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">Wow, I might actually give you guys things to read! For those of you who don't know, it's kind of a tradition in our church to have whoever's going on a mission give a "farewell talk" in their home wards (congregations). In recent years, the focus of these talks has changed to be about pretty much any subject, instead of the old "thank-you all, I'll miss you guys" talks. Anyways, I was asked to forward it to a friend and I figured a few of you might be interested in reading it, too. I'll try and write a post on why I'm serving a mission soon!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><b>FAREWELL TALK</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">Good morning brothers and sisters. I know this is a military branch, so for those of you who don't know me, my name is Josh Jones. I’m the son of David and Brenda Jones and I’m just visiting for a week before heading back to the States. My family will follow me out and we’ll be visiting family and friends before I report to the MTC in August for my mission to Santiago Chile. I’m very excited.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">This past year has been crazy. I just finished my first year at school and even though I began feeling very confident and prepared, I have learned and grown more in the past nine months than I have in my entire life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">But even though I could talk about any number of things I’ve learned, what I really feel prompted to talk about today is actually a lesson I began learning well before college. I am talking about the principle of not judging, or more correctly, of striving to understand where people are on their journey towards eternal life, and learning to respond appropriately, compassionately, and un-hypocritically. Unsurprisingly, my parents were eager to impress this idea into the minds of their children, especially with regards to our relationships with one another. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">I think most of us understand this concept on the surface and are readily able to parrot a scripture like, “where much is given much is required.” But for me, at least, it’s relatively easy to pay lip service to this belief and still act in a way that throws into question whether I really understand the principle or not.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">I remember being younger and being really bugged about a particular parable Jesus taught. It’s known as the Parable of the Laborers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">Basically there’s a lord of a vineyard who goes out and hires some workers early in the morning, agreeing to pay them each a penny for the day. The Lord hires an additional set of workers at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours, telling each of them that he would pay “whatsoever [was] right” that they should receive. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">At the end of the day, the Lord paid those who had been employed at the eleventh hour a penny. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><b>MATTHEW 20:10-15</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;">10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #3a5e9b; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;">11 And when they had received <i>it,</i></span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;"> they murmured against the goodman of the house,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #3a5e9b; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;">12 Saying, These last have wrought <i>but</i></span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;"> one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #3a5e9b; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;">13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #3a5e9b; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;">14 Take <i>that</i></span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;"> thine <i>is,</i></span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;"> and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #3a5e9b; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><span style="color: #252b2c; font-family: Georgia;">15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">I remember feeling so angry! And feeling bad about feeling so angry, because this was Jesus talking, and you're just not supposed to feel angry when Jesus talks! In my mind, the Lord had totally ripped off those guys who had worked all day. Over the years, however, this has become one of my favorite stories in the New Testament because it has taught me so much, made me think so much more. I know there are many interpretations for this story, (Talmage has a lot to say about it in <i>Jesus the Christ</i>), but for me the message has always been very clear. I can almost hear the Lord saying to me, “My agreement, my contract, is between you and me. You and I both understand the terms—you are to be saved by my grace, after all you can do. Stop worrying about what my agreements are with your brothers and sisters." (Actually, my dad said that last bit an awful lot while I was growing up!) "You don’t understand what their challenges and limitations are, and I know your own challenges and limitations better than you do. In fact, if you really understood the plan at all, you’d see that even though you each have a different test, the same terms and conditions apply.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;">Another one of my favorite stories is told by Brother Stephen E. Robinson. In his book, “Following Christ,” he shares his own modern day parable based on an experience he had as a boy. The tale is called the Parable of the Divers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><b>PARABLE OF THE DIVERS</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: TrebuchetMS;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Many years ago, when I was somewhere between nine and eleven, I participated in a community summer recreation program in the town where I grew up. I remember in particular a diving competition for the different age groups held at the community swimming pool. Some of the wealthier kids in our area had their own pools with diving boards, and they were pretty good amateur divers. But there was one kid my age from the less affluent part of town who didn’t have his own pool. What he had was raw courage. While the rest of us did our crisp little swan dives, back dives, and jackknives, being ever so careful to arch our backs and point our toes, this young man attempted back flips, one-and-a-halfs, doubles, and so on. But, oh, he was sloppy. He seldom kept his feet together, he never pointed his toes, and he usually missed his vertical entry. The rest of us observed with smug satisfaction as the judges held up their scorecards that he consistently got lower marks than we did with our safe and simple dives, and we congratulated ourselves that we were actually the better divers. “He is all heart and no finesse,” we told ourselves. “After all, </span></span><i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">we</span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> keep </span></span><i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">our</span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> feet together and point </span></span><i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">our</span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> toes.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The announcement of the winners was a great shock to us, for the brave young lad with the flips had apparently beaten us all.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">However, I had kept rough track of the scores in my head, and I knew with the arrogance of limited information that the math didn’t add up. I had consistently outscored the boy with the flips. And so, certain that an injustice was being perpetrated, I stormed the scorer’s table and demanded and explanation. “Degree of difficulty,” the scorer replied matter-of-factly as he looked me in the eye. “Sure, you had better form, but he did harder dives. When you factor in the degree of difficulty, he beat you hands down, kid.”</span></span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Until that moment I hadn’t known that some dives were awarded “extra credit” because of their greater difficulty.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I have a friend to whom life has been unkind. Though she married in the temple, her husband proved unfaithful and eventually abandoned her and their small children. Since he has never paid a penny in child support, my friend works full time to support herself and her kids. For several years she also went to school at night to improve her financial situation. Therefore, out of necessity, she could not be with her children as much as she would have liked and could not always give them the guidance and discipline they needed. It just wasn't possible in her difficult circumstances. One result of her less-than-perfect family situation was troubled teenagers. Now in middle age she is faced with raising some of her grandchildren--again, alone. Without a faithful companion, without the priesthood in her home, without the blessings that are realized where the ideal family setting is possible, it is almost inevitable that my friend should feel that her "scores" as a wife and mother, and perhaps even as a person, aren't very high. When she goes to church and sees other "ideal" LDS families, when she hears them bear their testimonies and give thanks for all their spiritual and temporal blessings, she sees in her mind the judges holding up scorecards that say 9.9 or 10.0. When she looks at her own life, her own failed marriage, her own troubled children, she knows that the scores are much lower, and she worries about her place in the kingdom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5pt;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Whenever I am tempted to feel superior to other Saints, the parable of the divers comes to my mind, and I repent. At least at a swim meet, we can usually tell which dives are the most difficult. But here in mortality, we cannot always tell who is carrying what burdens: limited intelligence, chemical depression, compulsive behaviors, learning disabilities, dysfunctional or abusive family background, poor health, physical or psychological handicaps—no one chooses these things. So I must not judge my brothers and sisters. I am thankful for my blessings but not smug about them, for I </span></span><i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">never</span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> want to hear the Scorer say to me, “Sure, you had better form, but she had a harder life. When you factor in degree of difficulty, she beat you hands down.”</span></span></div></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I love that story. I’d add my own commentary, but Robinson’s says it all for me and I don’t have much time. Just let me add quickly that at Stanford we have something known as “The Duck Syndrome.” Basically everyone, on the surface, seems to be drifting happily along when in reality, many are paddling like mad underneath the water just to stay afloat. Most times, we have no idea how hard or easy someone has it. I love how Robinson talks about his friend who must see 9.9s and 10.0s walking around everywhere. We must not allow ourselves to compare ourselves to others. Even if you see through the Duck Syndrome and make the right judgment in grading yourself in relation to them, it comes to no good. If you deem yourself to be “worse” than someone else, you will be discouraged. And if you figure you are “better” than someone else, you are in even more danger—you will be proud. In any case, both emotions are forms of dishonesty and tools of the Devil.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Speaking of the Devil, (no pun intended hahaha) I’d like to close with an excerpt from my favorite author, C.S. Lewis. In his book <i>The Screwtape Letters</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">, the devil Screwtape writes to his nephew and apprentice devil Wormwood, instructing him on how to best corrupt his “patient.” I think this letter makes clear how Satan can use our inclinations to judge (for the most part, unrighteously) to corrupt our testimonies and make us miserable.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><b>THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS (From Letter #2)</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">“One of our great allies at present is the Church itself…When he gets to his pew and looks round him he sees just that selection of his neighbours whom he has hitherto avoided. You want to lean pretty heavily on those neighbours. Make his mind flit to and fro between an expression like ‘the body of Christ’ and the actual faces in the next pew. It matters very little, of course, what kind of people that next pew really contains. You may know one of them to be a great warrior on the Enemy’s side. No matter. Your patient, thanks to Our Father Below, is a fool. Provided that any of those neighbours sing out of tune, or have boots that squeak, or double chins, or odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I have been writing hitherto on the assumption that the people in the next pew afford no <i>rational </i></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">ground for disappointment. Of course if they do—if the patient knows that the woman with the absurd hat is a fanatical bridge-player or the man with the squeaky boots is a miser and an extortioner—then your task is so much the easier. All you then have to do is to keep out of his mind the question ‘If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?’<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">You may ask whether it is possible to keep such an obvious thought from occurring even to a human mind. It is, Wormwood, it is! Handle him properly and it simply won’t come into his head. He has not been anything like long enough with the Enemy to have any real humility yet. What he says, even on his knees, about his own sinfulness is all parrot talk. At bottom, he still believes he has run up a very favourable credit-balance in the Enemy’s ledger by allowing himself to be converted, and thinks that he is showing great humility and condescension in going to church with these ‘smug’, commonplace neighbours at all. Keep him in that state of mind as long as you can.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 22.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">BEAR TESTIMONY<o:p></o:p></span></div>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697721119602409768.post-69131603276611494832011-06-16T07:35:00.000-07:002011-10-24T19:04:44.438-07:00Welcome to the Blog!So I don't head out for my mission for almost two more months from now, but...I thought it'd be good to outline the purpose of this blog and talk a bit about how it will work.<br /><br />This blog is meant to do two things. First, it's to serve as a way to keep my awesome friends and family closer to me as I head out for two years. Even though most of those closest to me were already far away, attending many different colleges or living in many different countries around the world, I had facebook, email, Skype, texting, and telephone calls that helped keep relationships strong and bridge distances. But as most of you probably know by now, mission rules (meant not to restrict, but to aid me in staying 100% dedicated and focused on my mission) dictate that I may only call home twice a year-- on Mother's Day and Christmas. Email is generally only allowed between family members, although email rules vary from mission to mission. So maybe I'll be able to shoot you guys a few, maybe not. Mostly, though, my communication with you will be through snail mail. My address while I am in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) will be:<br /><br />Elder Joshua David Jones<br />Chile Santiago West Mission<br />Provo Missionary Training Center<br />2005 N 900 E<br />Provo, UT 84604<br />United States<br /><br />This will only be good for the first two months or so of my mission (thru about October 10th, 2011). Once I am in Chile, my address will be:<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Molengo; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; color: black; ">Elder Joshua <b>DAVID</b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; color: black; "> Jones</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; color: black; ">Misión Chile Santiago Oeste</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; color: black; ">Casilla 149</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; color: black; ">Pajaritos 1921</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Georgia; color: black; "><br /></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; color: black; ">Maipú, Chile</span></span><br /><br />This address will get mail delivered to me about once a month or so, as it will just send mail to the mission home (kind of like missionary headquarters) for my particular mission, and whenever we have a big meeting I can pick stuff up there. For more consistent or avid writers, a more specific address will be available to you through the letters we exchange. That address will get mail delivered right to the apartment I happen to be living in at the time.<br /><br />Anyway, this blog will be updated by my mom through emails I send her, and this will help anyone who's interested creep (in the best way possible) and see how I'm doing.<br /><br />The second reason I'm making this blog is to provide anybody who's interested in the purpose behind my mission with an opportunity to learn more about the church, its doctrines, and understand better <i>why</i> I'm on a mission. I hope you won't be afraid to ask questions of me, my family, other members you know, or missionaries in your own area. My prayer is that some (if not all) of you will be prompted to discover for yourselves the truth of the Book of Mormon, praying and asking God to help you believe that the gospel has been restored, that Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and that you can be happier than you can possibly imagine by accepting these truths into your lives.<br /><br />But I'll talk a little more about why I'm going on my mission in my next post. It's time I went to bed. I have to start packing for my mission soon, too, since we're headed back to the States to vacation until I report August 10th.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594487741094063484noreply@blogger.com1Okinawa Prefecture, Japan26.2124013 127.6809316999999724.2925128 123.48180719999998 28.1322898 131.88005619999998