I
hope everything is going great at home because things are certainly
going well over here. This area is actually beginning to pick up a
little bit, and I'm super-excited to be a part of it.
We
have had some crazy fun experiences this past week. We were able to
share three lessons with the 12 year-old girl that we have set for
baptism. Whenever we teach her, her grandma (who is a less-active) sits
in on the lessons and totally adores everything we teach. One morning,
my companion were talking about teaching them about the law of chastity,
but when I went to do my personal study, I had a strange impression
that we needed to teach her about tithing and fast offerings. When we
went to teach them that night, the grandma said that she'd been
wondering about tithing because her mother-in-law was such an active
tithe-payer, and she really wanted to follow that example. It's awesome
to see gifts of the Spirit (in this case, discernment) in action!
I
also had another cool experience while on exchanges with another
missionary on Friday. We just decided to go at it that day, and talk to
everybody that we saw. We went to visit a less-active in the ward who I
had never met before. The person who answered the door was a non-member
lady who is the wife of the less-active. We asked if the less-active was
home, but it turns out that he's stationed with the army in North
Carolina. We asked if we could share a message with her, and she said
yes! We taught her about the Restoration, and she told us a little bit
about her husband's family. She said that her in-laws (who are LDS)
would be thrilled to know that she was meeting with us. It's amazing to
think about how many opportunities there are to teach people in
part-member and less-active families, and really, the Lord isn't going
to bless us with new converts until we've cleaned up and organized His
house a little bit.
We
were also able to finally help our ward agree on a legitimate ward
mission plan. The last few months have been rough since the ward council
has been a little difficult to work with, but we're making progress.
The ward is becoming quite a bit more goal-oriented. Hopefully this
continues because this area really will blossom if it does.
It's
crazy to think about the times that we live in. This dispensation
really is the final one leading up to the Second Coming. It is really
easy to see that the Lord is hastening the Work. In D+C 4, the Lord
talks about how the "field is white already to harvest; And lo, he that
thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that
he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul." The only thing
required to hasten the Work is work! We
have to do everything we can to help others receive the joys of
salvation so that we can truly enjoy salvation ourselves. There's a
parable in a book called House of Glory by S. Michael Wilcox
called "The Parable of the Keys." I won't include it in this letter, but
I would encourage each of you to look it up on the internet and read
it. I can promise that salvation and exaltation will not be
joyful without all of God's children. We are what brings Him joy.
That's why it is imperative that we are member missionaries, and that we
do our family history work.
I hope all of you have a great week. Keep in touch, keep up the good work, and keep sharing the Gospel!
Love,
Elder Jones
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