If you're not happy, you're not living the Gospel. Ha, yeah, I have definitely seen this all over my mission. In investigators, in less active members, and in very active members. The thing about the Gospel is, it's a Gospel of truth and happiness. The gift of the Holy Ghost is given so that our path to eternal life will be one of Happiness. The gospel doesn't stop life's difficulties (no, definitely not; if anything, Lucifer works on you harder the more you know), but it allows you to find joy in adversity.
And man have I been given some adversity this week :) Crazy things have been happening. I am beginning to understand why a lot of the missionaries out here are jaded. I've begun to notice that a lot of good missionaries are pretty hard-hearted when it comes to other religions. I've promised myself I will never become that way, but with the experiences this week I now know it's going to be a trial. This is a battlefront, and the Bible is militarized ground. Something that Elder Wright taught me really stood out though, and has helped me in my search for armor and strength in this battle. Let me try and paraphrase: "Memorize the bible so you never have to get it out. Getting out a bible on the doorstep is like lighting a grenade and setting it between you and the person you're talking to. When initially contacting, the Bible is a reference book contained in your heart. It can only be used for understanding. The Book of Mormon is your focus. The only argument against it is refuting your testimony, which should be the equivalent of beating against a wall. The only way to love the person who wants to attack you is to testify and teach truth. That is love." A very wise man, my companion is :) He also quotes Yoda a lot: "When this old you are, this good you will not look."
The water guns from the family package seriously came in handy. Now, whenever the Zone leaders shoot at our balcony with Nerf guns, we shoot water guns back. Except for that one time where we threw a watermelon...but that's a different story all together.
The president called me up the other day and said he really liked my blog :) Our mission is really working on member missionary work, so maybe he'll put it up at the next Zone conference :) Haha, brag brag brag brag. Brag. Brag brag brag? Brag brag.
Some other fun stuff I've discovered about England:
Alright, that's the whole lot of it. Crazy week. Love you all, thanks for all your support.
Cheers,
Elder Foster
And man have I been given some adversity this week :) Crazy things have been happening. I am beginning to understand why a lot of the missionaries out here are jaded. I've begun to notice that a lot of good missionaries are pretty hard-hearted when it comes to other religions. I've promised myself I will never become that way, but with the experiences this week I now know it's going to be a trial. This is a battlefront, and the Bible is militarized ground. Something that Elder Wright taught me really stood out though, and has helped me in my search for armor and strength in this battle. Let me try and paraphrase: "Memorize the bible so you never have to get it out. Getting out a bible on the doorstep is like lighting a grenade and setting it between you and the person you're talking to. When initially contacting, the Bible is a reference book contained in your heart. It can only be used for understanding. The Book of Mormon is your focus. The only argument against it is refuting your testimony, which should be the equivalent of beating against a wall. The only way to love the person who wants to attack you is to testify and teach truth. That is love." A very wise man, my companion is :) He also quotes Yoda a lot: "When this old you are, this good you will not look."
The water guns from the family package seriously came in handy. Now, whenever the Zone leaders shoot at our balcony with Nerf guns, we shoot water guns back. Except for that one time where we threw a watermelon...but that's a different story all together.
The president called me up the other day and said he really liked my blog :) Our mission is really working on member missionary work, so maybe he'll put it up at the next Zone conference :) Haha, brag brag brag brag. Brag. Brag brag brag? Brag brag.
Some other fun stuff I've discovered about England:
- Stinging Nettle: It grows flipping everywhere. One touch and it feels like your finger is going to fall off (for the next hour or so). Eeeeeviiiiil...
- The London Scowl: these are the people on the street that don't want to talk with you. They put on this very scowl-y face, and no matter what side you approach them on, they look the other way. What a crazy coincidence! :) It's named after London because apparently everyone in London is unhappy. I have a crazy feeling that isn't true, but we'll find out when I get there :)
- Always carry a pocket sized Book of Mormon: because if you're shot, the bullet won't be able to get past the Isaiah chapters. Ha! Get it!? Isaiah chapters? Oh, never mind... [Note from Meredith: This is a really old...really bad...Mormon joke :-)]
- Everyone has a nice car: I swear, there are no beaters here. What's up with that? Where do these people get all this money? I saw a Bugatti the other day, reminded me of Top Gear. No, it wasn't a Veyron. That would be quite the event!
Alright, that's the whole lot of it. Crazy week. Love you all, thanks for all your support.
Cheers,
Elder Foster