I have completed 1 month of my mission
as of Saturday! I have loved it all and have learned so much within the
past month that it almost seems surreal! It feels as if sometimes, time
itself, slows way down and you wonder if you are going to be able to get
through the day. Then at other times you wonder if you are going to
have enough time in the day to do all that you need to do. I have loved
my time here in Boston and have grown to love the people with whom I
serve with and whom I serve.
It's interesting being a walking elder. While over
70% of the mission has cars, myself and my companions are among a select
group who do not have that luxury. Instead, we memorize where we go and
hope to remember it for future purposes. However, we are often faced with
appointments of not knowing where to go. When faced with a challenge of
not knowing where to go, what should you do? For us it's easy. We head
over to Apple! Apple has so many computers that we can just jump on and
look up the address and take a picture of it and leave. What ultimately
ends up happening is that we go, and we are approached by a store worker
about buying a product. We decline the offer and in turn tell them that
we have something to share with them. It may not amount to much in the
moment, but statistics show that it takes almost 8 encounters with the
missionaries before someone gets a lesson. As we talk to everyone about
the gospel, my companions and I cannot help but think that we are helping
others come closer to getting that first lesson.
Missionary work is easy. For example, President
Haight of the Mission Presidency has made it a life goal to share the
gospel or a principle of the gospel to at least one person everyday. Now
no one checks up on him to make sure he is doing it, but it's a great goal
and can easily be accounted. For those of you reading, I invite you to
share the gospel with someone at least twice a week. I know that by doing
so we will fulfill the "every member a missionary" role that our
leaders expect of us.
"EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY."
So, it's been a month. What has Elder Wilde learned?
In a non spiritual sense, I have learned how to make a pretty creative
and tasty breakfast burrito. In a more spiritual sense, I have learned
more than I could have thought. However, I would like to address the
topic of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. In the talk I gave this
week in our Chinese group, I talked about the power that the Book of
Mormon has in our lives. I talked about its power as a keystone and its
power as a tool to be used for personal revelation. (I had some help
with my talk for all the Chinese words, don't worry). In conjunction with the mission challenge to
read the Book of Mormon and circle/underline all the names referenced
to Christ, his attributes, and words, I have strengthened my testimony
that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. Now I
mentioned Joseph Smith. From what I perceive about Brother Smith, at the
age of 14 before his vision and up until he translated the Book of
Mormon, he knew of Jesus Christ but did not have an in depth knowledge of
him meaning he did not reference his name in a variety of ways.
What I am trying to get at is that within the first
78 pages of the Book of Mormon, part way into 2nd Nephi, the words Jesus
and Christ are not used. Up until that point he is referred to in a
series of different names. To those who say Joseph Smith wrote the Book
of Mormon, I say how can that be? For 78 pages it would be impossible for
me to not reference the most recognized name of our Savior. I know that
Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon and did not write it from
scratch. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus
Christ. I invite you to buy a plain Book of Mormon and take up the
challenge of the Boston Mission. I know that if you do so, your lives
will be greatly blessed and you will gain a reassuring testimony that
the Book of Mormon is true. I invite you to do it so that you can teach
me! I know I miss things and I love to hear what other people learn.
This week on Monday, I started the Book of Mormon
again and as of this morning, I am in Mosiah. I love reading this book.
As I have gone through it, I have marked new things in different colors
to illustrate that each time we read we learn something new. In
reference to what my Mission President said yesterday in Stake
Priesthood Conference, "This book feeds me like no other book has." I
know this to be true. Take up the MBM (Massachusetts Boston Mission)
challenge. I know you will be blessed because I have already been
blessed.
I love you all so much. Hopefully my emails make sense to you. If not, I am ever so sorry.
Love,
Elder Wilde
No comments:
Post a Comment