October 13, 2014

13 October 2014

Hey guys!

This week was pretty uneventful, apart from getting a traffic ticket, which was lame. We did some service, moved a piano, and did regular missionary stuff. Friday was interviews with President. He told me I'm probably going to train next transfer, which should be fun.

J. is still doing well. He struggles sometimes, but he has a sincere desire to be baptized. He'll definitely make it to his baptism if he keeps it up. It's been cool to see the changes in him as he's learned about the gospel. His other son D. came to church yesterday, so I'm thinking we'll try to teach them both next time we go over.

Were also teaching O. M., a recent convert in our branch. He's from Cuba and tells us all about life under communism. It's pretty interesting to hear it from someone who's actually been there.

My spiritual thought for the week is about the Prophet. I've gotten questions before on my mission about how we "elect" the Prophet in our church, and it's always interesting to watch how people react when we explain the Prophet's calling and how members of the Twelve become the Prophet. I think it's a principle that resonates with a lot of people because they understand the value in receiving continuing revelation from Heavenly Father. To me it's a testimony of how much Heavenly Father cares about us and our progression. It takes faith to follow and sustain the Prophet, and to study his teachings like modern scripture. I'm grateful for President Monson and all the work he and the other general authorities do. With that in mind, I want to spend more time studying general conference talks, so I'm going to read through it again this week. I invite all of you to so the same with at least one or two talks that stood out to you. I've received answers to personal questions through general conference more times than I can count. It's a huge blessing.

I remember learning subjunctive in the MTC. Now that I think about it again, it's pointless and dumb. But to be honest I can't really imagine Spanish without it now. It's just a part of the language. Haha I was pretty discouraged by it at first. I remember wishing they had just told me about it from the beginning and saved us all a lot of time.

We actually got to watch meet the Mormons last Wednesday after Zone Meeting. I enjoyed it a lot. It seems like critics will always find something to criticize though. It's their job, after all. Those Pharisees.

The point of the movie isn't really to explain doctrine. We have the scriptures and church materials for that, and lds.org. The point of the movie was to show that we aren't a bunch of polygamists living in the desert with horse drawn carriages. That's unfortunately where the church has to start, rather than explaining doctrine, because it's such a common misconception.

Love you guys

Here's to Oktoberfest solving all the world's problems,

Jake