A Letter

I find it interesting how a letter, like the one you're reading now, is called a letter when it is made up of more than one letter, as in the letter "A". Well you can rest assured, this letter contains a lot more than one letter, as usual. 

So we've done a lot of biking recently, which has been a lot of fun, however, it has been tireing as well. Luckily it's not too much to handle, but it has been nice to have a brake from it these last couple days. Wheel be back at it soon though I'm sure, its kind of like one big cycle. 

But yeah things have been going pretty well. Elder Ellis is great and we've been trying to really emphasize working through the members to find more people to teach. Because we really want to find more people to teach. 

It's been going pretty good though. 

So usually, words like "big" refer to physical objects. For example, an animal scientist might say something intelligent like "the elephant is big." But in some rare cases, words like "big" can also refer to things which are not actual physical objects. For example a person reporting the news, or a news reporter as they're sometimes called, might say something intelligent like, "there is some big news from this week."

Well family and friends, there is some big news from this week. The news being that missionaries now have the opportunity, key word opportunity, to communicate with family, key word family, by means other than emailing on preparation day, key word preparation day, to share spiritual experiences and help strengthen the faith of their families, key word share spiritual experiences to help strengthen the faith of their families. So that's all I really have to say about that I guess. It's pretty cool and exciting but with it comes a lot more responsibility as well. I believe that the announcement made by the Church was indeed an inspired decision, and I think there will be some real blessings to missionaries and maybe even more so to missionaries families. So I would encourage you to read the Church's official statement if you haven't read that yet. It's a good read. 

Also, I just wanted to give a real quick shout out to my friends and family back home in the Marshall Branch for putting together a package of awesome random stuff. I especially liked the four band aids and the stick that was found outside the church. But it was just great to read all the notes from people and to see all the random stuff. I was laughing audibly at some points as I went through that box. So thank you. 

Well, I suppose I shall make like Hymn number 255 and Carry On. 

Today I just wanted to give my two cents on something. But my two cents today are not actually made of copper, zinc, and other metals that constitute pennies. Instead they are made of some thoughts I've had about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Now, I have mentioned on multiple occasions this "Gospel of Jesus Christ." And you may be wondering, what is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Well thank you for asking, because this is my favorite thing to answer. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ or the Doctrine of Christ as it's sometimes referred to, is essentially the means by which our Heavenly Father has prepared so that we as human beings can experience joy and peace in our lives, and to eventually live with God again, with our families for eternity. In other words, the Gospel or Doctrine of Christ contains the steps that are outlined for us, so that we can access the peace and joy and power that Jesus Christ offers us. 

And those "steps" are taught in the Bible, but they are taught most clearly and specifically in the Book of Mormon. That is why the Book of Mormon is so important. Because it restores the clarity of the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that had been lost or distorted over time from the Bible.

So these "steps" to the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, if you want to think of it that way, are to first have faith in Jesus Christ. And having faith in the Savior leads one to repent and turn away from sin and turn toward Christ, through Jesus Christ's atonement. And as one decides to follow Jesus Christ, they then are led to follow the example of Jesus and be baptized by someone holding God's proper priesthood authority. Following baptism one can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Which leads to the final "step" which is often called "enduring to the end." And that's the part I kind of want to focus on because I really don't like to think of the Gospel of Jesus Christ like steps. As I've studied and learned about this topic, I've come to learn about how it really is not just a checklist. Because that last point, "enduring to the end" pretty much means that it's not over once we've made the initial covenants or promises with God, and that the process repeats itself over and over again. Even after baptism and even after any other covenant we make, it always comes back to faith in Jesus Christ. That's something we constantly have to build and strengthen. And we constantly have to be repenting and trying to be more like the Savior. And though we don't physically get baptized over and over again, we need to be renewing those promises that we made at baptism every week when we partake of the sacrament. And as we do that, as we remember the promises we've made, and as we keep the commandments, we can have that promised gift of having the Holy Ghost with us at all times to guide and protect us throughout our lives. President Robinson, our mission President, described the Doctrine or Gospel of Jesus Christ as a cycle that continues over and over again throughout our lives as we strive to become more like the Savior. And that is really so true. I have been able to see in my own life how this Gospel is true. And that's why I'm here on a mission. So I can tell others about Jesus Christ's Gospel. 

Thank you all for everything! Til next week!

~Elder Oswald

P.S. I've attached a picture of me with an awkward looking rooster perched on my arm. I hope you enjoy. Plus my zone at our last trip to the temple. Plus my new favorite thing to make for lunch.

The zone at the temple.

A twist on bean crisps called "pizzadillas"

Dinner at the Spencer's was interesting!

Surprise!

If you're anything like me, you might be wondering why I'm sending an email, today, a Thursday. 

Well the answer is that our preparation day was moved from Monday, to today, a Thursday. 

So this has been quite a week. Our apartment is way different now, since two of its occupants have been replaced with two new occupants. Other than that, there's been a lot of craziness, and tiredness. 

So President Russell M. Nelson, the prophet, came to the Arizona Cardinals stadium on Sunday. It was really cool! He spoke to a group of almost 70,000 people. And Ron and Nancy, a couple we're teaching, came with us to that. So that was really good for them. They're doing really well, and Ron is going to be baptized later in the spring. So that's super exciting. 

Another thing from a couple weeks ago actually, was that we were given a bag of lemons. It's cool because lemons actually grow here on trees, rather than in grocery stores like in Michigan. And so I made fresh lemonade one night which was kind of hard to do, but it was fun. It was kind of weird though because apparently the lady who gave us the lemons, got the lemons from a box that was sitting outside with a sign labeled "Free Lemons" because even though she doesn't like lemons, she took them inside because she "didn't want the cat to get them." She didn't say whose cat it was. The lemonade was good though so it's probably fine. 

Also there's this stuff called "Aloe drink" which sounds kind of gross since it is indeed the same aloe that is used for making the stuff you put on sunburns. However, I tried it and it actually tastes a lot better than the stuff you put on sunburns. 

And now is the time you've been waiting for. The "Spiritual Message of the Week."

So to keep it short, I will just share a really great scripture. It is found in the New Testament, in the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians, in the fourth chapter, in the thirteenth verse. It says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." And I just want to say how true that is. And to add onto it, there is a scripture found in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Ether, in the twelfth chapter, in the twenty seventh verse. And it says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

That scripture adds a lot to that idea of Christ strengthening us I think. Because I've been thinking a lot about that idea in Philippians 4:13. I really want to be strengthened, and I know it's through Christ that that can happen. But how does that really work? And Ether 12:27 has given me some more insight on that. And of course there are still things I'm trying to learn and understand. For example, what does it really mean to "Come unto [Christ]"? That's an excellent question that I would invite you all to ponder and study about. But something I have realized is that being strengthened through Christ like Philippians 4:13 talks about, isn't always a big miraculous strengthening moment every time we need it. Of course there are times where that is the case. But between those experiences, the Savior wants us to take action so we can actually learn and grow and so that our natures can actually change, and so that our weaknesses can actually be turned into strengths.

To illustrate this idea, think of strength in the physical sense as I tell you this analogy: Imagine I am not a very physically strong person, that'll be hard I know. And imagine that I am in an emergency situation like a house fire. And the firefighters are all busy, and I just happened to be riding my bike past the scene, and so its up to me to rescue the person trapped inside. So I quickly lock my bike onto the nearest lamppost, make sure I'm not wearing my favorite tie, and then with an admirable amount of courage I run into the burning building. Soon, using my keen sense of hearing, I hear something that gives me reason to believe that the person is in the living room. It's a distressed voice that calls out, "Help I'm in the living room!"

And there I find a man who is trapped under an unusually large and understandably hot bookshelf. I see this bookshelf and I know that I will not be able to lift it on my own. But I believe that in a situation like that, God could give me physical strength beyond my own to lift the bookshelf. And I could then carry the man outside of the burning house as explosions go off behind me and it would be really cool and cinematic.

 

At this point, if I then decided I wanted to be a firefighter, I would have to do a little more than just wait for the next big miracle every time I needed it. I would have to actually do some work and exercise. Then I would be gaining skills and gaining strength. And don't forget that this is just an analogy for spiritual strength. Because as much as Christ would like to take away our problem for us right away, even more than that He wants us to learn and grow in spiritual strength. It's like the idea of climbing a mountain. He might not take the mountain away, but He will help us climb the mountain. There we go. That was a way more effective analogy than the firefighter one and it literally took one sentence. Anyway, that was a lot of jumbled thoughts, but I have a testimony of how Jesus Christ really can help us turn weaknesses into strengths. I've learned so much and I've grown so much because of my Savior.  

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love His Church.

Write to you on Monday!

~Elder Oswald

Winds of Change

Well, I'm just going to apologize right up front, today's email is going to be shorter than a munchkin without any legs. 

The reason it will be short, and the reason this is a day late, is because of transfers. Let me take you back in time so to speak, to 7 weeks ago, when I sent an email to you all explaining what transfers are. So I won't waste any time explaining it again, because you all know how I like to be as concise as possible, and how I never like to take up an unnecessary amount of time when I explain things as I write these emails, especially when I am on a time crunch like I am today, as I mentioned earlier in this very email. 

So I will just hop right on to the point, the point being the transfer news. But before I do that, I want to turn your attention to the title of this email. Go ahead, take a look, I can wait.

Alright, so now that you've reminded yourself of what this week's emails title is, we can discuss what that title might mean. Now, if we were sitting together in person in a lovely cozy little room in comfy chairs, perhaps eating some tasty food in the dessert category, I would ask what your thoughts are, because I would be very interested. However, I'm in Arizona, and you're in somewhere else. And unfortunately there are no comfy chairs or tasty foods in the dessert category to be found.

So I will talk about it myself, and you can think about it. So "winds of change" does not actually mean the kind of change that happens when you change your clothes, as you might have guessed. It's actually a different kind of change. And today it means that there are lots of changes happening as a result of Transfers. I capitalized it on purpose to make it more scary looking. 

So, the transfer news is...............

I will be staying here in Paradise Valley. Hip hip!.... (you have to say hooray. Do it.) Hip Hip!....(Do it again.)

However, Elder Bower will not be. He will be headed up to the mountains, where there's actually snow! Yes, in Arizona! Crazy right? And so we will now have a moment of silence for him. But since you are reading this in the form of an email, I will do my best to convey that silence with you.

Alright I'm getting a little carried away here. 

Also, Elder Dougherty who lives in our apartment will be leaving as well, also to the mountains, so that's sad. Additionally, Elder Ludiker the other Spanish misisonary in the apartment, is the new District Leader and will be training a brand spanking new missionary, straight from the MTC. So that will be fun. Also, my new companion is named Elder Ellis. He's coming from the mountains actually. He'll get here tomorrow, I'm not sure when exactly though. He'll be coming down the mountain when he comes I guess. 

Oh man, I'm laughing way too hard at that one. 

Anyway, lots of changes. Lots of changes. It's sad to see people go, but it'll be exciting though to have new experiences and meet even more people. So it's exciting.

Well, before I send this, I would like to quick share some thoughts from this week. 

It all started when our Mission President, President Robinson, invited us all to read a super awesome article titled "Developing the Faith to Reap." So I read and studied it, and it was just amazing. I learned so many great insights about faith from this article, and also throughout my mission so far, that's been something I've had on my mind a lot and it's something I've really learned a lot about. 

And as I said, I don't have a ton of time to write today, clearly, as you can see from this extremely short email, but I just wanted to share a couple quotes from the article, but then I want to invite you all to read the article, and study it for yourself. So before I jump into those quotes, I'll real quick explain sort of what "Faith to Reap" means. And essentially what it means is that in order to reap or to access the blessings that our Heavenly Father wants to give us, we need to have faith. But the article explains the kind of faith we must have. So here are a couple of my most favorite quotes out of the many that are in here, that explain that better than I can:

"There seem to be two distinct levels of faith. The first level is the faith to try, the faith to thrust in our sickles. The second level is the faith to do. It is more than the faith to thrust in our sickle—it is the faith to reap."

"First, unlike the faith to thrust in our sickles, the faith to reap is not faith in ourselves. It is not the same as self-confidence or positive mental attitude. It is not even faith in our families or friends—all of which are good. The faith to reap is faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It is faith in His power, not ours."

Especially that last part, that is the most important part. Faith must be in Jesus Christ. This is something that I've noticed and realized so much. For example at the end of the Book of Mormon, when the prophet Moroni is preparing to seal up the record, he writes his final testimony and he leaves a promise that if we want to learn for ourselves if the Book of Mormon really is the word of God, and really is true, we just need to pray and ask God, "and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."(Moroni 10:4) This never totally made sense I don't think. I guess I always saw the word faith and didn't think too much of it. But part of the promise is that if we have faith in Christ, we can learn that the Book of Mormon is true. That's faith in Jesus Christ, it's not faith in the Book of Mormon, its not faith in Moroni, it's not faith in Joseph Smith. It is faith in Jesus Christ. President Robinson said one time, "Our faith must be in Jesus Christ, not in outcomes." That is so true. If our faith is in the Savior, and that is our foundation, everything else falls into place. And true faith in Jesus Christ leads us to action. God wants to bless us. He does. Except we can't expect to be blessed if we never do anything to show that we might be appreciative of those blessings. I know how important, and vital faith in Jesus Christ is. It's something I'm still learning about and still working on, but I know it's true. And I've seen the blessings in my life and in my family's lives, because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which begins with Faith in Christ. 

I also know that the Book of Mormon is true. I've read it and prayed about it many times and I know that Moroni's promise is true. It really does contain the words of Christ. And my answer has come not really in one specific moment, but throughout my life as I've been able to see my blessings. To see what the teachings contained in the Book of Mormon, the teachings of Jesus Christ, have done for me and for my life. The Book of Mormon is such an amazing companion to the Bible. Together they provide many wonderful testimonies of the Savior Jesus Christ, and there is so much that we can learn from those scriptures. 

Well, that's all I've got. I guess that it didn't end up being quite as short as I thought it would be. 

Oh yeah, here's the link to that article!:

Developing the Faith to Reap

https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/2019/01/developing-the-faith-to-reap

I hope you all have a fantastic day today, and a fantastic week!

Til next week,

~Elder Oswald

We finally got some pictures this week too!

Dee's baptism.

Zena's baptism.

Playing chess with Elder Bower.

Elder Bower and Elder Oswald at the top of the mountain after their early morning hike couple of weeks ago.

Face masks. 😊

An Email Beyond Its Title

Though you all may be in different places, you all have something in common. Perhaps you are in the comfort of your own home, excitedly sitting in front of your computer screen. Perhaps you are driving and you just received a notification on your phone that my latest email has arrived. Perhaps you are on the run from a mysterious doorbell salesman who isn't who he says he is. Perhaps you are chasing someone who was falsely accused of stealing what they thought was a doorbell. Perhaps you are in the United States. Perhaps you are in the state of Michigan. Perhaps you are in a state of confusion. Regardless of where you are, you all are doing the same thing. You are reading these very words which I am currently writing, with great excitement I am sure.

Which brings me to my next point, which is actually an apology. It is an apology because it is my understanding that you all have been kept in suspense for the duration of what is now a week. And so rather than giving an excuse, I shall tell you a story. 

It all started one week ago. It was a P-day like any other. The sun was in the sky as usual, and the cacti were in the ground. All was as it should be. I could have never guessed what was about to happen.

I sent an email to my mother, or mom, as she's sometimes referred to, like I usually do. However, then we went to Wal-Mart, and it all went downhill from there. And it was the bad kind of downhill. You see, I cannot email while driving. And I cannot email while shopping. So you would imagine I would have time to email afterwards, right? You would imagine that, however, 'twas not so. You see we ended up doing an escape room which was super fun. Then we went and ate burritos. It was also in Scottsdale though and so by the time we got back I didn't have enough time to write. 

And that is why I failed to write you all last week. 

So, the time has come for me to tell you about this past week.

This past week was pretty good.

~Elder Oswald

Just kidding.

So this past week, and the week before for that matter, were really good.

On Tuesday last, we were on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. In case you don't know, Zone Leaders are missionaries who lead the Zone. And in case you don't know, the Mission is comprised of different Zones, and Zones are comprised of different Districts. And  Zone Leaders go on exchanges with the District leaders and their companions. And  Elder Bower is the District Leader, and I'm his companion, and so I get to go on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. So Elder Smart came to my area on Tuesday and it was a lot of fun. We just biked around talking to everyone we saw. One lady we talked to spoke only Spanish and so I got to use my Spanish skills and I was able to get her phone number and we gave her our phone number and sent a referral to the Spanish speaking Elders with whom we share an apartment. Later that week Elder Bower and I did the same thing with another Spanish speaking guy we talked to on the street.

Saturday was pretty much the best day ever. First of all, it was Zena's baptism that day! It was amazing. Zena shared her testimony afterwards and it was so powerful. I can't even describe it. She shared her personal story of how her life has changed since she first met with us, and how much peace and love and joy has come into her home, and how much it means to her to be baptized. It was so powerful, and it was especially cool for me having witnessed firsthand those things she was describing.  I have enjoyed teaching that family so much. My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has strengthened so much. That family is just so awesome.

Then after the baptism service we went and did some weed pulling service for a lady.

Then we had dinner.

Then we went to the Shadow Mountain Ward's game show night. They did Deal or No Deal, Family Feud, and Minute to Win It. It was so much fun. It was also still an effective use of our time because we were with Dee who was baptized last month. She really enjoyed it as well.

So in other news, we cleaned our apartment today. A while ago we had the realization that if our mothers saw our apartment they would be really disappointed. And that must have really hit us hard because it only took about 5 more weeks and a failed apartment inspection to do something about it. But it's pretty nice now. It was actually crazy, at one point while I was wiping dust off of a baseboard, I actually had the thought, "what do you know, this baseboard is white and not dust colored." You wouldn't even believe it. It was like something out of an Oxi-Clean commercial.

Let's see what else, oh yeah so for breakfast this morning I had Corn Pops and Girl Scout Cookies, so that was awesome.

Well, as we come to the close of this another email, I would like to share some thoughts I have. These thoughts I speak of center around the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God. It is common for one to hear someone say something like, "the Spirit was so strong," after witnessing or hearing something like a baptism or someone giving a talk, or a musical performance. I have had many experiences where I have felt that, and all I can seem to say is "wow, the Spirit was just so strong." And so I really want to think a little more deeply than that. Because those experiences are so special and real, and I don't want those experiences to ever be taken lightly. So when I ever say something along the lines of "the Spirit was so strong," what I mean is that the Holy Ghost literally, in reality has testified of the truthfulness of things to me, through powerful feelings of peace, love, and joy. I just want to share my testimony that I have felt the Holy Ghost many times in my life, and many times in just the short time I've been on my mission. It's so real and powerful and I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father, and for my Savior Jesus Christ, and for His Church and His Gospel which I know are true because of the many experiences I have had where I have felt the Holy Ghost testify to me of those things.

I love Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father so much. I know they know us and love us more than we can imagine. I am just so grateful to be out here serving a mission for them.

And thus endeth mine epistle. 

Til the next time my friends!

~Elder Oswald