Hey everyone! :)
I think that posting on this blog around once a week is really what it is going to come down to. I mean, that`s what I`ll be doing when I`m a Missionary. I know my parents won`t believe right now that I will be writing them one letter a week but hey, it`s gonna happen! And they can`t do a thing about it. ;)
First off, even though it doesn`t have much to do with the topic of this post, I have to announce that I have probably seen the neatest thing EVER last Wednesday, and it all happened because of a really weird prompting. So, I decided to get dinner at this heavenly place called Eastside Diner on Harrison Boulevard here in Ogden, and I was facing some off-time right after (about an hour or so) until I could legitimately go over to a friend`s new place to embark in a little apartment shower. So, after eating extra slowly, I left the restaurant and saw myself with nothing to do for quite a while, wherefore I went on a walk. I walked around part of the neighborhood I used to live in last year and felt some major nostalgia, and when I realized I still had like half an hour, I decided to walk around the Dee Events Center. Just like that! It was weird, because really, there is nothing to see there in this giant parking lot. But I just felt strongly that I should do it. After walking around for a good 20 minutes not knowing why exactly I was doing it, I decided to finally go over to my friend`s place. Anyhow, I walked by our Stake Center and saw that they had just got done with EFY for the day, which means like 800 youth of the Church were headed for the exits. And, here`s the great thing...all of them were singing Called To Serve! Just like that. No one told them to, but they just did it. The Spirit was so strong, I almost started crying! :) Such an awesome display of love and readiness to serve among the youth of our Church :) I can`t wait for all those who sung that night to be Missionaries :) I really want to give a hug to all of them, right now. It was just an amazing sight! For anyone who needed another testimony about God`s chosen generation (see my second-to-previous post), this would be it! I wish more of you could have been there to see this. I literally had tears of joy in my eyes while walking by. And y`all know how rare that is. It maybe happened to me once before haha :)
The actual topic of this post though is a pretty basic one. Preparation. Now, the closer I get to going out (Five months?? Ya bet! It will be there in a jiffy!), the scarier the thought of going on a Mission becomes. Let me clarify: I`m not peeing my pants yet. I know over a million people have successfully done this whole Mission thing before me. And when you look at just the last few years and the experiences I`ve made, I might be among the, say, 10 most prepared percent of those, ever. But I also know that I will return much more mature and brave and wise when I get home, so there must be a lot of potential for me to learn.
So, I made a pledge to prepare myself more diligently by doing a lot more of the little things and actually doing them consistently. So, here is my pre-Mission bucket list :)
[ ] Personal Scripture Study: Half an hour + /day
[ ] Prayer: Adding depth. Pray more for others than myself. Pray for my family & the Missionaries and the people they teach. And, pray before every meal and throughout the day, if necessary. Overall, make prayer a permanent companion.
[ ] Service: Once a day, AT LEAST. Oh, and just be kind and offer help to everyone.
[ ] Church Attendance: Don`t miss a Sunday till I leave. Severe illness exempt.
[ ] Personal Worthiness: See Jacob 6:12.
[ ] Temple: Go every two weeks. Be endowed by November 1 and do at least 3 proxy endowments, one sealing and one baptism session as a Priesthood holder.
[ ] Splits: It`s a little hard in Utah, so I would say one split a month, or at least five while I`m here.
[ ] Letters to serving Missionaries: Now, that`s interesting. Brother Simon from Institute asked us last semester to "raise our bar" in certain personal ways, and writing letters to Missionaries was one of the things I really wanted to improve on (and I failed epically). So, I want to write two Missionaries a week! At least :)
[ ] Institute: GRADUATE. This is my big goal, and it`s awfully close. Also, serve more efficiently and do everything to help the Presidency and the Council.
[ ] School: Get my Associates and at least a 3.8 for the fall and a 4.0 for the summer. Make sure I`m good enough for BYU before I apply there.
[ ] Social: Keep a social life and have some fun. That would be great!
[ ] Financial: Save as much money as possible before going out.
Those one dozen points should hopefully turn out to be really helpful. I want to close with my testimony (since the computer lab is about to close) that I know that preparation to return with honor is something that has to start way before going on a Mission. This path should be entered early and not be left for anything. I love Christ and His Church and I know with more and more certainty that it has indeed been restored on the Earth today, and that I am a member of it. :) And so should you by the way, if you`re not already. Go to mormon.org and ask the Missionaries there. They can help you! :)
Much love to y`all! :)
-- Pascal
Freitag, 26. Juli 2013
Montag, 22. Juli 2013
...but God will bless me in the end. :)
Hey there! :)
Wow, what a week it has been! Essentially, there is not so much to write about, so this blog post will be a little shorter than the last one (after I realized that the last one was about as long as all the other ones combined! haha). So, let the fun begin!
Something I re-learned last week were the blessings that come from attending Institute. The second block of the summer semester is almost over, but still I had the desire to take some classes. I favored night classes this time because I figured that it would be a good kind of schedule to start the day with personal scripture study, then work on school stuff for a few hours, have some fun in the afternoon and then have some more fun at the Institute at night! :) Also, I have been blessed with having exceedingly many friends in my Wednesday and Thursday night classes, which is awesome given how little time with an actual social life I have left. I better enjoy it while it lasts! :)
Anyways, I hadn`t quite realized that in the past, but night classes tend to have a devotional aftertaste. It feels like we`re actually talking about a whole specific block of topics, rather than just rushing through chapters of scripture and talk about whatever we run into. I LOVE it! :)
Tuesday night was Mission Prep and for the first of probably many times I realized how old I am. For an Elder at least. I know that 90% of the males in my class will be home from their Missions when they reach my current age. Crazy! It was still great to be able to be sort of a mentor, both as a convert and a pretty mature (oh well...) guy. And they all went to Fremont, which makes me wonder if they don`t have Stake Mission Prep classes in Plain City, West Haven, Taylor and Kanesville. However, I liked them despite their unfortunate high school selection haha :) So, what can I say about those 18-year-olds? They are fantastic! They have a great Spirit. They just need to get their scriptures down...but it might just have been this group. ;) The topic was Learning by Faith and Brother Sims gave an excellent presentation. He built it around Helaman 3:35 (look to your right in this blog - It`s one of my three favorites listed there!) which earned him extra sympathy from me. Then we talked about things that we could ask investigators to do in order to help develop their faith. I loved our answers:
- Bring them to Church (even if there`s no one else there)
- Ask them to try out commandments and see if they work
- Help them to develop Gospel habits
- Do FHE with them
- and, and, and... :)
Wonderful things are going to be brought to pass by us if we actually do that :) Then, finally, we had maybe ten minutes left, and we were asked to practice inviting our "investigators" to be baptized! Like, in the right way, with the right phrase and everything: "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God? We will be holding a baptism service on...Will you prepare yourself to be baptized on that day?" This is SO important to have down in your memory! Because the way it`s worded is so powerful. How could anyone say no to that? :) I totally can`t wait until I extend this invitation for the first time as a Missionary. But until then, it has so many other applications, such as:
"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and go on a date with someone holding the Priesthood authority of God? I will be watching Despicable Me 2 on Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m. Will you prepare yourself to accompany me on this date?" :) Here again...I`m not sure how anyone could say no to that ;)
Wednesday night was another really special lesson. It was in my Old Testament class with Brother Simon (love this guy!) and the topic was...marriage. Well, kind of. We really did talk about finding the right wife (or appealing to the right husband, I guess) most of the time, but something else stood out to me much more. THE TEMPLE. And its symbolism. I have obviously not been through the Temple but Brother Simon told us that the entire endowment was essentially from Genesis 28-32. That`s pretty awesome! I can`t really prove it, but from the few things I know about the actual endowment ceremony it made a lot of sense :) So...I committed again to prepare myself at all times to enter the Temple worthily, so that when the day comes that I go through (which should be in a few months) I will be able to learn what I need to learn, and at most to enjoy it! To be honest, I`m at least as excited to go through the Temple as for my Mission...cause the endowment is a saving ordinance. A Mission is not :)
Thursday was a really good Book of Mormon class. We talked a lot more about obedience and faith...mostly in the Book of Ether and a little bit in Mormon. The highlight, however, was that Brother Shepherd (my teacher) is actually good friends with Elder Fingerle of the Seventy! Which is cool, because I know him (well, kind of...). But he promised me to e-mail Elder Fingerle and tell him hi from me. Now, this would be the ultimate test about whether I`m famous in the Church in Germany or not. haha :D Probably not. But that`s no problem for me. I just enjoy touching lives wherever I can.
Friday, a new friend and I went to the Draper Temple and we almost died on the way back. Saturday, Madison gave her little farewell at the Burger Bar before leaving for the Washington Kennewick Mission (wooot! :) ). And I almost died again. No big deal...I`m just so glad I don`t have to drive in Utah.
On Sunday, I finally got to go back to my real YSA ward! Oh, how I used to hate it when I first moved there, and how much I love it now! It was fantastic :) I`m not sure what turned the members in this ward around so much, but if I had a chance to go to Church with those people every day, believe me, I would. We`re actually doing a little team-building camp up in Paradise early next month (that`s in Cache Valley...not quite the Celestial Kingdom yet). I`m really excited for that! :) They also had a ton of baptisms this summer and I don`t even dare to think about what`s gonna happen when everyone is moving back into the dorms. I think our Missionaries are gonna SWEAT from just running from lesson to lesson. Good thing they will be able to cool off in the font so often :)
So, after Church, I met with Bishop Stromberg. I had intended to finally create an account in the Missionary recommendation system and fill out my papers online, but it didn`t happen. Firstly, my records were still in Germany. I could have thought of that. Secondly, and that`s the real problem, I live outside the ward boundaries. Thus, my Bishop is now in negotiation with the Bishop of the 15th ward in order to keep me right where I am. Just keep me in your prayers! I don`t want to walk to Church one hour each Sunday now that I live in UTAH. And, more importantly, I do not want to take my papers to a third ward because even transferring them from one ward to another is kind of a nightmare.
Anyways, I just know with all of my heart that God will bless me when all this is over. His anointed servants will call me on the very Mission I belong in, where I will be blessed with opportunities to bless countless lives :) The Church is true, people! I know it more than ever :)
Love,
-- Pascal :)
Wow, what a week it has been! Essentially, there is not so much to write about, so this blog post will be a little shorter than the last one (after I realized that the last one was about as long as all the other ones combined! haha). So, let the fun begin!
Something I re-learned last week were the blessings that come from attending Institute. The second block of the summer semester is almost over, but still I had the desire to take some classes. I favored night classes this time because I figured that it would be a good kind of schedule to start the day with personal scripture study, then work on school stuff for a few hours, have some fun in the afternoon and then have some more fun at the Institute at night! :) Also, I have been blessed with having exceedingly many friends in my Wednesday and Thursday night classes, which is awesome given how little time with an actual social life I have left. I better enjoy it while it lasts! :)
Anyways, I hadn`t quite realized that in the past, but night classes tend to have a devotional aftertaste. It feels like we`re actually talking about a whole specific block of topics, rather than just rushing through chapters of scripture and talk about whatever we run into. I LOVE it! :)
Tuesday night was Mission Prep and for the first of probably many times I realized how old I am. For an Elder at least. I know that 90% of the males in my class will be home from their Missions when they reach my current age. Crazy! It was still great to be able to be sort of a mentor, both as a convert and a pretty mature (oh well...) guy. And they all went to Fremont, which makes me wonder if they don`t have Stake Mission Prep classes in Plain City, West Haven, Taylor and Kanesville. However, I liked them despite their unfortunate high school selection haha :) So, what can I say about those 18-year-olds? They are fantastic! They have a great Spirit. They just need to get their scriptures down...but it might just have been this group. ;) The topic was Learning by Faith and Brother Sims gave an excellent presentation. He built it around Helaman 3:35 (look to your right in this blog - It`s one of my three favorites listed there!) which earned him extra sympathy from me. Then we talked about things that we could ask investigators to do in order to help develop their faith. I loved our answers:
- Bring them to Church (even if there`s no one else there)
- Ask them to try out commandments and see if they work
- Help them to develop Gospel habits
- Do FHE with them
- and, and, and... :)
Wonderful things are going to be brought to pass by us if we actually do that :) Then, finally, we had maybe ten minutes left, and we were asked to practice inviting our "investigators" to be baptized! Like, in the right way, with the right phrase and everything: "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God? We will be holding a baptism service on...Will you prepare yourself to be baptized on that day?" This is SO important to have down in your memory! Because the way it`s worded is so powerful. How could anyone say no to that? :) I totally can`t wait until I extend this invitation for the first time as a Missionary. But until then, it has so many other applications, such as:
"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and go on a date with someone holding the Priesthood authority of God? I will be watching Despicable Me 2 on Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m. Will you prepare yourself to accompany me on this date?" :) Here again...I`m not sure how anyone could say no to that ;)
Wednesday night was another really special lesson. It was in my Old Testament class with Brother Simon (love this guy!) and the topic was...marriage. Well, kind of. We really did talk about finding the right wife (or appealing to the right husband, I guess) most of the time, but something else stood out to me much more. THE TEMPLE. And its symbolism. I have obviously not been through the Temple but Brother Simon told us that the entire endowment was essentially from Genesis 28-32. That`s pretty awesome! I can`t really prove it, but from the few things I know about the actual endowment ceremony it made a lot of sense :) So...I committed again to prepare myself at all times to enter the Temple worthily, so that when the day comes that I go through (which should be in a few months) I will be able to learn what I need to learn, and at most to enjoy it! To be honest, I`m at least as excited to go through the Temple as for my Mission...cause the endowment is a saving ordinance. A Mission is not :)
Thursday was a really good Book of Mormon class. We talked a lot more about obedience and faith...mostly in the Book of Ether and a little bit in Mormon. The highlight, however, was that Brother Shepherd (my teacher) is actually good friends with Elder Fingerle of the Seventy! Which is cool, because I know him (well, kind of...). But he promised me to e-mail Elder Fingerle and tell him hi from me. Now, this would be the ultimate test about whether I`m famous in the Church in Germany or not. haha :D Probably not. But that`s no problem for me. I just enjoy touching lives wherever I can.
Friday, a new friend and I went to the Draper Temple and we almost died on the way back. Saturday, Madison gave her little farewell at the Burger Bar before leaving for the Washington Kennewick Mission (wooot! :) ). And I almost died again. No big deal...I`m just so glad I don`t have to drive in Utah.
On Sunday, I finally got to go back to my real YSA ward! Oh, how I used to hate it when I first moved there, and how much I love it now! It was fantastic :) I`m not sure what turned the members in this ward around so much, but if I had a chance to go to Church with those people every day, believe me, I would. We`re actually doing a little team-building camp up in Paradise early next month (that`s in Cache Valley...not quite the Celestial Kingdom yet). I`m really excited for that! :) They also had a ton of baptisms this summer and I don`t even dare to think about what`s gonna happen when everyone is moving back into the dorms. I think our Missionaries are gonna SWEAT from just running from lesson to lesson. Good thing they will be able to cool off in the font so often :)
So, after Church, I met with Bishop Stromberg. I had intended to finally create an account in the Missionary recommendation system and fill out my papers online, but it didn`t happen. Firstly, my records were still in Germany. I could have thought of that. Secondly, and that`s the real problem, I live outside the ward boundaries. Thus, my Bishop is now in negotiation with the Bishop of the 15th ward in order to keep me right where I am. Just keep me in your prayers! I don`t want to walk to Church one hour each Sunday now that I live in UTAH. And, more importantly, I do not want to take my papers to a third ward because even transferring them from one ward to another is kind of a nightmare.
Anyways, I just know with all of my heart that God will bless me when all this is over. His anointed servants will call me on the very Mission I belong in, where I will be blessed with opportunities to bless countless lives :) The Church is true, people! I know it more than ever :)
Love,
-- Pascal :)
Mittwoch, 17. Juli 2013
Behold, God`s chosen generation!
Dear friends! :)
Sunday was a day I looked forward to with tremendous excitement. It was Sunday, July 14, my first Sabbath back in Utah. Now, I must say that I had two farewells scheduled for that day and ended up going to neither of them. I decided that it would have just been incredibly stressful to get to both of them since they were pretty far apart. So, I went to my alternate YSA ward, which is where I`m going when I stay in Roy over the weekend. It was fabulous and it`s definitely been a while since I`ve been to Church in Utah and attended the entire block in the same ward. Just so relaxing!
Anyways, followed by Church, I was looking forward to a fireside with Elder L. Tom Perry up in Ogden. It was for Pioneer Day. Now, something that is really a substantial difference between America and Germany that here, it is legit to celebrate things early. In this case, the Mormons of Weber County sent a message to the world that they are crazy and willing to celebrate their big holiday ten days early, with fireworks, a fireside and a crowd of roughly 10,000 on fire at Weber State`s campus for both. Of course, I was right in the middle of it.
I had only heard Apostles speak live on two previous occasions so I was really excited for this event. I was looking and thirsting for deep spiritual truths, so far away from both the previous and next General Conferences. However, at first glance, I was quite disappointed. I`m aware that there are probably a lot of people in Ogden who take great pride in their city`s history (and rightfully so), but I felt like this was all Elder Perry talked about. In the very moment it felt like he drew all his spiritual power from his special witness of Christ that he has in his heart, but never actually shared it. As someone who comes from a part of the world that is not very spoiled with visits from General Authorities (and Apostles in particular), I wish he would have said more. And other things. It seemed like an LDS historian could have said the same things as he did.Just to prepare you though, I will be a little hypocrite and employ an exceedingly great amount of history in this blog post.
When I reflected later upon some of the sentence pieces he mentioned, one Gospel truth really stood out to me. Elder Perry talked about how his generation was the generation that risked their lives on behalf of their faith and was ready to make great sacrifices for the things they believed in. In short, he challenged our generation to match up with that and stretch to demonstrate the same level of dedication.
I`m not really sure if this is what he meant to cause in me, but I had to think about some of the remarks I`ve heard very frequently (to say the least) over the last few months, especially since the October 2012 General Conference. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, our generation is the generation chosen by God to finally lead His Church out of obscurity. It is the golden generation that has been looked upon since the beginning of times by Prophets to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior.
We all have heard about some of the signs of the times for these latter days, but I brainstormed and found a few that are really Missionary-work related. Watch out, it`s getting awesome!
1 - When the Savior called His Disciples in the Old World, he instructed them to be "Fishers of men". Now, how does a fisher survive? Is one fish for a whole two years (say, one convert [the Missionary himself] on a Mission) enough to eat in order to gain strength? Or ought there to be more to meet basic needs? When the Savior walked the Earth and in the first years after He performed the atonement, thousands made the decision to follow Him and be baptized. We sometimes tend to think that Christ and His Disciples and the very early Church were some kind of small, isolated cultish group that stayed amongst themselves and grew to today`s size just by procreation and crusades. But not so! Acts 2 tells a different story. The original Disciples and the Missionaries of the early Church were indeed fishers of men, they baptized thousands of converts and the Body of Christ grew to a remarkable size in an even more remarkably short amount of time.
2 - Now, one dispensation forward from point number 1. On April 6, 1830, when the Church of Jesus Christ was formally reorganized, it had a whopping six members on its rolls, including names as prominent as Joseph Smith, Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery - but not very many more altogether. By the end of 1830, there were 280 members, by 1831 there were 480 and in 1832 there were 2,661. Perhaps the greatest thing about these numbers is that they came to pass with a very, very tiny Missionary force. For instance, the membership growth of 2,181 during the year of 1832 (for rough orientation, in the early Kirtland years) happened with probably not more than 20 actual Missionaries. That year, each of those Missionaries probably baptized far more than 100 converts. How did that happen and why doesn`t it seem to happen today anymore (at least not regularly)? In D&C, we repeatedly read the extended call to preach the Gospel "to the congregations of the wicked". So, what happened was basically that the Missionaries walked into another church`s service and taught them about the Restoration. Despite being rejected quite a few times, the successes of that method added up to incredible results. The Church was always just strong and large enough to be almost impossible to extinct, despite its opponents regularly trying. Also, those Missionaries were indeed fishers of men.
3 - When the first Missionaries arrived in Britain in 1837, they were even more successful than the Missionaries who preached the Gospel in the United States at the beginning of the decade. They baptized thousands of converts in Northern England, particularly in Preston and, to a lesser extent, Manchester. We often tend to believe that the late 1990s were the time when Church membership outside the United States surpassed domestic membership for the first time, but this is not quite correct. In fact, those early Missionaries to Great Britain (and also the mainland of Western Europe) were so successful that Great Britain had the most members of any country worldwide around 1840, even though this trend quickly reversed due to mass migration to America. Later, these faithful Saints from Britain were credited with playing the most important role of all members in settling the Territory of Deseret. Indeed, those Missionaries were also fishers of men.
4 - Another prophecy extended several times in the scriptures is the bringing forth of the Gospel to "the islands of the sea". Now, Great Britain is an island, though a big one. So are the islands of the South Pacific (anyone remember The Other Side of Heaven?) where Missionaries performed and still perform amazing miracles among the native population. New Zealand, where the arrival of the "white men who bring with them the truth" (who happened to be early LDS Missionaries) fulfilled a long-held prophecy of the natives, also consists of two main and a few smaller islands. Not to mention Japan. Taiwan. The Philippines. Madagascar. Papua New Guinea. Ya know, all those places where you were once able to or are still able to baptize hundreds of converts in two years, appear to be islands. It seems that often, despite some exceptions, people in island nations are more receptive to the restored Gospel than those residing elsewhere. I really can`t tell you why. I just know that Prophets told the world about this many centuries ago, and that their word holds true today (as always).
5 - Some might say that today, the fishers of men have perished. Died out. Gone extinct. That this type of thing is just not possible anymore. And I`m convinced that they were probably correct with that statement ten years ago, but not anymore today. It`s a slow process and it doesn`t happen overnight, but there are signs that the fishers of men are coming back. Probably no other place in the world ties all those prophecies above together in a better way than the small islands of Cape Verde, situated off the west coast of Africa. After Sister Raychel Horlacher, a good friend of mine, was called to serve in these islands at the beginning of the year, I got really interested in them and did some research on the Church there. The first Missionaries arrived in 1989 but were driven out only months after they came. Shortly thereafter, they returned and preached the Gospel, particularly to the youth of the islands. Many of these early converts were studying ministers of other faiths. Thousands joined the Church and after this first generation matured, the first two stakes were created recently with probably many more following in the near future. What is fascinating is that the work has been speeding up dramatically over the past two years or so (thanks to Irma Horlacher? :) ). New congregations are created nearly each month, baptisms are a very common sight on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and the perhaps greatest achievement is the skyrocketing number of Missionaries serving from Cape Verde. The future looks bright for the members from these wonderful islands, because the fishers of men have come again. And they will soon do so throughout the world, finding those who have been prepared to receive Christ and to come home to Him. :)
6 - Our Heavenly Father has indeed begun to speed His work. Another fallacy might be that this happened overnight (well...kind of night) on October 6, 2012, when President Monson announced the lowered Missionary age. However, through divine inspiration, the youth of the Church has been prepared for this day for years. Looking back and thinking about it, I cannot believe how surprised me and many others were by the Prophet`s announcement. Beginning in 2004, here are some of the milestones pertaining to Missionary work that prepared this chosen generation for October 6, 2012 and its aftermath: The publication of Preach My Gospel. Raising the bar of personal worthiness. The edition of the Missionary Handbook. Earlier teaching opportunities in Young Men and Young Women Programs and Seminary, including a new overall curriculum for all. Priesthood leaders` increased emphasis on splits with Priests and full-time Missionaries. The New Member lessons. "I`m A Mormon" profiles recommended for each Missionary. Reassignment of the global Missionary force away from less receptive to more receptive parts of the world. Elder Holland`s plea for more Missionaries during the October 2011 General Conference. Et cetera. The Church knew decades ago that most of those things would be necessary for this Gospel to fill the Earth one day, yet none of these changes were actually implied before 2004 when PMG came around. The reason why I think this was the case is that the youth of the Church wasn`t ready for them to happen earlier.
Not blaming or talking down at generations past, but I see in this (my own) generation a dedication, love for the Gospel, knowledge and personal readiness to share it with everyone that has been unheard of in generations past. Never before has a generation been so tempted, affected by the influences of the world, and permanently tried by the adversary to be led away from the path of truth. But also, never has a generation been so blessed by the power of obedience as much as this generation. Our Heavenly Father knew exactly what kind of opposition we would face, wherefore He reserved some of His most precious children to begin the spiritual fight in this final battle for righteousness. Looking at some of the wonderful people who surround me daily, I struggle to understand why I am one of those reserved for the last days of the latter days, but I know there is a reason for that. Dear Elder Perry, my friends and I accept your challenge. And we know that we will pass if we stay obedient. :)
Love,
-- Pascal
Sunday was a day I looked forward to with tremendous excitement. It was Sunday, July 14, my first Sabbath back in Utah. Now, I must say that I had two farewells scheduled for that day and ended up going to neither of them. I decided that it would have just been incredibly stressful to get to both of them since they were pretty far apart. So, I went to my alternate YSA ward, which is where I`m going when I stay in Roy over the weekend. It was fabulous and it`s definitely been a while since I`ve been to Church in Utah and attended the entire block in the same ward. Just so relaxing!
Anyways, followed by Church, I was looking forward to a fireside with Elder L. Tom Perry up in Ogden. It was for Pioneer Day. Now, something that is really a substantial difference between America and Germany that here, it is legit to celebrate things early. In this case, the Mormons of Weber County sent a message to the world that they are crazy and willing to celebrate their big holiday ten days early, with fireworks, a fireside and a crowd of roughly 10,000 on fire at Weber State`s campus for both. Of course, I was right in the middle of it.
I had only heard Apostles speak live on two previous occasions so I was really excited for this event. I was looking and thirsting for deep spiritual truths, so far away from both the previous and next General Conferences. However, at first glance, I was quite disappointed. I`m aware that there are probably a lot of people in Ogden who take great pride in their city`s history (and rightfully so), but I felt like this was all Elder Perry talked about. In the very moment it felt like he drew all his spiritual power from his special witness of Christ that he has in his heart, but never actually shared it. As someone who comes from a part of the world that is not very spoiled with visits from General Authorities (and Apostles in particular), I wish he would have said more. And other things. It seemed like an LDS historian could have said the same things as he did.Just to prepare you though, I will be a little hypocrite and employ an exceedingly great amount of history in this blog post.
When I reflected later upon some of the sentence pieces he mentioned, one Gospel truth really stood out to me. Elder Perry talked about how his generation was the generation that risked their lives on behalf of their faith and was ready to make great sacrifices for the things they believed in. In short, he challenged our generation to match up with that and stretch to demonstrate the same level of dedication.
I`m not really sure if this is what he meant to cause in me, but I had to think about some of the remarks I`ve heard very frequently (to say the least) over the last few months, especially since the October 2012 General Conference. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, our generation is the generation chosen by God to finally lead His Church out of obscurity. It is the golden generation that has been looked upon since the beginning of times by Prophets to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior.
We all have heard about some of the signs of the times for these latter days, but I brainstormed and found a few that are really Missionary-work related. Watch out, it`s getting awesome!
1 - When the Savior called His Disciples in the Old World, he instructed them to be "Fishers of men". Now, how does a fisher survive? Is one fish for a whole two years (say, one convert [the Missionary himself] on a Mission) enough to eat in order to gain strength? Or ought there to be more to meet basic needs? When the Savior walked the Earth and in the first years after He performed the atonement, thousands made the decision to follow Him and be baptized. We sometimes tend to think that Christ and His Disciples and the very early Church were some kind of small, isolated cultish group that stayed amongst themselves and grew to today`s size just by procreation and crusades. But not so! Acts 2 tells a different story. The original Disciples and the Missionaries of the early Church were indeed fishers of men, they baptized thousands of converts and the Body of Christ grew to a remarkable size in an even more remarkably short amount of time.
2 - Now, one dispensation forward from point number 1. On April 6, 1830, when the Church of Jesus Christ was formally reorganized, it had a whopping six members on its rolls, including names as prominent as Joseph Smith, Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery - but not very many more altogether. By the end of 1830, there were 280 members, by 1831 there were 480 and in 1832 there were 2,661. Perhaps the greatest thing about these numbers is that they came to pass with a very, very tiny Missionary force. For instance, the membership growth of 2,181 during the year of 1832 (for rough orientation, in the early Kirtland years) happened with probably not more than 20 actual Missionaries. That year, each of those Missionaries probably baptized far more than 100 converts. How did that happen and why doesn`t it seem to happen today anymore (at least not regularly)? In D&C, we repeatedly read the extended call to preach the Gospel "to the congregations of the wicked". So, what happened was basically that the Missionaries walked into another church`s service and taught them about the Restoration. Despite being rejected quite a few times, the successes of that method added up to incredible results. The Church was always just strong and large enough to be almost impossible to extinct, despite its opponents regularly trying. Also, those Missionaries were indeed fishers of men.
3 - When the first Missionaries arrived in Britain in 1837, they were even more successful than the Missionaries who preached the Gospel in the United States at the beginning of the decade. They baptized thousands of converts in Northern England, particularly in Preston and, to a lesser extent, Manchester. We often tend to believe that the late 1990s were the time when Church membership outside the United States surpassed domestic membership for the first time, but this is not quite correct. In fact, those early Missionaries to Great Britain (and also the mainland of Western Europe) were so successful that Great Britain had the most members of any country worldwide around 1840, even though this trend quickly reversed due to mass migration to America. Later, these faithful Saints from Britain were credited with playing the most important role of all members in settling the Territory of Deseret. Indeed, those Missionaries were also fishers of men.
4 - Another prophecy extended several times in the scriptures is the bringing forth of the Gospel to "the islands of the sea". Now, Great Britain is an island, though a big one. So are the islands of the South Pacific (anyone remember The Other Side of Heaven?) where Missionaries performed and still perform amazing miracles among the native population. New Zealand, where the arrival of the "white men who bring with them the truth" (who happened to be early LDS Missionaries) fulfilled a long-held prophecy of the natives, also consists of two main and a few smaller islands. Not to mention Japan. Taiwan. The Philippines. Madagascar. Papua New Guinea. Ya know, all those places where you were once able to or are still able to baptize hundreds of converts in two years, appear to be islands. It seems that often, despite some exceptions, people in island nations are more receptive to the restored Gospel than those residing elsewhere. I really can`t tell you why. I just know that Prophets told the world about this many centuries ago, and that their word holds true today (as always).
5 - Some might say that today, the fishers of men have perished. Died out. Gone extinct. That this type of thing is just not possible anymore. And I`m convinced that they were probably correct with that statement ten years ago, but not anymore today. It`s a slow process and it doesn`t happen overnight, but there are signs that the fishers of men are coming back. Probably no other place in the world ties all those prophecies above together in a better way than the small islands of Cape Verde, situated off the west coast of Africa. After Sister Raychel Horlacher, a good friend of mine, was called to serve in these islands at the beginning of the year, I got really interested in them and did some research on the Church there. The first Missionaries arrived in 1989 but were driven out only months after they came. Shortly thereafter, they returned and preached the Gospel, particularly to the youth of the islands. Many of these early converts were studying ministers of other faiths. Thousands joined the Church and after this first generation matured, the first two stakes were created recently with probably many more following in the near future. What is fascinating is that the work has been speeding up dramatically over the past two years or so (thanks to Irma Horlacher? :) ). New congregations are created nearly each month, baptisms are a very common sight on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and the perhaps greatest achievement is the skyrocketing number of Missionaries serving from Cape Verde. The future looks bright for the members from these wonderful islands, because the fishers of men have come again. And they will soon do so throughout the world, finding those who have been prepared to receive Christ and to come home to Him. :)
6 - Our Heavenly Father has indeed begun to speed His work. Another fallacy might be that this happened overnight (well...kind of night) on October 6, 2012, when President Monson announced the lowered Missionary age. However, through divine inspiration, the youth of the Church has been prepared for this day for years. Looking back and thinking about it, I cannot believe how surprised me and many others were by the Prophet`s announcement. Beginning in 2004, here are some of the milestones pertaining to Missionary work that prepared this chosen generation for October 6, 2012 and its aftermath: The publication of Preach My Gospel. Raising the bar of personal worthiness. The edition of the Missionary Handbook. Earlier teaching opportunities in Young Men and Young Women Programs and Seminary, including a new overall curriculum for all. Priesthood leaders` increased emphasis on splits with Priests and full-time Missionaries. The New Member lessons. "I`m A Mormon" profiles recommended for each Missionary. Reassignment of the global Missionary force away from less receptive to more receptive parts of the world. Elder Holland`s plea for more Missionaries during the October 2011 General Conference. Et cetera. The Church knew decades ago that most of those things would be necessary for this Gospel to fill the Earth one day, yet none of these changes were actually implied before 2004 when PMG came around. The reason why I think this was the case is that the youth of the Church wasn`t ready for them to happen earlier.
Not blaming or talking down at generations past, but I see in this (my own) generation a dedication, love for the Gospel, knowledge and personal readiness to share it with everyone that has been unheard of in generations past. Never before has a generation been so tempted, affected by the influences of the world, and permanently tried by the adversary to be led away from the path of truth. But also, never has a generation been so blessed by the power of obedience as much as this generation. Our Heavenly Father knew exactly what kind of opposition we would face, wherefore He reserved some of His most precious children to begin the spiritual fight in this final battle for righteousness. Looking at some of the wonderful people who surround me daily, I struggle to understand why I am one of those reserved for the last days of the latter days, but I know there is a reason for that. Dear Elder Perry, my friends and I accept your challenge. And we know that we will pass if we stay obedient. :)
Love,
-- Pascal
Freitag, 12. Juli 2013
Sharing the Gospel...on airplanes :)
Hello everyone! :)
I think I finally figured out why President Uchtdorf always talks about airplanes at Conference. It`s not that he`s one of the most famous and acknowledged pilots in German history, but that airplanes are just a great place to do Missionary work. Think about it: You`re stuck for a few hours with often complete strangers and the odds are really against them running away from you. Ever since Elder Corbridge shared that in a devotional, I`ve always prayed before stepping on an airplane that I would have an opportunity to share my testimony with someone around me. Needless to say, the Lord really worked miracles for me every single time! :)
As some of you may know, I traveled a lot this summer in order to visit my family in Germany, and my flights there (Salt Lake-Chicago-Duesseldorf, and back the other way around yesterday) were my test run for airplane prayers for Missionary opportunities. Here`s the play-by-play analysis:
When I sat down on my flight to Chicago back in late April, a young Hispanic lady of about my age sat down next to me. I was really excited! She looked really nice and we soon started talking. Within just a few moments though, I had figured out that she went to BYU and that her and two other girls were on their way to Lithuania to teach English for the summer (Emma and Alex, both of whom I count to the most dear readers of my blog...this is a shout out to you! :) ). All three of them were members so it seemed like there was not much to do about sharing the Gospel. However, I am just so glad for the wonderful friendship we were able to start on that flight! So I assume it was totally worth it :) I just feel like we`re inspiring each other so much these days. AND...Sister Watts is going to the Russia Vladivostok Mission in October and who knows, maybe I`ll join her (that would be cool by the way! :) ).
On to the second flight that day, and that`s where the first real Missionary miracle happened. I got to sit next to a lady from Cologne who had moved to Chicago with her husband, and now she was traveling home to see her family (kinda like me...except for the marriage part haha ;) ). So, as we were talking about where we came from and what we were doing in America, I mentioned that I live in Utah. So, she was asking about Mormons and whether they were really as weird and crazy as everyone was telling her in Illinois. Lesson right here: Answer the question that should have been asked! So, I told her that I was actually LDS myself, and that I absolutely loved it. She was surprised to say the least! But then she asked a lot more questions. Turns out, she had actually almost been to Church once but didn`t want to stay for three hours, so only her sister went. Anyways, I told her that our main service, the Sacrament Meeting, is only a little over an hour and that the rest of the three hours are two classes in which we talk about how to become more Christlike and learn about the scriptures. I also told her that we sing three to four hymns during Sacrament Meeting as a congregation after she said that she really likes church music. I invited her to check out a Sacrament Meeting when she`s back in America and she said that she would. :) I have no idea if she actually did but I shared the lds.org maps tool with her and she promised to use it. Ya know...it`s all about planting seeds :) I might never know if something grew out of this one but I opened my mouth and great things happened! :)
After a lot more Missionary work done while home in Germany, my flight back came around yesterday. So...another chance right here, and it worked out pretty great! :)
I sat next to a man from Ohio who was on his way home after a vacation in Switzerland. Again, we talked about where we came from and after I said that I go to school in Utah, he asked me if I went to BYU. I told him no, but that I had plans to transfer there soon after getting my Associates Degree at Weber State. He asked if I was Mormon and I said yes! :) But unfortunately we didn`t carry on the conversation for about another three hours or so. However, all of a sudden when Chicago came closer and after we both had taken a little nap, he asked me if all of my family was Mormon. Well, since I`m a convert and the only member in my family, I said so. And he asked for my conversion story, which I just felt inspired to share with him. As I said in an earlier post, I try not to throw it around the room all the time because it`s really just very personal, sacred and precious to me. But in this moment it just felt right! :) I could see he was moved. After I shared the experiences I`ve had with the Book of Mormon and how it contributed to my conversion, he asked if I had ever read the Bible (I`ve read it all the way through :) ). He was surprised I did not find the Book of Mormon troubling considering what`s written in the Bible. I just bore a really powerful testimony about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible testify of exactly the same things: Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God! He lives! He is the Savior of the world and through faith in Him, we can be saved and washed clean from all our sins! And that this is really the message of both books, and that this second witness is just another tool of God to bring people home to Him :) He said that he was super surprised that we actually believed that and he said that as a non-denominational Christian he believes in the same things! And he said that this second witness function of the Book of Mormon actually makes a lot of sense as long as it doesn`t contradict the teachings of the Bible (which it doesn`t). He still said that he was happy with what he believed in but promised that *if* Missionaries knock on his door someday, he will definitely listen now! So...I hope someone in the Ohio Cleveland Mission is reading this and is living up to it! Especially since he said he wouldn`t give me his name or address so he knows that when the Missionaries still come to his house, it will be inspired.
On my way to Salt Lake, both me and my neighbor slept pretty much the whole time haha :) But I`m not sure if we wouldn`t have felt too tired to talk much anyways.
It`s also just fascinating how I have never made the first step in any of those conversations. We just say hi to each other and all of a sudden we`re ALWAYS down to talking about faith. :) Now...where would that be happening, hadn`t all these people been sent to me by divine inspiration and hadn`t they been prepared to receive me? :)
I just KNOW with all certainty that the principles I just testified of are true! They work :) Go and try it! Read the Book of Mormon. Come to Church. Ask Heavenly Father in prayer if this is what you should be doing, and He will answer that it is! What a loving Heavenly Father we have who is so willing to share with us - Showing us how we should share His message with everyone we meet! :) I have to get much better at this but I`m learning :)
Love you guys! :D
-- Pascal
I think I finally figured out why President Uchtdorf always talks about airplanes at Conference. It`s not that he`s one of the most famous and acknowledged pilots in German history, but that airplanes are just a great place to do Missionary work. Think about it: You`re stuck for a few hours with often complete strangers and the odds are really against them running away from you. Ever since Elder Corbridge shared that in a devotional, I`ve always prayed before stepping on an airplane that I would have an opportunity to share my testimony with someone around me. Needless to say, the Lord really worked miracles for me every single time! :)
As some of you may know, I traveled a lot this summer in order to visit my family in Germany, and my flights there (Salt Lake-Chicago-Duesseldorf, and back the other way around yesterday) were my test run for airplane prayers for Missionary opportunities. Here`s the play-by-play analysis:
When I sat down on my flight to Chicago back in late April, a young Hispanic lady of about my age sat down next to me. I was really excited! She looked really nice and we soon started talking. Within just a few moments though, I had figured out that she went to BYU and that her and two other girls were on their way to Lithuania to teach English for the summer (Emma and Alex, both of whom I count to the most dear readers of my blog...this is a shout out to you! :) ). All three of them were members so it seemed like there was not much to do about sharing the Gospel. However, I am just so glad for the wonderful friendship we were able to start on that flight! So I assume it was totally worth it :) I just feel like we`re inspiring each other so much these days. AND...Sister Watts is going to the Russia Vladivostok Mission in October and who knows, maybe I`ll join her (that would be cool by the way! :) ).
On to the second flight that day, and that`s where the first real Missionary miracle happened. I got to sit next to a lady from Cologne who had moved to Chicago with her husband, and now she was traveling home to see her family (kinda like me...except for the marriage part haha ;) ). So, as we were talking about where we came from and what we were doing in America, I mentioned that I live in Utah. So, she was asking about Mormons and whether they were really as weird and crazy as everyone was telling her in Illinois. Lesson right here: Answer the question that should have been asked! So, I told her that I was actually LDS myself, and that I absolutely loved it. She was surprised to say the least! But then she asked a lot more questions. Turns out, she had actually almost been to Church once but didn`t want to stay for three hours, so only her sister went. Anyways, I told her that our main service, the Sacrament Meeting, is only a little over an hour and that the rest of the three hours are two classes in which we talk about how to become more Christlike and learn about the scriptures. I also told her that we sing three to four hymns during Sacrament Meeting as a congregation after she said that she really likes church music. I invited her to check out a Sacrament Meeting when she`s back in America and she said that she would. :) I have no idea if she actually did but I shared the lds.org maps tool with her and she promised to use it. Ya know...it`s all about planting seeds :) I might never know if something grew out of this one but I opened my mouth and great things happened! :)
After a lot more Missionary work done while home in Germany, my flight back came around yesterday. So...another chance right here, and it worked out pretty great! :)
I sat next to a man from Ohio who was on his way home after a vacation in Switzerland. Again, we talked about where we came from and after I said that I go to school in Utah, he asked me if I went to BYU. I told him no, but that I had plans to transfer there soon after getting my Associates Degree at Weber State. He asked if I was Mormon and I said yes! :) But unfortunately we didn`t carry on the conversation for about another three hours or so. However, all of a sudden when Chicago came closer and after we both had taken a little nap, he asked me if all of my family was Mormon. Well, since I`m a convert and the only member in my family, I said so. And he asked for my conversion story, which I just felt inspired to share with him. As I said in an earlier post, I try not to throw it around the room all the time because it`s really just very personal, sacred and precious to me. But in this moment it just felt right! :) I could see he was moved. After I shared the experiences I`ve had with the Book of Mormon and how it contributed to my conversion, he asked if I had ever read the Bible (I`ve read it all the way through :) ). He was surprised I did not find the Book of Mormon troubling considering what`s written in the Bible. I just bore a really powerful testimony about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible testify of exactly the same things: Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God! He lives! He is the Savior of the world and through faith in Him, we can be saved and washed clean from all our sins! And that this is really the message of both books, and that this second witness is just another tool of God to bring people home to Him :) He said that he was super surprised that we actually believed that and he said that as a non-denominational Christian he believes in the same things! And he said that this second witness function of the Book of Mormon actually makes a lot of sense as long as it doesn`t contradict the teachings of the Bible (which it doesn`t). He still said that he was happy with what he believed in but promised that *if* Missionaries knock on his door someday, he will definitely listen now! So...I hope someone in the Ohio Cleveland Mission is reading this and is living up to it! Especially since he said he wouldn`t give me his name or address so he knows that when the Missionaries still come to his house, it will be inspired.
On my way to Salt Lake, both me and my neighbor slept pretty much the whole time haha :) But I`m not sure if we wouldn`t have felt too tired to talk much anyways.
It`s also just fascinating how I have never made the first step in any of those conversations. We just say hi to each other and all of a sudden we`re ALWAYS down to talking about faith. :) Now...where would that be happening, hadn`t all these people been sent to me by divine inspiration and hadn`t they been prepared to receive me? :)
I just KNOW with all certainty that the principles I just testified of are true! They work :) Go and try it! Read the Book of Mormon. Come to Church. Ask Heavenly Father in prayer if this is what you should be doing, and He will answer that it is! What a loving Heavenly Father we have who is so willing to share with us - Showing us how we should share His message with everyone we meet! :) I have to get much better at this but I`m learning :)
Love you guys! :D
-- Pascal
Sonntag, 7. Juli 2013
Guided in my efforts
Howdy everyone!
Today, Sunday that is, I reflected on some of the things I did in the past to strengthen my testimony of the Savior and His atonement, cause here's a pre-Mission truth: You'll gain a testimony of Satan. For real.
Things just have been crazy this past week, in a rather bad way. I was so busy with school for about the last month or so and all of a sudden I hit this "assignment gap" that is somewhere hidden in each of my semesters in college so far. All of a sudden there is NOTHING left to do, and once this happens my overall motivation to do anything just collapses. I have no idea how to prevent it and under normal circumstances it takes me a couple weeks to reboot to normalcy (let's hope that moving back to Utah doesn't count as normal circumstances). I've made mistakes this past week in particular. I've had a hard time getting up early, a hard time reading my scriptures, a hard time praying and I just felt like I had hit a wall with everything I am supposed to do as a preparing Missionary.
So after that slow week, Friday rolled around, which means I get to see this friend of my grandma. She is super nice and talkative and also really interested in the Church. I'll call her Tina for the sake of protecting her identity. Well, so Tina had been trying to come to Church with me all summer but she always had other things pop up that prevented her from coming. So this week she said that she would be there unless she gets really, really sick. It felt great to get her to go to Church again because she told me how much she felt the Spirit last time. So I told the Sister Missionaries in my ward, asked one of them to sit by us, and guess what...Tina didn't show. I have not the slightest idea about what happened but I can tell you, by the time the Aaronic Priesthood holders blessed the Sacrament I was really freaking out about it. It was just disappointing to know how ready Tina is for the Gospel and how receptive she is to the Spirit...and yet see her struggle so much with keeping self-implied commitments. I guess that's just Heavenly Father's way of showing me what I need to prepare for when I'm really out there serving, but I still think that being bummed about that was the right thing. To an extent, at least.
Anyways, as the tray with the bread was passed around I just felt like I needed to do something to bring the Spirit back into my heart because by then I had pretty much lost it. So I just pulled out my scriptures and started reading D&C Section 6 from the beginning. Let me mention that I just love pretty much everything about that section! It might be my favorite chaper in the entire canon. Anyways, a verse that I had never really given much consideration to hit me right in the face:
22: Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
That also happened to be the very moment when one of the Deacons offered me the bread. And peace overcame me all of a sudden, from one moment of being upset to the next moment being completely calm and reassured in my faith! That was such a powerful experience, I can't even put it into words.
If you're a Missionary, you've usually been an active member of the Church for quite a while (I'm one of the shorties with less than two years underneath my belt) and we tend to forget too easily about how this very first firm testimony felt like when we received it. I still had a very powerful memory about what I felt after I knelt down one night pleading with my Father in Heaven about the truth of all these things, but in my daily life and also in a normal Church setting I forget so easily! Now I think I know why God sent me in the way of an endless crowd of people who always wanted to hear my conversion story (first and foremost Brother Stringham from Institute who asked for it literally each week...). What a powerful reminder this has been for me!! :) It was just exactly what I needed to read and I know that me opening my scriptures during the Sacrament was inspired, as well as my choice of that chapter. Let me tell you...It was the first time I've ever done that!
I just love this Gospel and I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father! They are both so great!! :) And I can't wait to share all this with those I'll teach on my Mission :)
Love you guys! :D
-- Pascal
Today, Sunday that is, I reflected on some of the things I did in the past to strengthen my testimony of the Savior and His atonement, cause here's a pre-Mission truth: You'll gain a testimony of Satan. For real.
Things just have been crazy this past week, in a rather bad way. I was so busy with school for about the last month or so and all of a sudden I hit this "assignment gap" that is somewhere hidden in each of my semesters in college so far. All of a sudden there is NOTHING left to do, and once this happens my overall motivation to do anything just collapses. I have no idea how to prevent it and under normal circumstances it takes me a couple weeks to reboot to normalcy (let's hope that moving back to Utah doesn't count as normal circumstances). I've made mistakes this past week in particular. I've had a hard time getting up early, a hard time reading my scriptures, a hard time praying and I just felt like I had hit a wall with everything I am supposed to do as a preparing Missionary.
So after that slow week, Friday rolled around, which means I get to see this friend of my grandma. She is super nice and talkative and also really interested in the Church. I'll call her Tina for the sake of protecting her identity. Well, so Tina had been trying to come to Church with me all summer but she always had other things pop up that prevented her from coming. So this week she said that she would be there unless she gets really, really sick. It felt great to get her to go to Church again because she told me how much she felt the Spirit last time. So I told the Sister Missionaries in my ward, asked one of them to sit by us, and guess what...Tina didn't show. I have not the slightest idea about what happened but I can tell you, by the time the Aaronic Priesthood holders blessed the Sacrament I was really freaking out about it. It was just disappointing to know how ready Tina is for the Gospel and how receptive she is to the Spirit...and yet see her struggle so much with keeping self-implied commitments. I guess that's just Heavenly Father's way of showing me what I need to prepare for when I'm really out there serving, but I still think that being bummed about that was the right thing. To an extent, at least.
Anyways, as the tray with the bread was passed around I just felt like I needed to do something to bring the Spirit back into my heart because by then I had pretty much lost it. So I just pulled out my scriptures and started reading D&C Section 6 from the beginning. Let me mention that I just love pretty much everything about that section! It might be my favorite chaper in the entire canon. Anyways, a verse that I had never really given much consideration to hit me right in the face:
22: Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
That also happened to be the very moment when one of the Deacons offered me the bread. And peace overcame me all of a sudden, from one moment of being upset to the next moment being completely calm and reassured in my faith! That was such a powerful experience, I can't even put it into words.
If you're a Missionary, you've usually been an active member of the Church for quite a while (I'm one of the shorties with less than two years underneath my belt) and we tend to forget too easily about how this very first firm testimony felt like when we received it. I still had a very powerful memory about what I felt after I knelt down one night pleading with my Father in Heaven about the truth of all these things, but in my daily life and also in a normal Church setting I forget so easily! Now I think I know why God sent me in the way of an endless crowd of people who always wanted to hear my conversion story (first and foremost Brother Stringham from Institute who asked for it literally each week...). What a powerful reminder this has been for me!! :) It was just exactly what I needed to read and I know that me opening my scriptures during the Sacrament was inspired, as well as my choice of that chapter. Let me tell you...It was the first time I've ever done that!
I just love this Gospel and I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father! They are both so great!! :) And I can't wait to share all this with those I'll teach on my Mission :)
Love you guys! :D
-- Pascal
Freitag, 5. Juli 2013
Tender Mercies: Medical & Dental
Doctor's appointments have something scary about them. It runs within my family. For as long as I can remember, my Dad has never seen a doctor and my Mom is close to being tied with him (except for the like two times she almost died...). They both get sick but neither is comfortable with the presence of a doctor. So...I assume one cannot run away from their DNA ;)
I scheduled my medical and my dental right after talking to my Bishop about my papers. You need to understand that Germany is NOT like Utah. With everyone being insured over here, urgency is the only measurement for how quickly one gets an appointment. And going on a Mission is a really, really strange thing and has the lowest urgency anyone could ever think of. That's what I thought at least.
However, to my surprise, it was quite easy to get an appointment scheduled. From memory, here is my conversation with my doctor's receptionist:
- What can I do for you?
- Well...I need a medical check-up. Just some general things...
- How old are you?
- 19, gonna be 20 next month.
- Sir, I'm sorry, but we don't do this kind of thing for people under 30.
- I need it though. I am preparing to be a Missionary for my Church for the next two years, and I need a medical for my application. (by that time I was expecting one of the receptionists to pull out a hammer and go for my head)
- excitedly: Oh, I understand! Where are you going?
- Well, to be honest, I will not know until after this medical.
- How is that possible? Well, what needs to be done?
I showed her my papers and she told me to wait for the doctor to arrive. Five minutes later, he came and asked me what kind of medical problems I had. I was perfectly healthy and went through yet another round of explanation. Well, I tried. He interrupted me and asked if I know one of his collegues. Needless to say, that collegue is in my Bishopric! It's just crazy how small the world is. Anyways, he just checked me through the next day (perfectly healthy, that is!) and I left the papers with him and he filled them out. All that was necessary beyond that was testing my blood group, which he told me would be a good three week wait. Now, that's a problem.
Right after scheduling my doctor's appointment, I went to see my dentist for the dental appointment. The receptionist also asked a ton of questions but she was just the NICEST and most kind person in the universe. I kid not. Anyone scared of going to the dentist at this place must be crazy...She said that the only available appointment within the next two months was two weeks later (because someone had just cancelled in that slot). So, I accepted and figured it would be no problem at all.
Fast forward to the day before my dental. I was just frightened. haha my doctor said that once the bill for the blood group test is sent to my home, the results are there and my papers would be ready to pick up. My dental was on Friday. It was Thursday afternoon, one week prior to when my doctor expected the blood group test results, and guess what...THE BILL CAME IN THE MAIL. Just like that! Miracles happen :) I went to pick up my papers at the doctor's office right before going over to the dentist.
So, I must say that my dental habits are not as lazy as my regular doctor-going habits. I really do go to the dentist every year for check-ups, and the check-up last year was...a partial disaster. My dentist told me I would need to start flushing or my teeth would fall out in ten years. And I did not flush ONCE this past year (probably not very clever of me). So, I guess I was scared. I just sat down in the chair and my dentist started the check, just going like "Oh, those look great!" and "Fantastic!" and "There's not even a little bit of tartar on them!". I was sure that she had been kidding but I guess she didn't. Really, after half an hour she said that all was fine! I was amazed :) She filled out my papers and then stumbled over the wisdom teeth part. She then asked me (cause she had seen my x-rays): Oh, and when were your wisdom teeth removed?
I told her that they had never been removed. She looked at me in surprise and told me that I didn't have wisdom teeth at all. Like, not only that they were unlikely to ever make trouble, but simply that my wisdom teeth DID NOT EXIST. She also said that the odds for that were like one in 500 so I guess I'm special :)
I just took my papers with me when I was done and it was all good :) Ready to go right here!! :D
Just writing this post has shown me once again how true 1Nephi 3:7 is! There is a way for those who seek to obey! I know that I've been so greatly blessed just for my desire and preparation to serve that this has been made possible to me. I love God! :) And I know that this Church and this Missionary program is indeed HIS work and not the work of men! :)
Love y'all! :)
-- Pascal
I scheduled my medical and my dental right after talking to my Bishop about my papers. You need to understand that Germany is NOT like Utah. With everyone being insured over here, urgency is the only measurement for how quickly one gets an appointment. And going on a Mission is a really, really strange thing and has the lowest urgency anyone could ever think of. That's what I thought at least.
However, to my surprise, it was quite easy to get an appointment scheduled. From memory, here is my conversation with my doctor's receptionist:
- What can I do for you?
- Well...I need a medical check-up. Just some general things...
- How old are you?
- 19, gonna be 20 next month.
- Sir, I'm sorry, but we don't do this kind of thing for people under 30.
- I need it though. I am preparing to be a Missionary for my Church for the next two years, and I need a medical for my application. (by that time I was expecting one of the receptionists to pull out a hammer and go for my head)
- excitedly: Oh, I understand! Where are you going?
- Well, to be honest, I will not know until after this medical.
- How is that possible? Well, what needs to be done?
I showed her my papers and she told me to wait for the doctor to arrive. Five minutes later, he came and asked me what kind of medical problems I had. I was perfectly healthy and went through yet another round of explanation. Well, I tried. He interrupted me and asked if I know one of his collegues. Needless to say, that collegue is in my Bishopric! It's just crazy how small the world is. Anyways, he just checked me through the next day (perfectly healthy, that is!) and I left the papers with him and he filled them out. All that was necessary beyond that was testing my blood group, which he told me would be a good three week wait. Now, that's a problem.
Right after scheduling my doctor's appointment, I went to see my dentist for the dental appointment. The receptionist also asked a ton of questions but she was just the NICEST and most kind person in the universe. I kid not. Anyone scared of going to the dentist at this place must be crazy...She said that the only available appointment within the next two months was two weeks later (because someone had just cancelled in that slot). So, I accepted and figured it would be no problem at all.
Fast forward to the day before my dental. I was just frightened. haha my doctor said that once the bill for the blood group test is sent to my home, the results are there and my papers would be ready to pick up. My dental was on Friday. It was Thursday afternoon, one week prior to when my doctor expected the blood group test results, and guess what...THE BILL CAME IN THE MAIL. Just like that! Miracles happen :) I went to pick up my papers at the doctor's office right before going over to the dentist.
So, I must say that my dental habits are not as lazy as my regular doctor-going habits. I really do go to the dentist every year for check-ups, and the check-up last year was...a partial disaster. My dentist told me I would need to start flushing or my teeth would fall out in ten years. And I did not flush ONCE this past year (probably not very clever of me). So, I guess I was scared. I just sat down in the chair and my dentist started the check, just going like "Oh, those look great!" and "Fantastic!" and "There's not even a little bit of tartar on them!". I was sure that she had been kidding but I guess she didn't. Really, after half an hour she said that all was fine! I was amazed :) She filled out my papers and then stumbled over the wisdom teeth part. She then asked me (cause she had seen my x-rays): Oh, and when were your wisdom teeth removed?
I told her that they had never been removed. She looked at me in surprise and told me that I didn't have wisdom teeth at all. Like, not only that they were unlikely to ever make trouble, but simply that my wisdom teeth DID NOT EXIST. She also said that the odds for that were like one in 500 so I guess I'm special :)
I just took my papers with me when I was done and it was all good :) Ready to go right here!! :D
Just writing this post has shown me once again how true 1Nephi 3:7 is! There is a way for those who seek to obey! I know that I've been so greatly blessed just for my desire and preparation to serve that this has been made possible to me. I love God! :) And I know that this Church and this Missionary program is indeed HIS work and not the work of men! :)
Love y'all! :)
-- Pascal
Welcome to the Bloggernacle!
Howdy!
My name is Pascal Friedmann, I'm 20 years old and I am currently preparing to serve as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! :)
This blog will provide insights of my journey through the application process, my preparation and e-mails and pictures from the field. I will share spiritual insights on occasion.
Here's a bit about me:
I was raised in a small town near Bonn, Germany, and first learned about the Church of Jesus Christ as a foreign exchange student in Utah. After investigating for about two years I made the decision to be baptized and another little less than two years later, I'm getting ready to serve as a full-time Missionary (I might share my whole conversion story at a later point). I love the Gospel and I know that the Church I joined on a very cold and breezy day in the February of 2012 is indeed the same Church that Jesus Christ established during his mortal ministry here on Earth. I am SO excited to take the joy this knowledge has brought me to those of Heavenly Father's children who have been prepared by Him to receive it as well! :)
As for all else, I'm a journalism and public relations student at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. I love my family and my friends to death and I enjoy cooking and basketball. That's me in a nutshell! :D
I hope you enjoy my blog! It might be a little empty at first but I should be getting my call mid-September-ish and then I'm gonna get it going :)
Peace out! The Church is true, the Book is blue! :)
-- Pascal
My name is Pascal Friedmann, I'm 20 years old and I am currently preparing to serve as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! :)
This blog will provide insights of my journey through the application process, my preparation and e-mails and pictures from the field. I will share spiritual insights on occasion.
Here's a bit about me:
I was raised in a small town near Bonn, Germany, and first learned about the Church of Jesus Christ as a foreign exchange student in Utah. After investigating for about two years I made the decision to be baptized and another little less than two years later, I'm getting ready to serve as a full-time Missionary (I might share my whole conversion story at a later point). I love the Gospel and I know that the Church I joined on a very cold and breezy day in the February of 2012 is indeed the same Church that Jesus Christ established during his mortal ministry here on Earth. I am SO excited to take the joy this knowledge has brought me to those of Heavenly Father's children who have been prepared by Him to receive it as well! :)
As for all else, I'm a journalism and public relations student at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. I love my family and my friends to death and I enjoy cooking and basketball. That's me in a nutshell! :D
I hope you enjoy my blog! It might be a little empty at first but I should be getting my call mid-September-ish and then I'm gonna get it going :)
Peace out! The Church is true, the Book is blue! :)
-- Pascal
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