Remembering (April 23, 2017)

Beautiful spring flowers!

Well hello family!  Let me tell you about this week.  After 4 miracle weeks of finding 2 investigators per week the last few weeks, last week we weren't able to find any!  It's alright, though, this week is ours!  Those brothers we met last week couldn't meet this week, and we had a lot of other people cancel, but our 30/30 program all kept their appointments, and one of them is progressing! So that is great. Yesterday we also had the opportunity to take the sacrament to Brother S_, the amazing blind man in our area.  Visits with him are always wonderful experiences. We started teaching him the missionary lessons again because he doesn't come to church very much, so Bishop asked us to do that. I love Brother S_! The sacrament means so much to him. He really respects it and appreciates it. And on the way back, we walked past these apartments that didn't have a code on them--most places here are coded to prevent non-residents from entering. Anyway, we decided to knock through the apartments. We decided to start on the top floor and work down, and we knocked a couple buildings with nothing too special happening. I wondered why we felt like we should do that, but then on the bus ride home, we met an awesome kid who is my same age, who has met missionaries before! He has a Book of Mormon and stuff, and wants to become friends with us which is cool!! We will just be friends with him and share the Gospel with him at the same time. :)

I went on exchanges this week with Elder S. He is a trainee, and such a great kid. I really love him!

Also this week we had a zone meeting! And I gave a talk at it, in all Korean! Yikes. It was about what I learned in General Conference. I talked about some patterns I noticed--the Spirit, love and charity, and the Savior. I loved general conference, and I'll share more about it.

Overall, another fun week in Sangin! This area is pretty amazing. Also today I am going to get my eyes checked and maybe get glasses.

Here I am with our zone leader, Elder H. We met one of the missionaries who trained him at a climbing gym a while ago!

Here is something special I learned this week. It is a principle that is so simple, yet profound and powerful. This principle is something that can bring us joy, give us strength in hard times, help us look to the future with hope and reassurance. It is a tool to protect us when we are buffeted with fears, concerns, and even doubts. This principle is the principle of remembering.

In his general conference talk, President Eyring shared:

My message tonight is a simple one. We have all felt peace tonight. All of us would like to feel such peace often within ourselves, in our families, and with the people around us. The Lord promised peace to His disciples as He was about to leave them. He has made the same promise to us. But He said that He would give peace in His way, not in the world's way. He described His way of sending peace:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:26-27)

He added, "You will at times have your faith challenged by Satan; it happens to all disciples of Jesus Christ. Your defense against these attacks is to keep the Holy Ghost as your companion. The Spirit will speak peace to your soul. He will urge you forward in faith. And He will bring back the memory of those times when you felt the light and the love of Jesus Christ.

Remembering may be one of the most precious gifts the Spirit can give you. He will "bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever [the Lord has] said unto you." (John 14:26)  The memory may be of an answered prayer, of a priesthood ordinance received, of a confirmation of your testimony, or of a moment when you saw God's guiding hand in your life."

Elder S and I at the service project.

I have found this principle so true in my life. Our loving Father in Heaven understands that we need spiritual experiences to keep us on the path. We can seek these experiences through heartfelt prayer, through pondering a question we need answered, through serving and loving others. However, one very common method that God seems to answer our prayers is through remembering a spiritual experience that we have already had. In fact, in one of the foundational scriptures of the Book of Mormon, in which we learn how to gain a witness of its truthfulness, one of the first and often overlooked things that we must do is to remember.  Moroni 10:3 says, "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God tat ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts."

There is great power in remembering God's hand in our lives. I can remember spiritual experiences that have meant a lot to me: my baptism, receiving the priesthood, receiving a priesthood blessing, various experiences where God spoke to me through the scriptures, and one of the greatest, my Patriarchal Blessing.

I invite you to take a second tonight, or tomorrow morning, sometime when you have a little bit of quiet time. And take some time to remember. Try to think of specific experiences where your prayers were specifically answered. Maybe it was through a feeling. Maybe it was the Lord helped you in your own small way. You may need to review your personal journal to remember some, but that is okay! Try to think of experiences where you served and loved others in a Christlike way, and the Spirit testified to you that it is what the Savior would do had he been in your situation.

Elder S at McDonalds

I have found great help and strength during those times that I seem to be unable to feel the spirit, or when I wonder where God is in my life, by simply remembering a time when I knew He was there. The Lord says to us, as he did to Oliver Cowdery, "Behold, thou art Oliver (or Nate, Andy, etc...) I am Jesus Christ...Verily verily, I way 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. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" (D&C 6)

(Here is a video Nate sent today of him while he was emailing us. I love to see him and hear his voice!!)

I know that God speaks to us. He loves us! He will talk to us, through our spiritual experiences, both present and past. I love you all! Have a great week. And hold on to the spiritual experiences you have had :)

All I can say is--wow! What a package, thanks!

Love
Elder Beckett