Elder Beckett in Korea: Missionary Work! (March 5, 2018)

Hey my dear family!

(Mom here: looks like Nate's giving us a smolder...)

Last week was the last week of the transfer... I am now a 14th transfer missionary. Do you know how crazy that is? I was sad yesterday when I realized just how fast time is passing. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see all of you, but... I am going to be really sad to leave my mission in a few months. I have 4 months left. Four months ago I was just starting my 2nd transfer in Haeundae... That doesn't seem like long ago at all. I promise to make the best of these last few months, give all I can in the time I have left, leave in all on the court, so to speak.

PS Me and Elder Y are both staying in Oncheon, so that is fun! And my last companion, Elder KTH was called as an office assistant, so he is coming to be here on the other team. Should be great! I love him a lot, we will have a lot of fun!

Here is Elder Y and me with Brother C from Haeundae! He received the Melchizedek Priesthood!

Last week we were able to meet a lot of new investigators! This transfer has been a little difficult to find and things, partially because of other responsibilities, but last week it all came together!

One cool miracle: Me and Elder A, who was my companion in Youngdo, were on exchanges here in Oncheon. We wanted to find a place outside to do language study. We went into this place called Paris Baguettes, a bread shop. It is super good. I love bread. And I love Paris Baguettes! But something felt a bit off... The music was a bit loud, but something else felt not quite right. So we left. We walked passed this restaurant called Lotteria, which had SUPER loud music on the outside speaker. But Elder A said, "Maybe it is just outside that's loud..." So we went inside. Well sitting there inside, right by the door was a South African man named E. We said hello to him, ended up sitting with him, and talking with him about his life, his studies, etc... Really neat guy. Then I asked if he had heard about our church. He had heard a bit, but he said, "Show me what you've got! I have all the time in the world." So we ended up teaching him the whole restoration lesson, and it was a really cool experience! He was really nice and listened to it all, asking questions. He said he would love to come to our worship service sometime, too, as well as practice some Korean together! I got his kakao talk id, so we will contact him and try to meet him again.

Allie--do you recognize this man? You served under him in your mission, then he moved to Busan and was my Bishop in Haeundae! Small world, huh?

Sometimes we lift weights with President! :)

I want to share a quick story-- kind of a parable.

There was once a town that was suffering a long drought. For a long time there was no rain there. And so the people began to fast and pray for rain. In fact, they picked a specific date to pray for rain to come on.

According to plan, they fasted, and prayed, and hoped for rain to come. The day finally came-- the day they had been praying for. All the people were to meet in the town square. And they did-- all of them.

Yet only one of them brought their umbrella.

And so this short parable highlights something that I would like to point out-- sometimes we pray and have faith in something, but we don't choose to act according to our faith-- or you might say that we don't have faith enough to affect our actions. In this story, all the people prayed for rain, but only one person in the town believed in the answer to their prayer strong enough to bring their umbrellas!

One thing I have learned as I have served as a full-time representative of Jesus Christ is that our faith needs to be strong enough to influence, if not completely change, our actions. It could be said that some of the greatest strength that faith has is, in fact, that it changes our behavior. We believe in a force, a power greater than ourselves, and the believe changes our expectations, our hopes, desires, and eventually our actions.

This week I read Alma 56 in the Book of Mormon. It highlights the story of two thousand young men-- young enough to have never fought in the many previous battles their people had fought in. I assume they were probably late teens, maybe some early twenties.

Their enemies? The Lamanites, experienced, hateful warriors, seeking to put in bondage, if not destroy, the Nephite people.

These young men bravely go to war against the greatest army of these Lamanites, .

Their commander Helamen recorded of them, "t[N]ever had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites. For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: 'Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go...' Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."

This brave band of young men goes against the massive army of bloodthirsty Lamanites... and wins. How?

Helamen recorded again, "there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners of war...they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them." (Alma 56-57)

These young men were full of faith in God.

This faith led to a desire to obey-- to obey exactly.

This exact obedience both increased their effectiveness in war, and opened the windows of Heaven, that God could bless and protect them.

I know that faith changes us. It changes how we act. We can choose to act according to our faith. To bring our umbrellas when praying for rain, to do all we can do... to obey with humble exactness.

I invite you to act... to act on your faith. Sometimes we don't act in harmony with our beliefs, and our faith is stagnant. But as we let our faith change our actions... miracles arise.

I know that's true.