Week 3 - "There are no accidents."

So this week's quote is from Master Oogway in Kung Fu Panda.

This last week has been sort of crazy. The days feel like they've gone by pretty fast, and I'm not caught up in my journal, so my thoughts are a bit disorganized, but I'll try to get to the good stuff.

First, I want to make a point of clarification regarding my last email, because I realized something this week: No one is truly "ready" for a mission until they've been set apart. As much as you can prepare, and as much as you should prepare, before a mission, it's not possible in my experience to feel prepared and able to do the job you're committing to do until you've been set apart. I've noticed a change in my ability being here at the MTC, and though I think that what I've learned and experienced has something to do with that change, I think my setting apart did as well. So if you're preparing for a mission, you've done what you can, and you're still feeling nervous, that's normal. You may feel nervousness still when you're in the MTC, but in my experience, it's for different reasons. Once you have been set apart, something changes -- at least it did in me.

Second, I'll tell you the reason for the subject line. Earlier this week our class did an activity in which each companionship was asked to go find someone, see if they have any questions of the soul, and try to answer them with a scripture. She encouraged each companionship to say a prayer, so Elder Lambert and I did, and then we headed off through the building. We saw a few people, but the people we encountered seemed busy or just didn't feel right. We passed the building security desk, and I thought, "Huh. Maybe we could talk to them," but we passed them and went down some more hallways. Elder Lambert said, "If we don't find anyone in this last area, let's go back and talk to the security guards," and we didn't find anyone, so we headed back. We saw someone on the way that Elder Lambert suggested, but I felt good about the security guards, so I told him we liked the idea of talking to them. When we arrived at the desk, we explained what we were doing and asked if either of them had deep questions of the soul. There was a man and a woman. The man volunteered himself, and then I looked at his name tag. (Quick but important side note: I had a roommate in college whose name was Thomas Jager. He's a great guy, just a solid, good dude, and I hadn't thought about him in a while.)  So I looked at this guard's name tag, and it said "Jager," so I was like, "Jager... Do you happen to know a Thomas Jager?" and he said, "Yeah, he's my brother." So I asked, "Did he go to BYU-Idaho?" and he said yes. I told him, "Your brother was my roommate in college." It was cool to have a little tender mercy like that. But to top the experience off, instead of us teaching him, he taught us. He asked us some gospel questions we didn't know the answer to, and then he gave us answers to those questions. It was cool.

On Sunday we had a great musical devotional, and Mom and Max (and anyone who's interested), I want you to look up recordings for these songs (according to the conductor you can find them at jwpepper.com), and check them out. I thought they were really uplifting. Also, if you find them, please send them to me. These are titles, followed by some of the lyrics for clarification:

"Be Not Afraid" - Be not afraid, for I have redeemed you, be not afraid, I have called you by name

"Peace like a river in my soul" - I've got peace like a river, like a river in my soul ... When the world closes in, feel the stillness within ... I've got love like an ocean, like an ocean in my soul ... When you're lost and alone, let the waves bring you home

"Angels are making their rounds" - Angels are making their rounds, oh, my, what a beautiful sound. Fear not, Zachariah ... Heaven's glory comes down when angels are making their rounds.

"The First Noel" - Just the standard lyrics--I should have asked the conductor for the specific version or arrangement -- maybe I'll be able to check that when I get in the field. Or maybe you can ask the MTC if they can ask him or something.

"All Praise to Thee" - All praise to thee, eternal god, who, clothed in garb of flesh and blood, dost take a manger for thy throne, while worlds on worlds are thine alone. Alleluia!

What else? I gave a talk on Sunday -- they ask you to prepare one each on two specific parts of the missionary purpose each week. This week was The Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. You're then called on with no warning at the beginning of Sacrament meeting, and you get up and give your talk. I spoke about enduring to the end and how we're told here at the MTC to make specific, measurable goals for our progress, and yet enduring to the end feels kind of vague, so are there any specific things associated in the scriptures with enduring to the end? There are. Read 2 Nephi 31:19-21, James 5:8-9, and Revelations 2:25. When enduring becomes hard, we are asked to look to the prophets (Read James 5:10-11). People seemed to enjoy the talk, so that was good.

Every Sunday we also watch a film. Usually the films they make available in English are devotionals given at the MTC by apostles, so I watched, in order, "The Character of Christ" and "One by One" by Elder Bednar and "Missions are Forever" by Jeffrey R. Holland. I wish those films were available for everyone to watch: They're very inspiring and insightful. Elder Holland talked about how you only have this one time to serve a mission, and you need to make the most of it. That was the basic message, but there was a lot more to it than that. Unfortunately I don't have time to write about it now :/ Maybe you'll all just have to read my journal when I get back.

I wanted to share an insight from this week. I was wondering (and I have been for a long time) about why faith is part of God's plan. Why can't he just appear to us all and give us knowledge? Why do we have to have faith first? What's the point? Wouldn't it be easier to save us if he just showed up and told us everything? The answer to that question is in Alma 32:17-22, and I'm going to let you all look for it. Pay special attention to verse 19 and verse 22, especially the word "therefore" in verse 22 and the relationship it creates between the ideas in that verse.

Some other highlights: We did an activity this week where as companions we were supposed to tell each other how we've seen growth in one another. Elder Lambert says he's really seen my faith increase as we've been here, and I told him he's grown in his love for and knowledge of the scriptures. It was great to hear that Elder Lambert has seen me grow in faith. I think I've seen that as well. Also, on Sunday we did an activity where we paired up with a missionary from another district and tried to speak to an experience they had with a scripture, and I learned that the scriptures testify that God answers prayers when we're on our feet, moving in a direction, and sometimes he answers them pretty forcefully when we're moving in the wrong direction (that was also the experience of this missionary -- he wasn't sure if he should go on a mission, so he prayed about it, didn't feel like he got any sort of clear answer, so he started filling out college applications, and then he felt really powerfully like he should go on a mission). The place the scriptures have an example of this is in Alma 8:8-16. Pay particular attention to what Alma prays for, think about what his actions in verse 13 indicate about his perception of God's answer to that prayer, think about the actions he would have taken if the Lord had told him he was going to do what he asked for, and compare that to what the Lord tells him to do. He receives an answer to his prayer in the sense that he is given clear direction as to what he should do, even if he isn't told what the outcome will be.

Well, the only other significant thing that's happening this week is that I'm leaving. Today was my last real day at the MTC. Tomorrow morning we'll get on a plane and head to Ohio. It felt like I had spent months here just a few days ago, and yet this last week seems to have flown by so fast. I'm sorry I wasn't able to put more thought and organization into my email. If I get the chance to collect more thoughts tomorrow, maybe I'll shoot off an email from my phone in the airport or something.

Love you all!

Elder Davis