Week 59 - "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Hey, everyone!
This week's quote is from Gandalf the Grey (played by Sir Ian McKellen) in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He says it in response to something Frodo says in a moment of self-pity: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish that none of this had happened." Gandalf responds, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
In some ways it's been a bit of a tough week. I've struggled in a few moments, but as I've tried to apply some of the lessons I've been learning and counseled with others, things have gotten better.
Many times in my life I've found myself giving someone else advice and realize in the process, "That's really good advice. I should take that advice." Have you ever experienced something like that? The principle of casting the beam out of your own eye before seeking to cast the mote out of your neighbor's is something I've definitely been learning about as a missionary. I've often found that when I feel to criticize, the thing I want to criticize someone else about is something I need very much to work on myself, and the advice I would give them to correct themselves is advice I can take. I think that's something Satan does with us sometimes: He knows that we have a friend or neighbor who is making a mistake similar to one we are making, so he draws our attention to it and invites us to criticize them. When we do, it's almost as though we create a blind spot for ourselves, as though seeing bad behavior in someone else surely means it doesn't exist in ourselves.
Anyhow, when we were meeting yesterday in the evening Book of Mormon class at the church, I pointed out that the Book of Mormon, according to its title page, is written and brought forth to remind the children of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers. It occurred to me yesterday also that The Book of Mormon, and the scriptures in general, are simply a compilation of all the things people have learned about God and Jesus Christ and His gospel in their lives and in their interactions with Them. Of course, there's more to it than that, but I think at their most basic the scriptures are collective knowledge about God. In a way, it's like anything else humanity as a whole has learned over the centuries. We've learned how things are supposed to be done, the ways that they're done best (as far as we know), in many different fields, and that's something God can teach us and does teach us, especially when it comes to things that concern eternity and our salvation. And that's one of the reasons it was so important for those who recorded the scripture to do so, and similarly it's one of the reasons it's so important for us to keep a journal: Not only to remind our posterity of the great things the Lord has done for us, but also to remind ourselves. We wax and wane in our faith all the time, and to be able to go back and remember all the good things we have experienced and so forth is a great blessing and can help us continue to do the things that we know are right. That was my experience today: I wanted to see if I could identify the bedrock of my thinking, especially regarding spirituality, and the bedrock of my testimony, and I began to recall the significant spiritual experiences I had before my mission and then the significant spiritual experiences I have had during the mission, and there are many, many things that have happened that convince me, for instance, that I hold the priesthood authority of God and that that authority works through me as I exercise it and seek to do the Lord's will. There are many things that have happened that have taught me that the Holy Spirit is real: As I have followed promptings I have thought might come from the Holy Ghost, I have felt his confirming influence letting me know that what I did was right. I have also seen some good things happen as a result of following those promptings.
Anyhow, the reason for the subject line is twofold: First, I am no longer in a district leader companionship, though I am staying in Delaware. Elder Sears got some extra responsibilities, as he was transferred to Ohio State University (something he was very happy about) and assigned, with his companion, to be both a district leader AND a zone leader. So both of them are district leaders (normally there's just one per district) as well as zone leaders. We were both a bit confused by that, and we wondered how the logistics would all work out, but he and Elder Richins will do great.
My new companion is Elder Henshaw. He's nearing the end of his mission (he's got about 4 months left), he's 23, and he hails from California, near Fresno. I've enjoyed my time with him so far. We're getting along well and getting stuff done. He's a funny dude, too, so the work has been enjoyable. Also, the reduction in leadership responsibilities means a reduction in admin work, which means we have a ton more time on our hands.
The second reason for the subject line is that we listened to an INCREDIBLE devotional last night from Elder D. Todd Christofferson in which he talked about commitment and being all in on the gospel. I felt like that talk was just for me. There are so many things I have been feeling and wondering about and so forth that I feel like were answered by that devotional. It really boosted my confidence in the brethren. People can have a tendency to think that the leaders of the church don't understand them or don't know what's really going on or what issues people are really facing, but I've noticed more and more as I've listened to them, especially last night, that so much of their advice can be applied directly to my life. Many of the ideas about, for instance, having to sacrifice things that are good in favor of things that are better and best and the fleeting nature of mortality and the limited time we have to accomplish all we need to were things I have been thinking about and struggling with. I've wondered: What will I do after my mission? What will I have time for? As we near the second coming of Christ, what will I have to give up to focus on the work of salvation, either to prepare myself or to help others prepare? That devotional was spot on. Elder Christofferson, at least, understands me. I have felt similar understanding from other prophets and apostles as well. I think President Nelson is tuned in as well: I think the adjustments he's making are going to have a great positive impact on the church.
I've been listening to a podcast called "The First Vision" from churchofjesuschrist.org that talks about the context of the first vision, and that's been good: It's been interesting and engaging. I'd certainly recommend it if you're looking to do something to prepare for general conference in April.
Oh, yeah, we moved into a new apartment, and it's pretty nice: We have two full bathrooms, which means that if a companionship ever doubles in for training visits we'll actually have time to do everything in the morning (exercising usually goes out the window for at least one person so everyone can get showered and ready in time for planning and study). It also just feels nicer. It's pretty new--it doesn't have a years-long history of missionaries living in it.
What else can I talk about from this week? James and Karen came to church, so that was cool, though they left after Sacrament meeting. I'm really hoping they had a good experience and that Karen has some questions so we can share more about the doctrines of the church and the way it operates. We nearly had another person come, but I didn't see them there, so I guess they must have canceled last minute.
We met a couple of awesome member families who are really doing missionary work with their neighbors and looking for people for us to teach. It was awesome to meet people who are being diligent about that. It takes a huge load off the missionaries when they do and allows us to focus on the things we've actually been trained for, like teaching.
We also met this BOMB member family that's into basically all things nerdy. They have a replica of the Master Sword and of Anduril hanging on their wall, and they showed me pictures of them dressed up at Renaissance fairs. The whole family is big into Doctor Who, so I got to connect with them a little by sharing that with them and asking them how they felt about Thirteen and just be a nerd for 20 minutes or so. The mom's also big into Supernatural, so I showed her the picture of Melissa with Jared and Jensen holding her master's thesis. She was super jealous.
We also had a great sync-up meeting with our bishop (you have those every transfer just to connect with the Bishop and get his feelings and plans and goals about the work in the ward), and he shared something that I think I really needed to hear: He called it the "bowling ball principle." You're never going to knock over any pins in bowling if you just sit there holding the ball in your hand, and when we're doing work for the Lord, it's a little like having the bumpers up: We just have to send it and try, and the ball will go the wrong direction and bounce off the bumpers and go every which way, but it will eventually hit a pin. We aren't perfect at working for the Lord, but as we just try, as we seek to do what we can, the Lord can magnify our efforts, lead us in the right direction, and allow what we do to work for him. My mom said in one of her emails that God's quintessential characteristic is his ability to make lemonade out of lemons. I agree--he can make things work out.
That's probably about all I have time for. Hopefully I'll have more to share with you next week. Be wise about your time. Use it to accomplish things that are important. And if you haven't listened to Elder Christofferson's devotional yet, do: That would definitely be a worthy use of your time. :)
Elder Davis
Elder Sears and I at the church.
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