ya this week was way cool, way hard, and way spiritual. First off our baptism went really well, Antonio bore his testimony at the end and .......I can't really express how great I felt. I will admit, I cried; he just stood up and said: "I really didn't need to read the Book of Mormon to know this church is true, I felt it the first time Elder Church and Guarchaj came to my home, the first time I came to church I felt at home and I haven't felt like that before, so really thank you for welcoming me home".
It was at that time that it hit me, everyone of my converts are chosen sons and daughters of God; they are all active and excited about the gospel, so really it's just an incredible experience I'm on.
Then last night we went over to a member's home because she told us her husband is ready to be baptized, so we got there and he said: "I know why you're here and I am happy about it, tell me what do you want for me"?
I told him, "I want your family to be forever". He said: "When can we go to the temple to do that"? I said, "a year after your baptism." He said, "when is my baptism?" It is important to know that this guy had been going to church with his wife for years and the thing is we can teach him everything we need to teach him in a week, so really he could be baptized this Saturday, but Elder Guarchaj said, "will you prepare to be baptized the 18th of June?"
And then he said something incredible. I didn't understand why Elder G didn't set the baptism for the 4th of June, but after I heard what this man said I realized that the Lord wanted Elder G to say the 18th instead. The man said: "today in church I was sitting by myself because my wife was in Loja, and the two families who had gone to the temple to be sealed bore their testimonies and afterwards, I had a feeling that the elders were going to ask me to be baptized the 18th of June, and if they don't then they aren't the ones to baptize me."
Then we started with Lesson One after that, and Caesar taught us Lesson One. We just asked questions like "who is a prophet?" "who is Joseph Smith"? "what is the Book of Mormon"? He responded to all of the questions like he has been a member all his life!!!!!
Ok, so right now is my insight for the week: (last week my mom said: "Hey!!! where's the insight from your study" because I left that off)
And yes, it not just my thoughts; I read a really great talk about mission work.
The question Christ will ask us at our judgement won't be "are you worthy"; it will be "who are you, what did you become".
The thing is that a missionary can serve a two year mission and baptize 100 people and be as worthy and as righteous as anyone could be, and still it can profit him nothing!!!!! In this talk the writer brought up something I've never seen before. Christ had a parable about 10 virgins. Why? What does a virgin represent? Purity!!! And 5 were wise and 5 were foolish, which means, that purity and worthiness isn't everything, it is huge, but if you don't do the things necessary it will profit you nothing!!!!
Now the type of mission that will profit someone is the mission in which you lose yourself, you can be worthy and teach and baptize, but if you are thinking about home and having a fight within yourself of what you could be doing or who you could be with, it is two years wasted.
That is why Christ said "who shall lose his life...shall find it". Those who lose themselves will find themselves.
Christ lived his life only to do the will of the Father. He wanted to do it another way; he asked "if it's possible, let this cup pass from me", but then "not my will, but Thine be done".
So the will of the Son was swallowed up in the will of the Father.
It is not enough to do the work, you have to want to do it, it has to be your choice.
So really all the naggy wives who have said "no, its not enough for you to do the dishes, I want you to want to do the dishes". WHAT WORDS OF WISDOM and who would have guessed they came from a naggy wife....THAT WAS A JOKE!!!!!!
Really all we have is God's. Our life, our money, our time, our talents. He could take it all if He wanted to, and nothing would happen. He would still be God. Look at Job, God took everything from him and Alma 42 didn't happen, did it?!
But what He didn't take was Job's free will, because if he did, then Alma 42 would have happened and that would suck.
That's why He asked not only for our might and strength, He asked for heart and mind as well. Because when we give Him our will, that's when we really do give Him everything.
BUT ALL THE ELDERS ARE MAD I'M TAKING SO LONG SO THIS WILL HAVE TO DO; IF YOU WANT MORE OF THIS INSIGHT TELL ME NEXT WEEK.
Love you all so much ya?!
Elder Nathan R Church
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