Spiritually Energized

 

Time flies when you’re having fun! And this week, it was fun to be a missionary. There were certainly good and bad parts, but when you just look at the week overall, it was just a fun week. I imagine Ammon and Alma had fun while they served, and like what Elder Bednar said “I’m not talking, playing games. This is spiritually energizing!” The scriptures are fun, they are just the best thing ever. They pump you up, get you ready. Really, it’s like putting on a sword and shield and boots and a helmet and like, a jetpack and also having a supercomputer chip put in your brain but way better. A Spirit Chip. The Spirit, no chip. We have been zealously striving to memorize scriptures and especially, apply them!

I had the privilege of going on 2 exchanges this week, one with Elder Bishop in Riverside Park, and one with Elder Petersen in Coconut Creek.

Elder Bishop is doing really awesome! He studies Spanish more diligently than most anybody I have ever met. It’s on the same level in my mind as Elder Long and Elder Burton, and those guys study hard.

Elder Petersen is doing very well at the same time. He just understands the whole scriptures thing. He is 200% on board with it. We had what I would like to think was the best lesson I have ever been able to teach on Saturday morning, with our friend Francis. We used the scriptures, some memorized, some read, to teach every principle, shared inspired questions, even used technology to solidify a few principles, answered his questions with the Book of Mormon! By the end, Francis was on board with the whole thing as well, and he wanted to know where he could read next in the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is great. Alma 37 was really pertinent this week, especially like, the opening 20 verses. They all are Alma testifying to his son Helaman about the power of using the scriptures in teaching, and about all the miracles that the scriptures perform. I like verse 8 a ton, because it shares just a little bit of what the scriptures have already done with the people.

“And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them ti the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.”

Alma then continues to talk about how the scriptures have been saved and preserved because of the wisdom of

God. If we are wise we will use them too!

Elder Flake and I saw an awesome miracle this week with Maria! She is like, 90-something years old and has been coming to church for a good long time now, and we had a meal appointment this week, and as she is a non-member, we allowed ourselves to go. We asked her, “Maria, do you want to be baptized?” just like that, and she said, “Yes.” and so now we are going to baptize Maria, all because we asked her. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

I’m Spiritually Energized!

Feliz Navidad Dose

Sorry this message isn’t Christmas themed. But Merry Christmas!!

Really, I forgot Christmas is on Monday. Feliz Navidad.

As For transfers, I’m heading over to the Coral Springs zone to serve with Elder Flake. It’s going to be awesome, Coral Springs is basically Ft. Lauderdale, so this will be the first time I’ve actually been in Ft. Laud as a Ft. Laud Missionary. Woohoo

This week in my scripture study I read about how to take rejection, and in Preach My Gospel as well. Rejection really isn’t personal. I really like what happened to Alma in Alma 8
8 And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of God unto them.
9 Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.
10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.
11 Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.
12 And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the judgment-seat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.
13 Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron.

So Alma, it wasn’t that he was rejected personally, they didn’t believe the message that he had to share, and for that they kicked him out. Too often are we discouraged for the rejection that we face, often do we feel that they are rejecting us, but it is not so. We aren’t salesman of the Gospel. We can convert people to us, but not to the message, and there’s no power in converting people to a missionary. Missionaries leave. And if missionaries leave, the conversion goes with it. Rejection is actually positive. It means that people see that you aren’t representing yourself, but something that they don’t have. Something different. Something Incomprehensible. Him, The Lord Jesus Christ.

And we know what happened next, an angel visited him, told him to go find the one soul waiting for them there, and they became Celestial friends, Amulek and Alma.

We were able to help people repent this week, Ali, well he wants to get baptized, but not yet. He bore us his testimony of what he knows to be true thus far, but his testimony is still lacking in some necessary parts to be baptized. We are going to continue working with him, he keeps all of his commitments, and comes to church regularly. He sees how the Gospel is blessing his family. He understands, more than anything, that when he makes the decision to be baptized, that it will be a lifelong decision, an eternal decision.

Now, I am on my way out back East, to Coral Springs. I know that there are many hearts to be touched there, people that need to hear the Gospel from my mouth, that need to feel the Spirit I bring. I have loved Naples, I love the Bahia Ward, I love the people here.

Sincerely,
Elder Webster