Washed Clean

When teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ, I sometimes use a metaphor I heard while I was still a high school seminary student:

When we're born, we are given a white jumpsuit to wear. As we move through life, we often slip and fall. Sometimes we even fall headfirst in the mud. Our white jumpsuits invariably get soiled.

At the end of our lives, we will arrive at our Father's house. It is a large, white mansnion. Everything on the outside is white and immaculate. The inside is white as well.

The walls are white.

The furniture is white.

There is nothing but the purest white to be seen.

Everyone is wearing white clothing, perfectly clean.

How will we feel, as we approach this heavenly home, soiled with dirt and grime and filthiness?
We would be more comfortable to stay out, in a dirtier place.

But the gospel, the "good news", is that there is a detergent available to everyone that can cleanse any stain and remove any spot.

Leah's Conversion

This is a continuation of "The Reason I Came".
Last week, I received this poem from the younger of the two Heffelfinger girls, Leah. It's difficult to describe what this poem represents to me. I still remember the first time I sat on the couch in the living room and got to meet her and the rest of the family. I remember the eagerness to learn, and the awkwardness in having a Mormon missionary in the home for the first time. I can hardly believe the progression I have seen. She started with a yearning for hope. That desire grew into faith, and as she learned more and more about the truth of the gospel, that faith has yielded joy in the midst of incredible turmoil. She was baptized, and she committed her life to Christ earlier this year. Her seminary teacher asked her to write her feelings about the prophet Joseph Smith. Here is a poem that has inspired me, written from a young woman who has not yet belonged to the true church for even a year:

Look to the Light

I found this on youtube. What an inspiring video.

The Reason I Came

One year ago, I was serving as a missionary in Townsend, Montana. Townsend is a small town, about thirty-five minutes south of Helena, the state capitol. I loved Townsend. When I think about my mission, and what it has meant to me, Townsend always comes to mind.
I will never forget one Tuesday afternoon. My companion, Elder Roerdanz, and I were in Helena for meetings. We were finishing up, and preparing to drive home. We were headed down the State Highway 12, still in town, nearing East Helena. I had the strongest impression: "Go find the Heffelfingers,"

The Way

This is my favorite talk of all time. It just speaks to me. I've read it so many times. It's not a great idea blog-wise to just copy/paste someone else's work, but this talk expresses so well the way that I feel. It's not very long, but it has changed my life already. I would recommend taking ten minutes to watch his talk. The link: http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-way?lang=eng. Select "Watch" on the right side.

Lawrence E. Corbridge

Of the Seventy

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There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way.

Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

He said, “I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world.”

He said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

He said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

He said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The Bridge

Anonymous Author

There once was this turntable bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day, the bridge sat parallel with the river, allowing ships to pass freely on both sides. But at certain times each day a train would come along and the bridge would be turned across the river allowing the trains to cross.
A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed.
One evening, as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train's light. He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge into position. He turned the bridge, but to his horror, found that the locking control didn't work. If the bridge was not locked into position securely, it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train comes onto it. This would cause the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This train was a passenger train with many people aboard.
He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever he could use to operate the lock manually.

Mixing it Up

Things have been unusual for us in the field the last few days.
This last week, Elder Sargent and I picked up a new companion, Elder Dearborn. He's waiting for a visa to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on his mission.
I've never been in a threesome before. It's been a really great chance to evaluate myself. These are the thoughts I've had recently as a result:

On The Lord's Errand: Don't Ever Give Up

Taken from On The Lord's Errand: Don't Ever Give Up
The Race 
by D. H. Groberg

"Quit, give up, you're beaten"
They shout at you and plead
"There's just too much against you
This time you can't succeed".

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failures face
My downward fall is broken by
The memory of a race

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
Or just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being

Childrens race, young boys
Young men, how I remember well
Excitement sure, but also fear
It wasn't hard to tell

The Book of Mormon is True

As a young man, raised in the Mormon faith, and taught to believe as I was, I used to take for granted the doctines I had learned.
But members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are always taught to pray about what they learn, and to seek the truth from God.
I remember when I first began to seriously search to find the truth in my life. And although I had been immersed in it since I was a child, I had never fully internalized it, and I had never fully recognized how important it is in my life until I prayed sincerely to know.
I read the Book of Mormon. I prayed about it.

Now I know that it is true.

Desire on Fire

I sent this "epistle" to the missionaries in my zone, the Billings area. We burned the edges of the page, and sealed the envelopes with a wax seal. We were trying to make them laugh, and remember the reason they're out here on missions. The Christmas season is tough, with homesickness, rejection, and the cold to deal with; hopefully this made them laugh, and hopefully you laugh as well.

Chapter 1

The zone leaders of the Billings Zone exhort and encourage their fellow missionaries to increase their desire to carry on in the work of God; the definition of desire is set forth;  a plea for kindled desire is issued.

Elders Lanham and Sargent, called to be zone leaders of the Billings Zone of the Montana Billings Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through the will of God and President Gardner;

2 Unto the Elders and Sisters of Billings and the surrounding areas, to them that are called and set apart as missionaries. We Salute thee.

3 Greetings from your zone leaders. We are grateful for your examples and your diligent, long suffering service.

Word has reached our ears of a recent, great celebration of feasting and Thanksgiving, in this the eleventh month, the twenty and fifth day, in the year of our Lord two-thousand and ten. We pray thine merrymakings were satisfactory and fulfilling.

Tough Week

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I've been thinking a lot about my mission experience recently. I've been serving for twenty months. I return home to Orem, Utah in March. It is dificult to describe my mission. It has meant so much to me. Serving the Lord has changed my life in so many ways.
Every day, I meet new people. I've encountered what seems like every situation, yet each new person I meet has a new unique story.
This last week was one of the toughest I have had. Every individual we contacted, in one way or another, discontinued their connection with us.

Online Missionary: Elder Lanham

As found on http://www.mormonmission.blogspot.com/.

I about fell out of my seat when I heard. Missionaries online? Really?
I thought we were just attending a standard missionary meeting to discuss issues and help refocus on the work. But when our mission president announced the new online missionary program, I was quite surprised. Since then, missionaries in eight missions have begun blogs, started up facebook accounts, and created personal profiles on mormon.org. I sign on to facebook and Blogger each day, and see in my chat box about thirty other missionaries at one time, all trying to spread the gospel. It's quite amazing.

Fear Not Reviling

It seems that whenver there is something good going on, there is something bad there to oppose it.
There is a reason these verses were included in the Holy Bible:

Acts 5: 34-39
 34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
  35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
  36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
  37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
  38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

  39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

It's interesting how many today spend so much effort trying to debase and harrass, instead of focusing on building up and strengthening. Really, the best way to move the gospel forward is to preach it and share it, not to try to tear down the opposition. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a huge example of this. The Church spends no time contending with others; Every effort is spent inviting all to come unto Christ.
What would Jesus Christ have done?

Lifting Burdens

The Savior Jesus Christ has the power to heal us.

Finding a Family

Yesterday, my companion and I woke up, looked at eachother, and said, "Today is the day we find our family." That may sound like a funny phrase to some. What I mean by that is, we were determined to locate a family that is interested in learning about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
I can't explain the feeling that came over us that day other than to say it was the Spirit of the Lord. We just knew we were going to find a family.
Everything we did during that day was focused on finding the family that we knew was waiting for us. We had scouted out two streets earlier that week, looking for houses with objects or clues to indicate a young family living there.
We began to knock on the doors, having mild success, when we felt we needed to ask a local member of the church who she knew on the street that we could contact. She began to talk about the neghbors around, giving us an idea of who would be good to go see. No one she described sounded particulary open to our message, but we were grateful for the help, and we determined that we would go and visit the families she suggested. Then, just as we were about to go, she remembered a special friend of hers who had been having troubles and who she felt would love the message we share. Her face lit up as she spoke.
A feeling of urgency and excitement filled my companion and me.

Hope

Hope gives us the power to endure the challenges of life.
Life is hard. Life is a test.
The gospel is simple.
We only have two choices:

Follow Christ, and have peace, power, light, and joy;
or go some other way,
any other way,
whatever other way,
and go it alone, in confusion and emptiness.

This perspective can greatly simply our lives. I know that if we choose to follow the things we know are right, we will be happy. If we choose not to, we will be unhappy.

Mountains and Temples



Heaven's Peak, Glacier National Park

I love beautiful landscapes. I'm sappy and sentimental, maybe, but I love it. Serving a mission in Montana has provided me with many opportunities to see incredible scenery. This picture above was taken in the Summer of 2010 in Glacier National Park. Notice the "angel staircase" shaft of light coming down through the clouds. That was a great day.
I love the closeness to God that I find  in Nature. His fingerprints are everywhere.
In ancient times, prophets would go into the mountains to feel the presence of God, and to communicate with Him. Moses went into the mountains to recieve the commandments from the Lord. There are several accounts of prophets in the Book of Mormon who also went in the mountains to pray and communicate with God. There is something sacred and special about praying out in nature.

There is only one place where I have felt the Spirit more strongly than in the mountains, and that is in the Lord's House.

Look to the Light

As a boy scout, I once set out on a backpacking trip in the mountains of northern Utah. The drive was long to reach the trail head, and our troop arrived much later than we had anticipated. We decided it would be best if we set out anyway, and we thought that if we hiked quickly, we could reach our campsite before dark.

We were wrong. The sun went down just as we scaled a rocky plateau, and we were completely exposed to the cold night wind.

Many of us had brought flashlights; we flipped them on, following the beams along the trail. Reaching the edge of the plateau, we began to descend into what we hoped was the valley in which we were to camp. The trail had many switchbacks to soften the slope, but we were all worried that one of us might slip and fall down the steep shale mountainside. It was a pitch black night. I was shivering from the cold. We relied entirely on the light from our flashlights, though we could only see just ahead of us. We had no idea how long it would be until we reached our destination.

I remember that we began to sing.

The Pursuit of Truth

There are many perceptions in the world of Jesus Christ.
Who is Jesus Christ?
There are many perceptions in the world of what Jesus Christ taught.
What did Jesus Christ teach?
There are many perceptions in the world of what the purpose of life is.
Many wonder, "Where did I come from? Why am I
here? Where am I going after I die?"

Searching to find the answers to these questions can be difficult because so many people hold different opinions. The world is changing every day. Perceptions, cultures, ideas and standards change.
If God loves His children, He will provide them with the answers they need to make their way through life.

We are all the children of God.

I know that God loves His children.

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." (1 Cor. 14: 33)
But there is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Eph. 4: 4-6)

There is one truth.

We can learn the truth by study and prayer. We can ask our Father in Heaven for the answers we seek, and He will answer. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God...and it shall be given him. (James 1: 5) Ask Him in faith, and you will receive.

I bear my testimony that the truth of God can be found on the earth today. I testify that God speaks. Christ is real. We don't have to be confused about His teachings.
To learn more, visit
www.mormon.org

Internet Proselyting

The Missionary Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recently chose 8 missions to pilot online proselyting. This has never been done before by full-time missionaries of the church. We're so excited for this chance that we have to serve.

The internet is an incredible tool. Think of the advantages we have today having access to instant communication around the world. The internet provides exciting new avenues for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and furthering His work.
However, there are also negative applications of the internet. We know what they are.
Our hope as missionaries and members of the Church of Jesus Christ is to bring the truth to the world. With the help of the internet, the work is greatly hastening.