The following is an excerpt from a letter I had the chutzpah to write home while on my mission:
“Before I came out I thought that I had what I call an eternal perspective. Since getting out here I have developed that perspective. Such a perspective has helped me endure most of the challenges I have faced out here.
“There is a new video out that we have been using; we have been showing it to both members and investigators. It is extremely good; no matter how many times I see it I never get tired of it. It’s called Together Forever. It is about families being together forever and it tells the story of four different people and how they came to see the importance of families and the Gospel.
“Maybe it will help my family see that it’s not the trip or the activity that’s important, but the togetherness of family. In the Fifth Discussion we talk about sacrificing our own interests for the purposes of God. The purposes of God are to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. His purpose for families is that they should be together forever.
“Individuality is the biggest enemy to companionships out here. In a good companionship, both missionaries can be assured their goals are similar, that of teaching, baptizing and working hard. So it is with eternal companionships. Individualism can hurt and deter the relationship. The wife wants one thing while the husband wants another. The result is confusion and lack of communication. Communicating is the most important activity in any relationship.
“There are two vital activities in a missionary companionship: 1. companionship inventory and, 2. Companionship prayer.
“I have seen a few companionships go sour because we weren’t having companionship inventory. This is a time set aside once a week where companions resolve concerns and set goals. If this is done there is a greater understanding throughout the week.
“Then there is companionship prayer. It is stressed that we should pray as companions in the morning, at breakfast, when leaving to go to work, at lunch, when going back out to work, at dinner, when going back out, and then before bed. Eternal companions probably don’t need to pray together quite that much, but certainly once a day at least.
“On April 24, 1988, at the Maples Pavilion on the Stanford University campus was held the San Francisco Regional Conference. The final speaker was President Thomas S. Monson. He talked about a daily pattern for our lives. This was to make sure that our home was a home of prayer, of fasting, of faith, of learning, of glory, of order, and of God.
“President Monson told a story of how throughout his marriage he and his wife have followed a system. They knelt in prayer every evening. One night he would pray, the next night his wife would. In all the time that they had been married they have never had an argument. One day he had an interview with President David O. McKay and related this story. President McKay responded, “I thought my wife and I had a monopoly on that system.” Their results were similar to that of the Monsons.
“Isaiah chapter 53 gives us a true lesion in fasting. Faith is the first principle of the Gospel. Read Alma chapter 17. Learning goes back to prayer and fasting. As we learn more, we have more questions.
“We should have a unified goal and strive to be closer to Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. There should be order in all things. Prioritize and ‘Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ Keep the things of God first in your life. ‘When ye are in the service of your fellowmen, ye are only in the service of your God.’ Strive always to have room for Christ in your home.
“A home without love and unity is a lonely bay. Too often we find ourselves alone in our own activities. Remember that predicated on our righteousness all of this, even the loneliness, can last forever. So work to leave that loneliness behind. Come together under Christ and do all things as one.”
I should like to add an excerpt from another talk given by President Monson entitled “Heavenly Homes, Forever Families”:
“We are frequently reminded by song and spoken word that ‘the home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfill its essential functions.’
“Actually, a home is much more than a house. A house may be constructed of lumber, brick, and stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. A house can be a home, and a home can be a heaven when it shelters a family. Like the structure in which it dwells, the family may be large or small. It may be old or young. It may be in excellent condition or it may show signs of wear, of neglect, of deterioration.
“In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, on December 17, 1832, the Master counseled: ‘Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.’ (D&C 88:119)
“Where could any of us locate a more suitable blueprint whereby he could wisely and properly build? Such a house would meet the building code outlined in Matthew, even a house built ‘upon a rock’ (see Matthew 7:24-25), a house capable of withstanding the rains of adversity, the floods of opposition, and the winds of doubt everywhere present in our challenging world.
“Let the Lord be the General Contractor for the family – even the home – we build. Then each of us can be subcontractors responsible for a vital segment of the whole project. All of us are thereby builders.”
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