Week 26: "I am Loving My Mission!"

July 13, 1988

Life is great in Seaside.  Elder Friend and I are working hard, but the adversary is giving us all he's got.  Even so, we are standing firm.  We placed four more copies of the Book of Mormon this week, so we are having some success.

Now, let me tell you about Elizabeth.  We tracted into her on Monday, June 27.  She has back problems and we gave her a blessing before teaching her the first discussion.  About a week later, Elder Friend called her to set up appointment for teaching the second discussion.  Elizabeth said that she had read half of the markings in the copy of the Book of Mormon we had given her, and she knew that it was true.  You cannot imagine the joy that simple statement brought us.

We set up an appointment for Thursday, July 7.  On that day, we taught her the second discussion and committed her to pray about a date for her baptism.  But the adversary is working on her as well.  She just got through an eviction threat, fortunately, the threat lacked legal foundation.  Her back has really been troubling her, and she has been suffering big headaches.  We stopped by again on Monday and showed her a filmstrip.

On Thursday, we had a dinner appointment with a family whose nine-year-old daughter had not yet been baptized.  Her father asked us to speak to her.  We showed Sarah a filmstrip called: "Baptism, a Promise to Follow Jesus."  We then discussed the filmstrip with her.  In five minutes we committed her to be baptized the following Sunday.  Her biggest concern, it turns out, was fear of water.

The font at our stake center is out of commission because the water heater needs to be replaced.  So, Sarah was baptized by her father in a swimming pool.

On Friday night, we taught a first discussion to a couple we had tracted into on Noche Buena.  The wife is in the army, assigned to Fort Ord as an M.P.; the husband just got out of the Army, but he works as an electrician down in Palm Springs.  We told him how to contact the missionaries down in Palm Springs.  He said he was going back down there on Wednesday, so we set up an appointment for Monday, but he was not there when we got there, because he had gone down earlier than expected.   Meanwhile, his wife's unit has been alerted for a possible deployment down to Panama, to the Canal Zone, where, apparently, things are getting tense.

On Saturday we had to get some temporal things done, because of the holiday on Monday and no p-day on Wednesday. As I waited on my laundry, I read about the sons of Mosiah and their mission to the Lamanites. It is such a great story and it gave me a needed boost. Right now I am in the middle of the mission to the Zoramites. The first thirty-five chapters of Alma is one of my favorite parts of The Book of Mormon because of all the missions by Alma, Amulek and the sons of Mosiah.

After the baptism on Sunday, we stopped by to see Robert and Regina.  He has been reading the Book of Mormon but says that he is not convinced. We set up an appointment for Thursday at 7:00 p.m. We are thinking about having a fast for both of them.

We tracted for four hours on Monday, doing one street.  We met a real neat lady who said she liked to study religion.  When she realized who we were she said, "Oh, I haven't studied Mormonsim yet!"  She gladly accepted the copy of the Book of Mormon we gave her.

On Tuesday we tracted for three hours and didn't even come close to finishing the street.  We got in one door to teach a first discussion, but the woman was suffering from morning sickness, so we set up a return appointment and left her with a copy of the Book of Mormon.  Then we knocked on the door of a part member family.  The wife has been less active for years, but now says that she wants to come back.  Her husband, who is fighting deportation, wants to know more.  A few houses later, we placed another copy of the Book of Mormon.

Today is my "bump" day, meaning that I have been on my mission for six months.  Time is really flying by.

I got a letter from a friend in the MTC. His excitement and positive attitude really hit the spot. I wrote him back and told him that he is about to embark on some of his most choice experiences:

“Things will be hard and sometimes it may seem as if your challenges are overcoming you, but if you live the mission rules and heed the spirit and work as hard as you can, you will look back and regret not a single moment. You will look backward and say, ‘I am loving my mission!’ That is what counts the most when we both step off the plane at Salt Lake International Airport.”

All is well here.

Love

Douglas

Week 25: The Lord's Navy

July 6, 1988

What a week it has been!

On Thursday (June 30), we went up to San Jose to get the car inspected, but there is a sensor light that comes on when the car has gone 30,000 miles, which ours has done.  California law does not a allow a car to be tested for emissions while the sensor light is on.  We left the car with the mission mechanics and drove back down to Seaside in a different car.

When we got back to Seaside that afternoon, we went to finish tracting Noche Buena Ave.  We did not finish, however, because we got in a door and had a two hour discussion with Robert and Regina.  Robert is in the Army, assigned to Fort Ord; Regina will be having their first baby in the next month or so.  Both are Born Again Christians, as we spent the two hours just answering their questions, though we did manage to teach a few of the first discussion principles in with out answers.  We gave them each a copy of the Book of Mormon and committed them to read it.

We then hurried home, because we had team-ups that evening with the stake missionaries.  I went with one to see some friends of his, and we placed two copies of the Book of Mormon with them.

We finally finished tracting Noche Buena on Friday Morning, after four days.  We got in one door and gave a BoM discussion, placing two more copies with two teenage boys that expressed interest.

We got in another door on Saturday, and got all they way through the first discussion before we found out that we were teaching a member.  She is, however, less active, so maybe we still accomplished something.

On Monday, because of the Fourth of July holiday, we had our P-day.  We had a Zone activity up in Prunedale; first a service project, and then some touch football.  That night we went to a member's home in the hills of Pacific Grove to look down on the fireworks in Monterey.

Leaders meeting was on Tuesday, and Elder Friend spent the day in Salinas with the companion of the district leader up there.  I spent the day with Elder Victor.  We were up in Marina, visiting members and contacts.  At one place he left the keys in the ignition of the car but, fortunately, forgot to lock the driver's side door.  At the rest of our stops, I reminded him to take his keys with him.

Wednesday was a normal proselyting day.  We had a district study in the morning with the zone leaders.  After that Elder Friend and I went on team ups with the ZLs.  Elder Mac and I started tracting a street and at the first door we met Nancy.  She said that she knows some members and has been to some Relief Society homemaking meetings.  We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon, and place another copy further down the street.

Elder Mac is highly motivated in his service to the Lord, some might use the words "gung ho."  At one point in our conversation, he expressed how happy he was serving in the Lord's army.  I said that I was not serving in the Lord's army, but in the Lord's navy, instead.  He didn't seem to know what to make of that.  Just me being me.

Later Elder Friend and I went back to finish the street.  After that we did another street and place a third copy of the Book of Mormon for the day.  We talked to a Born Again who said something rather unusual.  She believes that there are, in fact, commandments that we need to keep.

For those who haven't been counting, we place eight copies of the Book of Mormon this week.  Anchors aweigh, my boys, anchors aweigh.  That's the weekly update.

Love
Douglas

Prepare Yourself for the Great Day of the Lord

I came across this video today containing excerpts of a talk given by President Ezra Taft Benson in 1982, when he was president of the Quorum of the Twelve.  He became the president of the LDS Church in 1985.

The full talk, which was directed at the youth of the church, was printed in the May 1982 issue of the New Era.  See: https://www.lds.org/new-era/1982/05/prepare-yourself-for-the-great-day-of-the-lord?lang=eng

"I wish to present to you some thoughts about the times in which you live and about the quality of faith you will need to survive some of the difficulties yet to be experienced," said President Benson.  "I speak as one who loves you and has been given a responsibility, with my Brethren, “to testify and warn” about the impending crises facing mankind."

In this talk, President Benson discussed the missionary work of the church, saying "The gospel is being extended to all nations which permit our missionaries to penetrate their countries. The Church is prospering and growing."  He asked, "Knowing what we know as His servants, can we hesitate to raise a warning voice to all who will listen that they may be prepared for the days ahead?"

Crashing the Simulator

While astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were training for the first landing on the Moon, an incident occurred in the Landing Module simulator that has since become notorious.  At some point during the simulation a problem "occurred" which called for an abort of the landing.  What happened next is a little bit fuzzy, either Mission Control in Houston, which was also participating in the simulation, failed to call for the abort, or Armstrong ignored the call.  Whatever, the cause, the simulation continued until the lunar module "crashed" into the lunar surface.

That night the crew quarters, according the Apollo 11 crew mate, Michael Collins, Buzz was rather upset about the "crash."  According to Collins, "I could not discern whether he was concerned bout his actual safety in flight, should Neil repeat this error, or whether he was simply embarrassed to have crashed in front of a roomful of experts in Mission Control."  As Buzz continued to complain, Neil suddenly appeared in his pajamas.  Collins quickly excused himself, allowing Neil and Buzz to hash it out.

According to Buzz, Neil merely complained that "You guys are making too much noise," saying that he was trying to sleep.  Neil apparently, did not try to defend what he had done in the simulation.  "That wouldn't have been Neil," explained Aldrin.  Armstrong's personality was more of the quiet, introspective type.  As Collins explained, "They say 'no man is an island'; well, Neil is kind of an island. . . . Sometimes what he is thinking and his inner thoughts were more interesting to him than somebody else's thoughts were to him, so why should he leave his island, go wading out into the shallows to shake hands with somebody, when he's perfectly happy back in his little grass hut or wherever."

The disagreement between Armstrong and Aldrin was the result of how each viewed the purpose of the simulators and their respective goals in a simulation exercise.  Armstrong, who had helped develop some of the first flight simulators when he was a NASA test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base before becoming an astronaut viewed the simulations as an opportunity to explore potential problems, whereas Aldrin viewed the simulations as a game that he should try to win.

"People who had not been involved in simulator development during their career usually just tried to 'win,'" said Armstrong.  "They tried to operate perfectly all the time and avoid simulator problems.  I did the opposite.  I tried actively to encourage simulator problems so I could investigate and learn from them.  I am sure that some of the guys were well aware of my approach."

In contrast to Neil, Buzz was more outspoken, he was also highly driven to excel and his drive often alienated him from his fellow astronauts.   "I thought were were playing a game," said Aldrin, "and we should make an attempt to do everything we could to win the game, and the sooner we did it when we saw that things were going bad for us, the better off we'd be and the more in keeping with what we'd actually do in a real situation like that."

Aldrin had told Collins that the most important thing was not to crash.  "I felt analyzing this and that system and whatever was not playing the game properly as far as the simulator people were concerned.  If they threw a failure at us and we were losing control of the LM, would we in real flight actually go on and land?  I'm not sure we would.  They same way that if something disabled the commander, or disabled the primary guidance, or disabled the landing radar, why, we wouldn't land on the first try, we'd abort and come back.  Clearly there was a difference between Neil and I in how we reacted to the simulation.  Neil had his reasons for doing what he did."

Did Aldrin suggest during the simulation that they abort?  "I don't recall that Buzz asked me to abort -- ever -- I don't remember that," said Armstrong.  "What I do remember is that the descent trajectory that we were on during the simulation and the information we had available to us had become seriously degraded, and I thought that it was a great time to test the Mission Control center, 'Okay, guys, let's see what you can do with this.'"

Armstrong continued, "I knew I could abort at any time -- and probably successfully -- but then you lose the mission, the rest of the simulation.  This was a chance to test the control center.  Buzz took that as a black mark against us.  He thought it was a mark against his ability to perform, a mark against both of us and against our crew ability.  I didn't look at it that way at all."

According to his biographer, Armstrong wanted to promote technological learning through dialectical experimentation.  "If we couldn't come up with a solution or the ground controllers couldn't come up with a solution, that was an indication to me that, for one, I needed to understand that part of the flight trajectory better," said Armstrong.  Neil did learn from the "crash," and built a "plot of altitude versus descent rate with bands on it that I hadn't had before, so that I could tell when I was getting into a questionable area.  If I had aborted when everyone wanted me to, I probably would not have bothered to make that."

Mission Control also learned from the "crash," as the flight controller and his team reevaluated how they had handled the simulation.  "I'm sure they improved their approach to understanding it, too, and knowing when they were getting into a dangerous area," stated Armstrong.  "So it did serve a valuable purpose."

Like the lunar module simulator at NASA in the 1960s, prospective missionaries can have the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.  Before entering the MTC, young men and young women can prepare to teach investigators by making lesson plans of the discussions found in Preach My Gospel and teaching mock discussions to members.  By making these lesson plans and teaching these mock discussions, they can learn the gospel before they attempt to teach it for real to investigators in the mission field.  These simulations should be looked upon as an opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.


Source:

Hansen, J. R. (2005). First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Week 24: Baptism!

June 29, 1988

We taught Trudy the fifth and sixth discussions  on Thursday and set up a baptism interview for Saturday.  In the afternoon, we were at K-Mart for a few hours to get a new battery for the car.  We had to make a few calls to the mission office to get the purchase approved.

Friday morning, we tracted a few streets.  We had a half hour teach with a man we tracted into. He had some interesting ideas, but seemed teachable.  In the afternoon, I took Elder Friend around to meet some members.  In the evening we went on team-ups with a stake missionary and went on to Fort Ord.  We were going to teach an investigator the fifth discussion, but he was not at his barracks.  We ended up giving a short presentation on the Book of Mormon to the soldiers on CQ duty.

On Saturday morning, we started tracting Noche Buena Avenue. This street runs north and south, the length of Seaside, and it is also just a block east of our apartment complex. We can get a lot of tracting in without putting any miles on the car, brilliant! Anyway, we got a few call backs which look promising.  In the afternoon we did a service project, moving some stuff out of a member's home.  Trudy had her interview at 4:00, and it went well.  After that, Elder Friend and I cleaned the font at the stake center.

In the evening, we stopped by to see Trudy and go over the baptism program with her.  Trudy has asked me to do the honors, though I was her third choice.  The first two were the elders that found her before my arrival here in Seaside, but they could not get permission to come down for the baptism.

We attended our church meetings on Sunday morning, and then had our correlation meeting with the ward mission leader.  We started filling the font at 2:30.  We were filling buckets with hot water from the kitchen and dumping them in the font, because the water heater for the font has died, but we eventually ran out of hot water, so we had to finish filling the font with cold water.

The service started at 4:30, after we took pictures in front of the stake center of Trudy and I in our baptismal whites.  After the talk on baptism, I led Trudy into the water, which was ice cold!  Trudy let out a shriek, and everybody laughed.  Then I baptized her -- okay, I had to do it twice because her leg came up the first time.  Trudy was having some trouble catching her breath because she was very cold. We had to calm her down before we could continue.  After we changed clothes, Elder Friend did the confirmation.

This was supposed to be a happy occasion, but I was feeling a little ambivalent, because it appears that Trudy's conversion happened before I got here.  Also, because of my last companion watching TV at a members home, I didn't feel worthy of this blessing.  It did not help matters that I had to baptize her twice and, even worse, that I dropped her both times!

We continued tracting Noche Buena Ave. on Monday, and did most of the street in 4 1/2 hours.  We got some call backs and set up four appointments for Tuesday.  We also got in one door and taught a first discussion.  The lady we taught was sincere and open, and teachable.  She wanted to read the Book of Mormon and agreed with most of the things we talked about.  I think we can baptize her.

The thing is, we almost missed out on teaching her.  First, there was a no soliciting sign on her house, and we typically skip such homes.  Next, there was no answer when we knocked on the door, and after about a minute we started off toward the next house.  I lagged behind to close the gate to the yard, and that's when this lady answered the door.

I looked at Friend and saw that he was stepping onto the curb across the street. I signaled the person at the door to wait and then tried to get Friend’s attention. Friend was by now realizing that I was not catching up, he turned around, saw me and then saw the person at the door. He turned around and came back and we went up to the doorstep. I gave the approach and this lady let us in.

As we sat down in her living room, this lady mentioned that her back was giving her trouble. Friend talked to her about priesthood blessings and we ended up giving her one. Then we taught her the first discussion.  Her name is Elizabeth and, as I said, I think we can baptize her.

On Tuesday, we went to the four appointments we set up on Monday, and got dogged by all of them!  There is nothing like getting excited for a possible teaching appointment only to get stood up by the contact.

Today we went out to the tide pools in Pacific Grove with Elder Tango and his companion and the sister missionaries.  Later we drove down to the beach in Carmel by the Sea.  In the mail today I got a letter from Geoff, in which he basically ripped me a new one because of my negative attitude.  He specifically told me that I am not unique because of my challenges, but because of other reasons.

I think I can see what he means.  My companion has been having some money issues this week, Elder Tango is often frustrated by his companion, who himself has some health issues and other things he is dealing with.  I am determined to keep this new perspective. My faith will survive the challenges and trials ahead and I will put my past behind me. No longer will I be intimidated by others; no longer will I let my discouragements get the best of me.

I should be grateful to have been involved in the baptism of Trudy. It is the spirit that converts, not us, so what does it matter if her conversion happened before I got here? For whatever reason, it was decided that she should be taught the discussions a second time, and I was here for that. Heck, think of Friend who showed up in time for the last two discussions and the baptism itself. He does not appear to be bothered by the fact that he did not get here sooner.

Life is Good!

Love

Douglas 

On Faith, Hope and Charity

In Moroni chapter seven, Moroni records a sermon given by his father Mormon.  In this sermon, Mormon tells us that to have "every good thing" we must have faith, hope and charity; he further tells us that to have faith, hope and charity, that we must be meek and lowly of heart.

Concerning faith, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, "To gain unshakable faith in Jesus Christ is to flood your life with brilliant light.  You are no longer alone to struggle with challenges you know you cannot resolve or control yourself, for He said, 'If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me'" (Moroni 7:33).

Elder Scott went on to say, "If you are despondent, racked by transgression, are ill, alone, or desperately in need of comfort and support, I solemnly testify that the Lord will help you when you carefully obey the spiritual law upon which that help is predicated.  He is your Father.  You are His child.  He loves you.  He will never let you down.  I know he will bless you."

Regarding hope, President James E. Faust said, "There are tremendous sources of hope beyond our own ability, learning, strength, and capacity.  Among them is the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Through the marvelous blessing of this member of the Godhead, we can come to 'know the truth of all things' (Moroni 10:5).  Hope is the anchor of our souls.  I know of no one who is not in need of hope -- young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor.  In the Book of Mormon we are exhorted, 'Wherefore, whoso believeth in in God might with surety of hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God'" (Ether 12:4).

President Faust continued, "Everybody in this life has challenges and difficulties.  That is part of our mortal test.  The reason for some of these trials cannot be readily understood except on the basis of faith and hope because there is often a larger purpose which we do not always understand.  Peace comes through hope."

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin had this to say, "Even when the winds of adversity blow, our Father keeps us anchored to our hope.  The Lord has promised, 'I will no leave you comfortless' (John 14:18), and he will 'consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain' (2 Nephi 2:2).  Even when our trials seem overwhelming, we can draw strength and hope from the sure promise of the Lord: 'Be not afraid nor dismayed . . . for the battle is not yours, but God's'" (2 Chronicles 20:15).

But Mormon tells us that we "cannot have faith and hope, save [we] shall be meek and lowly of heart" (Moroni 7: 43).  Bishop H. David Burton discussed the process of becoming meek: "Meekness is vital to becoming more Christlike.  Without it one cannot develop other important virtues.  Mormon indicated, 'None is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart' (Moroni 7:44).  Acquiring meekness is a process.  We are asked to 'take up [the] cross daily' (Luke 9:23).  Our lifting should not be an occasional exercise.  More meekness does not translate to weakness, but 'it is the presentation of self in a posture of kindness and gentleness.  It reflects certitude, strength, serenity; it reflects a healthy self-esteem and a genuine self-control' (Neal A. Maxwell, "Meekly Drenched in Destiny," in Brigham Young University  1982-83 Fireside and Devotional Speeches [1983], 2).  More meekness will allow us to be tutored by the Spirit."

If we have faith and hope, and are meek and lowly of heart, then we must have charity (Moroni 7:44).  Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve has said: "The Apostle Paul taught that three divine principles for a foundation upon which we can build the structure of our lives.  They are faith, hope, and charity (1 Corinthians 13:13).  Together they give us a base of support like the legs of a three-legged stool.  Each principle is significant within itself, but each also plays an important supporting role.  Each is incomplete without the others.  Hope helps faith develop.  Likewise, true faith gives birth to hope.  When we lose hope, we are faltering also in our measure of faith.  The principles of faith and hope working together must be accompanied by charity, which is the greatest of all.  According to Mormon, 'charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever' (Moroni 7:47).  It is the perfect manifestation of our faith and hope."

Elder Ballard continued, "Working together, these three eternal principles will help give us the broad eternal perspective we need to face life's toughest challenges, including the prophesied ordeals of the last days.  Real faith fosters hope for the future; it allows us to look beyond ourselves and our present cares.  Fortified by hope, we are moved to demonstrate the pure love of Christ through daily acts of obedience and Christian service."

Elder Neal A Maxwell had this to say: Unsurprisingly the triad of faith, hope and charity, which brings us to Christ, has strong and converging linkage: faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, hope is in His atonement, and charity is the 'pure love of Christ' (Ether 12:28 and Moroni 7:47).  Each of these attributes qualifies us for the celestial kingdom (Moroni 10:20-21 and Ether 12:34).  Each, first of all, requires us to be meek and lowly" (Moroni 7:39 & 43).

Elder Maxwell continued, "Faith and hope are constantly interactive and may not always be precisely distinguished or sequenced.  Though not perfect knowledge either, hope's enlivened expectations are 'with surety' true (Ether 12:4, Romans 8:24, Hebrews 11:1 and Alma 32:21).  In the geometry of restored theology, hope as a greater circumference than faith.  If faith increases, the perimeter of hope stretches correspondingly."

Mormon exhorted us to pray to be filled with charity.  Charity is not something we can acquire on our own, we must receive it as a gift from God.  Elder Robert J. Whetten of the Seventy said, "Like faith, Christlike love is a gift of the Spirit, is granted upon the principles of personal righteousness and in accordance to our level of obedience to the laws upon which it is predicated.  And like faith, love must be exercised to grow."

Elder Dalin H. Oaks of the Twelve concurred: "Charity, 'the pure love of Christ' (Moroni 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being.  Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion.  Charity is something one becomes.  Thus, as Moroni declared, 'except men shall have charity they cannot inherit' the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father" (Ether 12:34).

Finally, Elder Jeffrey R Holland had this to say regarding charity:

"The greater definition of 'the pure love of Christ,' however, is not what we as Christians try but largely fail to demonstrate toward others but rather what Christ totally succeeded in demonstrating toward us.  True charity has been known only once.  It is shown perfectly and purely in Christ's unfailing, ultimate, and atoning love for us.  It is Christ's love for us that 'suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not.'  It is His love for us that is no 'puffed up . . . , not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.'  It is Christ's love for us that 'beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.'  It is as demonstrated in Christ that 'charity never faileth.'  It is that charity -- His pure love for us -- without which we would be nothing, hopeless, of all men and women most miserable.  Truly, those found possessed of the blessings of His love at the last day -- the Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise -- surely it shall be well with them.

"This does not in any way minimize the commandment that we are to try to acquire this kind of love for one another. . . .  We should try to be more constant and failing, more longsuffering and kind, less envious and puffed up in our relationships with others.  As Christ lived so should we live, and as Christ loved so should we love.  But the 'pure love of Christ' Mormon spoke of is precisely that -- Christ's love.  With that divine gift, that redeeming bestowal, we have everything; without it we have nothing and ultimately are nothing, except in the end 'devils [and] angels to a devil' (2 Nephi 9:9).

"Life has its share of fears and failures.  Sometimes things fall short.  Sometimes people fail us, or economies or businesses or governments fail us.  But one thing in time or eternity does not fail us -- the pure love of Christ. . . .

"Thus, the miracle of Christ's charity both saves and changes us.  His atoning love saves us from death and hell as well as from carnal, sensual, and devilish behavior.  That redeeming love also transforms the soul, lifting it above fallen standards to something far more noble, far more holy.  Wherefore, we must 'cleave unto charity' -- Christ's pure love of us and our determined effort toward pure love of Him and all others -- for without it we are nothing, and our plan for eternal happiness is utterly wasted.. Without the redeeming love of Christ in our lives, all other qualities -- even virtuous qualities and exemplary good works -- fall short of salvation and joy."

As Nephi said, "It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23).  We cannot save ourselves, no matter how many commandments we keep, how many ordinances we obtain, or how much service we give to others.  We do not do these things because we believe that we, of ourselves, can overcome sin and death.  We do these things that we might demonstrate our faith, that we might have hope, and that we might be filled with charity, that we may be saved by grace after doing all we can do.  It is only by the grace of Christ, by His pure love, that we can be saved.


Sources:

Scott, R. G. (1991). "Obtaining Help from the Lord." Ensign, Nov. 1991, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1991/10/obtaining-help-from-the-lord?lang=eng).

Faust, J. E. (1999). "Hope, an Anchor of the Soul." Ensign, Nov. 1999, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/hope-an-anchor-of-the-soul?lang=eng).

Wirthlin, J. B. (1998). "Cultivating Divine Attributes." Ensign, Nov. 1998, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/10/cultivating-divine-attributes?lang=eng)

Burton, H. D. (2004). "More Holiness Give Me." Ensign, Nov. 2004, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/more-holiness-give-me?lang=eng)

Ballard, M. R. (1992). "The Joy of Hope Fulfilled." Ensign, Nov. 1992, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/10/the-joy-of-hope-fulfilled?lang=eng)

Maxwell, N. A. (1994). "Brightness of Hope." Ensign, Nov. 1994, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/10/brightness-of-hope?lang=eng)

Whetten, R. J. (1999) "True Followers." Ensign, May 1999, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1999/04/true-followers?lang=eng)

Oaks, D. H. (2000). "The Challenge to Become." Ensign, Nov. 2000, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-challenge-to-become?lang=eng)

Holland, J. R. (1997). Christ and the New Covenant. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book. Pgs 336-337.

Week 23: All Systems Go

June 22, 1988

Trudy was released from the hospital on Wednesday, June 15.  We stopped by her place on Thursday and showed here video, Nephi and the Brass Plates.

In the afternoon I went on a bike ride with Tango up to Marina. Our purpose was to check on a contact but they were not at home. Suddenly I started to feel a little bit sick, I was looking it too, or so Tango said. We stopped by to see some members who live in the same trailer park as the contact we tried to visit. They gave me an apple and that really hit the spot.

We started back to Seaside and somewhere on the bike path between the two towns and west of Fort Ord and the freeway, my new bike, which I have hardly ridden, suffered a mechanical failure. One of the pedal struts came loose and I could no longer peddle. The trail we were on is full of little hills which complicated our return home. Tango towed me along the flats and down the hills, but I had to walk up the hills. Naturally, it took us quite some time to get home.

In the evening I went on team-ups with Tango and stake missionaries from the Marina ward – which, by the way, is called the Seaside Ward, while the Seaside ward which Spandau and I cover is called the Carmel Ward. First we had a scripture study class with a new member, then we went on to Fort Ord to give a member presentation. Fun day! 

We went on to Fort Ord twice on Friday.  First Spandau and I went to check on a referral, who was not at home.  In the evening we went on team ups with a stake missionary who is in the Army and assigned to Fort Ord -- which greatly simplified getting on the base.  We went to a barracks to see an investigator but he was off base as part of a funeral detail.

On Saturday, we drove over to Salinas for interview with President Douglas. I was up first and I talked about Trudy and the improvement here over Palo Alto.  On the way back to Seaside we hopped over to Carmel Valley and stopped at the Talbot tie factory outlet store. I bought two ties for about two bucks. They are what might be called “B-unit” ties. Originally worth as much as $80.00, a tiny flaw reduced them to a buck apiece.  In the evening we visited a member and then checked on a referral that was not at home. 

On Sunday, Elder Tango and I filled the font at the stake center for two different baptisms.  First the elders from Salinas, followed by the sister missionaries in our district.  During their ceremony, while the participants changed after the baptism itself, the sisters showed a new video called Together Forever.  Wow, what a great video!

On Monday, Spandau gave me the opportunity to plan our work for the day.  I picked out three streets to tract in the morning, and we got a call back.  In the evening we had a dinner appointment out in Carmel Valley. We showed our hosts the video Together Forever after dinner. 

We taught Trudy the third and fourth discussions on Tuesday morning. It went very well and all systems are go for her baptism on the twenty-six. This truly is a spectator sport. It is the spirit that converts and it is awesome to be here to see it happen. How did I get so lucky? We have another appointment scheduled for Thursday to teach Trudy the fifth and sixth discussions. Her interview is scheduled for Saturday.

The transfer calls went out while we were back at the flat having lunch.  Spandau is being transferred to Belmont-San Mateo up in the San Francisco zone. My new companion will be Elder Friend (I've already give his real name in other posts at this blog, so there is no need to change it now) who will be the senior companion. We took the rest of the day off so Spandau could pack and get ready.

Early this morning we drove up to Salinas to meet the transfer van.  The van's first stop in always in Salinas where it picks up a small U-Haul trailer for the luggage.  Late in the afternoon, the van returns to Salinas and drops of the trailer before making its last stop in Watsonville, if necessary.  So, we had to wait all day for the van to come back with Elder Friend.  We hung around with Elder Juliett, who has been called to be a trainer and a district leader.  Wow, from junior comp to DL in one transfer, that's impressive, but not really surprising.

Anyway, we played some basketball and did some other stuff while waiting for the transfer van's afternoon stop.  When Elder Friend finally arrived, we drove back down to Seaside to get him settled in.  He seems like a cool guy, and we have already found a common interest -- airplanes.

Tomorrow we will be teaching Trudy the fifth and sixth discussions and she will have her baptismal interview with Elder Tango on Saturday.

Well, that all folks.

Love

Douglas