Oct 23, 1990
Today’s Reading: Alma 32:21, Alma 34:31-
Alma 32:21- Cross reference to Hebrews 11:1 as well as Ether 12:6. If one has faith, he has a hope which results in a witness (Ether 12:6) The witness only comes after one’s faith is made manifest in his works. After a witness is received, more works are required to make manifest the necessary increase in faith then a further witness can be received. If we want to have the Spirit always this is the cycle we must follow.
increased faith-> results in increased works-> results in increased witness->results in increased faith
If any part of this cycle is broken we will lose the Spirit and our faith and works will decrease. This all makes sense to me now. If we want to increase our faith or witness, we must increase our works.
Alma 34:31- As soon as we will start to repent- works- the plan of salvation will have effect on our lives because the Spirit will bear witness to out souls of the truthfulness of the plan. After that, more works will he expected. I cant believe how much that cycle has helped me to understand. It took me a long time to figure it out. I think the Lord must have tired of waiting for me to figure it out, so he told it to me.
Verse 32: As long as we are following this cycle and measuring at the rate the Lord sees fit, we will be prepared to meet God. It all seems so simple now. Faith, works, and the Spirit are all interconnected. “The Faith Cycle” This is probably something everyone else had always realized.
Oct 23, 1990
Today was really a good day. To start it all off, I learned so much this morning during scripture study. It is amazing how many times you can read something that should be very easy to understand, but I never understood. I think I finally understand how faith, works and witnesses of the truth are all interconnected. It is so easy to understand when the Spirit bears witness of enlightens my mind. I wish I could always have that witness and help with me all of the time, but sometimes the Lord makes us work for our answers, they certainly mean a lot more to me if I have to work for them.
Today, we went to the hospital twice with Ser Vangs little girl Ntsuab. Once to the x-ray department for a CT scan, and once to the Emergency room because she had developed a fever. Before we left the house, we gave her a blessing. By the time we got to the hospital, her fever was gone! The doctors kept asking why we had brought her in. They did find that she had an ear infection. I was so glad she didn’t have a problem with her shunt.
We were able to tach two very good discussions today. I love to teach the gospel. I love to feel the Spirit guiding my answers to questions. I want to always live worthy of that guidance so that I can have the Spirit to guide me as I teach our children.
Oct 24, 1990
Today’s Reading: Alma 48:15, Alma 34:33-
Alma 48:15- The people of Moroni believed that if they kept the commandments of the Lord, the Lord would help them to be sage in their land and to prosper. Notice, works accompanied their faith. They kept the commandments, and when the Lord gave them a witness of the Spirit, they were willing to flee or prepare for battle.
Alma 34:33- We have all received many witnesses of the truth. even if we have not received any Spiritual witnesses the Bible & Book of Mormon are full of witnesses of the truth. We must repent now. No man knoweth when he willst die. We all must prepare for the end as if the end was tomorrow. After we die, we will not be able to repent. We must prepare each moment of our lives to be worthy to live with God. We must improve in this lifetime. We must be progressing always.
Verse 34: This verse just clarifies the previous one. After this life, we can not repent. If we have been wicked here, and have not repented, we will not be worthy to live with God. Repentance is far easier than suffering for eternity.
Verse 35: If one is wicked when he dies, the Lord will not accompany him. That person will be accompanied by Satan. What an awful way to end up, subject to the devil. We came to this earth to gain a body and return to God. Wouldn’t it be a shame to not be able to return!
Today was such a good day! We had Elder Wilde (one of the zone leaders) with us all day. We taught 3 very good discussions and one new member discussion. It is so much fun to tach the gospel. I love it! We went and saw Ntsuab at her house today. It really went well. I absolutely know that the priesthood works. It is amazing how well she is doing. I taught the first half of the new member lesson, and then I held Ntsuab so her mom could listen to Elder Brown. While I was holding her, she went to sleep. She is so cute! I can’t wait to have a little girl of my own. That will be so fun!
I got rocked hard at the mailbox today. Even Elder Brown got mail & I didn’t Ouch! Oh well, I usually get a tape from Kristen on Thursdays. I hope I get one tomorrow.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church on the face of the earth. It is the only church on the face of the earth that is led by Jesus Christ. No matter what Satan does, the work of the Lord will go forth. I know these things to be true. I love the Lord with all of my heart. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. I write these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
October 25, 1990
Today’s reading: Alma 57:26, Alma 34:36-
Alma 57:26- What a great lesson of faith is contained in the story of Helaman’s 1000 stripling warriors. Because of the great faith that they had, they were preserved by the hand of the Lord. At the last day, only those with this faith in Jesus Christ will be preserved unto God. The rest shall be cast out. These warriors beleived the things that their mother’s had taught them. If we teach our children about God, we can help them to develop the faith they need to be saved at the last day this is the most important job we con have on the face of the earth. Teach our children to have faith.
Alma 34:36- The Lord dwelleth not in unholy temples. Through the blood of Christ, our bodies can be sanctified so that the Lord will dwell in them. If we will sanctify and purify ourselves through Christ’s atonement, it will be given to us to enter into God’s kingdom. We must keep our bodies holy so that this can happen.
Verse 37: We must each work every day for our own salvation. Immortality is a free gift to all, Eternal life is not. We must accept Christ and his atonement. We must go through the conversion process every day of our lives. We must constantly repent and constantly strive to act according to the will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Oct 25, 1990
Today was awesome, We taught 2 discussions before lunch. We spent most of the afternoon tracking down referrals and scheduling appointments.
Tonight we went to teach an investigator family about Joseph Smith. When we got there, one of their ministers was there. He was the same one that tried to convert Yia while we were at her house. Anyway, about halfway through the discussion, this guy asked if we had received the Holy Ghost. I told him to listen and we would explain. When we were through with explaining Moroni 10:4, he asked again. I asked him who the Holy Ghost was. he couldn’t answer me. Talk about a stupor of thought. I thin told him to find a scripture. he couldn’t I had him read John 14:26 and Exodus 31:3. After that, I asked him who the Holy Ghost was. He basically repeated those two scriptures. I was then blessed to be able to bear fervent testimony that I had received the Holy Ghost. He then asked if we spoke in new tongues at our church. I asked him where it said we should do that in the scriptures. Again, he could not find it, so I gave him 1 Cor 14:2. He read it and said, “Yeah, see, right there.” For some reason, the spirit told me to turn the page. When I did I read verse 27 & 28. I asked them to read those verse. Then I told him if someone was not there to interpret, it was not of God. The minister was obviously embarrassed and he didn’t say another word. We all kneeled down & prayed for a witness of the truthfulness of the book of Mormon. Everyone received a witness except the minister. It was such an awesome day!
I got a letter from Kristin today. She is doing good. I was hoping for a tape, but she is broke like me. I can’t say I’m not jealous of the guy that took her on a blind date.
Oct 26, 1990
Today’s Reading: Helaman 5:47, Alma 34:38-
Helaman 5:47- If we have faith enough in Jesus Christ, we will receive a witness of His atonement, and we will receive peace to out souls. This peace comes from the knowledge that we can be forgiven of our sins. According to the cycle, if we want to maintain this peace, our works must increase through repentance and obedience. As long as we continue to increase our works at the rate the Lord desires, we will continue to have this peace.
Alma 34:38- Everyone is entitled to receive a witness from the Holy Ghost. The only reason some deny receiving a witness is that they do not allow the Holy Ghost to witness to them. They contend with the Holy Ghost.
We must receive Christ and be humble. We must realize that without Christ, we are nothing. I am so grateful for the help the Lord gave us last night. It was the most incredible feeling I’ve ever had on my mission. Without the Lord’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to even be involved in that conversation. We were speaking both white hmong and Green hmong. Besides that, the Lord caused that minister to have a stupor of thought like I have never before seen. He couldn’t find scriptures even after we told him where they were I definitely need to work on being more humble.
Verse 39: We must pray always that we be not led away by the devil or his temptations. the results of being led away are obvious. Eternal damnation. This is something so important to avoid that we can not afford anything but our constant, wholehearted, determined effort. However, our effort is not enough. We must pray always to the Lords for help, strength, support and protection.
Oct 26, 1990
Today was really a good day. We did not teach much. We went up to President Bott’s office this morning and talked with him about the Hmong program. He told us to go see the Spence’s a new couple who will be working here in Fresno. We spent most of the day working with them and kind of showing them around. It was really fun.
This couple is the neatest couple I have ever seen. She is a registered nurse, and he is a former stake president and an acting Patriarch. He said he is going to ask for permission from the Council of the Twelve to give patriarchal blessings to the Hmong people. That would really by cool. he also said that he thought the Hmong people were probably from the tribe of Ephraim or the tribe of Mannaseh. It is really going to be neat to be able to work with that kind of a man.
I really have missed Kristin today. She just seems so far away. Today I kind of realized that I don’t really know how she feels inside. I don’t feel very close to her today. Maybe I’ll hear from her tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we are going to another church. I fasted today so that I will be able to feel the Spirit better tomorrow. I pray that the Lord will guide us in our actions.
Oct 27, 1990
Today’s Reading: Helaman 8:15, Alma 34:40-
Helaman 8;15- If we will look unto Christ, with a humble heart, and truly believing in Christ and His atonement, we will have eternal life. It is not a hard or difficult thing to do. We must simply decide to do according to the things God has commanded us to do.
Alma 34:40- This verse contains a very important concept. If someone does wrong to me, he had sinned. If I return the favor, and do something wrong to him, then I have also sinned. It is very important that we do not revile against. Those who do wrong to us. It is okay to try to avoid the wrongs of others, but it is not okay to return the wrong. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. I n other words, if someone tries to hit you, it is okay to try to move out of the way, but it is wrong to try to hit him back.
Verse 41: Our actions in this life basically depend on our goals in this life. If we have our goals set on eternal life, all of the things in this world that cause us inconvenience or pain, matter very little. We will have no desire to revile against others because we have no need to. We will concentrate all of our efforts on becoming more like God. As long as we strive for eternal life, the trials of this life become far lighter and easier to deal with.
Today was an extremely draining day. We went to the main Hmong church this morning with Thao Xiaong and his family. Talk about doing weird things! That was really a weird church. They sang about 5 songs at the beginning and then a green Hmong guy talked for about 2 1/2 hours on how everyone shoul give money to pay the ministers. After the meeting the American that runs the place basically told us to never come back. I told him if he didn’t want us there, he should tell his congregation to quit inviting us.
Tonight we went over to Xao Her’s house to see if she and her family wanted to be baptized yet. When we got there, the same minister was there that had challenged us Friday night. He must have remembered what it was like to have a stupor of thought because he took one look at us and split. It was so funny because he took off so fast I couldn’t believe it.
Oct 28, 1990
Today’s Reading: 3 Nephi 17:8, Helaman 14:1-
3 Nephi 17:8- The cycle of faith, works, and witness of the spirit applies even to the miracles of Christ did not have enough power to perform miracles for the unfaithful, it was simply that it was not meet in God’s sight to do so. The first two steps (Faith and works) are such insignificant factors when compared to the spiritual insight which we gain.
Helaman 14:1- Samuel the Lamanite prophesied many things which were not written. the prophet Mormon had a very important job in condensing the writings upon all of the plates which the prophets have written. He had the job of condensing all of the records and choosing which things we needed to be able to read in this day and age.
Verse 2: Samuel the prophet gave the people a very specific sign as to when Christ would come. It is probably a far more exact sign that any other people were given. It is important to not that christ came to redeem only those who will believe on his name.
Verse 3: Christ brought light unto all of the world. What an appropriate sign. A night without darkness, as well as a new star. A new star, symbolic of the new hope which Christ brought into the world.
Today was really a good day, but I feel like I’ve been run over by a Mac truck. I am so tired. It is getting so that I am so tired at night that when I get up the next morning, I am still tied. I’m not sure just what is, but I have been just dead for about the last two weeks. I think if I could get rid of this cold, it would really help.
Today at church, I spent an hour translating for the people auditioning to be the ones whose voices were used for the temple film in Hmong. i also gave the guy Yaj Yig’s phone number so that he could have her audition too. I think she is probably the clearest Hmong speaker that I know of.
Tonight we went up to President Darden house to watch the Prodigal Son. We already had the transcript so I translated it. It basically ended up being us and the branch leadership there at his home. I loved that film. It was so good, The spirit was so strong! I loved that meeting. after the meeting , we went and taught King a second discussion. He said he would pray to find out which church was true, and when he finds out, he will go to that church . I pray that he will have the courage to accept the answer he gets.
Oct 29, 1990
Today’s Reading: 3 Nephi 19:35, Helaman 14:4
3 Nephi 19”35- He said he had never seen so great faith among the Jews. How is faith seen? Through works. Works manifest our faith. Christ was allowed to perform great miracles among the people because of the great faith which they had. The Jews in Israel missed out on such great miracles. They did not perform works enough to show that their faith was sufficient to have such a strong witness.
Helaman 14:4- Because Christ would not be born on the American continent, God chose to give them this sign that they might also know of his coming. This sign was not given to those in Jerusalem.
Verse 5: The new star was a sign given in the American’s and in Jerusalem. This sign was given to show to the entire world that Christ had come. I would guess that this sign was visible to the entire Northern Hemisphere. It is also possible that a second star was given as a sign to the people in the southern hemisphere, but of that I am not certain.
Verse 6: There will be many signs and wonders that are not specified to us throughout the year. It is up to us to seek inspiration from the spirit to understand what the signs mean.
Well, today was P-day again. I thought that maybe I would get a chance to rest a little, how wrong could I have been? At 9:00 we had a zone breakfast because Sister McCallister (one of the Lao sisters) is going home next week. I think that was the first real breakfast I’ve had in a long time. My diet lately had been really bad, but money had been a little tight, so I have just been kind of eating whatever was available.
After breakfast, we went and had a zone football game. It was really fun, but I am really our of shape! I can’t wait until I can get home and go swimming again!
I think maybe I’ll have to do nothing but swim laps for mouth to get back into shape. Oh well, I guess if I was overweight it would be a lot worse.
I can’t believe it had all ready been five moths since I went into the MTC. That was the scariest day of my whole entire life.
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