Jan 9, 1991
Luke 17:4- If we truly desire for our Father in Heaven to forgive us of our sins, we must be willing to forgive others of their sins against us. It is important that we, as Latter- day Saints are willing to forgive everyone. When we truly become Christ-like in our love of others, we will be able to instantly forgive others, whether they apologize or not. I sure have a long way to go, but that would make OUR life together far more enjoyable.
Alma 5:3- Alma the Older had received authority of God. Because of this, he had authority to baptize people and establish a church. (as well as to lead that church.)
Verse 4: Throughout the history of this earth, the Lord has always protected His people.
The people of Book of Mormon times were certainly no different. We are also no different. As long as we constantly strive to be righteous,the Lord will protect us from the servants of satan who seek to destroy the Lords people and work. Satan will not succeed (D& C 19)
Verse 5: How oft do I need to be placed in Satan’s grasp before I will learn to always do the will of the Lord? How oft do I lose the Holy Ghost before I am willing to acknowledge that the things I am doing are wrong? How oft am I placed in darkness before I will seek the light?
Far too often. Far too often.
We spent most of the day today at the doctor with Jar Xiong. he had both of his kidneys removed 10 years ago and is still going to dialysis every other day. the problem is that he won’t take his medicine/. The doctor can’t figure out how he has stayed alive for 10 years without taking his medicine, but he had. Anyway, we went with him to the pharmacy and got his medicine. After that, I wrote all of the instructions for each drug in Hmong and taped them to the bottle. I need to check on it constantly to see that he keep taking it. We also taught a 4th discussion to them before we left. It went really well, and they asked a lot of really good questions. i just really hope that they can all make the right decision when it comes time to be baptized.
I have been pretty sick all day long today. I have a sinus infection that is making me have headaches, earaches, and dizziness. I think that if I just keep at it, everything will work out. I wish I could get rid of it.
I got letters from Yia today and from Elder Brown. Elder Brown is the coolest. I hope that before we go home I can be his companion again. that would really be fun. Yia seems to be doing okay, I wish I could help her somehow.
Jan 10, 1992
Acts 2:38- This is the message which I carry with me every day. Repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost. Sometimes it is easy to make the message more complicated, but it’s not. The gospel is simple. I need to remember to abide by its principles and continue on.
Alma 5:6- Have I? Have I sufficiently retained in my remembrance the lessons which the Lord has taught me? Have I remembered the horridness of my sins? Have I remembered the great mercy of the Lord towards me? Unfortunately, the answer to each of these questions is no. however, I am still trying, and that is what the Lord asks of us.
Verse 7: No matter how bad it gets, if we will but turn to the Lords, our souls will be filled with light. We will be able to receive forgiveness of our sins if we will but thurn to the Lord, make the necessary baptismal covenants, and endure to the end. What an easy price to pay in comparison to the great rewards of eternal life! What an easy thing to do compared to the difficulties of everlasting damnation!
Verse 8: If WE will focus our lives, our dealing with others, our relationship, even our comings and going on Jesus Christ, WE will be preserved unto the last day and we will be found spotless before Christ.
Verse 9: We can all enjoy the wonderful peace which comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ if we will but follow His counsel.
Good grief! I feel like crud! I have a sinus infection, a sore throat, my ears are plugged up, and I have been dizzy all day long. Yuck!
We went to Tulare this morning, but all of the people that we were working with were at the hospital with Ka Vang. She is one of the old women that lives with one of the families we have been teaching. She had a gall stone that had to be removed. we went to the hospital gave her a blessing, and translated for them and for the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. We basically spent the entire day with them at the hospital. We came back to Visalia after that and stopped by Jar Xiong’s house to see that family. He was at the hospital having dialysis done, but his family was doing fine. Hopefully, we can go back and teach them tomorrow.
Tonight we went to see a family with Brother Cox. This family is inactive, but the children all come to church every week. The two oldest kids asked us why they hadn’t been baptized yet. We got permission from the father to teach and baptize them, so that should be exciting.
Jan 11, 1991
Alma 5:10; Alma Asked upon what grounds the people of old had been saved, saved from the chains of destruction. We are all to fools the pattern of those who have all ready been saved if we are also to be saved. There is only one way to be saved. That way is through the name of Jesus Christ and obedience to the formulas which he has set forth.
Verse 11: The first step in being saved is to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. We must hear the words of a prophet and believe. faith is the first step to being saved.
Verse 12: If we will but believe in the words of a prophet and have faith, the Holy Spirit will work a mighty change on our hearts, that we will not longer desire to do evil, but we will desire to do good all of the days of our life (Mosiah 5:2). We must have faith, then we will receive a spiritual witness and have a change of heart.
Verse 13: After one experiences such a wonderful thing, it is only natural to want to share this experience with others. The people that Alma the older had taught had received the word of God and had been faithful until the end. We must receive the word, receive spiritual witness, and be faithful unto the end in doing good works. After this, we will be saved.
This mooring we went to the welfare office with Long Yang and his wife. While we were waiting, I talked to a bunch of Hmong people that were there and I think that I got some fairly promising referrals. One of the American welfare recipients there saw me write down some of their names and went and told one of the social workers that we were soliciting. The only problem is that the welfare office has no Hmong interpreters, so they needed us there anyway.
This afternoon we went on team- ups with the zone-leaders. I went with Elder Miller to a number of Spanish homes. I learned a great deal about teaching, even through I understood very little of what was said. Elder Miller is really a neat missionary. The other thing that I noticed down here is the strong testimonies of some of the Spanish members. My testimony was truly strengthened by their testimonies and spirits. Visalia certainly does not have an overabundance of hmong people with testimonies. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be strengthened which I have had this day.
Jan 12, 1991
Alma 5:14; Is being reborn once sufficient? No. We must strive every day of our lives to be reborn. I don’t think once a day is enough either, but it is a start. I have been reborn many times, but I must be reborn of the Spirit many more times. In this way the promptings of the sprit will be renewed in my memory. If rebirth is a one time experience, it is often short-lived.
Verse 15; After we have been reborn, we continue to have faith in Christ and in all of His teachings. It says we will be judged according to our deeds in this world. This means that we must not only have faith, but we must also bring fourth good works.
Verse 16: We must bring forth works that show we desire salvation. It is impossible for us to bring forth works meet unto salvation, but we should always strive for perfection. I really have a lot of progress to make as far as my works of. It’s not going to be easy, but I will fight against Satan until the day that Christ grants salvation unto me.
Verse 17: We can not lie to the Lord, the only way for us to escape punishment for our sins is to truly repent of our sins and to UNCONDITIONALLY forgive our fellowman.
Today has really been a very good day. This morning, we went to Ma Moua’s house. He and his family just got here from Thailand and moved into a home, or should I say hole? That place is an absolute wreck, but they don’t know that, so I guess that’s okay. Anyway, we went over there with Brother Cox and put up some drywall, fixed the plumbing, to the kitchen sink, and fixed their water heater. I am really grateful for all of the times that my dad let me play fix-it-man so that I could learn how to fix things.
This afternoon we went to Chue Yang’s house in Hanford. I taught he and his wife a 4th discussion (I taught mostly about temples) while Elder Watson taught the kids. It was really fun. I also met Vhue’s older brother from Fresno. I gave him a Book of Mormon & told him. I would send Elder Brown to see him. He was really, excited to hear that we had a church in Fresno. I hope that that will help Elder Brown out a little.
Jan 13, 1991
Alma 5:18- I am so very grateful for the principle of forgiveness and for the principle of repentance. Through repentance, I can truly have my guilt swept away in Jesus Christ. Thus, the remembrance of mu wickedness will not bring shame or fear, only gratitude towards my fathers in Heaven and His Son my Savior Jesus Christ. We must all repent fully of every single sin we have ever committed.
Verse 19: The only way that we can truly look up to God with a pure heart and clean hands is if we have truly purged from hearts and minds every ungodly desire. This is something that requires constant effort and total energy of soul. As WE purify OUR heart, we will constantly receive larger and larger portions of the Holy Ghost. As we do so, we will receive God’s image in our countenances.
Verse 20: There is absolutely no other path to salvation. Only complete and total devotion to obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ will enable me or anyone else to be saved in the kingdom of God. I certainly have a long way to go. We also need to keep in mind that when we are not in the service of God, we are only in the service of Satan. I want every single thing that WE do to be in the service of God.
Well, today had to be one of the best days of my mission as well as one of the worst days of my mission.
We went to Hanford this morning for church. It was awesome! There were a bunch of Hmong people there. I bore my testimony in Hmong during their Fast and testimony meeting. The Americans in that ward are really good with the Hmong people. The spirit was just so strong that day. I absolutely loved it!
At church in Visalia, we had about 26 people at church. That was awesome. By the time that church was over, I was absolutely ires and worn out. Translating for six hours wore me out.
The only problem today was that Long Yang and his family did not come to church. When we went to their house tonight and asked them why, they said that they were planning on coming to our church, but the Hmong church called and asked them to go. AAAAHHH! We have been working our tail off from them. All the Hmong church had to do was ask. Frustrated, betrayed, confused, I don’t get it.
It hurts so bad when someone you love doesn’t do whats right. I don’t know how to help them. I really feel a lot of despair now.
Jan 14, 1991
I feel SO much better today. THANK YOU!
Alma 5:21- This verse is certainly very clear. No man can be saved until his sins have all been purged from his soul through the universal atonement of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ came to redeem us from our sins, not in out sins. We must repent fully and leave our sins behind us.
Verse 22: We will all have to stand before the judgment bar of Christ and give an account of everything that we have done in this lifetime. I would really hare it if I had to report all of my wicked deeds also. That would just be awful. The only way our of it is to repent. Repentance, what a wonderful blessing and gift was given to US by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Verse 23: We o not have to be murderers in order to be found wick before the judgement bar of God. Any sins what so ever will cause us to be found guilty before the judgment of Christ. We must purge every single sin from out souls through sincere and complete repentance. Every single sin must be repented of. We must truly have pure hearts and motives before God.
well, today was kind of a bucket P-day. We basically didn’t do mush all day long. We went this afternoon and played dodge ball and volleyball over at the church. I also went with Elder Mannewity this morning and got our hair cut. The thing was we didn’t do anything all that exciting, but we also didn’t have any time to just sit around and relax.
Tonight, we went to a dinner appointment with some Americans and then went and tight a member family who ha 2 boys over eight who have not yet been baptized. elder Watson taught the boys while I pretty much just helped their parents with some of their homework from adult school. The boys said they would be baptized on January 29, so that should really be exciting to have a chance to see some baptisms in this area. I just really wish that we could find some adults that were willing to be baptized also.
Jan 15, 1991
Alma 5:24- Those people who will go to the Celestial Kingdom must be cleansed completely. Notice it says that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had their garments CLEANSED. Not even these three great prophets were good enough to get into the Celestial Kingdom without the cleansing of Christ’s blood. We must all be cleansed. we all have equal need of Christ’s atonement in order to return to live with God.
Verse 25: Those of us that are liars, thieves, murders or sexually immoral (every single person to live on this earth has sinned in some way) must be cast into hell if it were not for the atonement of Christ. Okay, so the atonement is theres, so what do we need to do now? Repent. We must repent every time we pray, and we must pray continually. Only through constant and sincere repentance can we return to live with God.
Verse 26: What Alma is asking here is a very important question. If you have felt the spirit once, can you feel it now? Will the Spirit of the Holy Ghost bear witness to your souls at this very instant? IF the answer is yes, then you are progressing according to the Lord’s desire for you. If you are not progressing, then you will not be able to feel of God’s spirit. This is a good way to check our own personal progression. Simply ask, “ Can I feel of the Lord’s spirit today.”
Well, today went pretty well, I have had an ear ache in my right outer ear for about a week that just plain won’t go away. It has been really bad today. If it’s not better in a few days, I may have to fo and see a doctor about it. What is weird is that it almost feels like swimmers ear, but I am certain that I have not been swimming for at least 7.5 months.
We tried to meet with a lot of people today, but I would have to say that we did no get to see a great number of them. For the most part, they were not home. Also, this morning was district meeting out in Exeter. I promise, the only thing in the small town of Exeter was our district meeting. There are two Elders out there now, so we all go out for district meeting. I learned something that I saw in the other elders that I really need to avoid, hypocrisy. I can only expect to be able to teach with the spirit to the extent that I am worthy to do so. I feel a need to rededicate myself to keeping every single rule, even the one about being in my bed from 10:30- 5:00 am. I am sure if I will do this the Lord will bless me with more health and strength. I need to be obedient in EVERY single way. Then the Lord will bless US in all things. It is really hard at times to keep every single rule, but I will do better. I have to constantly do my dry best if I expect the Lord to bless US.
Jan 16, 1991
Alma 5:27- WOW! This verse makes it extremely simple to find out if you are worthy to go to the Celestial Kingdom or not. I think that at this point in my own life, I certainly have a lot of things to overcome. One way to tell if we are on the right path or not is whether or not we feel of the spirit on a regular basis. If we do then we can rest assured that we are acting in accordance with the will of the Father. The second we lose that Spirit we must repent and do the necessary things to regain the Spirit.
Verse 28: Pride, the root of all evil. The only reason that any of us ever sin is based on pride. We must all shake all remnants of pride from our very beings. If anyone has a problem with pride, I do. I have been taught a number of lessons on humility since the start of my mission, but boy do I have a long way to go. I hope that humility is a character trait that I can develop while on my mission. If we can master humility, we can master our carnal selves. Only those who are truly humble will be able to stay in the church when the law of consecration goes into effect. we can not wait until tomorrow to purge ourselves of pride. Thinking back on this week, I really have a long way to go. I need to start praying for humility, faith, charity, and diligence. If I can get those four things accomplished in this lifetime, I will really have made good progress.
Well, we started to fight against Iraq today. The Hmong people are so excited about it that they can’t stand it. There are apparently about 50 Hmong people there fighting in the U.S. troops. At first I was really concerned to hear that we were at war, but after spending the evening translating to Hmong people, I am not nearly as concerned. It sounds to me like we are all really in control of the situation there. They figure that it will take a few days to finish the conflict, but one never knows what can happen. At this point, we have lost one pilot. It is really scary, but I feel pretty good about it at this point. We are not too sure what will happen at this point. All I can do is to keep praying for peace.
Well, the day went fairly well as far as teaching goes, until about 3:30 when we attacked Iraq. At that point, all that any of the Hmong people wanted me to do was to translate the news to them. We went to Tulare and taught a first discussion and a third discussion. We also went to Mee and Jar Xiong’s house tonight. They all said that they would come to church Sunday, so I am excited to see what happens there.
I got a letter from Kristin today. She continues to be a strong help and support to me. I am so very grateful for that help and support.
No comments:
Post a Comment