May 24, 1991
Today was a pretty good day. We went with Nopparat and her husband to get a marriage license so that she can get baptized tomorrow. It was kind of fun. Our branch Prsident had to sign it now before it is official, but it was fun. The county clerk asked them to raise their right hands and swear that the information they had provided was true. I think Nopparat thought it was a marriage ceremony because she answered by saying, “I do.” We went back over to their apartment this afternoon with Elder Clarke (our DL) for her interview. My comp will baptize her tomorrow. I can’t wait!
qWe went and taught Cheng Moua and his family tonight.
We had him pray right there to find out if he and his family should be baptized. The spirit was so strong that I couldn’t believe it. When he was done praying, he said that he still wasn’t sure. I don’t know how he could miss that answer1 we told him we would be back tomorrow to see what his decision is. I really hope tha the will decide to be baptized.
It has really been a long time since I heard from my family (2 weeks) I hope that they are all doing okay and that things are going well for them.
I am really glad to be a missionary, but there are times that I miss being home too.
May 25, 1991
3 Nephi 16:14- Those gentiles who repent of their unbelief will not be destroyed by the tribes of Israel. I think that this is probably because as soon as they believe, they are numbered among the tribes of Israel.
15- This gentiles who refuse to repent shall truly be destroyed by the house of Israel. This will happen both in the American continent and in Jerusalem, as well as though out the world. There is no question about it. The righteous will prevail. The wicked shall be trodden under the feet of the righteous, that the works of God might go forth.
16- Christ was commanded to give the promised land to the people who were present. Again, it is interesting to note that although Christ is a God, He still listens to and obeys the commands of His Father. Were it not so, Christ could not be a God.
17- All of the words of all of the prophets shall be fulfilled.
18- The leaders of the church (watchmen) shall see eye to eye. I’m not very sure what this means exactly. It must mean that all those who have stewardships in the church will understand the ‘big picture’ and work together as a true team to accomplish the will of the Lord.
Tonight Nopparat for baptized! I got to confirm her. During the confirmation, I paused and said a silent prayer for help. After that I was truly told in both my heart and my mind of the things I should say. If I am careful, I don’t think that I will ever have a problem again discerning between my own thought & feelings and the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
The promptings of the Spirit have never been so strong in my entire life as they were tonight. We also had a baptism for the Yang brothers (8&9). The reason that the 9 year old waited to be baptized was so that his brother could get baptized together.
The church is true! Baptisms are the best! I love to be a missionary 11 1/2 more months is sometimes a long time an sometimes seems real short. I’m just going to have to work my butt off!
May 26, 1991
3 Nephi 16:19- Now is the time for us to rejoice in the gospel of Christ. The Lord has brought forth His kingdom on the earth. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Reemeemer. I shall never forget the vision that I had of Him pleading for all of us in the Garden of Gethsemane. Now is the time to be righteous for the sake of righteousness. Now is the time to abhor wickedness with all of our hearts. We must learn this.
20- There is no one on this earth who can escape the justice of God. There is also no one on this earth to whom the mercy of God is not extended. It is left to the individual to decide whether to face the justice of God or to face the mercy of Christ. I hope and pray that I can bring forth fruits meet for repentance so that I can receive the mercy of Christ.
3 Nephi 18:1- Christ commanded His disciples that they should bring forth bread and wine. It is very interesting to me that Christ did not perform a miracle by producing bread and wine. I think that this is a food illustration of not expecting miracles when the same works can be wrought by the ordinary methods.
2- After delegating the fast, Christ went on to other things while allowing the disciples to take care of things on their own. This is a perfect example of leadership and parenting. It couldn’t have been such an easy task to find enough bread and wine for such a multitude, yet Christ allowed His disciples to carry out the task.
Well, today went pretty well. We had a meeting this morning with our High Counselor and our shadow leader. Out shadow leader started to slam on the Hmong culture and the people. He obviously has not worked with them for very long. Anyway, I tried really hard to keep from looking like I was upset while I explained some things to him, but I am afraid that it was quite obvious.
Tonight when we went to see Cheng Moua and his family, there were some American kids out in the parking lot trying to cause trouble with the Hmong kids. Anyway, as we pulled up, the American kids were in full retreat. At the beginning of out discussion, I saw the American kids come walking along the sidewalk, the next thing I know the American kids are shooting rocks at the window with slingshots. When I opened the door wearing a white shirt and tie, all five of those kids about died. They and I had little talk and I would guess that they will not ever be back.
Racial and cultural persecution is so wicked! The fastest way to make me angry is to slam the Hmong people. I love them with all of my heart.
May 27, 1991
3 Nephi 18:4- In commanding the disciples to pass the sacrament to the multitude, Christ gave them authority to pass the sacrament. Nothing is ever done correctly in the church without hold the proper priesthood and the proper authority. The disciples all ready held the priesthood (mel. priesthood) and now they had the authority to pass the sacrament.
4- The disciples probably did not eat until they were physically full. They partook of the bread and were filled with the comfort of the Holy Ghost.
3- Christ is the me that blessed and brake the bread, thus setting an example concerning how the sacrament should be properly administered.
5- Christ tells the disciples that one of them will receive the authority necessary to bless the sacrament for those who have been baptized.
6- The sacrament is something that should always be done. It is a valuable privilege to partake of the sacrament. It should not be taken lightly. Missing church robs us of the blessings of partaking of the sacrament. I hope that we will set a goal to never miss a sacrament meeting for any reason but extreme illness.
May 27, 1991
I use “well” kind of like they use “And it came to pass” in the Book of Mormon. Well, we spent a good part of the day today with Cheng Moua and his family at the cemetery. I was really struck hard at what a sad thing death is for people who do not have the fullness of the gospel. How sad it must be! It made me hurt inside for all of the people who have lost loved ones, but didn’t know where they were going. The gospel message is so important!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church on the face of the earth today that has a fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ! It is the only church on the earth with the authority and/ or power (no other church has either) to perform the ordinances necessary to the salvation of mankind. Ezra taft Benson is a prophet of God. Joseph Smith, Jr. was a prophet of God. He translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. The Book of mormon contains God’s word. The Book of Mormon will help us to become nearer to God than any other book. Jesus Christ atoned for my sins. Families can be together forever, if they are sealed together in the temple of the Lord and endure to the end in obedience to the Lord’s commandments. I know all of these things to be true, and I write them in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
May 28, 1991
3 Nephi 18:7- The bread of the sacrament should always be taken in remembrance of the body of Christ, which He cam to this earth to receive, which he allowed to be beaten and bruised so that he might be a means of helping us all to be resurrected. By partaking of the bread, we witness unto the Father that we do always remember the Son, we have the Holy Ghost to be with us. Sounds kinda like a baptismal covenant, huh?
8- Although it does not say that Christ blessed the wine, it is certainly safe to assume that He did. He then commanded the disciples and multitude to partake. It is quite interesting to me that He not only gave it to them, but He commanded them to drink. This is symbolic to me of the fact that it is not enough to simply have a knowledge of the gospel, but we must act on the knowledge that we have.
9- Those who did as Jesus bade them were filled with the Spirit. The very same thing happens today.
10- By obeying Christ in these simple acts, the disciples demonstrated before the Father that they were willing to do the things Christ commanded. When it comes down to it, all things in the gospel are this easy. In all that we do, we either do as we are told, or we do not. Every act we do is either in accordance to the law or it isn’t. It is just that simple.
Wow! It all ready feels like it has been an extremely long week. I wonder why it feels like that. Today has been a pretty good day. We were able to pick up tow pretty good families today. I hope like crazy that we can keep them going. Besides that, Cheng Moua told us today that he would talk to his family and see how they felt about being baptized on the 8the of June. I hope like crazy that he was really sincere about it. I know all ready that his family wants to be baptized. now we’ll just have to wait and see what he decides.
The Lord has really blessed our efforts here in Stockton. It is simply amazing to me how much the Lord has blessed our work. I need to learn so much more. There is so much for me to learn, just about the promptings of the Holy Spirit alone. I need to learn how to truly listen to the promptings of the Spirit. I have improved a lot in that area in just the last week. I hope that I can learn as much in the next year as I have learned in the last year.
I got rocked at the mailbox today. I am really starting to wonder what the deal is with my family. It has been a long time since I heard from them.
May 29, 1991
3 Nephi 18;11- The sacramental water is also taken in remembrance of christ, this time in remembrance of His blood which was shed for us. It was shed for those who would be willing to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ and be obedient to the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, if we do these things and remember Christ, we shall have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us always.
12- If we shall do the things which Christ commands us to do, we shall be greatly blessed. If we truly keep the commandments being baptized in Christ’s name, then we are built upon the rock of christ. We are promised in 3 Nephi 11:39 that if we are built upon Christ’s rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.
13- Those who turn from the gospel in the smallest degree shall not survive the trials of this life because they build their testimonies and life in unsafe places. At some point or another, Satan’s temptations will overcome them and they will no longer have claim on the glory of the Celestial Kingdom. Through out our lives, we must be very careful to study the principles of the gospel as the Lord has revealed it to His prophets and to avoid the “intellectual” approach to the gospel that so many members feel is necessary.
Transfer calls came this morning and Elder Nielson is being transferred to Fresno. yes, I am jealous. my new comp is going to be Elder Barton. He had been out of the MTC for 4 months. I was in Fresno the same time as him and I am really looking forward to being his comp because he is really a great guy.
I have bee really homesick today. I don’t know what my problem is. I Think part of it is this half-way point stuff. The other part of it is not hearing from home. I hope that someone soon sees fit to let me know that they are actually alive. Another part of it is the fact that since my comp got transferred we spent the majority of the day getting him ready to go.
HOME-
I can’t help but wider if things are really going to work out the way I want them to when I get home. I can’t help but wonder if things are really going to work out with Kristin. All right1 That is enough being a wimp for today. Onward & Upward!
May 30, 1991
3 Nephi 18:14- Those who keep the commandments shall be blessed abundantly. Christ obeyed the Father by giving us the commandments. He also kept all of the commandments of the Father both while on this earth and afterwards. Christ does not ask us to overcome anything that he did not overcome himself. (D&C 18:11)
15- This verse is very important and is one that we should read often with out children. We must both watch, take an active role in identifying and avoiding temptations, and pray, ask God to help us to avoid temptations, continually. If one ever lets his guard down, Satan will strike immediately. We must never allow this to happen to us or our children.
16- we should also pray to the Father in Christ’s name. The sacrament should be administered to those who repent and are baptized. Once again, Christ set the example for us. He is the light to all of us. We must concentrate always on His light.
17- All of the things written in verse 10-16 were spoken to the 12 disciples. He was instructing the leadership of His church. After doing so, He turned back to the multitude and addressed them again.
18- Not only the leaders of the church must watch and pray always, but every member of the church must do so lest he be tempted to sin. Satan desires us! He can not have us. That is all that there is to it. I refuse to let him win.
Today was a pretty good day! I got a new comp, Elder Barton. He is from Grantsville, Utah. He is really a good guy! We are going to be able to get along really well and it’s going to be fun. He played baseball in high school and stuff like that, so we relate really well.
We taught a discussion to Chua Her today. He was asking some really deep questions, i.e.. why was there forbidden fruit? Is Satan’s God’s son? Why does God let us sin? We seemed to be able to do pretty well answering. The Spirit seems to come through for me every time as long as I am in time.
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