Missionary Work and the Atonement

I love, love, love this talk from Elder Holland. I loved it while I was serving a full-time mission, and I love it now as a member missionary.
"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

I'm grateful for the experiences we have as full-time missionaries and member missionaries wherever we may labor. It is hard work and sometimes when investigators or friends reject something that is so precious to us it brings us sorrow and confusion and a slew of other feelings. Why wouldn't someone accept the gospel? I experienced while serving a mission, it was really hard to see someone progress then have them just completely drop us and choose to reject the gospel. Like Elder Holland says, we need to take a step toward the summit of Calvary and spend a little time in Gethsemane. Not only when we sorrow for those who choose to reject the message but when I first went out in the field I realized how inadequate I was. I have a lot of faults and I still had them then and as a full-time missionary I think your past wrongdoings and your faults are magnified at least at first. It brought me closer to the Savior, my understanding and gratitude for the Atonement grew exponentially. I know the Atonement carried me as a full-time missionary and I know it still does as I strive to do what is right and also as I make my feeble attempts to share the gospel. I can always do better, no matter whether I am successful at sharing the gospel or not, my testimony will grow, my relationship with the Savior will deepen, and the way to salvation will be clear in my eyes. I love the gospel and I love you all. Also, a shout out to Cheeseman for choosing to serve the Lord for two full years and watching you as you have developed your testimony in the last couple years has been a testimony builder for me. I wish I had prepared as well as you have when I was preparing to serve a mission.
Here in Iowa and everywhere there are a lot of people that I meet who are comfortable and complacent when it comes to religion and I can see the potential if they will just take a little step closer to the Savior by coming to know Him better through the restored gospel. However, I still love them, I pray to serve them, and I am hopeful for the day when they will accept the gospel and I can truly rejoice with them. For now, I try to do what I can and recognize the Savior's hand in my life as I try to be a better missionary and receive the blessings of the gospel. Love you all! Hopefully this all makes some sense :)
Kelly Kelly

Hello dear Family.  I have two things to share that are somewhat related.

#1. I was immediately struck by the beauty and symbolic significance of the photo found on the inside front cover of the February 2014 Ensign. (If you don't still have the hard copy of the magazine you can look up the pdf version online and see the photo). It shows a snaking river, the bank of which is bordered by rich green trees. The land surrounding the river is completely bare--just desert sand. The scripture accompanying the pictures was Jeremiah 17:7-8:

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and...her leaf shall be green."

I love this picture because it gives me hope as a parent. I frequently fear the moral degradation of society and have mild panic attacks when I think of my children growing up surrounded by wickedness. How will they stay strong and cleave to good when they are so bombarded by evil? This picture was a powerful, visual reminder that righteousness and purity can survive, nay :), flourish, even in a polluted or desolate environment as long as we are connected to the source of all good--Jesus Christ.

Our homes, our hearts, our minds, our spirits etc. can all be like the trees surrounding the river--alive with goodness--even though everything around us is morally desolate. We do not have to surrender to our surroundings. What hope!

#2.  Not long ago my friend and I were discussing the downfall of society and how we expected America and everything positive in the world to crumble during our lifetimes. In the middle of our conversation I got a text from my mother.

Her text said, "October 26,1973, President Harold B. Lee at a Ricks College devotional prophesied that the United States would never fail and urged optimism."

I read the text three times in disbelief and then told my friend what it said. My mother's timing was SO perfect! How did she know we were just talking about how we expected America to fail? She was not at our location and could have had no way of knowing what we were talking about. I called my mom and she said the passage had just jumped out at her as she was reading President Eyring's biography so she decided to send the text to her kids.

Here's President Lee's message in full:

"Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail....I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world....It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through. We must be on the optimistic side."

 ~Harold B. Lee, Have Faith in America, October 26,1973

It was a stark reminder to have faith and not fear. I will now repent of my pessimism. :) I love you all!

Sarah

 

Where in the World Will Cheeseman Serve a Mission

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" Matthew 28:19



Put your predictions in the comments. We love you Cheeseman!

Regret

I have a very bad habit of saying things without really thinking about them and silences can make me feel really awkward so that means I start over-talking to compensate. I often regret the things I say and last night when I talked to the young men about my mission and shared a thought with them I spent over an hour before falling asleep reviewing in my mind the things I should have said. I should have engaged them more, I should have had them play a little game to get some of the ones who didn't care, involved. I shouldn't have said that Tyler would beat them ;) if they misbehaved. I should have told the, about my mission president and how we revered and tried so hard to follow his example. I tossed and turned and regretted so much the things that I said. I do that with normal conversation too, I think too much and regret far more than I should. It would bring me a lot more peace if I resolve not to replay over and over again every situation that I think would be better after it's all done. President Uchtdorf said in a conference address that we determine our own happiness. We do, we can choose to be however we wish to feel or think. I love this excerpt from president Uchtdorf's address:
"We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available--all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”

Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.

Perhaps we should be looking less with our eyes and more with our hearts. I love the quote: “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

We are commanded “to give thanks in all things.” So isn’t it better to see with our eyes and hearts even the small things we can be thankful for, rather than magnifying the negative in our current condition?"
I know that this is true and as President Uchtdorf later states that;
"The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and remove the burden of our sins. His Atonement allows us to leave the past behind and move forward with clean hands, a pure heart, and a determination to do better and especially to become better. (Of Regrets and Resolutions)"
I shouldn't lose sleep over the dumb things I may have said and continue to live in the past. If there is something to be repented of then of course, repent and move on. If there is a situation I need to fix, then do what's right and press forward. I'm grateful for the gospel and for the knowledge of our Savior and of the power of the Atonement.
Kelly Kelly