How Great the Importance

   I've been staring at this page for awhile now, yet I still have no idea how I want to start it. I've always been terrible with opening lines. I'm sure my AP English teacher laughed when she read one of my essays that began with, "I hate opening sentences. And that was it."
   Or something close to that. It was 5 years ago.

   As missionaries, we are to focus our thoughts on the work that is laid out before us. Thoughts can distract us easily and it's often a battle to stay focused (at least for this Elder).

   I have to admit, though - this week, my thoughts have been very far away. Why? Two words:

   My Sister.

   Let me show you why.

   This is my sister, Starley. She's a year-and-a-half older than I am. In August last year, she returned home from her mission just as I was hitting the halfway point on my own mission. 

   This coming Saturday, she is going to marry her high-school sweetheart for time and all eternity.

   I've been thinking quite a bit about her this week and I'm sure that I will be for the next few days. Thinking about it is as close as I'm going to get to it - I will still be here, in Fort Bragg, serving my mission.

   Now, at this point, I could take my blog down different paths. Hopefully I'll take the path less traveled.

   And that should make all the difference.

(Did you catch that pro Robert Frost reference? I'm awesome.)

   My sister is one of the most important people in the world to me. She's done so much to mold, shape, and change me. She's one of the most influential people in my life. Don't get me wrong, I love all four of my sisters and I never could nor would pick a favorite. I would gladly die (or live!) for any of them without a second thought. However, Star here has had the biggest influence in my life of all four.

   It kills me inside to know that I won't be there for her sealing (wedding), but... it's okay.

   First off, it's not about me, but her and her soon-to-be husband. I love her and I'm so excited for her to be taking this next step in her life. I wouldn't want her to wait a moment longer than she needs to.

   Second, I'm doing something important, too.
   I was reading my scriptures and once more stumbled upon this long-loved scripture in 2nd Nephi:

8: Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

   As I earlier, I'm here in Fort Bragg, serving as a missionary. As such, my first and foremost responsibility is to testify of the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many who don't know of Jesus Christ, or don't understand Him. Even tonight, I taught a man who sees no point in Jesus Christ.

   He is real, though. He is there. And He does have a point. He is the point. It's just as that scripture says: There is no person who can dwell in the presence of God except through Jesus Christ. My job is to declare just that.

   I know for myself that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the very Redeemer of the world. It didn't come over night, though. It came over time - I had to show God that I wanted to know. I prayed, I studied the scriptures, I attended and participated in Church regularly. I did my part and God did His. I can truly say that I know. 

   And you too can know - it's all up to you. You have to tell God you want to know, show Him that you deserve to know. 

   My sister is getting married in a few days and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

   Except to tell someone that Jesus is the Christ. Hopefully, I'm praying, that that knowledge will change people's lives.
 
   It's changed mine. Forever.

Fort Bragg!

I haven't posted in a month! I'm such a slacker.

Sometimes people in Fort Bragg leave chairs in the middle
of intersections - for the entire night.

   I've moved up to Fort Bragg, CA. It's a cool place, really! Not like anywhere else I've served; it's a small coastal town off of highway 101.

   It's a unique town. You can hear the waves crashing against the cliffs and on the beach all night. In fact, I've already taken a cool picture. It's farther down the page.

   At the moment, I don't have a ton of cool gospel principles to write about, nor any fantastic parables. However, I'm very, very excited to work with the members here. Today, church didn't have the highest attendance, but that's okay! These members are strong, faithful members; they're people to be proud of. 

    That's all I have for now.

    Carry on.

I almost got eaten by this wave!

  

Mini-Reunion

   Sometimes, the Lord just makes your day. Did you know that?
 
   About 8 months ago, when I was yet a wee-young missionary, I interviewed a man for baptism. I'm not going to talk about what we discussed, but during that 45 minutes of talking with him, I had one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission, let alone my life. It truly was a sacred experience that I'll treasure for a long, long time.
   His interview went well an he was soon baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Everything was good. I saw him a few times after that, but not too many. Soon afterward, I was transferred. I went on my way as a missionary, called a to a different place to continue preaching the Gospel.
   Last week, however, something cool happened.
   My companion and I were headed over to a member of our church's home to have dinner with them. We had both been there before, so I was rather shocked to find a different lady answer the door than the one who lives there, although she seemed familiar. She said, "Hello!" but then stopped and stared for a moment. Then a question - "Elder Nuckles?!"
   I knew that I knew her from somewhere. I couldn't place her, though. I started to open my mouth and then she said, "I'm Matt's wife! And he's in here! Sister Brown is my mom!" With that, it all clicked.
   I poked my head in the door to see Matt, the man I interviewed for baptism, sitting on the couch with their son. I was so excited. I ran in and talked to him. It was so good to see him! After so many months, to see him and know that his testimony is still strong and that he is still active in the church! It was really a day-maker. That's all I can say about it. It was just... great!
  
   I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true and that it is indeed Christ's Church, led by Him. I know that He loves us and cares for us and that He wants nothing except our eternal happiness, to live with our Father in Heaven once again.
  

Surprise!

   Growing up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you always here stories of missionaries who find that one golden, prepared person who is just ready to hear about and accept the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I've been a missionary for for 14 months and 11 days as of right now, and I had one of those experiences today.
   Come, gather around friends, and let me tell you about it.
    Two weeks ago, Elder Russell and I were out with a member, headed to a lesson. Which ended up falling through. We tried a few more people in the neighborhood, but nothing. We were on our way home, feeling somewhat dejected (and I felt somewhat guilty for not getting much done while this member drove us around). As we drove, I felt as if we should go stop by a less-active member's home, Stephen (who has been trying to return to activity). I didn't much want to, but nonetheless, we went.
    Stephen let us in and it turns out his fiancée, Tessa, (did you know that there's a difference between fiancé and fiancée? I just found that out) was there, as well. We proceeded to teach them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a pretty good lesson, although nothing to exactly write home about (or in this case, blog about)!
   Until today.
   Fast forward to this morning at 11:45. A different member went to pick up the couple and bring them to church. I was standing at the doors of the chapel, greeting people as they walked through the hallways. I heard my name and turned my head to see who was calling me. I saw Elder Russell, head and shoulders above the crowd, frantically beckoning me to where he was. I made my way through the crowd to find him standing next to Stephen and Tessa. I was excited to see them, but I wasn't prepared.
   I said hello to them both, but before I could even shake their hands, Tessa said to me in the most excited voice, "I read the whole book!" She was gripping her copy of the Book of Mormon like she'd never let it go and then continued, "I know that every word is true. I want to be baptized!"

   Whoa. I didn't know what to say. I just stood there for a few seconds and then said exactly that: "Whoa." I couldn't leave it at that though! So, I threw my hands up in the air in a 'touchdown' pose and said, "That's AMAZING! I'm so excited!"
    It was crazy. I couldn't really believe it. Usually getting people to read the Book of Mormon is like pulling teeth, yet here, she went ahead and read the whole thing! Just like that! It really confirmed my testimony that the Lord truly does people to receive the gospel. The scriptures even talk about this:

"...the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word." (Alma 16:16)

   It's true. He does. I'm a witness to it because I saw it today. I love Jesus Christ and I love His Gospel. It's the best!

Girls' Hair, 1987 Plymouth 5th Avenue, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

   This one is kind of a long one! I'm sorry about that. But it's a good one!

   What do girls' hair, 1987 Plymouth 5th Avenues (I know the picture is an '88), and the Gospel of Jesus Christ have in common?
   Well, let me paint a picture for you.

   This last Wednesday night, we were having dinner with a family in our ward, the Clarksons (I'm using standard last names, not real ones). They had invited over another member of our ward, brother Hammond. The night went well, dinner was great (chicken, rice and salad!), the company was good. After awhile, brother Hammond (I'm just going to start referring to him as Hammond and brother Clarkson as Clarkson for ease) had to go run something out to his car. He came back and said, "Duty calls! There's a man outside whose car has broke down. He asked for some water for his radiator, so let's take it to him! Clarkson filled up some pitchers with water and off we four went to help the man out.
   He was stuck on a hill with the hood to his 1987 Plymouth 5th Avenue open. He didn't look completely thrilled at his current situation as he talked on the phone. We got over to him as he hung up and began talking to him. He laughed as he said, "One guy stopped to help me and now I have four!"
   We all began to check out his car and soon determined that the grade of the hill made it too difficult for his car's fuel pump to get gas up to the engine, therefore causing it to go kapüt. That's right, I just said kapüt. Anyway. We determined that if we used Clarkson's mid-size truck, we could pull him up to the top of the hill. It would flatten out and his car would be able to start, allowing him to go get some gas!
   You may think that there are plenty of other ways that we could solve this problem, and while we could maybe have done it some other way, here are the reasons why we didn't:

1. The steep, semi-busy hill wouldn't allow for us to push the car up, or allow for him to just coast backwards down the hill.
2. Without power steering, his car was too heavy and long to just turn around and go back down.
3. No one had any extra gas sitting around, nor felt like going to get some. Plus, Elder Russell, our resident (semi)mechanic said that it would have taken almost a full tank to get the fuel going again (He had a 20 gallon (nearly empty!) tank... ouch).
4. No one was answering their phones - not his family, mechanic friends, or even a rather popular roadside-assistance company!

   Now comes the only problem: The only thing we had to tow him with was some very long, thin nylon rope. There's no way it would hold the weight of his car. Everyone surmised that the rope would just snap, even if we looped it around the frame and hitch of the car and truck multiple times. The loops wouldn't sit evenly and would just snap one by one.
   It was desperate, hopeless even. What could we do?!
   And then the words of my sister came to me: "Trevvy, when in doubt, braid."

   Okay, that's a lie. But for some reason, I did picture her hair braided. Bingo!
   So, I grabbed the two ends of the rope and handed them to Elder Russell. "These are yours. Hold them."
   I ran the length of the rope and took the bend that was now in the middle and ran it back to Clarkson. "This is yours. Hold it."
  Again, I went to what was now the end of the rope and, folding the whole thing in half, took it back to the man (We'll call him James.) "This is yours. Hold it!"
   So now, we had Elder Russell with two loose ends, Clarkson with a fold, and James with two folds and four strands (due to the way the rope folded. If you think about it, it makes sense).
   I stomped my foot in the middle and began braiding, just as I'd seen my sisters do time after time. When the braid was finally done, Hammond tied a good solid knot on the end so that it wouldn't come undone. I crawled under his car, looped the rope around the frame, back out, and then around the hitch of Clarkson's truck.
   With the back of my shirt dirty, my hands black from the dirty frame, and my tie somehow surprisingly clean, I watched, along with Hammond and Elder Russell in anticipation. Clarkson got in his truck, James in his Plymouth, and the moment we'd all been waiting for was lingering over us, waiting to happen.
   The truck's engine started. Parts smashed together as it went from 2-wheel drive to 4-wheel drive. Then, Clarkson put it into gear. James similarly put his Plymouth into neutral and it rolled back a bit before he caught the car with the brakes.
   We took a deep breath and told Clarkson to start slowly while signaling for James to let of the breaks.
   The braids groaned in pain as the all the weight of the car finally pulled them more than tight.
I went to grab my camera, only to find that... I didn't have it. Let me share my feelings with you on that: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I couldn't upload it to the computer,
I took a picture of the picture with my
 camera. Sorry that it looks terrible!)

   Wait! I whipped out the cell phone that Elder Russell and I share and snapped a picture. Whew! Here it is!
   To our amazement, the truck slowly pulled the car up the hill. The rope (and the vanity license plate on James' car) made horrible groaning noises under all the weight. The rope seemed to say, "Why are you doing this to me!? I wasn't made for this! Stop it!"
   I seemed to say, "Go go go!"
   After what seemed like forever, but in reality, wasn't that long, the truck and car made it to the top of the hill! Hallelujah!
   Then, James anxiously tried the ignition.
   A few clicks!    ...Then nothing.
   A few more clicks ...Then nada.
   One last try - some more clicks. And...
   Vroooooooooom! It roared to life like a lion chasing an antelope down the savanna. All was well. We tried to untie the rope, but it had stretched and contorted so much that it was better to just cut it, so we did. We spoke for a few more minutes and James thanked us, comparing us to the Good Samaritan. He shortly hopped in his car and drove off to who knows where.

  It was a cool feeling. We just helped a guy and he was on his way. That's all. We went about doing good.
   Now! I didn't just ask you what cars and girls' hair have in common, but also, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I didn't forget it! So here we go.
   Truck = Jesus Christ. (Except, He's not a mid-size truck. He's a very large, heavy duty, unlimited-power truck with a V180. Yeah. His Atonement and Power are that strong.)

The rope after it was cut off. That's my size
10 foot for comparison.

   Broken down car = that's the rest of the world and all their problems, just packed in there tight.
   Rope = all of us that are trying to spread the Gospel of Christ, whether we are Missionaries, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Christians, or just plain ol' good people.
   If Christ wanted to, He could roll up behind us and easily push the car to the top of the hill. That would be an easy task for His matchless power. However, He wants us to have the growth, the trials that cause us to become better people. He wants to give us the chance to experience the joy that He does when He helps another child of God on their difficult journey through life.
   However, there is something else we must learn. We have to work together, to share the load, to simultaneously pull the load.
   If we pulled the load on our own, under our own power, we'd snap. Bam.
   If we all pulled at the same time, but not together, we wouldn't get very far. One by one, we'd slowly snap and break and be done for.
   If we all pulled at the same time, in harmony, working together, we'd make it. The Gospel would go forth without a problem. Sure, along the way, one or two of us would still break, but the load would still be shared and the Gospel would still go forth.
   Get it?
   So, when you're on that one popular TV game show and you're pick religion for $500 and you get this story, you'll know to answer, "What do girls' hair, 1987 Plymouth 5th Avenues, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ have in common?"
   Look at that. I just taught you a great Gospel Principle AND prepared you to get a nice bonus check.
   You're lovin' me now, aren't ya?
   I then got to go look at myself in the mirror after that. I was nasty.

And somehow, my tie was clean. It's a miracle.

I am... the Lawgiver!

   Let me start out with a cool vignette. I guess.

  There's a video on YouTube that someone made about a popular online video game and a Toyota truck. (I'm not supporting online video games - in fact, I really don't like them. I was addicted to them for awhile and it's terrible. Anyway.) In the movie, the avatar gets in his little Toyota truck and drives through the forest, with his buddies on their horses trying to keep up, and ramps off a cliff... straight into the jaws of a dragon. The guy's friends are rather distraught at his death. That is, until a bulge appears in the dragon's neck.

  The bulge explodes, and the man drives out of the neck, killing the dragon, and lands on the cliff. He drifts to a stop and that's when you notice the dragon's heart beating in the bed of the avatar's truck.

   And then, this epic line of epic lines: 

DID YOU SEE ME LAY DOWN THE LAW?! I AM THE LAWGIVER!

   Ah. I love it! 

   Saturday night, we had a similar experience. Elder Russell, in conjunction with the Spirit, laid down the law.

   

   We were with a family whom we've been teaching for awhile. They constantly fight, and that night was no exception. Back and forth they went, no love in that room. Finally, I said, "Alright, stop! Everyone say something nice about the person to your right!"

   What we got, though, was some blank looks. No one had anything to say, really. The father and one daughter got up to leave. I asked, "Really? You don't have anything nice to say?" 

   Nope, nothing.

   And then, the arguing broke back out.

   I looked over at my companion with his head in his hands. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, I could tell he was deep in prayer, pleading with the Lord.

   And then, I watched him go epic. It's so amazing, I must stick it in a quote:

Alright, I can't take it anymore! I'm sick of listening to you all fight! Do you not love one another at all? We're here to teach you about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I've only got 10 months left to share this message of hope and that's really not long! So we're here to teach you, and if you won't let us, we probably won't be coming back! So please, let us teach you! Please!

   Whoa. I wanted to break out in song, singing "I Stand All Amazed..."
   He was almost in tears, pleading, frustrated, and sad. I felt the Spirit just flow into the room. It was mind-blowing.
   The father and the daughter ended up leaving after that, but we were left with the grandmother, daughter, and son. It was peaceful after that. We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught them about the Book of Mormon. It. Was. So good! We committed them to coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon - and they accepted (and they did all come to church today, plus the daughter who got up and left!).
   It felt so good when we left. The Spirit of the Lord was there so strongly, bearing witness to the truthfulness of our message. I know they were uplifted and spiritually fed.

   Now, to tie the two stories together.
   When we walked out of the house and down the street, I looked at Elder Russell and said:

I saw you lay down the law! You are the Lawgiver!

   Being bold with the Spirit of God - it's great. So great. So, here's a picture of Moses, laying down the law. He, too, was the lawgiver. But the Ultimate lawgiver?

   Jesus Christ - The Ultimate Lawgiver

   I bear my testimony to you that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. There is no trial that is too great for His power, no pain that is too fragile for His gentleness.

   The Gospel is True.

Breeze

   Yesterday was Stake Conference. (For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a church service where all of the congregations in a specific area join together for 2 hours. It's good times.) We went and were spiritually fed.

   On the way back, we got stuck in some slow traffic on the highway. As we drove, we were wondering why in the world the traffic was so bad. Eventually, our slow and steady course brought us into sight of some flashing lights - someone got in a wreck.

   Hope it's not too bad. I thought to myself as I sat in the back seat with my arm out the window, feeling the breeze flow across my skin. Details surfaced as we drew nearer. What was one set of lights turned into two. And then three. And then four. And then five. And then more. I don't remember how many, honestly.

   My dad told me once, "If you see an ambulance, someone is having a worse day than you, so cheer up." How true. How. True. Whoever this man or woman was, he or she was having a worse day than me. 

  The drive continued, and I began doing what most of us do as we get close to a wreck - you start sitting up straighter and watching for any and every bit of information you can. You want the juicy stuff. After all, this could make a great story later, right? Right. Soon, though, what my eyes didn't see was a flipped over, destroyed, flaming wreck of what was once a nice Volkswagen Jetta. What my eyes did see, however, was an airplane crashed on the side of the road. It was a small, single prop plane, nothing huge.

   From my limited knowledge, this is what I think personally happened: the pilot was cruising along on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, enjoying the beautiful Napa Valley skies. Suddenly, something went wrong. The pilot tried to do everything possible to recover, but it soon became apparent that a crash landing would need to be necessary (Would need to be necessary... that's terrible grammar. My AP English teacher would probably throw a copy of The Great Gatsby at my head for that). 

   After a rapid surveillance or perhaps a radio call to the airport, or probably both, the highway was chosen for a spot to land as it's rather similar to a runway and flat compared to the grape-laden hills. As the plane's shadow grew larger on the highway, the cars must have slowed down or moved to the side. However, not all went well and the plane still crashed. I'm sure help was already on the way even before bystanders began phoning in. Ambulances, fire engines, police, and more were responding with great haste.

    Back to the situation at hand: I saw one gurney with a body on it, so someone was hurt. I couldn't see much more, but I knew that that person was hurt. There were other civilians standing around talking to emergency responders, so maybe there were even more hurt than I could see.

   And that brings you up to speed on where I was - sitting in the driver-side rear seat, feeling the breeze across my arm.

   I began to think how precious life is. It's short. We're fragile. We're susceptible to so many different diseases and illnesses. We break. We're just... mortal.

   I'm glad that we won't always been this way. I'm happy that one day, the Resurrection will happen and mortality will be... over. 

   We drove passed the crash. I arched my neck around so that I could watch the airplane and firefighters or as long as I could. Finally, when I couldn't see it anymore, I sat back down normally, but this time much more somberly, with a lot more to think about.

   

   For some reason, the breeze flowing over my arm felt much better and had much more meaning to it.