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.

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!

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.

One thousand, eight hundred and seven times

Today, I decided to do something fun: I did a quick search to see how many references there are to Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon. So, I went to the scriptures and searched these keywords.

• Creator in the Book of Mormon: 10 times
• Savior in the Book of Mormon: 14 times
• Messiah in the Book of Mormon: 27 times
• Lamb of God in the Book of Mormon: 37 times
• Redeemer in the Book of Mormon: 40 times
• Holy One in the Book of Mormon: 64 times
• Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon: 78 times
• Jesus in the Book of Mormon: 90 times (Note: For this and for "Christ," I had the search engine avoid the other name so that there are no duplicates of "Jesus Christ." Hope that makes sense!)
• Christ in the Book of Mormon: 247 times
• Lord in the Book of Mormon: 1200 times (Note: This one could have references to 'lords', i.e., government rulers. I looked through some of them and, as far as I know, most, if not all, are references to the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, like "Jesus" and "Christ", I had the search engine avoid pairing "Lord" with "Christ" and "Jesus.")

Whoa. Right there, there are 1,807 references to Christ. I didn't even search for Shiloh, Emmanuel, counsellor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Son of Mary, the Anointed, King of the Jews, King of Israel, the Word, the Light, the bread of life, the Good Shepherd, the Deliverer, the rock, and so on.

Really, the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

Cool, huh? I thought so, too.