So, it's been a pretty great week. A
little bit of a rough start, but after the first couple days, things
really started looking up and I've had a pretty good time.
I guess I should start off by saying that I made Heath Cake on Tuesday
for my birthday (a little late, but ca va). And... it's almost gone. My
companion and I have seriously flown through that cake like it was
nothing. It's really a little sad because with every bite we were adding
another mile of running in our heads to our exercises... once the
temperature finally reaches above freezing. Okay Canada, we get it! It's
cold! Can we go back to non-glacial climates now? It's April! :P But
seriously. It has dropped back below freezing this week and I am rather
upset.
Hahaha. So... last week the mission
office decided to give us a new truck to replace our car. It is a white
2016 Chevy Colorado (happy birthday to me! :P). And we've been debating
what to name her. We brought the issue to our district after district
meeting (that's where a small group of missionaries from the same area,
or "district", meet each week), and we decided on a pretty good name.
After going through several very unsuitable names (Shanaynay was
mentioned, as well as Shaniqua and Jessica/Jessiqua), we managed to all
come to the conclusion that we were going to name her Staci, with an
"i." Staci has treated us well, although we've had our arguments. It is
not uncommon for us to hit an unseen pothole and start yelling, "STACI!
Why didn't you warn us?"
We're easily entertained.
I
gotta say, I loved General Conference. I loved it so much. The talks
were all amazing. I especially liked those given by Elder David A.
Bednar and Elder M. Russell Ballard in the Saturday Afternoon Session, as well as that given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the Sunday
Afternoon Session. All in all, I'd say Elder Holland's was my favorite.
But I want to talk about the biggest overarching message I felt this
General Conference. And that message was love.
Love
is an interesting word. We use it so easily, and yet true, unshakable,
perfect love is one of the hardest things on this earth to obtain for
ourselves. This kind of love is referred to in the scriptures as
"charity." In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon states in a letter
to his son Moroni,
"And charity suffereth
long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not
her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in
iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never
faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all,
for all things must fail— but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it
endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day,
it shall be well with him." (Moroni 7:45-47)
Do
you want to know what the universe runs on? What the reason for our
very being on the earth is? It's this. It's charity. The pure love of
Christ, possessed by both Him and our Father in Heaven. We were placed
here on Earth because Heavenly Father loves us enough to let us leave
His side for a time, so we can learn and grow and become more like Him.
The reason behind everything He does is charity. It's His nature, His
character, His most defining characteristic. He gave everything for us,
up to and including His own Beloved and Perfect Son.
We
seek so much after happiness in this life, and yet we seem to look so
easily in all the wrong places. We search for pleasure, for excitement,
for adrenaline.
True love is not found in
serving ourselves, but in losing ourselves. When Christ said, "For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it." We lose our
lives in loving others. Are you looking to be truly happy? When you lie
down at night and you have your thoughts to yourself, and you feel that
uncomfortable hole inside and don't know how to fill it, where can you
look? What can you do?
Be long-suffering.
Be kind.
Envy not.
Seek out the stranger, the outcast.
Keep your temper.
Watch your thoughts.
Take no pleasure in sin.
Be honest.
Choose to have faith.
Have hope in Christ and His Atonement and His love for you.
And above all, NEVER give up! Not on others, not on yourself, and not EVER on the Lord!
Our
Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ love us FAR too much to let us
down, no matter how far we may have fallen, and no matter how distant
They may seem. No matter how far from our potential we feel. The
greatest thing about the Atonement of Christ is that it allows Him to
meet us where we are, not at some distant checkpoint in the distance.
The Creator of Heaven and Earth is NOT a coach who meets us at the
finish line, but one who runs the race with us, and when we just can't
seem to make that next climb, He stoops down and pulls us onto His back
and He carries us until we can get back on our feet again.
So
my challenge this week is this: don't you dare give up. Don't you ever,
ever, ever give up. If you try, I will drive Staci down to wherever you
live and I will find you and I will shake you. This is too important.
This truth is too precious to me, and you are too precious to Him.
En avant!
Elder Bryan McOmber
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