Tyler's Mission in Seoul: New Year 2017

New Years and Christmas were great here! Nick is now in Canada, which is kind of sad but I hope he's doing well there. This week we found a new investigator named Jongwon, who we found when we visited his house. He is the son of a less active member, and seems very sincere and interested. Other than that, we've met lots of cool people this week and planted lots of seeds.

New Years is a great time to set goals for how we want to be a little better, and I wanted to share some thoughts about the power that we have to change. I specifically want to talk about how these things actually manifest themselves beyond just the principles we learn. We know that the power to change our lives comes from Christ's Atonement, an act of perfect love and faith. Because of our love and our faith in Him, we repent, or change our hearts and actions, and ultimately our character, to be more in line with His will. We learn about the power that then comes to us from the Sacrament prayer. It is the promise that we can always have the Holy Ghost with us. Think about it - we learn from the scriptures that the Holy Ghost is one and the same as Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Try to imagine what it would be like, the soul-changing impact of having a visitation from them. But it is actually the same. The potential to have that kind of influence is given through the Sacrament.

When we approach the Sacrament humbly, truly desiring to improve, we receive the cleansing that Christ offers. The Holy Ghost fills our heart. It stays when we do good. It leaves when we do bad. Thus, we can, each week, learn to make choices a little better. We grow and change. We forsake those things that hold us back from being a little more Christlike, our "weapons of rebellion." When we do make changes, when we do keep our focus on Christ, we receive the Holy Ghost in greater abundance. The warmth and joy of His influence changes our desires to do anything that would be contrary to His will. I love the Sacrament because of that opportunity it provides through Christ's Atonement to change.

So, use that this year! Find some things that need to be changed, and us that precious gift to change.

Happy New Year! Happy Birthday Mom!