The sacrament and the heart

Feb 5

Gyuheong is doing so well! He is reading, praying, coming to church, and seeking so earnestly. He especially is very desirous to feel the Holy Ghost and to receive those feelings that we have taught about. We are so excited for him! But, he is leaving today to go to Seoul until he goes back to college, so it'll be other missionaries teaching him from here on out. 

There is so much that I learned this week, I don't know where to begin or start. Maybe the most prominent thought I had was about the heart and the sacrament. As I've been asking the Lord what I can do better, I've found that often the answer is nothing new. In fact, sometimes it is more like the chastening described in Hebrews 12:5-11. On my exchange with the zone leader last transfer, he made the principle really clear. Repentance is change of heart. This kind of change is not comfortable. If fact, it is often painful. Thus, giving chastening or correction it giving that kind of pain - not out of malice or anger, but out of love and an understanding that this pain is necessary for growth. Elder Christofferson taught that we should even ask for this in April of 2011 - "Let us pray for His love-inspired correction." 

I am so grateful for the correction of the Lord! It allows us to repent and more fully have his presence with us through partaking of the Sacrament. It prompts us to search our hearts and to give our hearts to him and to soften them. 

Have a great week everyone!

​Last p-day we went to a member's house and made Mandu. It was delicious! 

Schedule changes

Jan 29, 2017

The missionary worldwide broadcast was incredible! I learned so much I can't explain it all here. For one, Elder Bednar prayed to start, which was something I realized I'd never seen before. The theme, like last year, was "teach repentance and baptize converts," and I realized, most of all, the great significance of what that means. God's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, which was enabled by His Son and His Atonement. By helping others to repent and be baptized, we are doing the will of God, because the gospel of Christ is the process by which we receive remission of sins and are born again by the water and the Spirit. This enables us to return to Him in His Kingdom. The divine power and authority in the steps and ordinances of Christ's gospel are what brings this about. I was humbled by this. I cannot cleanse someone from sin, nor can I fill their heart with that purifying power that changes it forever. But these things are real, and they come from Christ. 

Besides that, we did deep cleaning on Saturday (all missionaries do this on Lunar New Year's Day). For lunch, we ate Ddeokuk, which is a tradition to eat on Lunar New Year's Day in Korea. The tradition is that eating this makes you a year older, so now, in Korean age, I am 22! 

New year - I didn't see any special celebrations or dragons or anything, but we also spent the entire day inside cleaning. But, the house is super clean now. Here's some pictures of Seoul from the bus: 

​The district going back to Wonju, from left to right, back to front - Elder Steward and Ku, Sister Lee and Lynn, and me and Elder Horne

​The Han river. The big tower in Lotte Tower. 

Spiritual Power

This week I have had a great opportunity to witness the spiritual power of one whose life has been devoted to Christ. When I went to a training meeting in Seoul last Thursday, I remember, most of all, the powerful feelings and thoughts I had when he bore his testimony. It is amazing to me that one can have such a sound knowledge and testimony, and a love, of the Savior and of Heavenly Father. Then, on Sunday, he came to Wonju to speak in church and in Priesthood meeting. Our investigator was at church yesterday and also felt the spiritual power that was there. He talked to us about how great the question was that President Sonksen asked - what are our mysteries? He is progressing so well and is eating up everything we tell him.

Besides that, this week is Seollal, which is New Year's Day in Korea. It's gonna be big! We are going to Seoul both for a Seollal conference and a worldwide missionary broadcast. 

Have a great week everyone!

Finally got snow!

​Squid (in the chopsticks, not the noodles)

"Seeketh Not Her Own"

We had a very special miracle yesterday evening. We had just finished dinner and were about to go streetboarding when we decided to call just a few people. The thought to call a former investigator came into my mind, who is the only non-member in a less active family. He answered and talked for the first time in several transfers. He said we could come over right then, so we did. We took a temple/family pamphlet with us and talked. Because I've met all the members of his family before, we asked how his family was doing. Then, when we shared the pamphlet with him. The Spirit was powerful as we shared about eternal families, and also a couple verses about faith and planting the seed. He reacted in an amazing way, and agreed to meet again to hear the message again. I sincerely pray and hope that this time the gospel will sink deep into his heart and that it will rekindle the testimonies of his family members.

Also, one of our new investigators, Gyuheong, came to church yesterday! He has a great experience and noted afterward how all the members were very nice, which we are very thankful for. 

As a companionship and individually, we have thought lots recently about the Spirit. The phrase "Seeketh not her own" from Moroni 7 has especially helped me understand how to invite the Spirit better. Too often I rely on my wisdom in what to say. Recently, I have tried taking a step back, listening, and praying. Then I simply speak the thought that the Lord puts into my heart. The result has been enormous, and we have learned better that the Spirit is the true teacher. Regardless of how great or perfect what I think I have to say may be, only the presence of the Holy Ghost can effectually prompt others to change. It is the "record of Heaven," and it is what really distinguishes Christ's church from all others. 

Glad you got some snow! We've just been really cold this week. Enjoy it this week!

I'm not sure if I'm jealous of the snow or not, but its just been really cold here...so we bundle up us much as we can when we go streetboarding. Those ear warmers you sent last year are amazing! 

Also, thanks for the calendar! 

Love you!

2017/01/08--New Investigators

Things were a little slow for a couple weeks, but this week we were blessed with people to teach! One is the son of a less active member we visited, one is a member referral, one is investigator who moved from a different area, and the other is someone we found streetboarding. We are really excited to be teaching again, and are working hard to improve our teaching skills. And, of course, "finding constantly" (mission slogan). 

I hope you all had a great New Years. I know I did! My New Years Goal comes from Moroni 7, which is to "cleave unto charity." In my interview with President Sonksen this week, he shared how charity, like faith, means action. Just like true faith, based in and on the Savior, leads us to act in harmony with his teachings, having charity means that we really act to uplift others in a genuine way, like the Savior did. I'm really excited to build this goal. I find the less I think about myself and the more I think about the Savior and others, the happier I am. 

Oh! I forgot to talk about Christmas conference. We had a great Christmas conference a couple weeks ago where some really cool announcements were made. The way President Sonksen brought it up was something like this: 

"My favorite apostles are Elder Bednar and Elder Holland. I just love the way they teach. We were able to see have Elder Bednar come just a few months ago and learn from him. Wouldn't it be cool to see Elder Holland too?" Then, after a pause, "Well, guess what? We will." Elder Holland is coming to Korea! I'm so excited for that. We will meet him with Seoul South Mission in Seoul again, like we did for Elder Bednar. 

Have a great week everyone!

Me, Elder Steward, Elder Horne, Elder Ku

​This is the temple I bought your gifts from! It is called Gureong Temple, and we went there today.

The Gift Shop

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! 

Elder Horne and Elder Crisp

​We visited Gyunbokeung Palace today

Me, Nick, and Elder Horne

Christmas 2016

2016/12/25

Hope you all had a great Christmas. I know I did! What made it especially great was that Nick came to church! He's leaving for Canada this week, so I was really glad he came this last time. 

This week has been a lot of getting ready for the Christmas party, and it was great! We had a couple games, we sang, and we had a great meal. Everyone enjoyed it, and we had lots of people and church the next day too! We plan on following up on a couple to see if they have some more interest. 

I know this Christmas season has felt especially the meaningful the more I act to be more like Christ. I've asked people on the street over and over again why we celebrate Christmas, and I've learned a lot from that. It's really about love and joy - the love of Heavenly Father to send His Son to us, and the joy that we can have because He did. Receive Him and always remember Him, and we can feel His love through the Holy Ghost always!

Happy New Year!

Elder Crisp

Ward Christmas Party