I can't believe how quickly the weeks go by! And they all blur together, so it's sometimes difficult to remember what has happened.
We had an amazing conference in Fresno on Friday. Greg McKeown gave us a training on Essentalism. If you don't know who he is, you can probably look him up and find out more. He's from England, served a mission in Toronto, graduated from BYU and Stanford, and is a powerful speaker, let me tell you. I can't do the conference justice in an e-mail, but it was basically about cutting out all the non-essential things in our lives, though they may be good. As we progress in life, we first prune all the bad things out of our life. But we're not done there. Then we must prune the good, and then the better, until we are only left with the best. Applying this concept to missionary work, it might be a good thing to visit another person across town when an appointment comes through, but maybe it would be better to knock some doors or street contact in the area you're in. For missionaries, our essential purpose is to baptize, to bring people to the gate. We can't do that unless we are finding and teaching. Anything that does not help us to acheive that is something we need to consider letting go of. This principle has application all throughout life. It's already started changing mine.
The main point he made at the very end of the conference was that we must give our lives to the Lord. Completely, totally, and fully. We will never regret the day we choose to do that. When we decide that we will do whatever God asks of us, that opens the way for Him to show us how He works miracles. We must give up every desire, hope, fear, dream, or weakness that we have, the good things as well as the bad, and let them be replaced by what God wants for us. This is something that has been repeated to me throughout my mission, and I am understanding more and more every time what it truly means to consecrate yourself to the Lord. It's hard, and it takes a ton of mental effort, but when you really make up your mind to do it, it really makes life so much easier.
Well, I don't have much more time. I have plenty I could write about, but I guess I'll have to leave it for another day. I know that God lives and that He loves us. WE have nothing to be afraid of if we put our trust in HIm. D&C 68:6; 98:1; and 38:15,30 are all great scriptures about that. Listen to that inner voice you have inside of you. You all know what God wants from you. Each of us have a unique mission, a unique purpose, that only we can fulfill. Ask yourself moment to moment what it is that God wants you to do NOW. Don't worry about the past or future. Focus on what God needs from you in this moment, don't fight it, and put your trust in Him. I promise that you will see miracles.
I love you all!! Oh and just F.Y.I., I just found out that D has been called to be an Activity Days leader. How exciting is that! I love this work!
Love,
Elder Lofthouse
No comments:
Post a Comment