January 12, 2010

The work of the Lord is going pretty well here. I feel really blessed to be here. President Ogden told us he left us here to do something amazing and I think I figured out what it is, we have to reactivate the recent converts. Some of them have gone a bit wayward the last little while so we're going to get them back. President's big push is that our job does NOT end at baptism. We have to get the converts to the temple and there they will be safe. At interviews a couple of weeks ago he shared some scriptures with us that have pretty much changed my entire view of my mission. Alma 26:5-6 talk about gathering your sheaves in the garners so the whirlwind can't take them away. Sheaves are converts, and garners are temples. Our job is to help these people gain salvation, not just baptism. So a ton of my lessons are with less actives and recent converts lately and it will likely stay that way for the rest of my mission. At the very beginning of Preach My Gospel it tells us the missionary purpose, at the end of the purpose it says "enduring to the end". Thats what temples do. So consequently the number of new baptisms I get during my mission will suffer, but I don't really care. I would rather have 10 people with me in the celestial kingdom than 1,000 baptisms who fall by the wayside because I don't have time to help them after the actual baptism has taken place. It's awesome I tell you what. I'm so excited to do this work!!
That's really cool about your plane dad, we'll have to go for a flight when I get home. Commercial jets just don't really do it for me after the two of us going up ourselves you know. So that's really cool to hear you bought into another one, I'm chuffed about it. Hopefully Blake finds a job. I haven't heard from him in a little while so thanks for the update on him. Tell him to not be a numpty while he's in Logan. I did get my shoes so don't worry about that. I'm going to wear my other ones into the ground before I use the new ones though. But that won't take long. They're about dead. Anyways I better get going now. Love you guys