Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Week 6 (Humility and Simplicity)

Hello~Sawat dii~ Chot dii~Cosmos!

I hope that all of you are doing just fantastic. I'm sorry that I cannot reply more in depth to all of your emails, but know that I do so with gratitude and sincerity. 

This week has just been phenomenal. Just like the last five weeks! 

So to start, the rumors of Elder Holland speaking were not true..However, the speaker at our devotional was still excellent. I'm sorry, as I forgot my journal today, the details will be left out. 

Tomorrow we get 11 new Thai Elders. In total we will have a little over 30 new missionaries enter into our zone. The size of our zone will double! One of the Elders in our district had an idea to write a welcome letter to each new Thai Elder. I wrote to Brother Allen. It will be exciting to meet him in person tomorrow

The highlight of my week was my $3.20 purchase of a travel size Book of Mormon. I've developed a greater testimony and appreciation for the Book of Mormon these last six weeks. I cannot go a day without my spiritual fill. I have never been more aware of the literal power the Book of Mormon has. I bought my travel size so I can take it with me wherever I go and read it whenever I have a spare moment. I also carry around some highlighter crayons to mark them up. How I did not do this before my mission I do not know. There are so many things I wish I did differently to prepare for my mission. I guess I now know better.

Humility has been something I have had the opportunity of exercising and witnessing by the example of other Elders here in the MTC. An example would be an Elder personally apologizing with the way he conducted himself to the other Elders that were offended. His words were sincere, as he didn't want any ill feelings to be left between them. I saw a lot of courage in that Elder. Prior to the reconciliation of feelings, there was a lot of miscommunication between the Zones but as the Zone Leaders met together in humility, kindness, meekness, and love, an understanding of feelings and opinions was found. Power has always been in meekness. 

I feel that should you not be able to love someone, you simply don't know them as the Savior does. For he suffered and bled on the cross to bear the sins of all. To the Savior, your enemy was worth saving, loving, and caring for. Luckily for me, I don't have any ill feelings towards anyone. Unless my half-hearted rivalry during gym time with one of the Italian district counts. 

I've also been learning about the power of simplicity. I used to believe that some thoughts and opinions simply could not be understood by some due to there "lack" of intelligence. It was very humbling to learn that the fault lied with my own lack of intelligence in not being able to simplify the doctrine and to teach it through the directions and promptings of the Holy Ghost. It was I who did not understand the doctrine fully enough to teach it. It was I that fell into that trap of pride. 

In learning a new language, you learn to bear testimony like a child. You bear simple truths that you know to be true from the depths of you heart, and should it be sincere the words will be powerful. I'm so grateful for my many humbling experiences. I feel that one of the reasons I have been called to learn a difficult language is because the Lord desired of me to humble myself before Him. I hope that I am taking some steps towards becoming more selfless as He is. 

My testimony continues to grow and mature. 

Oh, I'll see you this Wednesday Dixon Mortimer! Soon if not already, Elder Mortimer!

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