Family and friends,
First off, I realized I didn't
explain that those families that I took pictures with (in last week's email) are from the
Cementista ward, not from Balloffet. Just so y'all know. Also, this time
I'll include a foto of Elder Becerra.
So, I
have even less time today than normal because we went to Valle Grande
today, and we were there for most of the day. Valle Grande is like a
miniature Grand Canyon, and it is very beautiful. See fotos attached.
Last
week, we also got to know an old woman who is a member of the church
but has not attended the meetings for years for health reasons. She also
has very scattered memory, and thus she insists that there is a Temple
in Mendoza already and that she has worked there. Also, apparently the
Temple President while she worked there was David O. McKay. Wow. That's
pretty cool. Or, it would be if it were possible.
I
also forgot to mention that on my first Sunday, both I and Elder
Becerra gave talks, along with the ward mission leader, as mission work
of the members was the theme of that meeting. The mission leader also
jumped on my singing voice, and I sang an intermediate hymn, Abide With
Me (but in Spanish, for reasons which I hope are obvious). I got many
compliments for that and for my talk, and that made me feel very welcome
in the new ward.
Also, I suppose that the last
email contained a bit of a lie - I was not all perfectly happy that
weekend. I was happy when I wrote the letter, so I guess it wasn't
completely a lie, but a partial truth is also a lie. I had a sudden
depression spike on Sunday after church (even right after the wonderful
talks and singing), and I was a morose vegetable all day until we
finally tought a lesson. That was the first experience with depression
in my life in over a year. (That "over a year", not coincidentally,
coincides perfectly with the time in which I started working on my
mission papers, just so y'all know the power of a mission.) That
darkness extended over into Monday morning, but then I started thinking
about other people and I naturally grew so much happier. Afterwards, my
mind grew darker once more, but with working the next day it receeded
significantly. I can still feel it there, lurking in the back of my
mind, but I have found that I can win against it much more easily, now. I
actually have people who legitimately need me, spiritually, and I can
think about them to save myself. But, honestly, I feel so much better
now. I feel a bit more unstable, mentally, but at the same time more
sure, because now I know I can beat it again when I need to. That is an
exceedingly important lesson to learn.
Now, to
the scripture in the subject line. I found it one morning during a study
of joy in all of its aspects, trying to find more joy in life. I used
the Topical Guide (I love that guide so much) and found that as the
first result. I initially passed it up, thinking stupidly that it was of
no worth because it was from the Old Testament - what does the Old
Testament know about joy? But I got to reading it, and I couldn't stop
reading the chapter. It is a very long chapter, full of condemnation and
curses to the Israelites for their wickedness and such, exactly as I
was expecting from the Old Testament. But I got to the part mentioned in
the Topical Guide, which is around verses 45-47. After all of the
multitudes of curses and horrible things promised to Israel for all
their generations (which, mind you, applies to us, as we are "adopted"
into the house of Israel by the covenant of God), it says the following:
"Moreover
all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and
overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto
the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his
statutes which he commanded thee: and they shall be upon thee for a sign
and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart".
Why
did they receive such horrendous punishments? Because they did not find
joy in serving their God. It does not even say that they were
disobedient at this point, it only says they were not joyful. And
according to all the context of the rest of the chapter, that is an
extreme sin. I need you all to know that the missionary work in this
world is not meant to be done by the missionaries solo, it must be done
by the members equally, and, in truth, more than equally. Think about
it: there are 16 millions of members, but only tens of thousands of
missionaries. You do the math, and you feel the condemnation that God is
trying to help us understand. It is just as James says in chapter 2 of
his book: faith without works is dead. That definition, painfully,
leaves millions of members of the living Church of Jesus Christ with
only a little bit of dead faith. Why do we not share? Why not? Why do we
not share?! If we cannot have joy in what we do, at least let us have
fear until we learn joy, because "all these curses shall come upon thee,
and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed". But
above all, if we have faith, we have to show it, because if not, our
faith is not alive. It is dead, as were the lamps of the five foolish
virgins, and we will be shut out when the Lord comes in His glory. A
scripture that comes to my mind often is the one that says, "Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I say, ye never knew me: depart from me,
ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22). I think that it is time to
rethink my entire life and really turn to Him; I have not been good
enough. I don't believe that any of you should feel comfortable, either -
if we really comprehended fully at all times how much we fall short of
perfection, we would never, ever, ever, ever, ever be comfortable with
ourselves. So shape up, because as President Nelson says, these are the
last days, and the devil is mustering his armies to fight against the
Church of Christ. This will not be an easy time; to the contrary, this
will be the hardest time in all of history. We have to be ready. "Take your vitamins," says Pte. Nelson. It's going to be an exciting ride.
I
ended up learning more about joy from the Old Testament than from any
other book. Remember, all, that that book is scripture, and must be (and
deserves to be) studied diligently alongside the other standard works. I
declare it to contain the words of the living God, whom I worship and
serve (which, in turn, I am striving to do with joy).
With so much love,
Elder Hill
Fotos:
- Sergio, un hombre que enseñamos; ¡se va a bautizar este sábado que viene! Está construyendo su casa.
- Elder Becerra
- (casi todos son de Valle Grande esta mañana; acá he descrito algunas fotos solamente para que entiendan)
