Dear Family and Friends,
This week was a good one for us. The dogs in our area absolutely hate us, but its kinda fun to try and defend yourself while being chased by dogs. We are also finding that the corn and rice people leave on the roads to dry to be fun to ride on (and yes this is ok) but it also is easy to slip on (yeah, might have slipped 3 or 4 times this week). But things are fine!
This week I learned a valuable lesson of how the Lord teaches. I've seen examples of powerful lessons and ones that lack the spirit, and the most common reason for bad lessons is when teachers are trying to "prove" something. The gospel isn't a debate, its a plan, an invitation. When we try to argue about why the gospel is true, we miss the essence of its message. When the Savior taught, he taught so constructively, He taught in a way that strengthened and built off what they already knew, not just to prove himself right. I think this can be applied not just in teaching, but in our relationships with others. Sometimes we may be too focused on finding the fault in others. If your looking for mud, you'll find it easily, its everywhere. But to find the diamond in the rough takes more work, but is a lot more rewarding. When we seek to find potential, we will find a lot more than a pile of mud. Each and every person we know has the potential to become like God, that is knowledge limited to the Saints, but a gift that should be known to all. Do we see a God/Goddess, or mere people? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to God, we are all beautiful.The gospel is a message of how to find that in each other and ourselves. When we seek to build others, we build ourselves as well.
This week has been a hot one, but I think I'm fianlly used to it. As I type this I'm freezing next to the A/C, which is making me scared to come back to a Utah winter!
Mahal ko Kayo!
Elder Trevor Kent Johnson (The Weirdest Missionary You Know)
This week was a good one for us. The dogs in our area absolutely hate us, but its kinda fun to try and defend yourself while being chased by dogs. We are also finding that the corn and rice people leave on the roads to dry to be fun to ride on (and yes this is ok) but it also is easy to slip on (yeah, might have slipped 3 or 4 times this week). But things are fine!
This week I learned a valuable lesson of how the Lord teaches. I've seen examples of powerful lessons and ones that lack the spirit, and the most common reason for bad lessons is when teachers are trying to "prove" something. The gospel isn't a debate, its a plan, an invitation. When we try to argue about why the gospel is true, we miss the essence of its message. When the Savior taught, he taught so constructively, He taught in a way that strengthened and built off what they already knew, not just to prove himself right. I think this can be applied not just in teaching, but in our relationships with others. Sometimes we may be too focused on finding the fault in others. If your looking for mud, you'll find it easily, its everywhere. But to find the diamond in the rough takes more work, but is a lot more rewarding. When we seek to find potential, we will find a lot more than a pile of mud. Each and every person we know has the potential to become like God, that is knowledge limited to the Saints, but a gift that should be known to all. Do we see a God/Goddess, or mere people? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to God, we are all beautiful.The gospel is a message of how to find that in each other and ourselves. When we seek to build others, we build ourselves as well.
This week has been a hot one, but I think I'm fianlly used to it. As I type this I'm freezing next to the A/C, which is making me scared to come back to a Utah winter!
Mahal ko Kayo!
Elder Trevor Kent Johnson (The Weirdest Missionary You Know)