Hope

  There is a word that people today don't appreciate as much as they should.  That word is "hope".

  "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." (Ether 12:4, emphasis added)

  Hope is a far more powerful word than most people realize.  The common usage of the word makes hope seem uncertain or whimsical.  "I hope it will rain soon", or perhaps "I hope something exciting happens soon".  In truth, hope is much more than a simple or idle wish.

  If I had to simply define hope, I would describe it as "an abiding trust".  It is trusting that God will fulfill His promises.  It is trusting that we can return to live with God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  That trust causes us to remain faithful to the path we have begun.  As Ether 12:4 mentioned, hope "maketh an anchor to the souls of men".  That means that it holds them securely in the realms of righteousness and prevents trials and temptations from pushing or pulling them into unsafe territory.

  Hope provides us with the strength we need to endure.  Without hope, there would be no reason to push forward.  "Hope" keeps us going.

We Teach about Christ

   Recently, I have begun to study the New Testament in greater detail.  In particular, I have been reading the four Gospels.  Many of my friends that are not part of the LDS faith may not know this, but we have a very firm belief in Jesus Christ.  We worship Him as our Savior and Redeemer.  We read and study the Bible often in order to learn more about Him and His plan for us.  We believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, the only perfect person that ever lived on the Earth.  We believe in His Atonement: He suffered, died, and was resurrected for us.  He did all of that so we could repent, be cleansed from our sins, and return to live with God again.  Our religion is based around Christ, as you can tell from the name of our church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

   So, naturally, we believe in the Bible.  My recent studies in the New Testament have been helping me come to know Jesus Christ a little more personally.  My faith in Him has grown the more I study about Him and think about Him.  He truly was perfect, but in a different way than I had before realized.  Most people see Christ as a Being that was perfectly meek and kind.  And He is.  But there is more to Him than that.  Many people overlook and forget about the Man that threw the money-changers from the Temple on two different occasions.  He was a Man of passions.  He felt, just as we do.  Only far more tenderly.  He loves us to an extent that we cannot imagine, and yet His righteous anger can sweep the unrighteous from before His face.  He has emotions, but He is in perfect control over them. He has all power.  Including over Himself.

Jesus Calms the Storm (Picture found on lds.org)

  Learning more about the nature of Jesus Christ can translate directly into our lives.  He set the perfect example for us.  When we follow that example, we find true happiness and satisfaction in this life and in the life to come. So naturally we must learn about Him in order to follow His example.

   And for those that haven't had the opportunity to learn about Him or for those who could learn more (which is everyone), that is where missionaries come in.  We teach about Christ.  We preach the Gospel that Christ Himself taught.  We help people build their faith in Christ and learn more about Him so that they can live more like He lived.

   The message we share is important.  It is so important that Jesus Christ commanded His disciples, saying "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19)  And thus we bear the good news of Jesus Christ to all we can.

   So if you want to build your faith in Jesus Christ, "Ask the missionaries!  They can help you!" (Elder Russell M. Nelson, October 2012 General Conference)

Missionary Pie

  A lot of people wonder why we missionaries go out and talk with everyone about God.  Why can't we just mind our own business and let them mind theirs?  Why would we bother?

  Well let me answer that.  I'll need your imagination for a moment.

  Imagine a pie.  Your favorite kind of pie in the world.  Cherry, apple, pumpkin, peach... whatever you love the most.  Now picture it in front of you.  It's fresh and warm from the oven.  And it is an enormous pie.  There is no possible way that you can finish it.  You sure try.  You dive into that pie and eat until your stomach feels like it is going to burst, your taste buds exploding with delight.

  But that pie is just too big.

  So now you have to decide what to do with the rest of that pie.  You don't want to throw it away.  With a pie as good as that, that would be tragic.  And you don't have a fridge or a freezer anywhere nearby, so you can't really store it.  Blast.  What are you supposed to do?  And as you are pondering what to do with this amazing pie, your best friend walks past.

  Bingo.

  Naturally, you call out for them to come over and try that exquisite pie.  So they wander over and you prevail upon them to take a bite.  From the moment that pie touches their lips, their eyes light up with amazement and delight.  They ask if they can have more and you assure them that they most certainly can.  They dive into that pie just like you did and they look just like a kid on Christmas.  Your heart starts to glow seeing how happy they are.

  At that point, another one of your friends walks past.  You and your first friend look at the second friend, then at the pie.  Then you both look at the friend again and back to the pie.  There is plenty of pie left and more to spare.  Both of you call over to the second friend to come over and try that pie!

  So the friend takes a few steps toward you, but quickly stops.  "Are you trying to get me to eat something?" they demand.

  "Well, yes," you and your first friend reply.

  Their eyes narrow as they glance at the pie.  They can't see it very clearly from how far away they are, but they don't step any closer.  Their nose wrinkles as though they are smelling garbage.  "I'm not trying any of that!" they firmly declare.

  You and your first friend are taken aback.  You both understand that some people have different taste.  You sure weren't trying to push it on them at all.  You just wanted to offer.  But the second friend won't even come close to try.  They're not being mean with how they turn you down, they just really don't want to try for some reason.

  "Are you sure?" you ask.

  "Definitely," they respond.

  So you and your first friend shrug your shoulders and accept their choice.  There don't seem to be any harmed feelings on either side.  They don't want the pie so you aren't going to make them eat it.

  So that friend continues on their way.  Eventually another friend walks past and you and your first friend give each other a look.  "Should we?" seems to be the question each of you is thinking, shortly followed by "Of course!"

  As soon as they are invited, the third friend comes over and tries the pie.  Their eyes light up just like your first friends eyes did and just like you are sure your eyes did.  As soon as that look blossoms on their face, you and your first friend both get a warm feeling and you feel glad you were willing to invite somebody to try that pie again.

  Now think about that feeling.  Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know the feeling I am talking about.  It is the joy that comes from knowing and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It has brought us incredible joy and we know it can do the same for others.  So we go out and take that "pie" to others.  Many will reject it without trying.  Others will take a sniff or nibble a corner and then lose interest.  But the joy of seeing somebody embrace the Gospel is more than worth it.

  That is why we missionaries go out.  That is why members of our Church talk about their beliefs so much.  We want everyone to taste this pie.

  Wanna bite?

A Prayer and a Gift

  A few nights ago my companion and I were out working.  We had a great appointment with a family and we had just left their home when I reached into my pocket to get my keys.  I pulled them out and noticed a little chain was dangling freely and I idly wondered where it had come from.  Then I realized it was the chain from the flash drive that holds my mission memories.  And there was no flash drive on it.

  Instant panic.

  I checked my pocket to see if the flash drive had broken off in there.  Instead of a flash drive, I felt a hole in my pocket.

  Enhanced panic.

  I told my missionary companion about my predicament and we started searching the ground and retracing our steps.  No flash drive.  We checked the entire car, including my floor space and under the seat.  No flash drive. We went back to the family and asked them if they had seen it.  Nope.  They invited us back in and we checked the floors.  No flash drive.

  Optimum panic.

  At that point, I remembered a blog post I had read where another missionary told a very similar story.  She talked about how she had prayed to find her flash drive and soon thereafter she found it.  I decided a little prayer was needed.  So I bowed my head and said a quick prayer asking for help in finding my flash drive.  Then we looked a little longer.  No flash drive.

  I was a little bit frustrated, but I decided I wasn't going to use any more of the Lord's time looking for a flash drive.  I decided to give this one over to the Lord and just get back to work.  So we did.  We worked the rest of the evening and I tried not to think about it.  That night when we came in, my companion went into our room and I walked over to my desk and sat down.  A moment later, my companion called out "Hey, Elder Romney!  Guess what I found?" and walked out holding my flash drive.  It had somehow wound up in his bag and he only found it after we had come in.

  It helped me relearn something that I teach people all the time as a missionary.  God doesn't always answer prayers right when we want or expect Him to.  Sometimes we need to endure a little further and work a little harder and then He'll give us what we need once we've learned our lesson.  God loves us, and He knows how to give us good gifts.  But sometimes God withholds a good gift because He has a better gift in mind.  My gift from Him was learning to focus on His work before my own desires.

The flash drive was a bonus.

The Work of Salvation

Let's face it.  I got lucky to be called as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at this time.  This is one of the most important times in all of history.  The work of salvation has been taking off with a BOOM!

I began my mission on August 1, 2012.  The past thirteen months have flashed by at an incredible speed.  I serve in the Arizona Mesa Mission, which covers a significant part of the state of Arizona.  The Church is strong down here and just about everyone here has already had exposure to the LDS faith.  We're here to help them learn even more about Jesus Christ and aid them as they seek to change their lives for the better.

Since I've been out on my mission, many things have happened.  Two months after I got to my mission in Mesa, Arizona, the minimum age at which missionaries could come out was changed.  Elders (men) can now begin their service at 18 rather than 19 and sister missionaries can now begin at 19 rather than 21.  For that reason, since then a tidal wave of new missionaries has come out.  Within a couple more weeks, half of the Arizona Mesa Mission will consist of new missionaries that have been out for three months or less.

Even more has happened since then.  A few months ago, 58 new missions (a geographical region that a missionary is assigned to and moved around in for two years) were announced around the world.  One of them split our mission.  Dozens of new missionaries have filled the new spots just since then.  Then the unthinkable happened.  It was announced that missionaries worldwide would soon be allowed on internet sites such as Facebook and Blogger!  The wait since then has been long (for us, anyway), but we the missionaries of the Arizona Mesa Mission are now authorized to preach the Gospel online and touch people on a much grander and further-reaching scale.

Let's get started.