Hello!
Wow so much in
just one email. I got a little teary eyed when I read "your last letter as
a missionary." That's awesome that you and Madi both got to bear testimony
yesterday. I did the same. I told the congregation that it's a hard realization
to come to when it’s your last opportunity as a missionary to bear your
testimony (on fast Sunday). It was a very emotional meeting. Madi, I feel your
pain when it comes to doing all that you can and then not making it in the end.
We have been doing all in our power to get people to church and baptized and in
the end, something happens and the goal isn't met. Often times, it's hard to
accept, but it is necessary for one to be able to strengthen their testimony
and go from good, to better, to best and to realize that it's in the Lord's
hands and He has a plan. That is another one of my "absolutes," the
Lord's hands are in the details. I promise you that He does. Your example is
powerful to me. Thanks.
I had the
opportunity to teach gospel principles class in each ward yesterday. It was a
great experience. The topic was "The Church of Jesus Christ today."
For an outline, I used a timeline that showed important dates in history that
lead up to the gospel being restored. Some of the dates were: 30 a.d., 33, 96,
101, 320, 1200, 1300, 1492, 1515, 1620, 1776, 1785, 1805, 1820, 1830.
- · Year 30-33 was the Savior's earthly ministry which was capped by His crucifixion & resurrection.
- · Roughly year 96 was when John (the last apostle) was exiled to the island of Patmos.
- · Around year 101 the apostasy was complete, leaving no more men on earth who held the Priesthood to receive revelation regarding the church.
- · Year 320 was the first Nicene Council, where men gathered together and voted on what would be the basic doctrines of the church. This is when the idea of the trinity was born and the reign of the popes began.
- · Year 1200, the advent of the printing press which allowed common folk to have an opportunity to read the bible for themselves and seek answers for themselves (necessary for the reformation and restoration).
- · 1300, renaissance in Europe begins.
- · 1492, Columbus sails the ocean blue and a nation is found.
- · 1515, many reformers including Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and even King Henry IIIV break off from mainstream teachings and start their own faiths.
- · 1620, pilgrims come to America, nation is born.
- · 1776, Declaration of Independence and revolutionary ward, which if anyone does a study of will find that it was a miracle that we won.
- · 1785, Constitution (Freedom of Religion).
- · 1805, Joseph Smith born.
- · 1820, first vision.
- · 1830, church organized.
It's amazing how
the Lord had a plan and line upon line, precept upon precept, the necessary
changes were made to create an environment where the church could survive. The
purpose of this outline was not to downgrade the other churches. Rather, to
help understand the need for a restoration and the reality of an apostasy.
Clearly the teachings of the Savior and the apostles were lost as certain men's
thoughts were mingled with the scripture. I concluded with talking about how
each of us has been reserved for thousands of years to be on the earth during
the dispensation of the fullness of times. We need to ask ourselves why the
Lord waited to send us here at this crucial time. He has a mission for each of
us to perform. It wasn't just chance or a malfunctioning blip out in the cosmos
that caused us to come to earth when we did. We are here during this time to
help build the kingdom and prepare the world for the second coming of the
Savior. Because of that, we don't have a right to mess around with the
temptations of the adversary. It's just not worth our eternal life.
One of my best
friends I've met out on the mission, Ben Rowberry, is leaving for the
Johannesburg MTC tomorrow. Yesterday, after the gospel principles lesson, he
pulled me aside and said, "I want you to know that you were my first
trainer. Though I will have a trainer out in the field, you are my first."
Ben has been coming out to lessons with us a lot. He is amazing. He's 22 years
old, is the lead singer of a very good band called the Stencils (haha), and is
6'5". If I could, I would send some pictures but for some reason the
library computers are blocked so that I can't load them on.
We had a neat
experience this last week with finding. We were tracting a certain street,
finding no success, when we decided to leave and go stop by some less active
members and potential investigators. We left for about 15-20 minutes and then
felt like we needed to go back to the place we were tracting and knock a few
more doors. We only had a few minutes before our next appointment but we did
anyway. The second door we knocked was a lady, her son, and her daughter. I
said, "Hi my name is Elder Mouritsen, and this is Elder Brothers. We are
representatives of Jesus Christ and as representatives of Him we are offering
prayers for people to bless them with whatever they need. Could we offer a
prayer for you and your family?" (Something to that effect). She paused
for a minute and then said yes and invited us in. We sat on the couch and
talked about certain things that they would like us to pray for. It was the
typical family, work, health, etc. We said the prayer and left. They told us we
could come by again two days later. We did so. When we got there they invited
us in again. We sat down and began asking them questions regarding religion in
their past, their beliefs, expectations of us, etc. We then proceeded to teach
about the doctrines of Christ and how His doctrines were restored. I've never
taught anybody who listened so intently! The mom's name is Chantelle and she
told us that she had been waiting for someone to come and get her to start
coming back to church. I told her our experience of coming back to knock on her
door. I told her that we actually stopped for the day but decided to come back.
We assured her that the Lord had sent us there and that we could help her. She
accepted the invitation to be baptized and to read and pray about the Book of
Mormon. It was a good feeling leaving the home. She owns her own restaurant and
has to work on Sundays but hopes to be able to get off to come to church. Great
potential.
Regarding the
phone call next week, We have church from 10-4. Then a member is feeding us at
5. My exit interview with President Taylor is at 8:15 p.m. Would it be ok if I
called around 6-6:15? Justin King is taking us out to lunch on Friday. Dingle is definitely high on the list of places
to be asap :). But if you have prior engagements I wouldn't want to intrude on
them.
What a neat
experience you had at FHE! The topic you have decided is awesome. I think about
that scripture quite regularly. I would love to be at a softball game before
going to Kaysville. That's a priority. Thanks for the idea about writing a
letter to myself. I will definitely take you up on it. Mom, Elder Brothers
wrote you a letter for Mother's day. Don't open it until then! Hopefully he
said some "ok" things. Haha
I love you all. It's
very bittersweet to have this be the last time I will ever close an email with
a black tag over my heart. It's been the greatest two years of my life. I
wouldn't trade the opportunities, blessings, and experiences I've had for the
world. Over 27 months ago, I was quite distraught with my call to serve so
close to home. I really wanted to go somewhere far. I vocalized that in my
farewell talk. I know this is where I was supposed to be for the last two years
of my life. I wouldn't have it any different. The Arizona Phoenix Mission has
become my own personal Sacred Grove. As Amy Leo would say, "I LOVE MY
LIFFFFFEEEE!!!"
Thanks again for
being so awesome. See you next week.
Until then,
Elder Colton
Mouritsen
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