WEEK 67: Baptism Week!

Yesterday, five people were baptized into the St. Augustine Ward. Three were taught by us, two by the Sisters. FIVE. It was a pretty solid day.

What a DAY! Oh it was madness. I was actually out of town for the two days previous to it. I left and everything was set. I get back and Elder Burton is a little stressed. There are four wards that meet in our building. 9-12, 11-2, 1-4, and then our time, 3-6. Well the baptisms were all going to be at 6! I get back, and they are all scheduled for 2:00 now. We have a meeting with the stake president, the high council, and the mission president at 1. Church is at 3. And there are two other wards using the building while we need to fill the font, set up, and have the program.

So it was pretty crazy! It was like the waters of Mormon in there! But we did it! There are FIVE new members of the St. Augustine Ward. Glory.

It was just an excellent week. Monday I got to write to y'all. Tuesday was the coldest day in the history of weather, and we were on bikes all day! It's about an hour on bikes to get to where we work from our house, each way. But my bike is probably the nicest one in the mission so no worries there! Also, I had trade-offs with the assistants this week! That was on Thursday, and it was awesome. The assistants are rock stars. They knew things about missionary work I didn't even know I didn't know! I got to interview one of their investigators for baptism. That was fun. Also, the assistant who came to my area saw how much we were biking and assigned us a ton of extra miles. Oh yeah!

Also on Tuesday, we also had district meeting outside. It was quite the experience. Some of the missionaries were not having it. BUT! I came prepared. When I got the text from the district leader, I got four suit coats, two blankets, three rain jackets, and gloves. We also brought all the big cushy furniture out of the church and set up in the sunshine. Apparently though, it was not sufficient. We left for a minute to do some interviews and came back and they had started a fire! Always an adventure.

Let's see... Wednesday we got back from Palatka, walked out our front door, and there was a giant, pure-bread husky just strolling down the street. We named it Balto. Then we found out it was a she and we named her Guava. Anyway, Guava walked up to us, and just put her giant beast head into our arms. So we got a tie, used it as a leash, and went Guava tracting. Probably not the most effective use of time, but we legitimately panicked. And also we fell in love. Sigh, oh Guava. So after 40 minutes or so we got in touch with the animal people, they came, found her I.D. Chip, and took her home. at one point they tried to have US drive her home. We tried loading her in the car just to see if we could manage it. We could not.

Also on Wednesday, we had a miracle! Looking for less actives at nine at night in the proletariat side of town... Ever have two people from a church you used to go to but don't like anymore knock on your trailer door at nine at night? Neither had they. It was a unique experience for everyone involved. We had contacted a dozen or so, then we get an unusual response. A man looks out the window, face is one of absolute shock. He laughs, jumps back from the window, and runs to the back of the house. It was a singular reaction. A minute later, a woman steps out onto the porch, grinning ear to ear, and nonchalantly answers our questions. No, she is not a member of the church, yes this is the house we were looking for, but those people have moved. More smiling. So we start teaching her the restoration. She just keeps nodding, smiling, agreeing. Finally, halfway through the lesson, I stop and ask, "What are you so happy about ma'am? It is contagious!" Turns out, she and her husband were just discussing the importance of church, wondering which to attend in this new city they had moved to...

We are meeting with her again on Wednesday. And that is how things go in St. Aug.

Nights of lights have started up! Do you know about the nights of lights?? Oh they are fantastic. Downtown St Augustine is decked out in white Christmas lights, with music playing and a Christmas tree in the middle and thousands of people out walking the touristy streets and historical sites and shops. It started is week and lasts until January. Gorgeous.

Ate some homegrown Florida oranges right off the top of the tree after the first cold snap of the season. It was like orange candy but sweeter and purer. You could literally taste the freshness. It was unreal.

So many flavors. So many sights. So many experiences and things to see. We just walked all up and down St. George Street, which is like a small seaport village, and played volleyball in the sand (not on the beach, nobody panic) on Anastasia Island. It's like living in a fairytale! It's like having your life scripted.

And of course, last night we taught Elizabeth, who will be baptized at 6PM, 13 days from now. 

It's a beautiful thing. It is a fantastic church. I love it. I am so thrilled to be here. This is my dream. This is everything I ever wanted and more than I dared imagine. These are my hopes being vitalizations, this is my fantasy world being brought to life. And it's hard. And there's incredible pressure to perform. And there's never a day I am not corrected somehow by someone. And every moment's experience makes the next moment's event only all the sweeter! I would never leave. I cannot imagine a purer, more delicious way to spend the currency of my mortality. I cannot conceive of a mightier realm of experience than this!

Hail to that God that brought this creation into being! Hail to the Father that organized the fine matter of my spirit. Hail to my blessed Jesus, who enables me to live from grace to grace! If you could only know how dark was the night, it would wrench exultation from your lips to behold the most glorious light of morn'! Hail to the Prophet,
through whom my Jesus brought back His gospel. Praise to the man! I know who to thank. I know where to turn this Thursday, and in whom I may boast.

My God has been my salvation! He has raised up a mighty horn to Israel! He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leaders me beside the still waters. He is Wonderful. Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and so what if we are wont to swim in deep water? Upon this Rock we are built, and we cannot fall!! I glory in my Jesus. It has been magnificent. I cannot be happier. This is my dream come true.

I wish there was time for more. I love you. I love this. I love it.

~Elder Jorgensen

WEEK 66: Teeming With a Lot of News

I don't even know, y'all. Stuff happened. And there was much rejoicing.

I guess Monday's an interesting place to start. We had quite the lesson with a part-member family. Hold on, I'll pull up the official lesson report for y'all. This was written by my companion, Elder Burton, for the official records of the Church. I believe it accurately captures the spirit of the evening. Debb is a nonmember. Brominski is less-active. Thomas is the member we brought with us to the lesson.

"Haha things were a little crazy, Debb is back and wack. She was pretty cray.  And of course Brominski tells us his life story and she says he's a liar. Then he got fired up then she got fired up. Elder Burton sat there quietly, Elder Jorgensen felt like he needed to take a bath and Thomas was trying to hold himself back from laughing out
loud. It was like watching a train wreck. It was very contentious. Over all the best part was showing the Savior wants to Forgive, and it came to pass that Elder Burton made an end of this reporting. Thank you."

The Savior wants to Forgive has some choice parts. The Savior Wants to Forgive, The Merciful Obtain Mercy, and Are We Not All Beggars. Those are your reading assignments for the week. Ingest them if you can.

What else? Wednesday I was in Palatka for trade-offs. Palatka is Starke but with more people and marginally fewer drugs. On Thursday I was in Julington Creek. Julington Creek is St. John's but with fewer people and marginally more money. Then Friday I was back here in St. Augustine. It was like doing my whole mission over again in three days.

Palatka Highlights: 
Got thrown out of two apartment complexes, convinced a baptized and endowed member that Mormons are actually not a branch of the Amish, got home at 8:58 so we went out looking for someone to talk to (we're not supposed to be home until 9), found a man at 8:59 and taught him the first lesson right there in the street. Heard a sermon on the Book of Mormon from a man wearing a t-shirt with a marijuana-leaf design embroidered onto it. Chased a dog around a neighborhood. Not sure how to say this last one. We were knocking
doors, and off in the distance we hear a black lady yelling at the top of her lungs. My companion for the day is still in training. He's from Idaho. He hasn't quite grown accustomed to the Palatka culture. He was lured onward by this foreign phenomenon (for those of you who have not heard a middle-aged African American woman yelling at the top of her lungs into a cell-phone, I highly recommend the experience. From a distance. Probably a considerable distance. Like, from where you are now. That's probably the right amount of distance. You can probably hear her from there anyway) So we seek out this lady together and knock on her door. She yells at us. I laugh and beg her pardon and wish her a glorious day (people here say "y'all have a blessed day"
and if asked how you are, the correct response is "blessed"). We're walking away, my idahoan missionary pretty visibly shaken, me still chortling a bit, and she comes running (RUNNING) after us, apologizes, and we teach her the first lesson and convince her to take a pamphlet. Poor lady. She looked so confused. One second you're yelling up a storm (we still have no idea whether she was angry or just excited. It's impossible to tell) and then these two white boys interrupt and laugh at you and then you chase them and all of a sudden you're
accepting literature and a return appointment and praying in the street with them! Must have been a roller-coaster for her.

Julington Highlights: 
I was pretty sick that day. The whole thing is a little fuzzy. I'm pretty sure missionary work was involved. Somehow. More knocking doors. I do remember one person answering.
"Not interested!"
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Catholic."
"Oh that is lovely. You must be a man of great faith. Where do you go
to church?"
"Haven't found one here yet."
"Really? That's too bad. How long have you lived here?"
"16 years."
"..."
Real conversation. Not uncommon in its substance. Later that evening we put together a cupboard for a member while eating dinner with them. I was pretty out of it and at one point the member asked "Is playing pool allowed?" Thinking she must be a recent convert, still unsure of all the rules involved with being a member of the church, I told her that yes, playing pool was definitely allowed. In fact I think i said "We, [meaning, in my head, "members of the Church"] play pool all the time! We are definitely allowed." The whole thing kind of got out of hand from there and somehow the missionaries now have an appointment to go play pool at a members house on the middle of the day instead of, you know, preaching the gospel or something. Whoops.

Actually not the worst word-flub of the week. One of the missionaries I was with this week, while teaching a lesson to a rather attractive less-active member, meant to ask whether she had ever gone on teaching
visits with the Sister missionaries before, thinking that would be a great reactivation tool. Instead, he paused nervously and he said,
"So... Have you ever gone out with missionaries?" During the long pause that followed, I got a look at her face. It was priceless. And then his face was about ten times better, and redder. I valiantly attempted not to laugh. I failed, but it was a noble effort on my part. The whole thing was just great.

So, setting up billiard games, asking out less-actives, just a day in the missionary life.

In between the meetings (we have at least four a week, this week it was five) and traveling (600 miles this week) we did do some missionary work. Actually, a lot. 44 lessons! That's a lot of fun. We met some fascinating people. And Elizabeth got married.

I wish I knew how to communicate better. Let's try to paint a word picture together. I won't try to describe the actual ceremony. It was only for this life, but it was beautiful and I felt the spirit so strong. I WILL describe what it was like when we got there. We only know the bride and groom, none of their friends, and they were running late. So we pull up to the double-wide trailer way out in the styx, and walk up the gravel driveway into the backyard. We of course are wearing our usual missionary clothes and nametags. At the end of the long, long driveway are the guests. They are pretty much all smoking and/or drinking. Several of them have guns. Country music is playing. There's the unmistakable sound of college football blaring from the barn in the background (Alabama vs. Mississippi State). As we approach, all conversation ends, everyone turns, and they stare at us. The extra-large confederate flag flutters in the breeze from the flagpole in the background. I'm pretty sure one of the groomsmen put his hand on his holster.

You know the westerns where someone walks into the saloon and everyone freezes and stares? That's what it was. Elder Burton said if there had been a record playing, it would have screeched and stopped.

Someone large and bearded (which really could describe anyone there) growled at us as we got nearer, 
"Can I help you gentlemen?"
"Nope, we're just here for the wedding. How are y'all tonight?"

And that was it. Then everyone was our best friend. I think I had more people offer me fried chicken over the next 90 minutes than I had met previously in my entire mission. Southern hospitality is alive and well in Florida. You just might get shot first.

Other things, other things... I got to bear a ten-word testimony to a very unique man. The words I chose for him were:

"I know that there is truth, and this (at which point I held the Book
of Mormon at chest height and shook it a bit) is it."

He liked that word "know". That's all either I or Elder Burton said.
He invited us back for next week.

There were other stories. Other times. We asked "Question Four" to a
group of people. Question four of the baptismal interview is: Have you
ever committed a serious crime? If so, are you now on probation or
parole? Have you ever participated in an abortion? a homosexual
relationship?

There were some concerns. Well, there were a myriad of concerns. There
was an avalanche of concerns. I don't think I've ever seen so much
concerning taking place all at one time in my entire life. I don't
think they could have been more concerned. Any more concerns than were
already happening there would have created a black hole of concern
that would have destroyed the very essence of space. There were many
concerns. We resolved one or two. Then we went home and promised to
come back a lot.

What else? I love these investigators. I just love them. With all my
heart. It's fun to love so so so much.

Gave some priesthood blessings. We have some incredible things coming
up. Jenni, Calea, and Linda all are being baptized this weekend. It's
going to be a white thanksgiving in Florida. It was a phenomenal week.
It was a week of ups, and also other ups. It was a week to remember
and celebrate and tell stories of and be happy about. It was a week of
adventure and fun in gorgeous St. Augustine. But the best part of my
week was when some... stuff... came out about Joseph Smith this week
in the mainstream news. Not sure if it's nation-wide, but it has been
much-discussed here in the South. There are a couple of people here
who are concerned. The best part of my week, then, was reading these
sacred words with them from D&C 135:

"To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we
announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith
the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June,
1844, about five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob--painted black--of from
150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming:
I am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in
the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! They were both shot after they
were dead, in a brutal manner, and both received four balls.

"John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve, were the only
persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage
manner with four balls, but has since recovered; the latter, through
the providence of God, escaped, without even a hole in his robe.

"Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save
Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man
that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has
brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and
power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two
continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it
contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the
revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and
Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the
benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the
Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that
cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God
and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times,
has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has
his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they
were not separated!

"When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended
requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his
assassination, he said: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but
I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense
towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall
yet be said of me--he was murdered in cold blood.”--The same morning,
after Hyrum had made ready to go--shall it be said to the slaughter?
yes, for so it was--he read the following paragraph, near the close of
the twelfth chapter of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and turned down
the leaf upon it:

"'And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give
unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to
pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth
not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments shall
be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be
made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have
prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I … bid farewell unto
the Gentiles; yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we
shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall
know that my garments are not spotted with your blood.' The testators
are now dead, and their testament is in force.

"Hyrum Smith was forty-four years old in February, 1844, and Joseph
Smith was thirty-eight in December, 1843; and henceforward their names
will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every
nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of
Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the
nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined
world; and that if the fire can scathe a green tree for the glory of
God, how easy it will burn up the dry trees to purify the vineyard of
corruption. They lived for glory; they died for glory; and glory is
their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to
posterity as gems for the sanctified.

"They were innocent of any crime, as they had often been proved
before, and were only confined in jail by the conspiracy of traitors
and wicked men; and their innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail
is a broad seal affixed to “Mormonism” that cannot be rejected by any
court on earth, and their innocent blood on the escutcheon of the
State of Illinois, with the broken faith of the State as pledged by
the governor, is a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel that
all the world cannot impeach; and their innocent blood on the banner
of liberty, and on the magna charta of the United States, is an
ambassador for the religion of Jesus Christ, that will touch the
hearts of honest men among all nations; and their innocent blood, with
the innocent blood of all the martyrs under the altar that John saw,
will cry unto the Lord of Hosts till he avenges that blood on the
earth. Amen."

It would behoove us, as members of this Church, to remember the words
"Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save
Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man
that ever lived in it." It would become us to recall that he and his
martyred brother "were innocent of ANY crime". (emphasis added) It
would do us well to remember whose side we are on, and which way we
face.

May we remember our ten word testimonies. May we know. May we stand
beside the Prophet. This is the command of our Lord Jesus. Such is His
right to demand of us. May we give what He has asked. May we remember
that it is everything. So that one day, when before Him we stand, when
before Him, in all His terrible majesty, enthroned upon the mercy
seat, we approach in desperation, and are required to speak, with
bowed knee and confessing tongue, we may yet receive an inheritance.

I love my Jesus. I want to be with Him. I love you too.

~Elder Jorgensen

WEEK 65: Fear Not! / The Captain

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

COMPANION:  ELDER BURTON

zone leaders

My favorite commandment is, "FEAR NOT!"

The Captain

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,

I have not winced nor cried aloud:

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed. …

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul. ¹⁴

~Invictus, by William Ernest Henley

as quoted by James E. Faust

Deep down, you are more than flesh, more than experience, more than thought. There is a spark, an essence of divine, that makes every human being more magnificent than the whole balance of creation! What a blessing it is, then, to know the night has an end, that the keys of the Pit are held, to know the Gods, Father and Son, and to captain our own souls.

What a blessing to be a missionary! It doesn't always feel like a blessing. This week I got hundreds, HUNDREDS of bug bites. Not exactly sure what happened. There was this swarm of gnat-like demons that got all up in my business. I itch everywhere. So I made a game. Every time I think about the itch, I recite a scripture. Of course, I only know about 4, so I'm getting those down really well.

Tuesday we spent all day helping a family move. Wednesday we had zone conference where we received some great instruction from the Mission President. Thursday and Saturday were work days. Sunday was mostly church dominated. (Travel time and meetings...) And Friday Elder Soares came and taught us how to be great missionaries.

It's a tricky thing, being a great missionary. Being a good missionary isn't that hard; wake up, knock, sleep, repeat for two years, be done. Being a great missionary is a lot more work. He mostly focused on FOCUS. Everything you think, say, feel, ponder, pray, teach, and are, should be focused on your purpose. There is no relief after two years, no runners collapse after the finish line. The finish line is the starting line! So settle in, and figure out your purpose.

What a magnificent thing, to be taught personally by a general authority for the third time in 4 months.

I got a little carried away on Wednesday. It was zone conference. I was feeling it. I got up to the podium and pounded the pulpit and turned off the microphone and used my rather loud voice to testify and exhort. It was quite the spectacle. Have I talked much about Joseph and Peter in these letters? That's what my testimony revolved around. Bahahahaa you should have seen President's face afterwards. I will probably not be saying much in zone conference from now on.

So there's always an adventure. There's always something new to do here in St. Augustine. I'm going to try and describe the city for you. Ready?

Imagine a city in Europe. Kind of random streets, nice old architecture, ruins here and there, lots of local pride in your heritage. Te next ingredient is the forest. There are so, so, so many trees, rivers, swamps, and the like. It's almost as if the forest is swallowing every building in St. Augustine in slow-motion. It's an old town, so make sure you're imagining sort of relaxed peacefulness. But it's also a college town, with three different colleges, so throw in a whole slough of young adults and some party scene on weekends especially. Bands playing from up rooftops, downtown all lit up, etc. It's touristy too. There are historical sights, museums, zoos, beaches, trolleys, etc. But it's not south Florida tourist (Miami, south beach, key west, Orlando, etc.) because on one end of the street is tourism and the other end is the old Florida Deep South baptist churches, mobile homes, etc. It's modernized. It's diverse. It's a city of contradictions. My favorite contradiction in the deep sense of Catholic heritage and history and loyalty in a Bible Belt town. It's just a wonderfully peculiar place.

The nights have grown rather long and chilly. Winter is a pensive time of year. When things are dark and cold and quiet and endings and new beginnings are upon you, it's our nature to review, to ponder. I used to love that about winter. Now I'm not so sure. I love summer! I love the heat and the light and the energy. I have this longing for more... For more progress to be made, for more hours in a day, for more personal growth and success in the work. I want temples in every society and hundreds of millions of members. I want Zion to be built and Israel to be gathered and more scripture and grand miracles and I want Him to come.

I'm so happy. I have the most phenomenal life and things are going so well here. But I can't help but ache for, pray for, and long for Him.

Oh when shall I see Jesus and reign with Him above,

And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morn'?

And from the flowing fountain drink everlasting love,

And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morn'?

For now I am a soldier, my captain's gone before,

And I'll hear the trumpet sound in that morn'.

He's given me my order and He bids me ne'er give o'er,

'Till I hear the trumpet sound in that morn'.

When shall I be delivered from this vain world of sin,

And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morn'?

And with my blessed Jesus drink Heaven's pleasures in,

And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morn'!

Oh shout with glory I shall mount above the skies

When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning

Oh shout with glory I will mount above the skies

When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning!

May your morning come soon.

~Elder Jorgensen