Companion: Elder Welsh
Assistants
I know it's still April, but it is summer here for sure. When you walk outside at 11 PM and start sweating, it's summer.
Highlight Reel!
Monday: Family Home Evening. Had one of our recent converts and two families of returning less-active members all got together and we had an FHE lesson. Awesome!!
Tuesday: Elder Welsh went to the west side of the city and I went to the north side. Good times! Got to see Elder Collett! Elder Collett caused an accident by getting really excited about a dinosaur statue with glowing eyes on the side of the road, pointing it out to his companion who was driving, and then they rear-ended the car ahead of them. HAH! Dinosaurs. A menace to society.
Wednesday: ? It was probably an awesome day.
Thursday: Drove to Georgia. GEORGIA!!!!!!!!!!! There is something very very special about Georgia. That is the south right there. 'Murica! Fireworks! Hot-dogs! Other 'Merican things... We went up for a district meeting and took the district leader (Elder Burton!) to lunch at Olive Garden. Love it there.
Friday: Got kicked out of two apartment complexes in the course of half an hour. That was faster than usual. Also talked to a LOT of Hindu people. For reasons neither of us understand, there are thousands and thousands of Hindu people living in our area in Jacksonville. Here, in the middle of the Deep South Bible Belt, every third door is someone without a Christian background! Very odd. Once we learn Hindi we're going to have a whole stake!
Saturday: Crazy storm brought in a tornado. All the missionaries are fine. I guess it just tore up some trees... And some houses... Then we had the spaghetti dinner and dessert auction. A member gave us a bunch of desserts, which we then took to a part-member family that hasn't been to church in 20 years. And the next day, the mother and her three children came to church and stayed for all three hours! OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kingdom-Building Brownies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh! Also on Saturday, we spent a couple hours with a part-member family tearing out Palmettos in their backyard. Palmettos are tiny palm trees with roots that just go... down. And then they wrap around pine-trees. And then missionaries come out with pick axes and shovels and almost die trying to get them out. I have never been so tired. I tried to wipe my face on my shirt and it just made my face MORE sweaty. It's like breathing soup out there, it was a million degrees, right before a storm... By the time we were finished I was using pretty much only gravity to bring the pickaxe down. Holy cow.
Sunday: Awesome church day. Had half a dozen families there with us. Got a new Ward mission leader. Taught an investigator about the Atonement. He was struggling a bit (a lot) with forgiveness. We talked about Abigail (gorgeous name. LOVE that name. Love it. Abigail Hannah Jorgensen.) and David. We told him the story of how Abigail's husband offended David, and David was coming to kill him. Abigail gathered up everything she had and went to the road to wait for David. She begged for her husband's life, and gave David what she had to make up for the offense. David accepted the intercession, and everyone lived happily ever after.
In a similar way, we have an Abigail who intercedes on behalf of those who wrong us. Ours is the Savior. He owns every sin. The adversary tried to get us to believe that we have to forgive each individual who wrongs us. But all wrongs, all offenses, all weaknesses, all sins, are owned by the Master. He stands on the road to make intercession, and we need only forgive Him. Every wickedness, every sin, every wrong against us, is an opportunity to forgive our Savior, to exercise our love for Him, to deepen our relationship, to adore.
Maybe it made more sense in spoken-form. Anyway, he liked it. One of our investigators recently lost his father. I will include as a post-script one of my favorite talks, "But if Not". I am confident in the reality and nature of the afterlife. I am secure in an excellent hope. I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that families are forever. A brief separation will only make our feelings all the deeper, sweeter, and more poignant when it ends. An eternity of love is the promise the gospel efforts. A triumphant rest.
Eons says:
27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.
Alma:
11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection--Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.
12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
Abinadi:
7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.
Moroni:
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen.
Time to go. We are fishing in a pond somewhere in downtown Jacksonville. One of the elders caught a turtle, and another one just reeled in a beer can. Good times. I love you.
~Elder Jorgensen
P.S.
But if Not
As a young man, I returned home from an eighth-grade basketball tournament dejected, disappointed, and confused. I blurted out to my mother, “I don’t know why we lost—I had faith we’d win!”
I now realize that I did not then know what faith is.
Faith is not bravado, not just a wish, not just a hope. True faith is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—confidence and trust in Jesus Christ that leads a person to follow Him. 1
Centuries ago, Daniel and his young associates were suddenly thrust from security into the world—a world foreign and intimidating. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down and worship a golden image set up by the king, a furious Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not worship as commanded, they would immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” 2
The three young men quickly and confidently responded, “If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand.” That sounds like my eighth-grade kind of faith. But then they demonstrated that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, “But if not, … we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” 3 That is a statement of true faith.
They knew that they could trust God—even if things didn’t turn out the way they hoped. 4 They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him.
Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew they could always rely on Him because they knew His plan, and they knew that He does not change. 5 They knew, as we know, that mortality is not an accident of nature. It is a brief segment of the great plan 6 of our loving Father in Heaven to make it possible for us, His sons and daughters, to achieve the same blessings He enjoys, if we are willing.
They knew, as we know, that in our premortal life, we were instructed by Him as to the purpose of mortality: “We will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” 7
So there we have it—it’s a test. The world is a testing place for mortal men and women. When we understand that it’s all a test, administered by our Heavenly Father, who wants us to trust in Him and to allow Him to help us, we can then see everything more clearly.
His work and His glory, He told us, is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” 8 He has already achieved godhood. Now His only objective is to help us—to enable us to return to Him and be like Him and live His kind of life eternally.
Knowing all this, it was not difficult for those three young Hebrews to make their decision. They would follow God; they would exercise faith in Him. He would deliver them, but if not—and we know the rest of the story.
The Lord has given us agency, the right and the responsibility to decide. 9 He tests us by allowing us to be challenged. He assures us that He will not suffer us to be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. 10 But we must understand that great challenges make great men. We don’t seek tribulation, but if we respond in faith, the Lord strengthens us. The but if nots can become remarkable blessings.
The Apostle Paul learned this significant lesson and declared, after decades of dedicated missionary work, “We glory in tribulations … knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed.” 11
He was assured by the Savior, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 12
Paul responded: “Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. … I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 13 When Paul met his challenges the Lord’s way, his faith increased.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.” 14Abraham, because of his great faith, was promised posterity greater in number than the stars in the heavens, and that that posterity would come through Isaac. But Abraham immediately complied with the Lord’s command. God would keep His promise, but if not in the manner Abraham expected, he still trusted Him completely.
Men accomplish marvelous things by trusting in the Lord and keeping His commandments—by exercising faith even when they don’t know how the Lord is shaping them.
“By faith Moses … refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
“Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. …
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. …
“By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land. …
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.” 15
Others “through faith subdued kingdoms, … obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
“Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight.” 16
But in the midst of all those glorious outcomes hoped for and expected by the participants, there were always the but if nots:
“And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, … bonds and imprisonment:
“They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about … being destitute, afflicted, tormented; … 17
“God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect.” 18
Our scriptures and our history are replete with accounts of God’s great men and women who believed that He would deliver them, but if not, they demonstrated that they would trust and be true.
He has the power, but it’s our test.
What does the Lord expect of us with respect to our challenges? He expects us to do all we can do. He does the rest. Nephi said, “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” 19
We must have the same faith as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not … . He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. … He will deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, … we will trust in the Lord.
Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but if not. … He will make sure that we are loved and recognized, but if not. … We will receive a perfect companion and righteous and obedient children, but if not, … we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all that He has. 20 I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.