Goodbye Apostate Music!

Hello Hello all you hooligans of the email list! I hope you are all doing well! I am doing pretty good here! So lets get into the highlights! 

Goodbye Music!

The last month or so the spirit has been trying to fight with me to delete my music. Constantly, I read things in the scriptures about how obedience brings blessings and how we need to be exactly obedient to the standards as missionaries. Ive always been a concept kind of guy. I read the standards and I try to follow everything but if I feel like I can still help someone come closer to christ without following everything to a T I would do that. But I have constantly been having fights in my head and having thoughts about how much more I can progress and help people progress if I was to follow everytihing to a T. This includes deleating my prized posessions my music. 850 songs down the drain and now I listen to the book of mormon video soundtrack on repeat because the youth music is kinda trash. 

Exchanges with Elder Keetch

After District council on friday, Elder Wells and Keetch wanted to go on exchanges with Elder Scott and I. So we finish DC and start headed out to go back to our areas and both of our lessons we had canceled on us. This sucks because I had no idea what to do now for the day with Elder Keetch! So we just attempted to do some contacting and we actually had a lesson and a delicious dinner of Ribs chicken curry and terryaki chicken! Thank you JPs mom for the delicious food!

Lastly I have no idea what else to talk about but I did have to speak in sacrament. So if you are interested the rest of this email was pretty much my points I talked about! Have an amazin week everyone! 

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Last weeks come follow me talked a ton about spiritual gifts. In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians Paul teaches us how important our individual role is to the church and to eachother. 

14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

Every one of us have different talents and gifts that can help people come closer to Christ! 

Me for example,  sometimes I say some dumb things and it makes people laugh! 

Other times people can be super kind, or patient or wise! These more serious ones are called gifts of the spirit. 

Paul teaches that we need to covet the best gifts. 

What are these best gifts?  They all seem pretty good to me! I would love to be more patient! Younger siblings are sometimes really annoying! And I imagine that they think the same thing about me too! 

Nonetheless we are taught that Charity is the pure love of Christ, the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another, It is never used [in the scriptures]

to denote alms or deeds of benevolence, although it may be a prompting motive" (Bible Dictionary,

"Charity" 614)."This love is more than just a willingness to share time or possessions with another human being; rather, it is a deep and lasting devotion for and to God and his Son Thus, more than an act, charity is an attitude, a state of heart and mind that accompanies our works and is proffered unceasingly 

Charity is so important! So how do we develop it? 

Look to some good examples

The sons of Mosiah 

They went from the vilest of sinners to becoming some of the best missionaries of al time! How did that happen?

Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of Charity! 

Went about doing good

Encourage people to go about doing good

Always more fun to be around

Atonement (John 15:13)

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”  This was the greatest act of long-suffering, kindness, and selflessness that we will ever know. 

Well when we came to this earth, we were given agency. The choice between right and wrong. This power was given to us after Adam and Eve Partook of the forbidden fruit. Thus becoming more like God who knows the difference between good and evil. Similarly, Charity is the pure love of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate example of Charity. He has given us this power if we so choose to enhance it. 

President Nelson tells us in his most recent conference talk, "one of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of jesus christ is how compassionately that person treats other people" 

In the old preach my gospel, chapter 6 it gives us a little format of how to develop christlike attributes. 

-Identify the attribute you wish to develop.  

 -Write a definition and description of the attribute.  

  -Record questions to answer as you study.   

  -List and study thoroughly passages of scripture that teach about the attribute.  

   -Record your feelings and impressions.   

   -Set goals and make plans to apply the attribute in your life.   

   -Pray for the Lord to help you develop the attribute.   

   -Evaluate your progress periodically in developing each attribute.

Testimony- Jesus Christ is the greatest example, and if we follow him and try our very best to develop charity we are told that we will inherit the kingdom of God. The 2 great commandments, to love God and Love one another seem to have a bigger impact the more we study and try to develop charity. The gospel is based off of love. I challenge all of you to study charity. I have seen the influence in my life and in my mission. In the name of jesus christ amen.