February 24, 2014

Once again Rachel is right on the money. I received the minutes from her agency talk and had to pause to take it in. Great examples. But why did the mothers of the stripling warriors know that God would protect them? How could they possibly think that. Because he protected Israel in the past. He gave them the land of the Canaanites. They were told to sanctify themselves for the Lord would work wonders in them. The mothers knew the power of God. They relayed what they knew to their boys. And their boys listened.

And on to your thought on more than one covenant people. Think about Balaam. When the Israelites were coming over to take land, Moab got scared. They called for the Prophet Balaam who lived near Midian (away from Israel). This Prophet was asked to curse Israel but ended up blessing it instead. He realized they were a covenant people as well. Food for thought.

Elder Bluemel and I were brainstorming ways to find new investigators. We finally found a way to consistently get two to three new investigators every week for the rest of our mission. We are going to build a giant horse that will fit both of us in it. We will then get members to take the horse into their neighbor's houses. That's when we come out and share a message. We call this the Trojan Horse approach. Also known as the TH theorem.

Why did the Lord send the Israelites through the Desert for 40 years? He explains many of the reasons in Deuteronomy 8. It exposed them for who they were, humbled them, and taught them. My favorite lesson they learned was that men don't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This is a lesson receive over and over. There is so much more to life than living from day to day. We learn so much when we are on a Journey with God.

I got two large packages today and they are sitting in the apartment. One of them has a picture of a giant keyboard on the side of it but I'm still not sure what it is. When we get back I'll have to investigate a little further into the situation. 

Piano!

Yes I want a piano! It is so cool the way music plays a role in our lives. Look at Samuel 16:23 for example. David plays music and an evil spirit leaves Saul. That is powerful. That's music. I love psalms 89:15 "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound.  They walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance".

Brother Stukey is correct-- weighted keys are a must when it comes to keyboards, and you need to have the full range. Those are the most important things. The weight doesn't really matter. I am extraordinarily strong (stronger than Matt and Andrew for example) so the weight really doesn't make a difference. I remember "alpha-dogging" my brothers before the mission so I'm not too worried.

I'm not too worried about all the other bells and whistles either. If it has a good piano noise it is good for me.  And President Ashton has given the go ahead to  allow us to play instruments.

Life is good in Friendswood. I hope all is well back home. The Bradeshaws in our ward invited a family to come into their home and teach a lesson tonight. We studied and did some role plays this morning that helped us prepare. The lady we will teach evidentially does not believe in Jesus Christ. We will begin the lesson with Romans 8:16 and teach our true relationship with God. This verse also explains how we know that God is. The spirit teaches us this of course. I'm really excited to teach in a member home. The spirit is so much more powerful because distractions are gone and examples off gospel living are displayed. Whats more is Brother Bradeshaw was a former temple president. This helps the situation a little.

I like biking around town. People see you and notice you. Members see you and give you more referrals and food. For some reason people give you more respect when they see you trying.

My patriarchal blessing tells me that I have a family that loves me unconditionally. I would like to take a moment and thank you for this. I respond well to this stimulus. Thank you.

Take care now y'all, love ya!

February 10, 2014

Thank you for sending the birthday package. Elder Bluemel and I chatted over a few cookie-dough sessions. And yes we put the uncooked egg in there. Give me a break, it's way better that way and we're no worse for the wear.

Elder Bluemel hails from Wyoming and he can talk to you about awesome hunting stories till kingdom come. He adds a unique perspective to missionary work and I am excited to work with him. We had our first "crying" lesson together last week. When an investigator tears up that is usually good news and this case was no exception.

Thank you for all your prayers. Our teaching pool exploded last week. The powers of Heaven are at work and it's inspiring to be a part of it. We will extend many baptismal invitations this week. What happens will happen.

I have a deep love of the Old Testament.

I have a deep love for you -- be safe and take care now!

Testament

February 3, 2014

When we speak of the great Restoration we begin at the beginning of time. God gave Adam the Holy Priesthood which gave him the ability to perform saving ordinances such as baptism. The priesthood flooded through the patriarchal order to Enoch and eventually Noah. Abraham received
the priesthood from Noah's line of authority. Abraham was special because the Lord visited him individually and told him the world would be blessed through his seed. His seed would be a chosen people. Chosen for what? Yes, they were chosen to spread the gospel and carry the priesthood to the world but more importantly the Messiah would come from Abraham's line. He was chosen and accepted in the beginning to carry the world on His back. Glory to His name!

Abraham's descendants grew so great that Pharaoh thought it pertinent to enslave them. So God sent a baby--Moses. Moses fled out of Egypt to Jethro who gave him the priesthood. Ironically Jethro's priesthood did not come from Abraham's line of authority. It came from Esaias who lived in the days of Abraham who received the priesthood directly from God. Israel is not the only covenant people of the Lord.

God allowed Moses to perform mighty miracles to both save Israel but more importantly to prove to the world that Moses held the priesthood. He gave Aaron the priesthood and gave his posterity specific responsibilities in the Tabernacle and eventually the Temple. One of these responsibilities was to offer incense twice a day.

This duty eventually fell on Zacharias. He got in the habit of entering the Holy of Holies without seeing angels so he feared the angel of the Lord that told him he would have a son. When he came out he could not speak which was a sign for the people. Every one knew that Zacharias' son held the priesthood through his father. John the baptist baptized Jesus Christ with this authority. 

He was the chosen one. The literal son of David sent to take the government upon his shoulders. It was prophesied by Zechariah that "thy king cometh unto thee (Israel): he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass". And that's what happened. Christ came triumphantly into Jerusalem amidst the Hosanna shout. And He took over the headquarters of His kingdom. He went straight to the temple and flipped the money changer's table over. He cracked his whip. Tragically, our brothers didn't understand which kingdom He fought for. It was the kingdom of God, the right to have dominion over the whole earth through the priesthood. He was rejected and the priesthood was taken from the earth. The world fell into darkness and despair.

God called upon a young boy and gave him the Priesthood. That priesthood stands today and will stay forever. We can have saving ordinances. We can understand our relationship with God. 

This is my strength. This is my joy. This is my faith.

Blessed are those that mourn-- another paradox in our theology. Why would someone be blessed for mourning? For they shall be comforted. The comforter comes to us when we suffer. The comforter of course being the Holy Ghost. Often times angels minister to us in our weak state because angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost and are agents to Him. We are commanded to mourn with those that mourn. The Holy Ghost often directs us to do this.

I love you Momma. Your son is closer to God than he ever has been before-- minus the first year of his life perhaps. Because of this he is incredibly happy and fulfilled.

Rendering Service to Fellow Man

Elder Zeller stood at the top of the tree shaking the dangling branch. Elder Marchant hung on the other side for dear life. The branch he stood on had several small stress fractures from the weight and torque put on it. Elder Hubsmith and Elder Cordtz lifted Elder Cruz up by both legs to help him reach the dangling branch. I put myself in charge of overseeing the operation and spotting Elder Marchant and Elder Cruz simultaneously. I can't say I performed my task with real intent seeing that I was laughing out load the entire time. I really enjoy our district service activities.

Afterward we piled into the district van and headed to the church to enjoy the rest of our p-day. Many good times have been had in that van--most not worth mentioning.

Saving ordinances of the priesthood are only found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. No other organization makes the cut.

I love you! Y'all know that right?

January 13, 2014

Life is so good. Sometimes I wonder why God has blessed me so much. I've been given unique experiences and a unique heritage. I am grateful for the emails y'all sent.

So Grandma Adams sent me some money and I may have ended up getting some basketball shoes at Sports Authority (thank you Grandma!!). So if this email seems short there is a reason.

Mom your little boy is becoming a man! It will be official next Sunday. I pay for my own car insurance as well seeing we use bikes.

I love you all!

January 6, 2014

I really enjoyed the Mormon Message about Tyndale you sent. I thank him for what he did. I've been reading the Old Testament for the last couple weeks. My prayer before I begin reading is simple. Lord, I am not going to get anything out of this if the spirit isn't hear to teach me. Please send the Holy Ghost so I can learn the things of God. And if there is one thing I learned from Mom it is that God answers righteous prayers. Thank you for ingraining that into me.

I found it interesting to see how many times the Lord wanted people to have peace of mind. He made sure they had sacrifices so they could have the peace of mind. He provided a yearly day of atonement that gave Israel forgiveness of sins. He even gave them a year of Jubilee to forgive debts. He wants us to recognize our shortcomings, but also have a good mindset looking into the future. Today we have the weekly sacrament.

Samuel the Prophet gave the people an Ebenezer. The Ebenezer was essentially a big-old stone that  reminded the people that God delivered the Israelites from the Philistines. It sounds like a very male idea to me. I wish I could put a big-old stone in the middle of Houston that reminded us of what God has done for the missionaries here. And this stone wouldn't be in a dark corner of Houston. It would be in the very center of the city where everyone could see it.This mission really means everything to me.

We have an awesome district van that brings all the elders to and from meetings and to the store. Let's just say there have been many good times in this vehicle. One of which was listening to Elder Zeller's Piano Guys CD this morning. He has the new album. We are probably going to play an epic game of risk later today. I'll take Australia and win it all.

All is well in Friendswood. Take care now y'all. Y'all's the best!

In case you want to see what Michael was talking about:

 https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-08-015-the-blessings-of-scripture?category=mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2011&&lang=eng