August 19th, 2013 - Another Transfer has gone...?!?!?

Hey Everyone!

This week has been super awesome! Just a few notable things for this week though, starting with Monday night.

So, Monday night we went to see the family of a guy that we had met about a month or two before, and since then he had gotten hurt pretty badly at work. His legs were burned pretty severely, but the awesome thing was that just about a month after it happened he was already walking! It was a miracle, because instead of having to spend a month or so in rehab he was already back home, it was super neat! 

Another cool thing that happened this week was trainer's meeting... but for our companions. So, half our district is training next transfer (Elders Glad, Roundy, and Rasmuson) so on Wednesday they headed to the trainer's meeting down in the city. That meant the other 3 of us (Elders Prewitt and Spafford, along with me) got to work up here in Ponca City and Blackwell. It was neat, because I got to meet some of the people they're working with and one of them stuck out to me. We got to go visit with a fellow in a rehab center (for like drugs and such) and he's super awesome. His wife is meeting with the missionaries down in the city, and he's super prepared. He's been reading the Book of Mormon everyday, and even been introducing some of the other people there to it! It's neat to see how it changes people's perspective on life, because he's gone from seeing his time there as a prison of sorts to instead seeing it as a chance to change and prepare to be a better person. He's planning on getting baptized once he gets out! 

Another cool thing was church yesterday. So, we usually have about 90 or so people there, but this week we had over 125! It was awesome to see the chapel almost full, and to almost need that extra water tray they always prepare. It was especially neat because both sides (East and West) had a decent amount of people there through their efforts. It was cool to see the fruits of obedience and hard work shown to the ward. The talks were on temples and the 3 basic aspects of the church - Missionary Work, Temple work, and the work of Keeping Members active and progressing. It was super awesome, because it pretty much explained a lot about eternal families and why the church is so awesome :)

Alright, so that's the main stuff from this week, aside from the awesome studies I've been having. I recently got some advice from another missionary on how he does his studies, and I really liked it and started applying it this week. So, first some scriptures:

• Acts 3:6 - You can only give what you have, and that's all that you're asked to do
• 1 Nephi 14:10 - There are only 2 churches
• Matthew 4:3,6 - The main temptation Satan gave Christ was related to his role as the Son of God
• Acts 4:20 - You should only talk about what you know or believe (seen and heard)
• 1 Nephi 16:29 - An outline for receiving revelation (see this month's Ensign for a cool article on it: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/08/a-new-writing?lang=eng )
• D&C 9:8-9 - More on revelation :)
• D&C 10:4 - Do all you can do, but it is not requisite that you should do more than you have strength given you
• 1 Nephi 17:51 - The Lord can do all things through faith (see 1 Nephi 7:12)
• Matthew 5:29-30 - What you see and do impacts all aspects of your life, and is something you need to watch carefully
• Matthew 6:19-21 - Treasure!
• D&C 14:9 - Christ introduced -> What is your introduction?
• Acts 8:17 - Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost necessary
• 1 Nephi 20:1 vs Isaiah 48:1 - Importance of Baptism
• Matthew 9:2 - Be of Good cheer when you repent and receive forgiveness
• 3 Nephi 17:2-3 -> A way to learn more from the scriptures

Alright, so this week I spent a little more time in the New Testament than previous weeks, and it was super awesome. I really like the New Testament, because it really does show us how we need to live our lives. I also spent some time studying the Sermon on the Mount that Christ gives in Matthew 5-7. It's interesting to study that, because a lot of it is the new law, and it's cool to see the similarities and differences between Matthew 5-7 and 3 Nephi 12-14.

So, regarding the Sermon on the mount - a few cool things I noticed/learned:

• The new law emphasizes the importance of your thoughts and how those lead to words and actions, while the old law was action based
• There are some things that should be done in secret, because Heavenly Father sees everything, while men don't need to
• Laying up treasures in Heaven requires us to follow Christ, and some treasures are things that are Eternal such as Knowledge, the Word  of God, and Faith in Christ.
• Because the light of the body is the eye (Matt 6:22), and we learn from D&C 84:85 that: "For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ." So, the light of our Body is our spirit, and also we learn the Word of the Lord (truth) through reading and studying it. It's pretty cool to think about how much our eyes really do impact our spirit...
• The Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 is said to be "The law and the prophets." What I got from that was how important it is for disciples of Christ to treat people as Christ would, because as you do that you obey the law and follow the teachings of the Prophets to draw you closer to Heavenly Father

 Alright... so that's a lot longer than I thought it would be. Oh well!

That's all I got for this week, hopefully you enjoyed it a little bit :)

Love,

Elder Jordan Nielson