Dear Family,
 |
| Elder Paxton, Elder Pinegar & Elder Kennedy in their tri-companionship April 2013 |
I remember when I was 8 years old and I was told never to play with fire.... so I did. I took the box of matches and hid under my bed. I then began to light and watch them burn thinking that no one could find out, for I was under my bed. My dad walked into my room and knew what was happening right away. My little legs hanging out from under the bed, coughing boy attached to side of the legs...
My dad pulled me out from under the bed and told me never to do it again.... He told me how dangerous it was to play with matches (he even made me hold a lit one till it was a tad bit more than too hot). It took me a few more times as I got older to really understand how scary fire could be in all its many forms. Ask Willie about what happened with the dirt fields. Fireworks and matches are a little different. You need to be a bit smarter when using fireworks.
Just as faith and doing miracles are different, it takes more understanding. Sometimes we relearn things as we get older that broaden and deepen our understanding. This make us wiser even tho at times it may seem to be the same thing over again. You can always deepen your understanding, especially in doctrinal concepts.
This past conference of the church is a great example of relearning basic concepts we think we have already learned. Many of us have been long time members, and the basics seem well packed. Sometimes we forget the Savior taught "by the small and weak things of this world shall I cause many great and marvelous things to come to pass." The basics are the key to having faith the size of a mustard seed. I really enjoyed the talks by President Uchtdorf both is priesthood and in the Sunday morning session of conference. Four Titles - Pres. Uchtdorf Priesthood Session; The Hope of God's Light - Pres. Uchtdorf - Sunday Morning SessionThe choices we make to be good, based on the fact that we are children of a loving heavenly father, are ours to make, not the choice of our circumstances. Even when we are surrounded by the dark, if we reach out to Christ, he will reach back to us. The devil wants us to see ourselves as an outcome of the circumstances we are temporally in. This is a lie from the father of all lies. We are able to learn.
What a great thought -- that no matter where we are at in this life, we are able to learn. This makes us great. We are able to learn because of who we come from.... that is God. We are to grow to follow him. He loves us and wants us to learn and grow. We just have to do our part and try. At times we may fall short... that happens. We are babies in comparison to God, specks. Some of us will have to learn at a different pace and way than others of us. Does that make us bad? NO! We are all sons and daughters of God. None of us are the same. The only thing we have the same is the commandments to follow, a prophet, and the church that Christ made for us to come back to his presence. This is God's plan.
When we feel less than perfect, we have the opportunity to change, to grow, or to fall and regress further. The talk given by Elder Craig A. Cardon of the seventy on how the Savior allows us to become forgiven and move forward explains this quite well. The Savior Wants to Forgive - Elder Craig A. Cardon In his talk, he explains how the all understanding Christ is able to see when we are weak and when we are strong. Christ understands that in the past I was weaker, and I am stronger today, and I can do better now than I could have then.
We can be forgiven when we put our faith in him and truly repent. Sometimes we need to learn how to better follow Christ in order to have the blessings of true repentance. This past week I met a lady who asked me through her tears, "Why is my family not happy? We believe in Christ." We introduced the church to her and her family. They all have baptismal dates, and they can now see and feel the difference in such a short period of time. They had to choose between following the traditions of their fathers and following Christ
The difference here is in the belief and the action of faith. To believe is to say. To have faith is to act. Through the demonstration of our faith in God, we show him we want him in our lives, from prayer to missionary work, and the bunch in the middle. We do our part so he can do his. D&C 82:10 "I, the Lord, am a bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no b promise." We may not be able to do it all, but it is good to try. If we could be perfect we would Gods already, so just do your best.
I really love my mission. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I love my lady, Liza. I love Fred Smith, and I love my dad and my companions. But most of all, I love my God. I know that it is all true because I know that the Book of Mormon is true. Stand strong. Be the you you wish to be. Most people who fail sacrifice what they want most for what they want right now... don't be that sucker.
Your friend,
Elder Pinegar