I finally got to go to the temple this week and for that reason I am
writing you all today on a Wednesday because we changed our p day. Oh
my lanta how I missed the temple. We did everything in Spanish which
was very different but super cool because I could actually understand
this time. It was so incredible to be in the Lords house to just have
some time to talk to him and learn by revelation. One thing I learned
is that sometime the way the Holy Ghost talks to us can seem a little
harsh, but as we seek to apply the things that he prompts us to do, we
are blessed, and we realize that those promptings are given because
there is someone who loves us very much, and knows what we can do to
be even happier.
This week in Parla went really really well. Well, at least I think
so. Some weeks we don't have a ton of lessons, but we feel good about
it at the end of the week. We found a lot of new people to teach this
week. I'm actually not too sure where this hope I have is coming from
because to be honest, this week was full of super difficult baptismal
interviews, investigators with fechas telling us that the church
seemed like it was run by the illuminati and not calling us back, and
TONS of stress. But I really do feel optimistic for this coming week
and I'm counting the many blessings that the Lord is giving us. It
truly is incredible. When we take a step back looking at every week,
the Lords hands are there. For example, this week a random man came
to English class we have never met before. After teaching him, he
told us he wanted to come to church and he actually came. We also had
two less actives in church this week for the first time in years. We
met some incredibly prepared people in the street as well. He's
always there.
Another thing I learned this week is the importance of humility, and
unconditional love in missionary work. I'm honestly so grateful for
the opportunity to be a district leader because these missionaries
here teach me so much each and every week with every exchange and with
every district meeting. I really am only in the position I am to love
them unconditionally, serve them, work with them, and learn. I'm so
grateful for that. I also learned this week from the Holy Ghost that I
am too focused on material things and not loving the people,
especially the members, as much as I should. These are things I am
going to work on in the coming week.
Just a quick side note to finish off. If you guys could save the
emails you send me until p day that would be very much
appreciated. I absolutely love hearing from all of you, but it would
help me to focus if I don't have a ton of emails waiting to be read on
P day. We also aren't aloud to chat back and forth on email anymore.
LOVE you all to pieces and have a rad week
Elder Baron
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Elder Bednar is a savage
Welp, this week was pretty solid.
I had no time really to write home last week because we were doing an
activity with the youth in our ward. Well, we made them brownies and
played ping pong with them and made them drink this aloe Vera juice
that was super good we bought at this chino store. Plus I also had to
work on some plans for a distric meeting. My second district meeting
and president Pack came to it. I was pretty nervous about that one.
But it turned out alright thankfully.
Other than that, this week was full of less active pass bys. We are
trying to come up with a new strategy. We are looking for members
less in the streets and more from the members and less actives. It's
a hard thing to do but we are focusing our efforts on that 100%, so we
shall see what happens. This week we met this really shy less active
kid. When we knocked on his door, he didn't open it because he was
worried about what we would say to him. He hung up the door bell on
us, but right after that two guys walked out and let us come into the
building. We knocked on his door and he opened. He told us he was
super scared of what we were going to say to him. After just really
doing our best to love him, he agreed to let us come back the next day
to teach him. We had a great lesson with him and discovered that he
had not lost his testimony, he had just been too ashamed to what
people would say to him if he came back. We have a ton of hope for
him and it makes us super happy teaching him and helping him.
This week we had the amazing experience of having an apostle here in
our mission. Elder Bednar came and we had an incredible meeting with
him and with the missionaries. Man he talks super strong to everyone
but at the same time, powerful in the sense that his words touched
each and every one of our hearts. I had the opportunity to listen
during three meetings with him this weekend and man all three were so
so so awesome.
Some of the things I learned from him are: We really don't have to
worry so much about always receiving and knowing what the spirit wants
us to do before we act. Most of the time, we just need to go forth
and act and not worrying about it so much. We need to do the things we
know we are supposed to do, but after that, we can trust that our
decision will be influenced by the spirit, and we don't have to worry
so much. That's something I have struggled with as a missionary at
times. I always want to make sure that I'm doing the Lords will. But
all the best experiences I've had were ones where obedience and
having the courage to act resulted in something. They are
experiences where I had no clue I was being prompted by the spirit
until afterwards. It motivated me to try my best to be as obedient as
possible, and just go forth acting on what comes to my head, but
without thinking so much.
He also talked to us a lot about faith and the story he loves to tell
about how the Red Sea was not parted until after the children of
Israel had soaked their feet. They didn't just stand on the banks
waiting. He really motivated me to go forward and show my faith by
acting. He taught me that I need to trust that the Lord will guide
all my thoughts if I do my part, which is obedience and constantly
working as hard as I can.
Other than that, he taught me that the gospel will have more power in
my life and I will see miracles the more that I give to the Lord. I
know that I have to give all my energy to the Lord to receive the
fullness of blessings as a missionary.
I hope that you all have the best week ever, and I guess to sum
up a long list of things, be good, show your faith by acting, and give
yourself to the lord and he will bless you. That's my message for
this week.
Adios amigos!
Elder Baron
Knew this tio from the Canary Islands and got to see him again this weekend
I had no time really to write home last week because we were doing an
activity with the youth in our ward. Well, we made them brownies and
played ping pong with them and made them drink this aloe Vera juice
that was super good we bought at this chino store. Plus I also had to
work on some plans for a distric meeting. My second district meeting
and president Pack came to it. I was pretty nervous about that one.
But it turned out alright thankfully.
Other than that, this week was full of less active pass bys. We are
trying to come up with a new strategy. We are looking for members
less in the streets and more from the members and less actives. It's
a hard thing to do but we are focusing our efforts on that 100%, so we
shall see what happens. This week we met this really shy less active
kid. When we knocked on his door, he didn't open it because he was
worried about what we would say to him. He hung up the door bell on
us, but right after that two guys walked out and let us come into the
building. We knocked on his door and he opened. He told us he was
super scared of what we were going to say to him. After just really
doing our best to love him, he agreed to let us come back the next day
to teach him. We had a great lesson with him and discovered that he
had not lost his testimony, he had just been too ashamed to what
people would say to him if he came back. We have a ton of hope for
him and it makes us super happy teaching him and helping him.
This week we had the amazing experience of having an apostle here in
our mission. Elder Bednar came and we had an incredible meeting with
him and with the missionaries. Man he talks super strong to everyone
but at the same time, powerful in the sense that his words touched
each and every one of our hearts. I had the opportunity to listen
during three meetings with him this weekend and man all three were so
so so awesome.
Some of the things I learned from him are: We really don't have to
worry so much about always receiving and knowing what the spirit wants
us to do before we act. Most of the time, we just need to go forth
and act and not worrying about it so much. We need to do the things we
know we are supposed to do, but after that, we can trust that our
decision will be influenced by the spirit, and we don't have to worry
so much. That's something I have struggled with as a missionary at
times. I always want to make sure that I'm doing the Lords will. But
all the best experiences I've had were ones where obedience and
having the courage to act resulted in something. They are
experiences where I had no clue I was being prompted by the spirit
until afterwards. It motivated me to try my best to be as obedient as
possible, and just go forth acting on what comes to my head, but
without thinking so much.
He also talked to us a lot about faith and the story he loves to tell
about how the Red Sea was not parted until after the children of
Israel had soaked their feet. They didn't just stand on the banks
waiting. He really motivated me to go forward and show my faith by
acting. He taught me that I need to trust that the Lord will guide
all my thoughts if I do my part, which is obedience and constantly
working as hard as I can.
Other than that, he taught me that the gospel will have more power in
my life and I will see miracles the more that I give to the Lord. I
know that I have to give all my energy to the Lord to receive the
fullness of blessings as a missionary.
I hope that you all have the best week ever, and I guess to sum
up a long list of things, be good, show your faith by acting, and give
yourself to the lord and he will bless you. That's my message for
this week.
Adios amigos!
Elder Baron
| The sequence of a companionship |
Monday, May 2, 2016
Welcome to Parla
How do you walk as they say in Spanish?
Well, I'm serving now in this branch in the second to most southern
area of this mission. My new companion is 6 foot 6, younger than me in
the mission, and is from Spokane Washington. We have little to
nothing in common except the fact that we are both dorks. Not gonna
lie, when I got the call to come to this area, all I heard was some
pretty negative stuff. When I first got here, I was kinda stressing
out over that and I kinda let my mind be dominated by that. It's
pretty different here than the islands. I had a moment like the one in
Jaws where he is like "We are gonna need a bigger boat." At one point.
But after calming myself down a little bit and going to work a little,
we've seen that this area has a ton of potential, and we are resolved
to work as hard as we can here.
One of the most spiritual experiences from this week was in a lesson
we had from a man from Uganda. I got to teach in English for the
First time in a while. Wowsers, it was one of those lessons where it
was nothing that we said, or nothing we did, but we felt the Spirit so
strong as we testified to this man that this gospel has the solution
for any problem. We testified of the Savior, of the Book of Mormon,
of the truth of our message, and man the spirit was incredibly strong
in the room.
One thing I have learned in the mission is the importance of preparing
ourselves to receive revelation by the spirit. We had an incredible
priesthood meeting with the stake presidency in the Islands right
before I left. The first counselor went over President Eyrings talk
with us again and used the analogy of a sponge when you put it in
water, and a rock when you put it in water. He ended by saying that
as we soften our hearts in this way before every meeting we have in
the church, we will take away much more at the end of the meeting,
versus just being barely touched by the water. It's a principle I am
trying to apply as a missionary to be better. I'm trying to be as
obedient as possible and preparing myself as much as possible, so that
I can receive revelation each and every day. As we do this, we will be
able to touch the hearts of others as we testify to others and say
exactly what they need to hear to feel the spirit.
I'm so grateful to be here in Parla, and for the opportunity to love
the people of this branch
Elder Baron
Well, I'm serving now in this branch in the second to most southern
area of this mission. My new companion is 6 foot 6, younger than me in
the mission, and is from Spokane Washington. We have little to
nothing in common except the fact that we are both dorks. Not gonna
lie, when I got the call to come to this area, all I heard was some
pretty negative stuff. When I first got here, I was kinda stressing
out over that and I kinda let my mind be dominated by that. It's
pretty different here than the islands. I had a moment like the one in
Jaws where he is like "We are gonna need a bigger boat." At one point.
But after calming myself down a little bit and going to work a little,
we've seen that this area has a ton of potential, and we are resolved
to work as hard as we can here.
One of the most spiritual experiences from this week was in a lesson
we had from a man from Uganda. I got to teach in English for the
First time in a while. Wowsers, it was one of those lessons where it
was nothing that we said, or nothing we did, but we felt the Spirit so
strong as we testified to this man that this gospel has the solution
for any problem. We testified of the Savior, of the Book of Mormon,
of the truth of our message, and man the spirit was incredibly strong
in the room.
One thing I have learned in the mission is the importance of preparing
ourselves to receive revelation by the spirit. We had an incredible
priesthood meeting with the stake presidency in the Islands right
before I left. The first counselor went over President Eyrings talk
with us again and used the analogy of a sponge when you put it in
water, and a rock when you put it in water. He ended by saying that
as we soften our hearts in this way before every meeting we have in
the church, we will take away much more at the end of the meeting,
versus just being barely touched by the water. It's a principle I am
trying to apply as a missionary to be better. I'm trying to be as
obedient as possible and preparing myself as much as possible, so that
I can receive revelation each and every day. As we do this, we will be
able to touch the hearts of others as we testify to others and say
exactly what they need to hear to feel the spirit.
I'm so grateful to be here in Parla, and for the opportunity to love
the people of this branch
Elder Baron
Hola
This is most likely going to be the shortest group email that I've
sent home yet.
This week went really good because we got our investigators to meet
with us at least once since we told them I was leaving forever. I was
thinking a lot about what I could leave them with to give them some
motivation, and received a prompting that the best thing I can leave
with them is my honest testimony. I was able to share that testimony
a lot this week. Sharing testimony is one of the greatest things we
can do to strengthen it, and one of the best ways to feel love from
our father in heaven. I really felt that love a lot this week as I
was able to testify of him to others.
I am here in the southern part of Madrid in Parla and these next two
weeks are going to be kinda like the first two weeks in the mission,
because I know nothing about the peninsula. All I know is that they
speak Spanish a little different, and it's a lot hotter here in the
summer but without the wind. I'm stoked to be serving in a little
bigger of a ward but I have heard some mixed feelings from other
missionaries about this area. NO IMPORTA, it's a new adventure and I'm
gonna give it my all at least.
Thanks to all for the love and support
Elder Baron
sent home yet.
This week went really good because we got our investigators to meet
with us at least once since we told them I was leaving forever. I was
thinking a lot about what I could leave them with to give them some
motivation, and received a prompting that the best thing I can leave
with them is my honest testimony. I was able to share that testimony
a lot this week. Sharing testimony is one of the greatest things we
can do to strengthen it, and one of the best ways to feel love from
our father in heaven. I really felt that love a lot this week as I
was able to testify of him to others.
I am here in the southern part of Madrid in Parla and these next two
weeks are going to be kinda like the first two weeks in the mission,
because I know nothing about the peninsula. All I know is that they
speak Spanish a little different, and it's a lot hotter here in the
summer but without the wind. I'm stoked to be serving in a little
bigger of a ward but I have heard some mixed feelings from other
missionaries about this area. NO IMPORTA, it's a new adventure and I'm
gonna give it my all at least.
Thanks to all for the love and support
Elder Baron
Here is a letter from the mission president regarding Elder Baron being called to be a district leader! So proud of him and the things he has already been able to accomplish out in the field!
The Baron Family
Dear Brother and Sister Baron,
It is a pleasure to inform you that we have assigned your stake member, Elder Baron, to serve as a district leader in the Fuenlabrada District. This position carries with it increased leadership responsibility. The District Leader is to set an example for the other missionaries in his district through his study of the scriptures and the gospel, obedience and hard work, proselyting skills and other aspects of missionary work. Elder Baron will be responsible for planning and conducting weekly District Meetings, and in supervising, teaching and inspiring the missionaries in his district. He will also interview baptismal candidates, which requires spiritual sensitivity and maturity.
This assignment is in addition to his regular proselyting responsibilities. We have confidence in Elder Baron's abilities and know that this will give him opportunities for growth as he strengthens those he serves. You can be proud of your son. We enjoy working with such a fine Elder in this great work.
May God's choicest blessings be with you and your family as you support your son in his missionary service in the Spain, Madrid Mission.Sincerely,
President Kevin B. PackSpain Madrid Mission
Monday, April 18, 2016
Beware of the Beso
If you are wondering about the title, Beso means kiss. The weirdest
experience of this week happened one day while we were passing by the
houses of some old investigators who live around here. I said hi to
this guy across the street, and he said hi back and gave me this huge
smile. Wow I thought, this guy must be interested. We crossed the
street to talk to him. We began to talk and he told us he was Muslim.
Well, as we kinda got to that point where he wasn't really interested
and we were going to talk to some other people, he said goodbye by
grabbing the back of my head, pulling it towards him and kissed me on
the cheek. Top 10 weirdest experiences of my life. He told me it was
normal in his culture, but still something I am very grateful is not a
thing in the USA.
This week we had some pretty solid experiences. On Sunday, we finally
got this less active guy to come to church we have been working with
for like 6 months! One of my goals was to see him come before I left,
so I was super stoked that he finally came. We also found a pretty
solid investigator who has already read all of 1 Nephi in the Book of
Mormon this week and is really liking the lessons, so we are keeping
our fingers crossed there. Other than that, we worked hard here and
we are going to do the same thing this coming week. I'm 99% positive
I leave the islands next Monday so I am going to do my absolute best
to finish strong this week and leave as many as I can with my
testimony of the Savior and his restored Gospel.
Ya know, sometimes a mission is hard. Ya know, sometimes I really miss
the beach. But ya know what else? I have learned things here that I
could not have learned anywhere else. I've learned here that I am
pretty weak when it really comes down to it. Sometimes I look at the
work here and I go to bed a little sad with the numbers that I've
written down that night. But this week the talk "I am a Child of God"
really brought me a ton of peace and comfort. Especially this part
"Recently, I was in a meeting with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. In
teaching the principle that mortal life can be agonizing but our
hardships have eternal purpose--even if we do not understand it at the
time--Elder Holland said, “You can have what you want, or you can have
something better.”"
We can have what we want, or we can have something better. Que fuerte
I know that I'm on a mission, and I know that some weeks are hard
because those trials are exactly what I need to help me progress
towards exaltation and eternal happiness. I just need to be patient,
keep my eyes open for the miracles, stay focused, and make the best of
everything that comes my way.
Hey, I love each and every one of you. Thanks for all that each of
you have done for me in my life. Have the week you have
Elder Baron
experience of this week happened one day while we were passing by the
houses of some old investigators who live around here. I said hi to
this guy across the street, and he said hi back and gave me this huge
smile. Wow I thought, this guy must be interested. We crossed the
street to talk to him. We began to talk and he told us he was Muslim.
Well, as we kinda got to that point where he wasn't really interested
and we were going to talk to some other people, he said goodbye by
grabbing the back of my head, pulling it towards him and kissed me on
the cheek. Top 10 weirdest experiences of my life. He told me it was
normal in his culture, but still something I am very grateful is not a
thing in the USA.
This week we had some pretty solid experiences. On Sunday, we finally
got this less active guy to come to church we have been working with
for like 6 months! One of my goals was to see him come before I left,
so I was super stoked that he finally came. We also found a pretty
solid investigator who has already read all of 1 Nephi in the Book of
Mormon this week and is really liking the lessons, so we are keeping
our fingers crossed there. Other than that, we worked hard here and
we are going to do the same thing this coming week. I'm 99% positive
I leave the islands next Monday so I am going to do my absolute best
to finish strong this week and leave as many as I can with my
testimony of the Savior and his restored Gospel.
Ya know, sometimes a mission is hard. Ya know, sometimes I really miss
the beach. But ya know what else? I have learned things here that I
could not have learned anywhere else. I've learned here that I am
pretty weak when it really comes down to it. Sometimes I look at the
work here and I go to bed a little sad with the numbers that I've
written down that night. But this week the talk "I am a Child of God"
really brought me a ton of peace and comfort. Especially this part
"Recently, I was in a meeting with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. In
teaching the principle that mortal life can be agonizing but our
hardships have eternal purpose--even if we do not understand it at the
time--Elder Holland said, “You can have what you want, or you can have
something better.”"
We can have what we want, or we can have something better. Que fuerte
I know that I'm on a mission, and I know that some weeks are hard
because those trials are exactly what I need to help me progress
towards exaltation and eternal happiness. I just need to be patient,
keep my eyes open for the miracles, stay focused, and make the best of
everything that comes my way.
Hey, I love each and every one of you. Thanks for all that each of
you have done for me in my life. Have the week you have
Elder Baron
"Miembros"
Monday, April 11, 2016
CRIKEY! THAS A BIG ONE MATE
HEY EVERYONE,
If you wrote me this week and I did not write you back, my dearest
apologies, but we went to this crocodile park today and that took
quite a long time. It was sweet though. These Spaniards are crazy!
There was also these monkeys there too that we got to feed bananas, so
I would say today was a pretty successful p day.
Oh man this week was way way tiring. We are doing our best to get
lessons here but most of the work we are doing here now is with the
less actives and trying to find some new investigators. The mission
truly has gotten harder and harder, but I've been saying it since
September and I will say it again, with sacrifice comes happiness.
Although we are kinda bummed we don't have a ton of people to teach
right now, and it's hard to wake up to a day where you know you are
going to work all day stopping people in the streets, the Lord has
provided for us. We see little miracles every day with the people the
Lord prepares and puts in our path. Even more than that though, as we
give it our all to love each and every one of the people who pass us,
and we focus on these people as our brothers and sisters, we feel more
love from the Lord in our lives. I'm going to leave this area soon,
and I'm going to do my best to leave it better than I found it, or at
least with more people to teach!
One thing that was hard about this week is that our recent convert who
has been passing through a bunch of trials was hit again by the fiery
darts of the adversary with a death in the Family. He's fallen away a
little bit again which absolutely is one of the most heartbreaking
things for me. He knows the Book of Mormon is true, and he will
defend his faith still, but he has trouble getting to church every
week. This week we had a really powerful lesson with him though. We
shared the story of the prophet Joseph who complains to the Lord after
so much affliction. The Lords reply brings the prophet a lot of peace
though, as he explains to him that all these things will be for his
benefit. We also shared with him the story of Job from the Bible.
Job was a man who had it all both spiritually and temporally. Yet,
the Lord permitted Satan to try Job with the worst trials possible.
Job never gave up on the Lord though, and to the very end, he
testified of the Divinity of the Savior, despite his trials. In the
End Job was rewarded with double that he had before. We were able to
feel the spirit so strong during this lesson with Jorge and it was
one of the most powerful experiences I have had on my mission.
My little thought I want to leave with you all is this.. Let us all be
like Job, trusting in the Lord to the very end. As it says in Job 23
verse 10
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall
come forth as gold.
the Lord will make us Golden as we trust in him and persevere to the
End. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Elder Baron
If you wrote me this week and I did not write you back, my dearest
apologies, but we went to this crocodile park today and that took
quite a long time. It was sweet though. These Spaniards are crazy!
There was also these monkeys there too that we got to feed bananas, so
I would say today was a pretty successful p day.
Oh man this week was way way tiring. We are doing our best to get
lessons here but most of the work we are doing here now is with the
less actives and trying to find some new investigators. The mission
truly has gotten harder and harder, but I've been saying it since
September and I will say it again, with sacrifice comes happiness.
Although we are kinda bummed we don't have a ton of people to teach
right now, and it's hard to wake up to a day where you know you are
going to work all day stopping people in the streets, the Lord has
provided for us. We see little miracles every day with the people the
Lord prepares and puts in our path. Even more than that though, as we
give it our all to love each and every one of the people who pass us,
and we focus on these people as our brothers and sisters, we feel more
love from the Lord in our lives. I'm going to leave this area soon,
and I'm going to do my best to leave it better than I found it, or at
least with more people to teach!
One thing that was hard about this week is that our recent convert who
has been passing through a bunch of trials was hit again by the fiery
darts of the adversary with a death in the Family. He's fallen away a
little bit again which absolutely is one of the most heartbreaking
things for me. He knows the Book of Mormon is true, and he will
defend his faith still, but he has trouble getting to church every
week. This week we had a really powerful lesson with him though. We
shared the story of the prophet Joseph who complains to the Lord after
so much affliction. The Lords reply brings the prophet a lot of peace
though, as he explains to him that all these things will be for his
benefit. We also shared with him the story of Job from the Bible.
Job was a man who had it all both spiritually and temporally. Yet,
the Lord permitted Satan to try Job with the worst trials possible.
Job never gave up on the Lord though, and to the very end, he
testified of the Divinity of the Savior, despite his trials. In the
End Job was rewarded with double that he had before. We were able to
feel the spirit so strong during this lesson with Jorge and it was
one of the most powerful experiences I have had on my mission.
My little thought I want to leave with you all is this.. Let us all be
like Job, trusting in the Lord to the very end. As it says in Job 23
verse 10
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall
come forth as gold.
the Lord will make us Golden as we trust in him and persevere to the
End. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Elder Baron
Monday, April 4, 2016
Jeffrey R. Holland is a legend
Well,
I would say the best thing that happened this week was when we went to
the house of the first counselor in the stake presidency's brother's
house if you followed me on that one. He's been inactive for almost a
decade. We passed by him a couple months ago, and he told us he
didn't believe any of this stuff and that he had absolutely no desire
to come back to church because well, it didn't seem real. Last week
we passed by just to see how he was doing and share some love. He
wasn't there but his inactive stepdad or someone like that was. We
decided to leave a card with him with our phone number on it, and we
told the step dad to have him call us when he got home. A couple days
later I was surprised when he actually called! I was even more
surprised when he told us we could come share a message with him.
Even more surprised when he told us he was going to repent completely
and come back to church once again! He told us that very day that
we passed by, he was talking to another inactive member who was
telling him about how she didn't agree with the church on one thing,
and as they talked, he began to disagree with her, and the more he
talked, the more and more he realized that the church was true. He
had always known it, but up until that day, he had rejected the spirit
which had been trying to testify to him that the church was true. He
said that when he got home from his trip and got our card, that we had
passed by that very same day. In a time in my mission in this area
where a lot of the investigators here are struggling, this was an
incredibly amazing experience and one that really motivated me to keep
trying with these people. Maybe not now, but some day, these people
will accept the spirit and accept these things are true.
Conference was absolutely amazing this time. From Eyering's inspiring
first talk inviting us to take advantage of the conference by
preparing ourselves to receive personal revelation to Jeffrey R
Holland's closing remarks about how we must continue on, persevering
through doubts, trials, and our own faults, and be carried forward by
the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I felt so blessed to be able to be
listening. One of the littlest things that happened in the conference
that many may not have noticed that inspired me the most was when the
Motab was singing Come Thou Fount. One of the men singing in the
choir was weeping as he sang that song. I could feel the spirit so
strong, as it was evident that this man was not just singing, but he
was pouring out his heart in testimony of the Savior as he did so.
That really touched me, and inspired me to move forward this week.
Now, I Don't know what the Lord has in store for me this week, but I
know one thing. I Know that Christ Lives. I know that this is his
Church. I know that the fullness of the blessings of the Atonement
are available only in this church. I may not baptize many people in my
mission here, but I will pour out my heart and make sure that these
people, as many as possible will hear my testimony.
Since I seem to like the word pour today, I would like to share one
more thing that we learned last Monday night in a family home evening
with some Norwegians and people from England. The lesson was about
prayer, and how we should pray. Many times we pray, and we want an
answer. But we really are kinda iffy on how willing we are to accept
the will of the Lord. If we really want to be lead by the Lord in our
lives and do what he wants us to do, we must pour out our hearts in
prayer, with the humility to listen and obey whatever he tells us. As
we do this, we will be led to happiness and joy in all things.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
To all, have a rad week, and those who are out there serving missions.
Que el Señor les bendiga y que les guíe hacia éxito! May the Lord
bless you and lead you to success
Elder Baron
I would say the best thing that happened this week was when we went to
the house of the first counselor in the stake presidency's brother's
house if you followed me on that one. He's been inactive for almost a
decade. We passed by him a couple months ago, and he told us he
didn't believe any of this stuff and that he had absolutely no desire
to come back to church because well, it didn't seem real. Last week
we passed by just to see how he was doing and share some love. He
wasn't there but his inactive stepdad or someone like that was. We
decided to leave a card with him with our phone number on it, and we
told the step dad to have him call us when he got home. A couple days
later I was surprised when he actually called! I was even more
surprised when he told us we could come share a message with him.
Even more surprised when he told us he was going to repent completely
and come back to church once again! He told us that very day that
we passed by, he was talking to another inactive member who was
telling him about how she didn't agree with the church on one thing,
and as they talked, he began to disagree with her, and the more he
talked, the more and more he realized that the church was true. He
had always known it, but up until that day, he had rejected the spirit
which had been trying to testify to him that the church was true. He
said that when he got home from his trip and got our card, that we had
passed by that very same day. In a time in my mission in this area
where a lot of the investigators here are struggling, this was an
incredibly amazing experience and one that really motivated me to keep
trying with these people. Maybe not now, but some day, these people
will accept the spirit and accept these things are true.
Conference was absolutely amazing this time. From Eyering's inspiring
first talk inviting us to take advantage of the conference by
preparing ourselves to receive personal revelation to Jeffrey R
Holland's closing remarks about how we must continue on, persevering
through doubts, trials, and our own faults, and be carried forward by
the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I felt so blessed to be able to be
listening. One of the littlest things that happened in the conference
that many may not have noticed that inspired me the most was when the
Motab was singing Come Thou Fount. One of the men singing in the
choir was weeping as he sang that song. I could feel the spirit so
strong, as it was evident that this man was not just singing, but he
was pouring out his heart in testimony of the Savior as he did so.
That really touched me, and inspired me to move forward this week.
Now, I Don't know what the Lord has in store for me this week, but I
know one thing. I Know that Christ Lives. I know that this is his
Church. I know that the fullness of the blessings of the Atonement
are available only in this church. I may not baptize many people in my
mission here, but I will pour out my heart and make sure that these
people, as many as possible will hear my testimony.
Since I seem to like the word pour today, I would like to share one
more thing that we learned last Monday night in a family home evening
with some Norwegians and people from England. The lesson was about
prayer, and how we should pray. Many times we pray, and we want an
answer. But we really are kinda iffy on how willing we are to accept
the will of the Lord. If we really want to be lead by the Lord in our
lives and do what he wants us to do, we must pour out our hearts in
prayer, with the humility to listen and obey whatever he tells us. As
we do this, we will be led to happiness and joy in all things.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
To all, have a rad week, and those who are out there serving missions.
Que el Señor les bendiga y que les guíe hacia éxito! May the Lord
bless you and lead you to success
Elder Baron
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