April 11,2016

This week was interesting. We had our Mission Leadership Council on
Wednesday (Meeting where Zone Leaders&Sister Training Leaders have a
meeting, and receive trainings for the missionaries in their zones) I
got a call on Tuesday morning from the assistants asking if I would
give a training. That was a hectic way to start your day. A training
in front of all of the leaders of the mission and the mission
presidency puts a guy on edge! But it went well, and I loved the
experience.

Then we prepared for zone training. That was another great experience,
it's always a great opportunity to address the missionaries and get
their feedback of all the struggles they are having.

I also met a Less-Active family. They stopped coming to church because
both spouses had really bad marriages previously to meeting. So they
just moved in with each other as boy friend and girl friend. Kind of a
sticky situation but they are sincerely seeking to repent and come
back. I received a personal confirmation from the spirit that these
two are the reason I was transferred here. Also, they are both hair
stylists, and they do a stellar job on my hair!

I loved Elder Bednars talk. It was pure doctrine. GOLD! So I studied it.

"Holy ordinances are central in the Savior’s gospel and in the process
of coming unto Him and seeking spiritual rebirth. Ordinances are
sacred acts that have spiritual purpose, eternal significance, and are
related to God’s laws and statutes. All saving ordinances and the
ordinance of the sacrament must be authorized by one who holds the
requisite priesthood keys." -Elder Bednar

The Lord has invited us to come unto him. The gospel of Jesus Christ,
as outlined in the scriptures as Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The gift
of the Holy Ghost, Endure to the End. Is the way we can accomplish
that goal. It is central to obtaining his mercy and grace.

Those who criticize Latter-Day saints for "working their way to
heaven" do not understand the action words the Savior used time and
time again in the scriptures "come unto me". I imagine coming unto the
Savior as a pathway on which we all need to walk in order to use his
Atonement. That pathway is Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, and the
sacred ordinance and covenants in the temple. No wonder James wrote
Faith without works is dead. It's not a working motion he was talking
about. He wasn't talking about how many doors you need to knock in
order to be saved, or even how many baptism you get. He was talking
about how you can actually be saved by choosing to enter into a
covenant with God, and then honoring that covenant by keeping the
commandments.

I love the work here. It has shaped me into something that I could
never imagine being! It continues to teach me every day. When you stop
asking questions, that's when you stop progressing.

Elder Jared M. Greenburg
Missouri Independence Mission
Fleming Park Ward