This week was so great! We had our Niel L Andersen conference on
Monday! I'm pretty sure I watched the entire congregation of
missionaries lift up when he bore his special witness of Jesus Christ.
He knows him, he knows He loves us. He told us that there were dozens
of people in that very moment that were on their knees asking God for
answers. Those questions can be answered with our message.
After an experience like that my companion And i worked really hard.
We wanted to find those people and baptize them. We wanted to pray for
them, and help them understand Gods love for them, and that greater
peace and happiness comes as you live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Boy
I'll tell ya-we could've ran through these streets butt naked with a
Book of Mormon wedged between our butt cheeks and not get a lick of
persecution. We had a heck of a time.
If I could give any advice about a mission it would be this: "You
never want to serve a mission JUST out of hard work. You want miracles
out of your mission! You want to watch the hand of the Lord come down
and lift your mission." Elder Andersen explained that we should work
as if salvation all depended on us, and pray as if it all depended on
the Lord. Ultimately it is the Lords work. But if you don't show that
you want to do his work, the miracles you seek will never come.
Because the course of action you are pursuing is not acceptable to the
Lord. Faith unto miracles comes when we are willing to do all we can,
when we do our part for the cause of Christ. Miracles are not magic.
They do not come when we sit and wait. They come when we begin to act.
As members of His restored church we can expect miracles according to
our faithfulness. The falsehood of today's world is sign seeking. Sign
seeking is not a principle of the gospel, it is actually condemned in
the scriptures. Those who receive miracles are not shocked that the
miracle happened, they were expecting it to happen because they were
doing all they could to reach their goal.
Conversion to the gospel comes by faith unto miracles. Conversion is a
miracle. It comes as you live the principles and commandments of the
gospel. It comes by the Holy Ghost, who's purpose is to cleanse us
spiritually. Those who are converted to the gospel wanted to be
converted. They were not dragged into this. We call those
Less-Actives. But those who are converted wanted the sweet taste of
being reborn, only through the Holy Ghost can that happen. It also
isn't a destination, it is a journey. Conversion doesn't happen over
night, and it does not happen in a day. It happens "line upon line;
precept upon precept; here a little and there a little"
If it's anything I've learned this week it is this: I am not yet
finished on my path of conversion. I can say that I am more converted
than I was, but I cannot say that I am finished. As soon as I say that
I'm finished I will stop progressing. Just because my ordinances at
baptism, and In the temple have been done, does not mean that I will
automatically be accepted into the kingdom. It is a continual effort
of endurance that ultimately leads people to the CK. It drives me
absolutely insane when people from other church's say "all you gotta
do is accept Jesus in your heart and you are saved" Really? How will I
change from that? How will I progress if I don't do anything? They
have clearly missed the mark on this one. Accepting Christ and then
going and doing whatever I want after, is not going to get me
anywhere. Sin is still sin, and Repentance is still Repentance. Now
the reason I bring this up, is because in the Mormon church we have
people with this same mentality. "I've been baptized, received the
priesthood, got my patriarchal blessing, received my endowment, went
on a mission, got sealed in the temple and now I'm done" I have a ward
roster of 500, and 300 of those names have this mentality. I probably
see there faces once a quarter. They demand the most time out of their
bishop and leaders. Yet, benefit the least from it. They wonder why
blessings have ceased, and why life is hard. They wonder why they are
depressed, even though they did everything they were supposed to do.
The blessings that come from making covenants don't come when we say
"I have accept Jesus in my heart, and now I'm saved" or in the
perspective of Latter-day Saints "I've done my covenants, now I'm
saved. I don't have to do home teaching, pay tithing, live the word of
wisdom, keep the sabbath day holy, serve in my calling or do
missionary work. Those things will be wrapped up in the grace of
Christ, and many others are doing those things and will pick up the
slack" This thought process is what I call coasting through the
restoration. Sitting and waiting for people to come to you. Being
acted upon, rather than acting.
In this realm of thinking i have identified a sin that is not quite
thought about enough. That is the sins of omission. The sins of
omission are things that are left undone. For example The missionary
who Serves honorably and seeks to build the kingdom returns home and
no longer seeks to build the kingdom, but only seeks to build himself.
He starts school, gets into his career, starts thinking about himself.
With a course correction turning outward, he will ultimately be
honoring his covenants more fully, and receive the blessings that come
from faithful service. Serving God with all of his heart, might, mind,
and strength was only something he thought applied to the mission
field. But, with that call to serve, came the responsibility to serve
for eternity. Yes. Those who are called as missionaries in this life,
are also missionaries in the spirit world. They are also missionaries
in the millennium. So, instead of seeing this in a temporal matter. It
is ultimately a spiritual matter. Not only did we tell the Father that
we would come to this life; we told him, that we would bring his
gospel to those who had forgotten the plan. We are defined in the
scriptures as the "Noble and great ones" "The righteous and
organized...clothed with power and authority (commissioned) to go
forth and carry the light to them that were in darkness" (D&C 130:30)
At the close of this rant. I want to leave my testimony that God is
our loving Heavenly Father. He has a body of flesh and bone that is
glorified and perfected. He weeps with us when we struggle, and
rejoices when we do what is right. He sent His only begotten son Jesus
Christ to show us the perfect example, to suffer in agony in
Gethsemane, to be slain on the cross at Calvary, and to rise from the
tomb 3 days later. I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know that He
is long-suffering. He is my Savior and your Savior. We can become new
creatures in Christ as we keep the commandments, and seek diligently
to serve him to the end. I have seen drug dealers become priesthood
holders, widowed women be relieved with peace, and even my own soul be
changed, even my very nature. No matter how hard our days may seem, He
is there. He will help us improve. He has sent messengers time and
time again, and he has again done that in these latter-days.
Love you.
Elder Greenburg
STUDS!
