#17 Kecskemét: Winter is here!
Sziasztok!
It was a good week, and winter has finally come! We woke up early to go to ward council Sunday morning, but our bike locks were frozen solid. So we went to take the bus… but it didn’t come, so we walked to church and we missed ward council. It’s been bitterly cold. SO WINTER IS HERE! I guess winter is just this little part right here.
This week it snowed for some period of time Monday through Saturday, and today and yesterday have been clear and sunny, but windy and really cold. Not supper fun to be outside, but somebody's got to do it, this next week will be very cold and snowy too. Because of that, we will be riding the train up to Budapest tomorrow for interviews so Szabadkai elnök doesn't have to drive on icy roads. I love going up to Budapest, and next week we will get to go up again for transfers! Crazy! Because of our 9 week transfer schedule it will be my 3rd transfer but I guess if I was in a normal mission it would be 4th. Can't wait to see what happens next Tuesday. I will know if I'll be going or staying.
The ward will have a Fashang party, it’s like the German holiday Fasching, where people dress up in costumes and have carnival games. That will be fun. I was thinking of something I could dress up as even though I have to wear my missionary clothes. I decided I’m going to be an angel. I made a halo for myself. It’s awesome!
This week we had Elder Garrett and Elder Biesinger come for splits, Elder Garrett and I dropped of brownies at some investigators houses, and Erzsi let us in and we talked about the Atonement for a few minutes. Every apartment building we went to today the doors were open and we were able to get in. That was a miracle. We streeted a lot and talked to a lot of young people. We used our questions while we streeted and we found a really cool lady who lives in the sister’s area. We asked the woman if she believes that God answers prayers and she said she did. We asked her if she would meet with the missionaries sometime and talk more about this, she said, “I have one question first… what does your church teach about infant baptism?” We told her that we believe little children are born perfect and innocent and do not need baptism and that before they are eight they do not need to be baptized. She had two little children and that made her so happy, and she said that she loved that so much. So we think she will meet with the sisters. We met some young men and asked them what made them happy, and they gave us interesting answers. There were a few guys who wanted to meet with us so we got their numbers. We also got a lesson with one of our investigators because she let us in. We found out some really good Hungarian words today from the sisters. Fun stuff!
We got a call from a senior couple in our mission, the Hicks… Sister Hicks is super nice, she reminds me of Sister Dallon… Brother Hicks is somewhat intimidating, but he seems nice, just intense. They do our cleaning checks before transfers, but they called to say they would be coming the next day. AHH! We had it all worked out that we would do a certain job each day till their expected arrival, but we thought we had a week, now we have to get it all done superfast.
We went to institute and our teacher Victor brought his two little boys with him and since they couldn’t be in institute they just ran around the chapel and played while we were doing our study. They are the cutest little kids ever, they are so awesome! Kevin is 5 and Shimon is 3. Kevin is shy but Shimon is the cutest little three year old. At one point he wanted to wear my name tag so I put it on his sweatshirt and I almost left the branch house without my nametag. They are so cute.
We taught two new investigators, Lászlo és Zoltán.
We had another lesson with a previous investigator, Zoltán, our meeting started a bit late because some older ladies were in the building doing family history and they pulled him into their session and got him set up with a family search account. He didn’t seem very interested in the Book of Mormon and his previous experiences weren’t exactly what he was looking for. Since the last time he met with the missionaries he joined the Baptist church, but he still seems to be seeking for something that’s missing, even though he likes that the Baptist church meetings are more entertaining than the Mormon meetings. We asked him if he wanted to keep meeting with us and he said he did. We talked to him about what he wanted to gain from our meetings, what he needed. He said he wanted to learn more about how to live a clean life and be happy. We said, “Well we can start there.”
This week we had Elder Garrett and Elder Biesinger come for splits, Elder Garrett and I dropped of brownies at some investigators houses, and Erzsi let us in and we talked about the Atonement for a few minutes. Every apartment building we went to today the doors were open and we were able to get in. That was a miracle. We streeted a lot and talked to a lot of young people. We used our questions while we streeted and we found a really cool lady who lives in the sister’s area. We asked the woman if she believes that God answers prayers and she said she did. We asked her if she would meet with the missionaries sometime and talk more about this, she said, “I have one question first… what does your church teach about infant baptism?” We told her that we believe little children are born perfect and innocent and do not need baptism and that before they are eight they do not need to be baptized. She had two little children and that made her so happy, and she said that she loved that so much. So we think she will meet with the sisters. We met some young men and asked them what made them happy, and they gave us interesting answers. There were a few guys who wanted to meet with us so we got their numbers. We also got a lesson with one of our investigators because she let us in. We found out some really good Hungarian words today from the sisters. Fun stuff!
We also worked on using the Book of Mormon to answer questions of the soul. Really good part of PMG.
Elder Philips and I had our regular conversation with a woman name Mercedes who isn’t really interested in the gospel, but she’s an English teacher, and she likes to talk to the missionaries to learn more about American English and our culture and holidays. She speaks English the best of any Hungarian I’ve ever met and talking to her is fun.
Elder Philips and I had our regular conversation with a woman name Mercedes who isn’t really interested in the gospel, but she’s an English teacher, and she likes to talk to the missionaries to learn more about American English and our culture and holidays. She speaks English the best of any Hungarian I’ve ever met and talking to her is fun.
We got a call from a senior couple in our mission, the Hicks… Sister Hicks is super nice, she reminds me of Sister Dallon… Brother Hicks is somewhat intimidating, but he seems nice, just intense. They do our cleaning checks before transfers, but they called to say they would be coming the next day. AHH! We had it all worked out that we would do a certain job each day till their expected arrival, but we thought we had a week, now we have to get it all done superfast.
Elder Phillips and I also were able to teach Jozsef again. We talked about the plan of salvation and helped him understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is essential to the plan of salvation. We talked about all the blessing that come from the plan of salvation. We asked him if he would be baptized and receive the blessings of the plan of salvation. He said, “When I receive a witness that these things are true and that the Book of Mormon is true, I will be baptized.” It was a really awesome lesson!
We taught two new investigators, Lászlo és Zoltán.
We taught our English class at the branch building and a newer student, Lászlo, was there again. His mom works with a member of the church and she suggested that he come to English class. He’s been starting to attend church and institute, because he likes to hang out with Mormons, and we invited him to learn the basics from us. We met with him and we started from scratch because he doesn’t really have a concept for God in his belief system. The spirit was strong and he really opened up to us and he had some really great questions for us.
We had another lesson with a previous investigator, Zoltán, our meeting started a bit late because some older ladies were in the building doing family history and they pulled him into their session and got him set up with a family search account. He didn’t seem very interested in the Book of Mormon and his previous experiences weren’t exactly what he was looking for. Since the last time he met with the missionaries he joined the Baptist church, but he still seems to be seeking for something that’s missing, even though he likes that the Baptist church meetings are more entertaining than the Mormon meetings. We asked him if he wanted to keep meeting with us and he said he did. We talked to him about what he wanted to gain from our meetings, what he needed. He said he wanted to learn more about how to live a clean life and be happy. We said, “Well we can start there.”
But two new investigators in one day is a good day!
I read a talk by Elder Ballard titled “To Whom Shall We Go.” I love this talk! I love Elder Ballard!! He shares this story from the New Testament:
One of the most heart-wrenching stories in scripture occurred when “many of [the Lord’s] disciples” found it hard to accept His teachings and doctrine, and they “went back, and walked no more with him.”
As these disciples left, Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Will ye also go away?”
Peter responded:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
In that moment, when others focused on what they could not accept, the Apostles chose to focus on what they did believe and know, and as a result, they remained with Christ.
(John 6:65-69)
Elder Ballard asks those who struggle with doctrines of the church or choose to walk away from the church the same question, “Where will you go?” He says:
“Today is no different. For some, Christ’s invitation to believe and remain continues to be hard—or difficult to accept. Some disciples struggle to understand a specific Church policy or teaching. Others find concerns in our history or in the imperfections of some members and leaders, past and present. Still others find it difficult to live a religion that requires so much. Finally, some have become “weary in well-doing.” For these and other reasons, some Church members vacillate in their faith, wondering if perhaps they should follow those who “went back, and walked no more” with Jesus.
"If any one of you is faltering in your faith, I ask you the same question that Peter asked: “To whom shall [you] go?” If you choose to become inactive or to leave the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where will you go? What will you do? The decision to “walk no more” with Church members and the Lord’s chosen leaders will have a long-term impact that cannot always be seen right now. There may be some doctrine, some policy, some bit of history that puts you at odds with your faith, and you may feel that the only way to resolve that inner turmoil right now is to “walk no more” with the Saints. If you live as long as I have, you will come to know that things have a way of resolving themselves. An inspired insight or revelation may shed new light on an issue. Remember, the Restoration is not an event, but it continues to unfold.”
So before you make that spiritually perilous choice to leave, I encourage you to stop and think carefully before giving up whatever it was that brought you to your testimony of the restored Church of Jesus Christ in the first place. Stop and think about what you have felt here and why you felt it. Think about the times when the Holy Ghost has borne witness to you of eternal truth.
I felt that this tied into a talk that I got from the zone leaders, an audio recording, by Spencer W. Kimball given in the 1950’s called, “Whom Shall I Marry.” It was given to youth in the church, mainly on the subject of temple marriage, and he talked about how only in the church are the blessings of the temple ordinances and is very blunt about why the youth should marry in the church. He explains why you need the ordinances and you need to follow Christ in his prescribed way. We need to follow the words of Eternal life, we need to join his church, receive his ordinances, because they are the physical necessities that allow for salvation. When we know the path, and are given the opportunity to receive these blessings in this life and we choose not to partake of the blessings in this life, then we will not receive the blessings in the next life. This tied into Elder Ballard’s question because once we are in the church, where else we go, because if we choose not to partake of those blessings and we choose not to act the alternative is to not return home to our Heavenly Father. We have great responsibility because we have knowledge of his gospel and we have to decide what we are going to do with it. Joseph F. Smith said if there were two choices, to die a horrible death or not live on the covenanted path, he would choose to die a horrible death; because at least it would be temporary. He also said that he would rather his little children die in their infancy than to grow up and purposefully choose not to enter into a temple marriage. These ideas really emphasize the critical choices we have to make after we have received the truth. Responsibility! With great knowledge there is great responsibility.
Sok szeretettel, Morgan Elder.
It was a good week for missionary work. I'm glad that things are going well here in Kecskemét.
In my personal study:
I read a talk by Elder Ballard titled “To Whom Shall We Go.” I love this talk! I love Elder Ballard!! He shares this story from the New Testament:
One of the most heart-wrenching stories in scripture occurred when “many of [the Lord’s] disciples” found it hard to accept His teachings and doctrine, and they “went back, and walked no more with him.”
As these disciples left, Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Will ye also go away?”
Peter responded:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
In that moment, when others focused on what they could not accept, the Apostles chose to focus on what they did believe and know, and as a result, they remained with Christ.
(John 6:65-69)
Elder Ballard asks those who struggle with doctrines of the church or choose to walk away from the church the same question, “Where will you go?” He says:
“Today is no different. For some, Christ’s invitation to believe and remain continues to be hard—or difficult to accept. Some disciples struggle to understand a specific Church policy or teaching. Others find concerns in our history or in the imperfections of some members and leaders, past and present. Still others find it difficult to live a religion that requires so much. Finally, some have become “weary in well-doing.” For these and other reasons, some Church members vacillate in their faith, wondering if perhaps they should follow those who “went back, and walked no more” with Jesus.
"If any one of you is faltering in your faith, I ask you the same question that Peter asked: “To whom shall [you] go?” If you choose to become inactive or to leave the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where will you go? What will you do? The decision to “walk no more” with Church members and the Lord’s chosen leaders will have a long-term impact that cannot always be seen right now. There may be some doctrine, some policy, some bit of history that puts you at odds with your faith, and you may feel that the only way to resolve that inner turmoil right now is to “walk no more” with the Saints. If you live as long as I have, you will come to know that things have a way of resolving themselves. An inspired insight or revelation may shed new light on an issue. Remember, the Restoration is not an event, but it continues to unfold.”
So before you make that spiritually perilous choice to leave, I encourage you to stop and think carefully before giving up whatever it was that brought you to your testimony of the restored Church of Jesus Christ in the first place. Stop and think about what you have felt here and why you felt it. Think about the times when the Holy Ghost has borne witness to you of eternal truth.
I felt that this tied into a talk that I got from the zone leaders, an audio recording, by Spencer W. Kimball given in the 1950’s called, “Whom Shall I Marry.” It was given to youth in the church, mainly on the subject of temple marriage, and he talked about how only in the church are the blessings of the temple ordinances and is very blunt about why the youth should marry in the church. He explains why you need the ordinances and you need to follow Christ in his prescribed way. We need to follow the words of Eternal life, we need to join his church, receive his ordinances, because they are the physical necessities that allow for salvation. When we know the path, and are given the opportunity to receive these blessings in this life and we choose not to partake of the blessings in this life, then we will not receive the blessings in the next life. This tied into Elder Ballard’s question because once we are in the church, where else we go, because if we choose not to partake of those blessings and we choose not to act the alternative is to not return home to our Heavenly Father. We have great responsibility because we have knowledge of his gospel and we have to decide what we are going to do with it. Joseph F. Smith said if there were two choices, to die a horrible death or not live on the covenanted path, he would choose to die a horrible death; because at least it would be temporary. He also said that he would rather his little children die in their infancy than to grow up and purposefully choose not to enter into a temple marriage. These ideas really emphasize the critical choices we have to make after we have received the truth. Responsibility! With great knowledge there is great responsibility.
Sok szeretettel, Morgan Elder.
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