Tuesday, July 15, 2014
July 13, 2014
Pride. It always comes down to pride. People only accept help. I, for one, am a pretty proud person. I don't like accepting help because it makes me feel inferior, which is dumb, but yeah. That's how people go less active. Maybe they get more offended because they already know they're spiritually insufficient and they don't like the reminder. We have a recent convert, Jamie, who is struggling still with the word of wisdom. mostly coffee, occasionally alcohol. She made the argument of "well, whats one cup of coffee. that won't keep me out of the celestial kingdom." To which I rebutted, "Jamie, the real question is are YOU going to let ONE CUP of coffee keep you out of the celestial kingdom?" Then we talked about Olympic sprinting, and how almost every runner trains to a certain degree of fitness, and then it comes down to less than half a second between first place and fourth place. If we liken that to the three kingdoms of glory, how does the gold medalist differ from the silver medalist? He must have done SOMETHING better than the silver medalist, right? Well, even if the gold medalist and the silver medalist are only a tenth of a second apart, one still gets gold and one still gets silver.
The cool thing is we get to choose if we are going to win or not, everyday when we wake up at 0630 to excessive, as we study and go and teach. As we are obedient to the commandments of God on a one-day-at-a-time basis, it becomes easy. On paper, but thats where enduring to the end comes in...
Looking forward to the 21st. we have a baptism. Also, my companion is getting emergency transferred. So I get a new companion in about an hour. Woo.
Elder Haskell the Younger
Post by Elder Boyd Haskell.
The cool thing is we get to choose if we are going to win or not, everyday when we wake up at 0630 to excessive, as we study and go and teach. As we are obedient to the commandments of God on a one-day-at-a-time basis, it becomes easy. On paper, but thats where enduring to the end comes in...
Looking forward to the 21st. we have a baptism. Also, my companion is getting emergency transferred. So I get a new companion in about an hour. Woo.
Elder Haskell the Younger
Post by Elder Boyd Haskell.
June 29th
still alive. doing work. learning spanish and chinese. thanks for the package, but i am sending the card game back to you, we are not allowed to play games anymore, so...kind of lame, but obedience and all..
oh yeah we had a baptism on the 21st. such an awesome dude. #likeaboss
June 12
There is nothing more important in this life (after serving a mission) than being a father. There are some great quotes in the Gospel Library App under the Family section. the book is called 'A Parent's Guide' Super cool. Makes me want to be a dad.
"in proper courtship the partners must recognize that their first responsibilities are to encourage each other in righteous behavior and to sustain and support each other in righteous desires and ambitions. the young man will do anything to protect the young lady's purity. Each partner will UNSELFISHLY seek the best for the other while they learn to know each other well."
So basically being a father requires a good husband, and being a good husband starts way before you get married.
heavenly father's purpose is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life" of all his children. There is so much potential there! In our attempts to fulfill these roles properly, we thankfully have perfect role models! Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They ultimate goal of a man or boy is to become an effective husband and father, and the ultimate goal of a woman or girl is to become an effective wife and mother. notice that i said 'man or boy' and 'woman and girl'; again this all starts before the fact. PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING.
Now just ask some questions and answer them. :) How do Heavenly Father and Christ fulfill these roles? What examples do we see in their relationship? How do they act in relation to us?
You can contrast this with Satan's attitude, whose purpose is to destroy the human family. Moses 4:1, 2 Nephi 2:18, Moses 4:29-33.
GET RID OF THE "WHATS IN IT FOR ME" ATTITUDE. Guess what fellas? Its not about you! Life is about sacrifice! We give things up so we can be better sons and daughters of God! You want to put off having kids and travel the world, partying on the beach with your homies? Sure you can do that but you're hindering your eternal progression. You are literally delaying opportunities for spirits to gain mortal bodies. Again, life isn't about us! Its about love for other people.
Children and others are our spirit brothers and sisters. This is important. The lord asked Cain, "Where is thy brother?" Cain said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Our answer must be a resounding yes! As parents, we become responsible for some of our younger brothers and sisters, and we are their keepers. The Lord has entrusted us with His children for a very limited amount of time to teach them true principles and govern in righteousness over them, until they are able to govern themselves. Teach children the eternal roles of men and women, and to glory in their respective sexes. There are abundant blessings and tremendous responsibilities given to both genders and both are critical in raising future children. 1 Corinthians 1:11.
As parents, men and women are given the responsibility of teaching your children to fulfill faithfully the roles of eternal mothers and fathers that the Lord has promised to those who are faithful. Always remember that your children are your brothers and sisters, given into your care. Teach by example and precept, what a righteous parent is, teach the value of their eternal roles as men and women, and teach them to use their procreative powers within the bounds the Lord has set. We can choose on a daily basis to follow God, or to follow Satan. Being a parent can bring true joy.
Granted, I don't know any of this from experience, but the Holy Ghost has manifested to me that this is true. I never wanted kids until probably last week when I started reading this. For real.
June 7
Pride. It always comes down to pride. People only accept help. I, for one, am a pretty proud person. I don't like accepting help because it makes me feel inferior, which is dumb, but yeah. That's how people go less active. Maybe they get more offended because they already know they're spiritually insufficient and they don't like the reminder. We have a recent convert, Jamie, who is struggling still with the word of wisdom. mostly coffee, occasionally alcohol. She made the argument of "well, whats one cup of coffee. that won't keep me out of the celestial kingdom." To which I rebutted, "Jamie, the real question is are YOU going to let ONE CUP of coffee keep you out of the celestial kingdom?" Then we talked about Olympic sprinting, and how almost every runner trains to a certain degree of fitness, and then it comes down to less than half a second between first place and fourth place. If we liken that to the three kingdoms of glory, how does the gold medalist differ from the silver medalist? He must have done SOMETHING better than the silver medalist, right? Well, even if the gold medalist and the silver medalist are only a tenth of a second apart, one still gets gold and one still gets silver.
The cool thing is we get to choose if we are going to win or not, everyday when we wake up at 0630 to excessive, as we study and go and teach. As we are obedient to the commandments of God on a one-day-at-a-time basis, it becomes easy. On paper, but thats where enduring to the end comes in...
Looking forward to the 21st. we have a baptism. Also, my companion is getting emergency transferred because someone somewhere else in the mission screwed up and he gets to babysit, and I get the other problem-child. Yay babysitting. So I get a new companion in about an hour. Woo.
Elder Haskell the Younger
May 29th 2014
In the Army we have our own set of recitations to do in the morning, and they are powerful pieces of text, just like our missionary ones. They remind us of who we are, and they keep the importance of our positions in the front of our minds. I have been thinking of this over the last week, and I wrote 'The Creed of the LDS Missionary', based off of the Soldier's Creed. They share similar traits. I think you would appreciate them both.
The Soldier's Creed:
I am an American Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and my self. I am an expert and I am proffessional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America, in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American soldier.
This creed is ingrained into every basic training graduate. Every soldier knows this and strives to live this creed. It is part of the doctrine of the Army.
The Missionary's Creed:
I am an LDS Missionary. I serve the people of the Arizona Tempe Mission and live the Doctrine of Christ. I am a son/daughter of Helaman, a warrior of truth and righteousness. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a comrade fallen. I am disciplined, a disciple of Jesus Christ, trained and proficient in my doctrine and dedication to this work. I always maintain the spirituality of my investigators, my companion, and my self. I stand ready to be a witness of Christ in all things and in all places, to be a rock and a standard for the values of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our world is at war. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". I am a warrior. I will not waver, nor will I falter under the persecutions of men. I am a guardian of the human family and the restored gospel. I am an LDS Missionary.
Just thought I'd share,
Elder Haskell
The Soldier's Creed:
I am an American Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and my self. I am an expert and I am proffessional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America, in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American soldier.
This creed is ingrained into every basic training graduate. Every soldier knows this and strives to live this creed. It is part of the doctrine of the Army.
The Missionary's Creed:
I am an LDS Missionary. I serve the people of the Arizona Tempe Mission and live the Doctrine of Christ. I am a son/daughter of Helaman, a warrior of truth and righteousness. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a comrade fallen. I am disciplined, a disciple of Jesus Christ, trained and proficient in my doctrine and dedication to this work. I always maintain the spirituality of my investigators, my companion, and my self. I stand ready to be a witness of Christ in all things and in all places, to be a rock and a standard for the values of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our world is at war. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". I am a warrior. I will not waver, nor will I falter under the persecutions of men. I am a guardian of the human family and the restored gospel. I am an LDS Missionary.
Just thought I'd share,
Elder Haskell
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