From the trench.: August 2021

Monday, August 23, 2021

If God's real then where's MY vision/feeling/voice/miracle/a million bucks??

Skip to end for funny pics

Come back and read if you're wondering about the title.

One thing that I think is pretty cool about Jesus was the way he taught stuff. He was the master teacher.

He told stories, gave legendary sermons and led his people by example. He also encouraged people to ask questions.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God… But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering..."

(James 1:5-6)

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

(Matthew 7:7)

It's interesting that in both of these cases "ask" is a command. We are commanded to question in order that we may learn for ourselves what Jesus Christ actually taught and if it was true. Most importantly: was He really the son of God? Will following Him really improve my life all that much? Because of Him, can I live again after I die?

How??

That how part is kinda tricky, because everyone who studies the ministry of Jesus Christ in the New Testament gets slightly different ideas from it. Enough simple truths have been lost or made unclear in the various translations of the Bible to create confusion and disagreement among different branches of Christianity. That's why there's like a bajillion different churches today who believe in the same God but teach different things about the stuff Jesus taught. (Baptism is an essential ordinance for salvation or no it's just ceremonial extra stuff, anyone can baptize you or no wait they have to have special authority, Jesus was resurrected with his perfected body and so will we or nope it was only in the spirit and so will we or wait no only good people are resurrected and everyone else suffers eternally as spirits...)

Confusion is no bueno, especially if your salvation, eternal happiness/misery and all that jazz depends on it. But because He loves us and desires to continue leading His church today, Jesus Christ returned to the earth in modern times to call a prophet and restore the same gospel He taught in its fullness.

What the dump is a prophet? A prophet is a regular dude who God communicates with to do his work and lead his people when they need help. Think of Moses, who was called to wreck pharaoh with a few plagues and lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. David, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Abraham are other great examples of prophets called for the Lord's purposes just to name a few.

In order to clarify basic truths and unite his people again, God called a prophet and helped him translate The Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ as recorded by His followers in the ancient Americas.

It is from this record which I'll be drawing from for today's email. (Yay!)

One of the first books in this record follows the journey of a dysfunctional family trying to follow God's will for them without getting themselves lost or killed in the wilderness. It's very relatable.

Nephi, the 3rd youngest in the family, is the author of the first two books in the Book of Mormon. He records his struggles in helping his older brothers Laman and Lemuel gain their own faith in Jesus Christ.

One memorable moment is found in some of the final remarks of Nephi's record, an excerpt from the last conversation he has with his brothers concerning the gospel. He has tried so hard for so many years now to help them, remind them, entice them to believe in and act upon the words of the prophets just enough to gain knowledge and faith for themselves about God their Heavenly Father.

Even after years of trying to reach Laman and Lemuel through his own words however, Nephi never is successful in getting them to care enough to humble themselves sufficiently in order to do whatever it might've taken them to gain their own witness of the divine birth, the incomparable life, and the infinite atoning sacrifice of God's Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

I imagine Nephi saying this next line to his brothers with an exasperated edge to his voice as he thinks back on all the time they spent immersed in and unknowingly benefiting from the blessings of the very gospel they still insisted they didn't understand nor had any reason to believe in:

"Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark."

Asking requires questioning. It is also followed by the command to knock – which requires doing. And what is it that we should do? Nephi tells his brothers in the next line.

"For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do."

2 Nephi 32:4-5

Some people get hung up on this part. They might pray to God and even try following his commandments for a while (in other words, they 'enter in by the way') looking for an answer but then nothing dramatic or flashy or obvious happens, even when they were seeking and praying honestly for some kind of an answer. Where is this "Holy Ghost" I should've gotten? Why doesn't God appear to me in a vision or an obvious voice I can hear?

To those who gave it a shot but didn't get the answer they were looking for, consider the God you are praying to. Who is He? What is your relationship to Him if He even exists?

To receive the Holy Ghost and have it show unto you "all things what ye should do '' means being ready to actually do whatever he asks you to do.

Even if He asks you to wait.

Ya can't give God an assignment and a deadline. You're not his boss, so please don't get discouraged when he doesn't answer in your preferred way and timing like he's your heavenly employee or a big blue genie in a bottle.

A good parent does not bend to the will of their toddler, but instead uses the higher intellect they possess to care for their child in the good parent's way – even if that means saying no or not yet to some things their child wants.

And what if God had given you an undeniable feeling or appeared to you in a vision before you were ready for it? Well, you would be forced to acknowledge Him. In clarity. Your ability to exercise faith in God would be lost in light of a perfect witness of Him, and you would be unable to choose for yourself to accept or reject God's will. This would totally destroy God's entire plan for you – which is to come to the earth and make your own choice to follow God even outside of his direct physical presence.

God is your Heavenly Father. He speaks to you and blesses you in whatever means and timing He sees is best for you even if that isn't the way you wanted it to be, because he is a good parent who wants you to be able to choose for yourself either to reject or return to Him. He will not force your hand by imposing his presence on you prematurely.

If you're looking for a kind of answer or a sign which you aren't receiving through prayer or study, consider changing what it is you're asking for or waiting a little longer. Remember that different kinds of answers may require different kinds of seeking, asking and doing on your part.

So if you're really stumped right now and you're honestly wondering if your prayers make it past the ceiling of your bedroom, I'd invite you to reconsider a couple of things.

1) When you're on your knees praying for an answer, who are you really talking to? Your Heavenly Father, or a lesser god you made up?

2) What kinds of questions are you asking? What are your expectations? How can/should you change them to be more appropriate for your current relationship with your Heavenly Father?

Remember that a relationship with God takes time and effort, just like only literally anything else in life. The quality of your communication with Heavenly Father will be a reflection of the kind of time and effort you've given Him.

Even if you've followed the commandments and attended church your whole life like your parents taught you to, if hearing God's voice was only recently the highest priority to you then don't expect the answer to come as if it's been your highest priority for your whole life.

A testimony doesn't come by chance thank goodness. It takes you giving your own effort, consistently, for as long as it takes. Have patience with yourself! Have patience with God. Study and act on Christ's teachings like you never have before and the spiritual witness you desire will come and grow in increments as your relationship with your Heavenly Father matures.

I have my faith in God confirmed often in a variety of ways. Most of the time it isn't very flashy or obvious, but on the rare occasion that I do get a particularly strong feeling (warm feeling in the chest, chills, a sudden all-encompassing feeling of being loved, etc) or witness a clear miracle I make sure to write it down so I don't forget about it.

It's possible that you've had moments like that too but have forgotten about them. One thing I've learned as a missionary is that recording spiritual experiences you've had solidifies them and prepares you to receive more. Recording spiritual experiences shows to God and yourself that they are valuable to you, and you will begin recognizing more of them.

I know that God is real and gosh dangit that's a MIRACLE! He is our wise and loving Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ lives and leads His people today so we don't have to fight over the words of dead prophets. Miracles happen. They can happen to you. They are happening to you right now, for how many miracles can be greater than the miracle of being? You are ALIVE and BREATHING!! You have a mind which is entirely your own to think and dream and learn for yourself. Your eyes are miracles. They see the world with a kind of depth and clarity that no camera can replicate.

This life is so small compared to the eternity of existence before us, but it's so important. There is too little of this life to waste as we discover the joys of mortality and prepare to be in God's presence once more.

So go make this life count!

Love,

Elder Johnson

1. Tried talking to this guy about the gospel but he wouldn't listen cuz his heart was hardened. We bashed a lil, he swung at me so I wrestled him to the ground and put him in a chokehold. Then we got Cafe Rio and bonded together over a plate of sweet pork quesadillas and light conversation about Uzbekistan in the spring.

2. Said goodbye to Omar this guy's a G. Has one of the coolest conversion stories you'll ever hear and raises a full farm of goats, chickens and ducks in a half an acre of backyard.

3. Omar's goats

4. Messing with the wide angle setting on my camera while on a video shoot at the river

5. Saying goodbye to Marta and her dog which weirdly exactly resembles my dog from back home...

6. This dog is SMILING do you see that??

7. Crashing with the bois after service

8. Elder Brandeu eating spicy chicken tacos

Monday, August 2, 2021

Best Day Of My Life

Saturday was fun. Elder Barlow and Huish got swarmed by hornets while cleaning out this lady's shed. Elder Barlow got stung on the ear and it turned SUPER red and swelled up a lot.

We took pictures at an AWESOME sunset (thanks to all the smoke in the air) and a random cat walked up so I did what any normal person would and grabbed it for the picture. Pics below for the mortal forearm damage which ensued.

There was a "pioneer day" neighborhood breakfast which we got enlisted in to pull this handcart around and give kids rides. The leisurely handcart ride eventually turned into a race back and forth across the field between the two handcarts we had. By noon I was DRENCHED in sweat. The kids loved us though so it was worth it.

We've been visiting this one family since the first week I got here. They stopped going to church when the pandemic hit and have just now started coming back.

Guys, it has been incredible to watch the transformation in their home as the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ were reintroduced to their home. Their kids get along better, and the Spirit is felt so much stronger there.

They found a new home in another city last week, so we met with them for the last time and that was pretty bittersweet for me. Their new place was a lot more ideal for them but we wouldn't get to be their missionaries anymore. :( Their 12 year old son took us on a walk around his apartment complex and introduced us to all his friends like the old lady who grew sunflowers outside her door and showed us his secret fort inside a massive blackberry bush. I taught him a couple last judo moves so he could protect himself from ninjas and badgers at his new house, then we said goodbye.

THAT. Was. The. Worst.

This is one of those times I'm so grateful I got reassigned to be in Boise Idaho for this time though, because I'll get to come back and visit these guys pretty easily again after the mission! It's been such a cool experience to actually see the gospel improve their relationships.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TRAVEL UPDATE:

My mission in Santo Domingo West is officially open! Last week my trainer, Elder Cattani, went to our mission so people are going back! All of my visa work is done except for the apostilled birth certificate, which is taking a long time to get for some reason but as soon as it's done they're pretty much buying the first plane ticket they can get to ship me outta here 😳 CRAAAZY stuff!!! We'll see if I even last the transfer!

In light of my possible imminent travel plans, my primary assignment has been to teach as many people as possible how to use cameras, lighting, sound and video editing programs to make cool videos. We've had trainings with at least 6 companionships this week, and I've been blessed to watch them progress in their abilities. It is SO SATISFYING to teach someone else how to do something you love and then see them takeoff with it. I'm very proud of the rising generation of missionary filmmakers in this mission 🥲

Oh, also I was on a podcast. These guys asked me if we could come on their show where they talk about theology, culture, Christ and other deep topics so we got permission from our mission president to be recorded on a 90 minute episode with these guys! Honestly it was such a good experience. The hosts of this show are a comedian and a journalist, which is actually an incredible combo. They were very well spoken and respectful, we met with them one time off-mic just to get to know them and we had a suuuper good discussion on the purpose of life and what happens to us after we die. I kinda wish we'd recorded that conversation because it was really deep and I think more enlightening for listeners – the conversation we had on the podcast was interesting too but it was more of us debunking myths about the church and less time was spent on the more important points of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Still fun though! I'll give you guys a link when it gets published!

We had mission conference again, but this time we tried streaming the whole thing across the mission over the course of a few days. So our mission president traveled to each zone a different day, and everyone else just watched the Livestream on zoom. I put together a crew to run a camera and some microphones so it would look buttery smooth… and ran into a LOT of problems along the way. We didn't have a perfect Livestream until the last half of the very last meeting, but holy cow I learned SO much from that experience. It was stressful, difficult, a lot of stuff went wrong – and it was friggin awesome.

Stress is good for you. It teaches you really fast and makes ya feel alive.

One night a cat followed us back to our apartment so we invited him inside and gave him some ham. He was super well groomed and seemed to know his way around the house so we assumed he's one of our neighbor's. We named him Marty (after our mission president) and officially made him the unofficial 7th member of our district.

After we all got done cuddling him (and collecting any diseases he might've had) we put him back outside and he hasn't been back since. I'll let ya know if he returns tho.

One thing that stood out to me in my studies this week was the story of Christ raising the daughter of Jarius from the dead. I especially love it as depicted in the artwork here:

I love this picture because it depicts Christ showing mercy to a desperate family in need. Jairus and his wife are waiting anxiously at their young daughter's bedside, who was pronounced dead by all who were in the home moments earlier. Christ took her by the hand and blessed the girl,

...I say unto thee, arise.

And straightway the damsel arose, and walked...

It's interesting that Christ didn't choose to heal the girl in her sickness immediately by just commanding it to be done where he met her father. Instead He went out of the way of His normal ministry, walked through crowds of people and even asked those in the home to depart so that He could heal the girl individually.

One of my favorite titles for Christ is The Master Healer. Like the girl in this picture, Christ - our Master Healer - comes to us to heal us individually.

As far as I've learned, in my study and personal experience with the Spirit and seeing how the gospel affects people for good, I can testify that the gospel which Jesus Christ taught in the Bible and Book of Mormon can help anyone live a better life than they'd have without it.

Because of the great love I've felt for many individuals and families like the one we just said goodbye to, I can see that there are forces in our world which we don't fully understand. Feelings of love, joy and peace are felt in a distinctly different and stronger way while learning of and following the example of Christ.

You can find those same feelings in all their pure goodness when you learn about Christ, who he was and what he taught. When you listen and learn from Him, you can feel that love which he has for everyone, including yourself, when you follow His example.

Random final thought that just came up: the other day I was walking out of a big youth church meeting thing and the president over that area was walking past me when I said hi to him. He asked how I was doing, I said "good" or something lame like that. I asked how his day was going and he said, "it's the best day of my life." I asked why, what happened? He shrugged,

"Just is."

I was a little taken aback and thought holy cow that is the best response I've ever heard. Today really is the best day ever because you know more than you've ever known, seen more than you've ever seen and you've had all of the best experiences of your entire life up to this point. Best day of my life indeed.

I love you, God loves you, and there is a LOT to learn about yourself from your Creator. :)

Keep living your best life!

Love,

Elder Juanhijo

1) Air conditioner feels nice