November 27, 2014

To my Friends and Family,

This week I had many incredible experiences. We had the opportunity to hear from Elder Oaks a couple days ago and Elder Bednar today (two modern day prophets of God). Elder Oaks discussed the importance of losing yourself in the work and taught that whoever shall lose his life shall find it. Elder Bednar was very casual and passed out cell phones for all the missionaries to ask questions. Both men were amazing and it was especially special because this past Tuesday was not a great day for me to start, but through trying to serve my investigators and companion, and giving a blessing to a sister, I was able to feel so much better. In addition, it is incredibly rare for two apostles to speak at the MTC in a week, so it was just a tender mercy I guess. Plus we got "randomly" picked to sit in the very front during Elder Oaks' talk. Aside from that, the week progressed as usual: we learned Korean, taught investigators, learned about the gospel, and felt the Spirit. 

So the Korean lesson of the week is something we call the Glue principle. So for some conjugations (Past tense, want to form etc.) you have to use something called glue, which is basically just adding an ending and conjugating it. Its just super hard to do because there are tons of exceptions and its hard to do on the spot. But at the same time, its really cool because it is very organized and logical. 

So my lesson I learned about Christ comes from Matthew 27 and Mathew 4. In Matthew 4, the Lord is tempted by the devil with the word "if" three times. The devil tried to get the Savior to question his divine purpose and care for his physical hunger, pride, or fear. Then in Matthew 27, the crucifiers mocked Him on the cross and demanded that if He be the Son of God, then he should let himself down or if God be with him, he should come down from the cross. The two most dangerous sins are pride and doubt. They are opposites.  Pride is a sin because we think we are better than God. Doubt is a sin because we doubt God and are ungrateful for our blessings. Doubt destroys our faith, cripples our soul, and can physically lead to depression, anxiety, and pain. We feel alone and lost because we don't remember our calling, lineage, or purpose. Christ never forgot that he was a Son of God. We must never forget, especially during our own trials and while we bear our own crosses, that we are children of God, who will never abandon us if we go to Him in prayer. 

Finally, I want to talk about how we can receive this peace in our time of doubt. The Restored Gospel can bring peace to our minds and hope to our hearts. I've seen it work for me and so many people around me. I've seen it work for our investigators that we teach and people who have no conception of or belief in God. Listen to the modern prophets and the restored scriptures like the Book of Mormon. The lesson or chapter doesn't matter; pick anything from any conference or book. Then pray before you read or listen and ask God if these words are true. Then read and study it out in your mind. If you do, you will feel a prick or feeling in your heart that will testify to you that these words are true. If we follow these words, we will not be led astray and our doubts will be overcome by hope and faith.

With Love,

Elder Coleman