March 1, 2015

To my family and friends,

Thank you all for the continuous support! I feel your love on a weekly basis and the prayers that you offer on a daily basis. Everything is going well in Korea. Our investigators were both pretty busy or sick this week, so not a lot of progress on those fronts, but we made a lot of progress with helping the members of the church help us to find people to teach. I hope all of you are healthy and doing well.

First, in Korean culture it is absolutely essential to share. Korean people always share their food, clothes, or basically anything to anyone. They are willing to give service whenever it is needed. Whenever we need more rice or food, we could ask anyone and they would give it to us. The interesting thing though is that they refuse to accept service. We can't help an old woman carry things or give up our seat on a bus for someone. Actually, it’s sometimes annoying, but the idea of sharing is what I wanted to talk about today.

Christ was the perfect teacher. He taught all of us how to be happy in this life and have joy in the next. One of the most important principles he taught was service. Whether it was through his actions or his sermons, the idea that we must love our neighbor is very clear. One of his most powerful parables is the parable of the Good Samaritan. For those of you who are not familiar with it, a man is robbed when he is traveling and is left almost for dead. First a priest passes him and doesn't help him, then another religious leader passes by and doesn't help him. But then a Samaritan (a racial enemy of the Jews) passes him. He takes him to an inn to tend his wounds and he uses his time and money to help him. James says that true religion is helping the poor and giving a helping hand to the lost. We can do that by giving our money and giving service to those who need it. BUT the most important thing we can share with people is the pure love of Christ and the gospel. To be honest, we have a lot of people in Korea that do not like missionaries. But, Christ didn't give an exception. We are to love and forgive all men. "By this they may know that ye are my disciples. If ye have love one to another." Every time we visit people, we give them a commitment. We always invite them to act and to grow closer to Christ. I’m happy that all of you are reading my blog right now, but I hope you do something more than just read. I hope you apply the teachings of Christ. Go to the scriptures, pray, do more than just read my thoughts on Korea. This week, I want to challenge all of you to show someone love. Not someone that you like or someone that you are close with. Find someone who you are angry with, haven't forgiven, or someone who just isn't a great person. It is easy to love your friends, but it is hard to love people who spit on you and revile against you. As you show people love that they often don't deserve, you will start to understand Christ's teachings. You will start to understand why religion and love is so important. 

In closing Paul said this about Charity, or love:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,  rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth. But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

I love you all and hope that you will all take some time to show somebody love this week,

Elder Coleman