April 26, 2015

To my friends and family,

I am happy to report that this week was awesome! We had two investigators come to church and we have found so many new people that want to talk to us and want to hear about the gospel of Christ. Today I want to spend most of my time comparing the situations of two people that I met. For privacy I will obviously not include names. Instead one will be Kim and one will be Lee.

Kim is an active member of the church and a recent convert. Recently he met with us and told us about his concerns that he cannot find direction in his life. He is worried that he is drifting from the path and the light of his conversion is not as bright as it was when he was first baptized. He is concerned and confused about what he wants to do in his life. Lee is also a member of the church who has been active most of his life but his problem is different. He too is experiencing the same feeling of being lost and not knowing where to go in his life. Unfortunately, unlike Kim, he is not keeping all of the commandments and is struggling with an addiction.

I cannot emphasis this enough: there is a difference between being lost and confused due to the trials and inherent difficulties in this life and being lost because of the bondage of sin. There is a difference. The Prophet Lehi describes this natural condition on earth in his vision on the tree of life.

And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.

An essential part of our time on this earth is to be tested. The mist of darkness and the confusion is absolutely mandatory for our growth. How can we be expected to grow in faith if we can see God and Christ at all times? What kind of test would it be if we always knew the answers to the questions? How could we grow?

Just like there are two different diseases, there are two different remedies. You do not use an antibiotic for a virus; instead you must treat the diseases differently even if the symptoms are similar. If you have sinned, you must repent. To find the path again if you have walked off of the path returning to God, you have to ask God in prayer for forgiveness. But today I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about the people who are dwindling in conversion or just can't seem to put everything together.

Let me first say this: weakness and doubt are not sins. You don't need to apologize for struggling in this life when you are doing all you can to follow the Savior. You don't need to feel alone when you are lost in what seems like a mist of darkness in this life. To continue the metaphor I used earlier, the Savior Jesus Christ is the great healer.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

When we are lost in this world which is an inevitable part of our sojourn in this life, we can look to our lighthouse and our guide. Christ has sent the example and he is the one that will help us overcome the mists of darkness in our life. Christ gave us this promise:

 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:32-33)

Christ is the antidote to the poison of hopelessness. He is the remedy for the disease of fear and anxiety. He has promised us peace in this world if we but look to him. Pray and ask him for guidance and comfort, then follow what he says. Keep his commandments, keep reading and praying, keep going to church, do all of the things that brought conversion in the first place. Then you will be able to see the light.

I love you all,

Elder Coleman

April 19, 2015

To my family and friends, 

The older I get in my mission, the harder it is to write these posts. Not because I don't still love Korea (actually I probably love it more with every passing week) but because I have a lot of experiences that are hard to write about and talk about. This week all of the people we meet with are doing well. They are still reading the scriptures and praying, which if you want to get an answer from God, is absolutely essential. We talked to our friend Jason about how to recognize the answers from God. Like we taught him, we have to be patient and diligent. If we are not willing to put in the work, we will not be able to understand the answer we receive. 

So being in 서초 (Seoul) many people are very rich. Because of this, we have many meal appointments with investigators, members, and sometimes just random people. I can remember several meals this week that were incredibly expensive. Unfortunately, everyone is susceptible to becoming focused on money or wealth. Even missionaries, instead of thinking about the work, might get more focused on what they could eat or who they should meet with to get more food. I’m happy I haven't had many of those people yet on my mission. If any of you are wondering why I am talking about food, it is because there is a food that we should be focusing on. It is not steak or strawberries, but it is the bread of life that Christ has promised to all those that follow him. If you want this bread that satisfies all hunger, just ask. Ask God what you have to do through prayer. He loves all of us.

Love you all,

Elder Coleman 

April 13, 2015

To my Friends and Family,

What an interesting week. As I look back on the week, we have seen a lot of miracles and have had a lot of amazing experiences. In my new area, everyone is basically fluent at English, which is very bad. Because of that, we don't get a lot of Korean listening practice in and we have to teach in English, which of course is just not fun. Also, there are so many rich people who are also busy, which makes teaching them even harder. Anyway, but it was a good week. Our friend 정재승, is doing very well. He is very interested in his relationship with God and what he can to do have a peaceful and happy life. He seeks for learning and will read and ask questions until he understands perfectly, which is of course lovely for a teacher. 

As some of you know, General Conference was also this week. General Conference is when the living prophets and apostles speak to us and help us understand what we should be doing in order to follow God. Just like in Old Testament and New Testament times, we believe that God calls prophets to help him do his work on the earth. So in this conference, a common pattern that prophets talked about was relying on the Savior, Jesus Christ. They said that the way to do this is to first have faith that He lives and loves us. Faith is an enabling power that helps us overcome the difficulties of the world. Faith leads to hope. Hope is an abiding trust that if we keep God's commandments, one day we will find rest from all of our cares and worries. The hope that we will one day rest allows us to find peace in this life regardless of the struggles we face because we know that we will eventually live with our families in peace. 

As I have served my mission, I have continued to learn the truth of these principles. We can find so much joy and peace in our life as we align our perspective with that of God's. If we look at this life as not an end, but rather as just a step in our existence, we can find peace in our trials and comfort in our sorrows.

Love you all!

한승천 

April 5, 2015: Gangham Style!

To my friends and family,

Yes, I am in the place. Or at least I am close to the place where that thing happened (the Gangnam Style Video). I have still never seen the video and I don't intend to because Koreans hate it. But anyway this was a pretty good week! Moving is always hard because you leave all of your friends and the people you are teaching, but my new area is very nice. The members pay for our meals twice a week and love feeding us. Our church here is also very large and most of the people are fluent in English. It’s kind of annoying because I don't like speaking English, but I sometimes have to because it is rude if you don't at least a little bit.

Anyway so since this week was/is Easter, I will just share a small invitation to all of you. Go watch the “He Lives” video that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has made (on LDS.org). It is very short and explains far better who the Savior is than I would be able to. I’ll just add my brief testimony to all those who have already testified: I know that He lives. I know that He loves all people and that He wants us to all return to Him. I know that by following His teachings we will get closer to Him and have internal peace in this life and in the one to come.

Love you all,

Elder Coleman