Nathan Coleman

Nathan Coleman
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Monday, February 22, 2016

I will not leave you comfortless



February 22, 2016

My family and friends,

John 14:18- I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

I'll start my email with that and also with a big thank you to all of those who said prayers for me this week and also sent emails making sure I was okay. You are all incredible and you are all great examples in your own way.

Since I am restarting this blog I guess I need to add Korean culture tidbits in here; I actually had a lot this week that I had forgotten or about or at least realized again, but the big one today is 부담 (boodam. Translated: pressure or something like that). You give boodam to someone when you constantly pressure them to do something (ah nag, that’s a good word for this I guess, but it’s not exactly the same thing). This past week I loved watching one of my companions pressure tons of people into coming into church. It’s related to the word 기분 (that means like inner peace fealings) in that if you pressure someone too hard, they can be offended and that’s like a big deal in Korea. Anyway back to my scripture in John.

So whenever we change our situation, whether it is where we live, if we are trying to exercise more, to undergo a spiritual change, whatever; whenever we try to change, we are generally uncomfortable at first. So, naturally I experienced a small amount of discomfort this week. Compared to the rest of my and others’ human experiences, it was fairly minor. So this week when I went into the temple with the rest of the missionaries in my area (a temple is not like a meeting house, it is a place where only dedicated LDS members go and it is sacred for people who are members of the church), I was having a difficult time trying to be grateful for what I had and I was also having this pressure and change on me again. Anyway, in John 14, Jesus Christ talks about the spirit, or Holy Ghost, that He will send to all those who sincerely ask him. There are a ton of famous scriptures in this section of the bible but for some reason this one stood out to me. As I read it, I was reminded that Christ sacrificed his life to take all of our burdens away, not just the big ones. I was again reminded that even when we feel alone, or out of place, and sometimes worst of all when we feel guilty; at these times, the Lord has promised to send His spirit to comfort us, and that He will come to us, maybe in the form of a friend, or in the form of a peaceful feeling. But I testify that He will always come. God knows all of His children personally and He knows how to best help us all. The invitation has been extended to all of us.

 28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I love you all,
Elder Coleman

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