What manner of men?

May 22, 2016

My friends and family,

So as usual, not a lot of time to write a super solid letter this week, so I will be brief. Transfers are this Wednesday so I will have a new companion. He is Korean and I am super excited for it. I will learn a ton more about the culture that I am sure will entertain all of you. 

So the message I have today is the most simple, but most difficult message that the Savior ever shared. "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

In our quest to be truly happy and find lasting joy in this life, the path is simple; do the things that Christ did and become like him. We are to do more than just follow his rules, we are to develop His attributes. These include faith, hope, charity, humility, diligence, obedience, honesty, gratitude, virtue, knowledge, and so on. If any of these attributes cause you to cringe a little bit when you hear it, (I know some do for me) it would probably be a great time to work with Heavenly Father through prayer and study to improve our weaknesses. I know that as we develop these attributes, we will be happier in this life and have more self confidence in our relationship with God. 

I love you all,

Elder Coleman 

Then will your confidence wax strong.

May 17, 2016

To my friends and family,

What a week. Sorry this email is a little late, we have been busy the past two days, and this is the first second we had to do anything, so here it is! Anyway some culture for the week is the 배웅. It is basically like the send off. I’ve already talked about this before I’m sure, but we had a funny experience with it this week. We went to a far off area to help a man farm and when we were finished he took us back to the main bus terminal (like 30 minutes both ways) just to make sure we got on the right bus and then went home. So pretty powerful send off. I love it haha.

I had a really cool experience this week that I won't go into too much because of time, but one thing I learned this week was to have confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul said,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

When we teach the gospel, we say that it will not only bring eternal life, but also that it will bring happiness and joy to everyone in this life if we live it. When I face trials and adversity, I try to stop and think to myself "Do you really believe this? Do you really believe that this gospel and its principles and the teachings of Jesus Christ can really help anyone, regardless of their situation, to find peace, satisfaction, and true joy?"  Sometimes, to be honest I think that a lot of us feel "yea the gospel works, but not in this thing. Not in this problem."

I testify to you that the gospel works in any situation, problem, and for any person. It will never be easy, and the answer may not be readily available, but I am confident in the power of the gospel. I know that through prayer, scripture study, keeping the commandments, repenting, keeping covenants with God, and developing Christ-like attributes and other principles of the gospel, no matter how difficult the problem, how far from the path, or how you feel right now, that the gospel can and will help you if you put it to the test. I am confident in the gospel, and I am not ashamed of the words of Christ. I hope that I will be given the strength to continue living the gospel and that I can be an instrument in helping others feel the same joy and receive the same help that I have. It is my sincere prayer that it may be the same for all of you.

With love,

Elder Coleman

Banks

May 8, 2016 (Mother's Day)

Hey everyone! I will be brief today because I haven't prepared too many ideas and also because we are in a little bit of a hurry today. Anyway so this week we didn't have a ton of progress missionary work wise, but if you always seek to learn, you will be blessed by the spirit to know things that you can do to improve. So the culture for this week is pretty funny. Apparently back in the day in Korea, because it was so hot and no one had air conditioning, people would go to banks and just chill because it was cool in there. This is funny because this week like 3 people talked to us about doing this and neither me nor my companion knew anything about it. So on a hot day we will go to a bank and just lay on the floor or something haha.

So yesterday I had a chance to talk to my family (we get to call home twice a year so it’s pretty special) and at the very end of the phone call when we were praying, my phone died in the middle. I’m not really sure at what point it died, but it was pretty funny. The reason I tell this story is because when I opened my eyes when I finished the prayer I realized that I was praying totally alone when I thought my family was right there. Then on the bus ride home I tried to think about the more symbolic meaning of that moment. When we pray to our father, he is not right in front of us, we are praying alone. And honestly, sometimes when I pray, I feel totally alone. I feel that I am just saying words when I am kneeling and I don't always feel close to God. But I testify and leave this blessing that anyone who consistently, sincerely, and openly prays to Heavenly Father, they will receive that which they need and seek.

I’m sure some of you are wondering why every week I talk about prayer so maybe I will explain that. Nobody can have a relationship with God without prayer. There is no religion without prayer. And nobody is perfect at prayer. Please, please, please pray every day! And when you are busy, stressed, and have a hundred other things to do, that is exactly the time when you need to pray most. I promise that by praying daily, you will have a new spirit in your lives that will bring you so much joy.

I love you all,

Elder Coleman