Blessed are those who seek to bring forth Zion

February 26, 2017

To my friends and family,

Hey everyone! This week had a lot of ups and downs, the biggest up of course having Elder Holland, one of our church's great leaders come to speak to us here in Seoul and the biggest down learning for sure and finally getting the news that I will be returning home on March 15 instead of April 27. This news of course is great because I get to see my family a little sooner but sad news because that I only have about 2 weeks left to be a missionary. So sorry everyone I guess only like 3 more blog posts.

Anyway so today I wanted to share a short message about a scripture that has meant a lot to me in the Book of Mormon. It says this.

 37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.

I think there are a couple reasons why I like this passage. The first is that this is of course talking about missionaries, those who are seeking to establish Zion, the city of peace or the kingdom of the Lord.  It says in here that blessed are they who seek to bring forth Zion, not those who bring forth Zion. In the Lord's eyes, when we seek to do the things he commanded, when we seek to bless his children, he is happy with us. The next reason I liked this passage is because it is a promise to all of the missionaries, past, present and future, that they will be blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost and eventually be able to enter God's kingdom. I am so blessed to have been given the chance to enjoy building God's Zion here in Korea. I am so grateful that I have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost as I have been doing it. And I am grateful that I have been able to learn so much from the people in Korea. It is my hope that for them, I have been at least a little bit beautiful, and even though one person cannot solve all of the cultural, political, and economic problems that the country is facing, I hope that at least I was able to publish peace in the lives of a few. I know that God lives and that he speaks to his children every single day. I know that because Jesus Christ lives and He suffered for us that we are able to have peace and one day be able to enter his kingdom. I love you all and I hope that you all have a great week.

Elder Coleman

My Angels Round About

February 19, 2017

Hey everyone!

This week was definitely an interesting one! Mainly because we got to see almost the entire mission by bus. Of course, that also means that now we have no money haha. It was definitely a week of surprises and a lot of traveling, but because of that we had a lot of time to think in the buses. One of the concepts that I have pondered a lot about is that as we live in this life, we will all have setbacks and opposition. We all want things in our life to change and to be a little bit easier or to be a little bit different. I have had that experience many times in my life, and I look back at it now and I realize that when that happened it was exactly what I needed to learn something, or to become a little bit better. So with that I wanted to tell an interesting story that happened this past Sunday. We are living in a very small branch as you know (usually around 10 people including the 4 missionaries come) So, of course I was asked to teach a lesson that I had not really prepared for at all. Anyways as I was teaching the lesson one of the older members of the ward mentioned that it was very hard for her to get to the temple (it is almost 4 hours away) and that she just wishes she had someone to go with her and to live according to the gospel. At that point one of the missionaries bore a testimony that every single trial is for our own benefit and it is silly to think that we could learn without them. The spirit was very powerful when he spoke and she seemed touched by his words. After he spoke I was prompted, or more likely forced, into telling her that she will never go to the temple alone. The Holy Ghost will always be with her and if she needs them, God will send angels to go with her. It reminded me of this promise in the D&C

88 And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

I am so grateful that although I have not been able to see all of the angles who have helped me in my life, I have been able to see some of them and I have been able to feel others. I am so grateful that God will send angels for all of us in the midst of our trials to bear us up, and to make us strong when we are not. I promise and I know that angels have, will, and are supporting you in each of your trials. I know that God never abandons his children. And I know that if you ask, you will be given angels to help and if you watch and truly pray to understand, you will see, feel, and recognize them. I love you all, and I know that God loves you as well.

Elder Coleman 

Don't be like King Noah

February 12, 2017

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great week! This week has been full of adventures and firsts, which is unusual because I thought I was just about out of firsts in Korea. But I was wrong! So, we went to a funeral this past week and for the first time in my life I saw the Korean ceremonial bow for past ancestors, so that was very interesting, but at the same time, of course, very sad. We also had a chance to talk with someone who will probably pass away soon. The atmosphere talking with him was so different than that at the funeral. He was full of hope and believed completely that he has lived a great life and that he would get to live with his family again after he passed. The last fun thing this week that we did was I had a chance to teach (yea this part is funny) the violin! So as many of you probably know, I am not good at the violin. But one of our members really wants to learn how to play so I am teaching her the super basics. It’s pretty fun, but I am not sure if I am teaching her wrong.

If you all read the subject line, today I want to talk about a bad king that is in the Book of Mormon. I will leave a description of him.

 2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. 5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts. 6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which King Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity. 7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.

In our church when we learn about King Noah, we learn about a super fat guy who didn't do anything and always seemed to get everyone else into trouble. Sometimes when I read this story I am reminded of those times when I was younger when I learned about him. But this time when I read this story, I had a question pop into my mind. Are you being like King Noah? The first thing I did of course was go weigh myself and I haven't gained a lot of weight so that was good, but the second thing I did was look a little deeper. How many times are we like him? How many times do we walk after our own desires, rely too much on other people, become lazy, and not keep the commandments of God? When we are too proud to change, or when we know the right thing to do but we don't do it for any reason, we are being like King Noah. So my advice for all of you is to not be like King Noah. When something is hard just do it. When God gives a commandment and you don't like it, like it. This is never easy of course, but the more we put aside our own desires, we will truly be more happy. I have come to know that is true, even though I am not even close to perfect at it.

I hope you all have a good week!

Elder Coleman