Joy

October 9, 2016

 

Hey Everyone!

Thank you all for the incredible support you always give to me! It is good to hear from you all often and I love when I log in on Monday and I get to talk to all of you. Your words, advice, and just love give me a lot of strength and desire to keep working here in Korea. I don't have a ton of time so I will share only a few words that I learned this past week from hearing our leaders speak at general conference. 

Something that Elder Nelson said this past week was: If we look to the world and follow its formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but they will never experience joy! Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.

I add my testimony and promise to that of Elder Nelson. Sometimes we may feel that we just don’t have as much fun and we are restricted by living the standards that we have to live. Sometimes we feel that when we sacrifice for God or for others, there is no reward. We get nothing tangible. But I promise that when we choose to make the right choice, no matter how hard it may be, we will feel joy. It may not be immediate and we may have trials along with our joy, but we will be able to find peace in our trials, and assurance in our suffering. I bear my witness as a servant of the Lord that the only formula to happiness is the formula given to us by the Son of God. There are other paths that may seem to lead to fun and temporary satisfaction or even long term contentment, but nothing except the gospel of Jesus Christ leads to eternal joy and lasting peace. I witness of that and I pray that all of you will find that joy by learning of Him, acting on His words, and opening your heart to believe on His words. I love you all and I thank you for your prayers and your sacrifices on my behalf. 

Elder Coleman

Why are ye so fearful?

October 2, 2016

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a message that I have thought about a little bit recently and maybe it will have a personal application to some of you, if not at least it will maybe be interesting. So recently we have been teaching a lot about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I have found that missionaries and even members have a difficult time articulating what exactly the gospel does for you. Recently when I have talked about the gospel I have discussed two things that the gospel has helped me overcome. Those things are fear and regret. One of my favorite stories from the new testament is the calming of the tempest. I like it because it is so applicable to us. How many of us have been in a situation that seems hopeless or maybe even physically or spiritually dangerous? How often have we said to the Master, “Don't you care that I am struggling? Don't you care that I have this problem?” I myself have at least asked that a lot. Anyways from
Mark 4:37-40

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Sometimes when I am in a situation that is stressful or even scary I react like the apostles did. I also see it all around me. People are so concerned about work, North Korea, elections, and all of these things that in the end are not important. They take their eyes off of the mark that is the only way to safety. Since the first man, there has always been fear in this world. One of the first emotions that Adam ever felt was that of fear. But the first emotion that he felt was faith. He trusted in his Father, he trusted in his God. That is our divine character, to trust in God.

I once received a blessing at a very stressful and difficult time in my life. I don't remember all of the words to the blessing. But one thing that I do remember that was said is that I was blessed to be brave. I didn't know the meaning of the blessing at that time but I think that I understand a little more. Bravery is not having blind faith. It is not acting without information. Nor is it an absence of fear. Bravery is an acknowledgment that fear is very real, but it is a refusal to allow oneself to be made a slave to it. It is choosing to act even when the consequences of doing so may be difficult. It is doing the right thing, even when you often have to stand alone. For me that has almost always been true; when the hardest trials come and when you face the most difficult things, most of the time you will have to face them without friends, without family, and without someone who truly understands your situation.

When those times do eventually come, I hope that you all are brave. I hope regardless of your stance on religion, God, or any of that I hope that you all choose to make the right choice, whenever and whatever that choice may be. We do not have to be controlled by our fears, nor do we have to be defined by them. I promise that as we exercise faith, bravery, or whatever word that you want to use to describe it, although we may stand alone for a time, we will never have the regret that comes from giving into our fears. I know that that is true and above all other things I pray that you may all be brave, faithful, and happy in whatever situation you may be in. In the words of the Savior,

 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I love you all, Elder Coleman

Look to Christ

September 25, 2016

Hey everyone! This week was incredible because we got to see some miracles and we also got to have 3 people get baptized this past weekend! They are all very happy and the church here is very happy as well. I didn't really learn a ton of Korean culture but maybe one thing that none of y’all probably know is that when you are on an escalator the right side is the standing and the left is the walking. Is it like that in America? I don't remember. But also in Korea you have to be separated from the next person by at least a step. Like you can't be right behind them or they get really freaked out... Anyway so that is fun.

There is a story in the old testament when the Israelite's get bitten by fiery serpents when they are traveling through the desert. (Numbers 21) I love the symbolism of this story; in our day there are also fiery serpents. Just like then, none of us are exempt. We will all be poisoned in one way or another by depression, grief, guilt, stress, loneliness, or any other of these similar emotions. There are many ways to temporarily suppress the effects or even bury these problems. But there is only one way to heal them. In this story, the children of Israel looked at the brass serpent only one time in order to be healed. But in our life, we must look constantly to the Savior in order to be safe from the poisons of our day. The Savior said this in the Book of Mormon:

 9 Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.

For those of you who already believe in Christ but seem to have some of these problems still, I encourage you to look to him. Remember the faith that you once had and do the things that you know you should be doing to look to Christ. For those of you who do not have a belief, try it. Try looking to him by praying, reading the scriptures, or maybe even going to church. Then listen to what your heart tells you. Be conscious of how you feel and then act on those feelings and thoughts that you will have. I know that in my life, looking to Christ and keeping my eyes fixed on him has always brought peace and joy.

I love you all,

Elder Coleman