Your best friend

I teach at the Missionary Training Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before missionaries go to their assigned location around the world they enter into the M.T.C. Here they learn more about the very unique message of Christ that we have and want to share with the world. Many of them learn a second language which is part of their assigned mission. The missionaries I teach are assigned to Spanish speaking missions. I love working there. I have a blast everyday at work. I had a really uplifting experience recently. As teachers we are assigned to a group of missionaries until it is their time to leave; for Spanish speakers this is a period of about nine weeks. I just recently sent a group of missionaries off to their assigned areas. You get pretty attached to them after nine weeks, well really over a very short period of time. They each have the opportunity to write a teacher evaluation at the end of their M.T.C. stay and I have a chance to read an anonymous summary of their evaluation. I was really struck by what one of them wrote. They wrote saying that they really enjoyed the way that I made it seem as if every time we teach the gospel we need to feel as if we were teaching the most precious thing in the world to our best friend. I smiled as I read this. This is true! They really are sharing the most precious thing in the world with their best friends. "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". It is amazing the opportunity that our Heavenly Father gives us to be able to share something so special to us with all of our friends. During my mission I felt I realized the words spoken by the Savior, "whosoever will lose his life for my name sake shall find it".

Water, Blood, and Spirit

Ok so the title of this entry is a bit peculiar but it's really neat. Yesterday, I went to the Museum of Art and viewed the exhibit on Jesus Christ. There was one particular painting that caught my eye. It had very few colors but they were very vibrant and it drew my attention. The painting was of two cloths laid on a wooden floor. The cloths were laid in such a way that you could only really see the wooden floor on the top and bottom. A red cloth was partially covered down the middle vertically by a white cloth so that the left and right sides of the painting displayed the deep red color. On top of the white cloth are three bowls. The first, closest to the bottom of the painting, has a very bright reflection of light so as to not be able to tell what the liquid is. The middle bowl is filled with a dark red liquid. The last bowl is filled with a clear liquid. As I read the caption of the painting I understood the significance of the symbols. I imagine there are many layers of symbolism but I understood the top layer. The scripture that inspired the painting was from Moses 6:59. It speaks of our birth having been of water, blood and of the Spirit. In order to return into the kingdom of heaven we must again be born of water, cleansed by Christ's blood and sanctified by the Spirit.

Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave?

Last night I went to a play in the Provo Theater. The name of the play was "God for President" by Katherine Gee. I wasn't sure what to expect at all; I went into a very plain theater that did not gleam with promise. Some friends from church were there with me and we all sat down together. The play started and still I wasn't very impressed. At first it seemed to me like another political statement by just another typical college student, but then it grabbed my attention; something in the play hit close to home. In this play the actors gave several monologues many of which were true fragments of their personal stories. Some spoke of their conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Others spoke of their experience as foreigners in the United States. All spoke of what meant the most to them and thus naturally I think the audience was connected to at least one of them. In a dramatic portion of the play, one of the characters sang "Amazing Grace". As she sang some of the other actors spouted out monologues. One spoke of a young woman's complaints on the U.S., this was contrasted by a foreign mother's love of America. Here, I got a lump in my throat and I began to see the picture clearly in my mind. This was perhaps my interpretation alone or it could have been the intent of the writer. As this actor portrayed this woman, my own story began to unfold on stage. This woman with broken English described why she loved America. Here she was free to help her family progress. Here her children would learn and grow in safety. Here she could prosper with her family. This is a God-created country. I do not say that God favors Americans, but I do say that He has established this land for a purpose. He has brought many to it's soil where they can find a haven for their families and where each has an opportunity to extend a loving hand to those not so blessed. As the Lord spoke to Peter He asked, "lovest thou me?" then His call to action "Feed my sheep". Peter both literally and symbolically was privileged to dine at the Lord's table and the Lord asked Him as He asks us "feed my sheep". During the play I felt so motivated to get involved and make a difference however large or small. There have been many through whom the Lord has answered my prayers and I wish to likewise feed the Lord's sheep and be an answer to someone's prayers.