The Apostle Project. #Jeffrey R. Holland

So last week I have visited my old ward in Salzburg where I was able to be in the YSA sunday school class with one of my favourite teachers in church. The topic we talked about were the apostles, and we were asked to study the ones that we have now, to learn of them and get to know them. I decided to study one of the Apostles every week. And thus came to pass The Apostle Project.

Starting randomly with Elder Holland, I watched his first talk in Fall General Conference 1994 and was impressed by the humility of this great man. In his talk "Miracles of the Restoration" he said: 

"My beloved brothers and sisters, this is my first opportunity to stand before you since the events of June 23 altered the course of my life and of my service forever. That was exactly one hundred days ago, and every one of those days I have prayed to be worthy of and equal to this sacred responsibility. Perhaps you can understand the immense personal inadequacy I feel and the deep, often painful examination of my soul I have experienced."

When I read this, my heart was warm and I could relate. And I think we all can. With great power comes great responsibility. I guess I am not alone in sometimes thinking the apostles do everything right. They would never, ever make a mistake. They are perfect. But this humble servant of the Lord has told us himself, that he is praying every single day to be worthy of that calling. He has told us about his inadequacy. But yet he has accepted this call and is striving his best to do the Lords work. What a great example.

Another thing that I learned from Elder Holland came from his talk "Lord, I Believe":

I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed, don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle.

He then tells a story about a boy who told him he didn't know yet, that the church was true, but he believed it. Elder Holland councelled him and us, that we should never be sorry for 'only believing'. To believe is a strong and powerful thing.

In his talk "The Tongue of Angels" he asks us to be kind and think about the things we say. I know that I talk impulsively, sometimes I say really stupid things, and unfortunately hurt people. So I am going to work a little harder of speaking the tongue of Angels.


In conclusion I'd like to tell you, that I used to be so scared of Elder Holland, because of his boldness. He can be really tough. But if we really listen to him and watch him speak, we can feel that he is called of God to this sacred duty. He didn't choose it. But he magnifies his calling. And that is why I love him so much.

#TheApostleProject

Study Suggestions:
Place No More for the Enemy of my Soul
Lord I Believe
Safety for the Soul
Like a Broken Vessel
Broken Things to Mend
The Tongue of Angels

Tribute to the faithful members of the EMM

Yesterday at 4:30am my sister and I started our journey to visit my old mission field,the England Manchester Mission. We had everything planned and organised. We were so ready to go.

In preparation for the trip I just thought how inspired he whole thing was. Everything was so perfect and seemed to fall into place.

And then it started to snow in bratislava. And so we waited and waited and waited. The flight got delayed,diverted and eventually cancelled. All other flights to England where full. So there we where,wonderful expectations and excitement replaced with sadness.

Our trip to bratislava turned out well though. A nice Austrian lad took us to the next shopping center where my sister and I continued our journey to England by eating fish and chips (which made me feel sick), going to next (disapointmend) and finally buying some good things at Marks and Spencer like those amazing buttermints that Brother Murray introduced to me (soothing reaction - not sure if sugar or nostalgia).

All in all I got to spend time with someone I really love (in this case my wonderful sister) which was really what this trip was about. So to all the people that I couldn't see,I love you. And you have changed my life. You have made my mission something special and I know that we will see.

I'd also like to express special love to Joanne,Tamsin and Taylor who are entering the waters of baptism today. You are fantastic and I am so happy for you!

And to my biggest fan in Rhyl, Lilia,I absolutely adore you.

So I guess that was my trip to England. Does everything happen for a reason? Maybe. But I'm in charge of my happiness and I choose to be happy by knowing that I have amazing friends. So here's to the stalwart people of the England Manchester Mission!

#homeiswherwheheartis
#godbewithyoutillwemeetagain

Called to serve, wherever and whoever we are.

About 2 years ago I was called by a prophet to serve in the England Manchester Mission (aka. the best mission in the world). Accepting that call letter was one of the most exciting things in my life. I remember the confirmation that I got in my mind that this was the right thing and the right place.

At the beginning of my mission I really struggled. I felt so inadiquate. I felt so incapable. And I had many many converstations (more sobbing on my side than conversing) with my dear Mission President, Robert Preston, who tried to cheer me up. Through lots of study and prayer and some great missionaries and members, I started to feel comfortable being a missionary and I decided to move on from the homesickness that I have felt. I was blessed again to serve with wonderful missionaries, in wonderful wards. Of Course my mission wasn't easy at all. In fact I probably faced more discouragement than success. Or so I thought.

Before I came home, I thought I was ready to be a member missionary. I was so ready to receive a calling, to go visiting teaching and to just be a mormon Superhero. I was ready do find out what I want to study, I was
ready to bring all my friends and family to church, I felt like I was going to be so pumped with the Spirit, that nothing would bring me down.

In reality, I found that my social skills have stayed in the mission field and left me socially awkward, I have learned, that it is so nice to stay in bed and just have a day off. I have felt that I have completed my service for the Lord and that I could rest. That local missionaries were in charge now and i could  take a step back and just watch.

Well then my dear bishop called me into his office and asked me to be a ward missionary. Honestly my first thought was: "Seriously?" But it was exactly what I need. It is exactly what I need. Whenever we are called to serve, we are challengend. Wherever we serve, we are needed. Whatever our responsibility is is of importance to our God.

I bear my witness, that serving the Lord with all our heart, might, mind and strength (D&C: 4:2) will bless our own life and the lives of those whom we are in charge of. I know that sometimes we feel inadiquate and unqualified, but the Lord doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called!

#Onceamissionaryalwaysamissionary

Agency

Those who have grown up with me know that I find it hard to use my agency for the bigger decisions in my life. One of my most used phrases in life is: "Why can't YOU make that decision for me?" It is because making decisions, choosing every day, is a heavenly principle and a lesson that our Father in Heaven wants us to learn here on earth.

Before this earth was, there was a council in heaven about the plan of Salvation. President Ezra Taft Benson said:

"The central issue in that premortal council was: Shall the children of God have untrammeled agency to choose the course they should follow, whether good or evil, or shall they be coerced and forced to be obedient? Christ and all who followed Him stood for the former proposition—freedom of choice; Satan stood for the latter—coercion and force "

We learn that a third of God's Spirit children went with Lucifer. Can you imagine letting a third of your children go? I certainly can't. Yet to a perfect loving Heavenly Being, agency was important enough to loose so many children. So the next time you or I ask the question: "Why can't YOU make that decision for me?" let us think about how important it is for us to make them.

In the end agency allows us to choose the life we want. It determines our future. If we make good choices, we reap what we sow.

We do need to remember though, that God's love for us is eternal. It will never go away, no matter what we do. The adversery likes us to think that if we live contrary to the commandments of God we can never ever return. We will never ever be worthy of God's love. But we are. We simply are.

This video is a great example of using agency. It has inspired me to never give up and to change, if I need to change. It has again reassured me that God lives, that he loves all of  his children and that he wants the best for us, even if we go astray at times.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/his-grace/finding-your-purpose-in-life-does-faith-matter?cid=HPTH012215637

May we all remember our precious heritage.

#choosetheright

FAST upon the words of Christ.

 

Who didn't fast last Sunday? It was me. Yep, I am terrible at remembering to fast and the actually fasting, so today I am going to challenge myself to enjoy fasting and all the benefits and blessings it gives us.

But let's be honest, food is oh so good. I absolutely love eating. Not only because it fills my belly with joy, but also because I love the social aspect about it (even if I eat all by myself!) I just simply love to eat. And we know that food is good for us, so why would our Heavenly Creator ask us to go without that pleasure for a period of time? Hmm.. There surely must be a good reason behind that.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints defines fasting as going without food or drink for two consecutive meals. But I think that fasting can be adapted to circumstances. Since fasting is connected with prayer, we can find out how we can fast in special situations. We need to remember that after all, fasting is an offering we make to our Heavenly Father, to manifest the importance of the thing we're fasting for, but also to feast spiritually and gain more knowledge. When we fast, the our empty stomache leaves room to reflect and ponder. We become less focused on physical needs but learn more about our spiritual needs.

Fasting is also a blessing to others. I know that I have definitely been blessed by the fast offerings of others. And it is so comforting to know that we can do good, with however much money we can give. But let's remember, that there are people out there that need our help. Let's remember that we are here to have joy and that every commandment is meant to bring us joy. As for me, I have a grumpy and empty belly, but a sound and happy mind. Let's remember it all comes down to our attitude (hathechewed)*! Happy are we!

#FastuponthewordsofChrist

*quote: President Robert Preston

A Legacy of Faith.

 to remember the fallen
is not to remember how they fell
but to remember why and for what

to remember the fallen
is not only to remember their actions
but to remember the dream for which they fought

to remember the fallen
is not to remember how they fought
but to remember who they fought for

to remember the fallen
is to remember their reason
to remember their dreams
and to remember those they fought to save

to remember the fallen
we continue their fight
we carry their dreams
and we finish what they start 

-Analissa Range
  
Nephi, the son of Lehi was a courageous young man who went through a lot of trials in order to be obedient to the commandments of God.Whilst constantly having to defend himself against his brothers he wrote: 

"For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.

Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world."

His brother, Jacob, didn't have an easy task either. In the midst of prideful people he boldly declared the standard of God and cried repentance unto them. He feared God more than he feared men. 

When Enos prayed to receive forgiveness, he described that his soul hungered. After receiving an answer from the Lord he desires to share that with his fellow beings. Abinadi died as a hero not knowing the impact he had on the church of God. King Benjamin held the first general conference, Alma, Amulek, Ammon and his brothers brought thousands to the knowledge of the Gospel. Don't even get me started on Captain Moroni. Samuel the Lamanite boldly prophesied the birth of our Saviour and was mocked for that. Nevertheless he continued telling the truth until he wasn't heard of anymore. Nephi prepared the church of God to receive the ressureccted Christ. Mormon abridged the scriptures for us! Ether gave us an incredible example of faith. And Moroni excelled in enduring to the end. 

All these Prophets left behind a legacy. A Legacy of faith, hope and excitement. What will we do with that? Let's remember them. Let's finish what they've started. Let's be part of that legacy!

#readthebookofmormon

#3 Charity

In life we all get confronted with situations where we know we are right and the other person is simply wrong. We all have experienced difficult people who appear to make our life harder and less enjoyable and to whom we'd just love to say: (insert words of condescension) 

Today I've been asked how I dealt with difficult people like that on my mission, how I could stand not just telling them what I really thought of them. The answer is Charity.

At the beginning of my mission I definitely wasn't full of charity, in fact the smallest things got me angry and upset and I simply couldn't understand how people could reject a message as beautiful and precious as ours. How could they not listen?  I was irritated by the fact that we learn that they're our spirit brothers and sisters who decided to come to this earth with us. And then it hit me. They are our brothers and sisters. And just because they are a little lost doesn't mean that we have the right to criticize or judge them. And once I realized that, my eyes have been opened and I caught a glimpse of how our Father in Heaven sees all of his children. And all of the sudden I didn't see them for the things they were doing wrong. I tried to see their potential. I gave them the benefit of a doubt. 

I always thought that charity meant to do something for someone else. To serve and care for others. To help those who are in need. But in that very moment, I learned that Charity indeed was the pure love of Christ. That while it meant all those things, it was a state of mind ( or heart). 

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

                                                                                                                   -Moroni 7:45

Let's be honest. It is super hard to love everybody. It is hard not to get upset when someone actually upsets you. It's hard not to judge someone who obviously seems to be doing something wrong. But especially this Christmas Season, let us all try a little harder to love each other more. Let us all be a little bit nicer to each other. Let us help those, who are in need of our comfort. Let us be better people. Let us see people for who they are and not what they do. 

#howdoyoushowlove?