The Easiest Hard Thing To Do

The easiest hard thing to do—to explain the nuts and bolts for coordinating a home teaching visit is about as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich. Take party “A”, the peanut butter, and put it together with party “B”, the jam, keep it all together and enjoy between two slices of bread. The recipe for home teaching is taking party A, the Johnson family, and put it together with party B, the home teachers, and keeping them together within the fabric of gospel living. Easy right? Home teaching is one of the more important programs of the church, shouldn’t we all be happy that it requires so little of us? Home teaching companionships generally have 2-3 families to visit, and visits don’t need to be longer than 15 minutes, the frequency is monthly, and the message is prepared for you in the church’s monthly edition of the Ensign. Further, we’ve all been blest with the advantages of present technology; gadgets that help us schedule and organize our lives, as well as do things quicker. Still with all of these advantages in our corner, it is human for all of us to shirk this responsibility from time to time. Yes, I just used the word ‘shirk’. Home teaching took on a different light for me once I moved out on my own; both in giving visits and being visited. It meant more for me to receive a home teaching visit from someone with the same busy schedule that I had. I was blest to also have opportunities to pay visits to families ranging on a spectrum of ‘needing and enjoying the visit’ to ‘not so excited for the home teachers’. Regardless of the family’s reception of the monthly visit, I’ve tried to make my preparation the same each month which has always given me an opportunity to bear testimony of various principles of the gospel. It’s always nice to study the gospel individually; however, combining individual study and sharing what you’ve learned with others goes together as good as peanut butter and jelly. Crunchy peanut butter of course.

These are not supposed to be the best two years...

This week marks nine years since I returned from serving a two-year church service mission in Lima, Perú. The best two years of my life is cliché, and in my opinion completely untrue. Indeed, up to that point they may have been the best, but the nine since have been incredible. It is likely that my time since returning from serving a mission has been so satisfying because of the time I gave in missionary service; because of everything I learned and experienced south of the equator. For me, communication was a key lesson learned; communicating in the Spanish language, communication with a loving Heavenly through prayer, and learning just how the Holy Ghost can communicate to the listening ear. The Spanish was foreign for only a month or two before becoming a joy to speak. In every opportunity I’ve had to use the language post-mission I can still feel the love that I have for the Peruvian people I served in every syllable I speak. Communication through prayer took on a whole new life in Perú. For me I learned to make it more personal through keeping in mind the needs of others. Answers became evident as I learned to recognize communication through the spirit. Still small voice is right. If you were to condition yourself to be able to listen to an actual still small voice, a whisper, at all times, you’d be just fine. The trick with being able to hear the communication of the spirit is to be able to block out the rest of the noise around you. Noise comes in a myriad of forms; visual, situational, musical, etc… It’s the shiny object in the corner of your eye that gets you to take your eye off the ball. Missionaries aren’t exempt from the noise; putting on the name tag doesn’t automatically make it go away. The practice, however, of keeping focused only on the gospel for such a long time period has definitely helped recognize and block the noise I encounter each day. The past nine years have provided a number of missionary opportunities as well. Very different opportunities than knocking doors and teaching discussions, but very special. Communicating the joy that I feel as I recognize the blessings given to the human family in our Heavenly Father’s great plan of salvation is a relished interaction to me; especially when the listener’s ear can tune out the noise in their sphere.

Behind This Curtain

Nearly every Elder’s quorum that I’ve been a part of has met for class on the stage adjacent to the cultural hall. If there hasn’t been a stage in the church they’ve met in the cultural hall itself with the basketball hoop hovering over the head of the instructor. There is no clock, the walls are bare, and the backdrop is a stage curtain. This is quite the contrast from the microphone equipped, doily adorned, cross stitched décor of the relief society room. Has there ever been a revolutionist elder who has challenged this bland stage environment? Introducing art to the walls perhaps? Or at least equipping the space with a clock. Would Elder’s Quorum be different should such a change occur? Most likely not, at least not noticeably. Elder’s quorum changed for me once I realized that only a fraction of elder’s quorum curriculum is taught within the walls of the church. The other half is taught elsewhere in the service of others. The backdrop here may include a grape vineyard, palettes of sod, and moving boxes. What is practiced here is the application of what is discussed on stage: that holding the priesthood is all about exercising the Lord’s will here on earth. It is about building up His kingdom through serving others and standing as a witness of His truths at all times. The application is the more important part for me. Many times when I find myself struggling through the classroom routine of lackluster participation, lame excuses for being unprepared to teach, and cliché husband jokes, I like to think that we’re all just excited about getting out and doing some service rather than sit through a class. Despite the stereotypical characteristics of Sunday quorum activities, I do submit to the idea that there is something there for the spiritually prepared each week. It’ll just come after the time has been turned over to the instructor, a count of who needs a manual has been taken, and right before the instructor asks, “How much time do I have left?”

Mouse Traps and Missionaries

I remember finding a mouse in my home one evening, in fact, four nights straight I discovered this mouse in different locations of my home. Something had to be done. I needed a trap or some poison to exterminate my little house guest. I wasn’t too excited to use a traditional spring loaded trap. I didn’t want the kids to find it accidentally and the option also seemed like it could get a little messy. Poison makes good sense, but the last thing I wanted was a dead mouse lost inside my home somewhere, only to be found the day we replace the clothes dryer. Something had to be done quickly so I crossed my fingers for an alternative option to purchase at the store. I discovered a non-messy, non-poisonous glue-trap solution. This was the one for me. I set it out at night and was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning when I checked it the next day. One night was all I needed to catch my mouse and kick him out of my house. I taught the gospel discussion class on missionary work the following Sunday. Interestingly enough, I found some correlation between mouse traps and member missionary work (not that missionary work has anything to do with traps at all). Choosing what to do as a member missionary can be somewhat like choosing a mousetrap; select the method that is most suitable for you and your situation and then execute your plan envisioning success. Knocking doors and beginning gospel discussions is one way to go about missionary work; serving a full-time mission is another. But those aren't the only ways to be a missionary. May we not forget the many other ways to share our feelings for the gospel; ways that are both effective and within our means as well as our social strengths. Getting to know all of our neighbors better, inviting others into our homes, blogging and offering service are just a few of the opportunities we all can take to strengthen our relationships with others. However we’re most comfortable sharing our feeling about the blessings the gospel brings, may we do it with all sincerity and love.

We'd like tah turn the time over to...

Of all the things one can find on the internet, there can never be too much of that which is noteworthy, positive, holy, helpful, and true. Any subject or discussion that leads a reader to finding an increase of peace, joy, and purpose in their life is worthwhile; such is the purpose of this blog. My life's foundation is founded in the teachings of Jesus Christ. I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS and Mormon Church are also common church titles). The gospel of Jesus Christ answers the questions we all have in life--big and small. It brings peace to one's heart in trials and in a troubled world, helps us recognize and care for our blessings, and helps us understand the purpose of life on this earth. The future posts in this blog are written for those who enjoy talking about the gospel, who have questions about the gospel, and those who each day wish to improve their lives by growing closer to our Father in Heaven.  Many gospel topics will be reviewed from The Book of Mormon to the Word of Wisdom.  I'm certain there will also be commentary about the funny things that Mormons do and say. Join the conversation. Comments and questions are welcome.  The time is ours till about 5 minutes after the hour where then we'll sing the closing hymn and the benediction will be offered by Brother So-and-so.