It has been a long time since I have written a blog post. A result of the Lord hastening His work is how hard all the missionaries around the world are working! These few weeks we have been working hard. Last week, my companion Elder Fleitas was transferred to be a Zone Leader and I received a new companion, Elder Alvarez. We started working and Sunday we had the privilige to be part of what I would call a miracle! We had tried to visit a few old investigators but we could never get up with them. Sunday, right before Sacrament meeting was about to start, we got a text from the investigators asking what time church started. We replied and about 5 minutes later they walked through the door! They had walked from the bus terminal about two miles away, in the wind and a light rain to come to church. I was in shock but it was a happy moment for Elder Alvarez and me. Many may read this and think "Okay, so what? I go to church every week" but for me, it was an answer to sincere prayers to help this family learn more about this amazing Gospel that we are sharing. We are so excited to help this family work towards becoming an eternal family, a gift only obtained in the Temple of the Lord which is a blessing only found in the true Church of Jesus Christ.
As missionaries, we spend a quite a bit of time studying. This week, I focused my studies on the topic of change. I tried to learn about change from a gospel perspective. What I found was quite interesting. In the course of being a missionary, I have the opportunity to talk to many different kinds of people from many different backgrounds. As we speak about religion, many bring up the topic of "change" or "progress" which are both great processes, if applied correctly. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the way in which we can change or progress to become more like Jesus himself, the great example. We should change our habits of selfishness to be more chartiable. We should progress every day from prideful to humble.
Through repentance, offered by the Atonement of Jesus Christ, each day we can be forgiven of our faults and then work even harder to be better. Satan, however, is a master of disguise and perversion. Instead of using change to progress, Satan uses change to digress. He masks disgression of moral values and eternal truths by a facade of "modernization" and so called progressivism. Why does progression mean throwing out values? Progression should be more about trying to do better at what we already have. Take for example the values of humility, chastity and charity. At times are they difficult? Yes. Should we progress within these values? Yes. Are we going to stumble? Yes! But does that mean that we just throw it out and say "Well if I get rid out if, that's progression"? No! That is not change, that is destruction! Now, don´t get me wrong, I am not saying that we should all live like 8th century pheasants to avoid "change". I am an advocate of change! But the right kind of change. The change brought by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. What is easier, to fix something or throw it out? Throwing it out, of course! But guess what? The right choice usually isn't the easiset choice. Usually, the right choice is the hardest choice. To try every day to change for the better is much harder than just throwing out the value. Aristotle said it best, "For what is the most choiceworthy for each indvidual is the highest it is possible for him to acheieve." The highest possible to acheive seems hard, no? Ask yourself, what is more important, what is right or what is easy? I would hope that we would all choose what is right.
George E. Carpenter once wrote "God does not expect an acorn to be a mighty oak before it has been a sapling." Think about that acorn. Just because it takes a long time to change from that small acorn to a lardge oak doesn´t mean that 3 weeks after the acorn has been in the ground you dig it up and crush it because it didn´t progress all the way. Was that acorn changing? Yes! Little by little, it was moving forward. So why just get rid of it because it had a challenge to overcome? "He that liveth in righteousness shall be changed..." D&C 43:22.
I invite everyone to think about change and the progression in our lives. I pray that all will apply the Atonement in their lives to change for the better. I testify that no matter how hard the stuggle to change may be, we have been given so many tools to help us. Scriptures, prayers, a living Prophet, are all tools given to us to help us change. I know the message that I am trying to share with the world is true. I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that the full Gospel was restored, that the same church the Jesus Christ created on the earth exists today. If you have the knowledge of this Gospel, don't treat it lightly. Maybe some of you aren't quite sure about all I have written or would like to know more, just ask! This message has the power to change your life for the eternities!
I am so thankful for all of you who send me emails, read this blog and show an interest in what I am doing in Argentina. I am just a simple 18 year old boy trying to share what I know to be true. I hope everyone has a blessed week!
Elder Jeppson
D&C 19:37
