Monday, May 24, 2010

We Must Do the Work the Lord Has Called Us To Do . . .

Dear Sons of Mosiah,

Justin Aulner got baptized!!! He was an investigator that I helped teach in my very first area. We had Zone Conference this week, and I got to meet up with both of my trainers. It was awesome. One of them showed me pictures, and it really made my day to see that Justin was able to quit chew and make his baptismal covenants with the Lord. Good stuff right there.
Well, I've nearly been out six months, and I've heard from a lot of you recently. I'm glad to hear that you are all doing well, and it looks like a lot of you are getting excited for the work! I'm stoked for all of you that are putting yourself into missionary work! It's an important work that needs to be done. It seems that the opposition is getting increasingly stronger, every day, and that's why the Lord needs his Saints to give this work some real attention. Though the adversary grows stronger, so do the Saints of the living God. We have to be stronger to live in these times. There is so much confusion in this world, and all moral values are under attack as well. I think of our wonderful women and young women especially, with the attack that is in full swing against womanhood! We discussed that in Priesthood yesterday. We as Priesthood holders are indeed grateful for the wonderful women and young women of this church. Without them, what would we do? We appreciate the woman who understand their divine nature, and who always do their best to act as Daughters of God. I am not going to go into a long spill about it though. You don't need to hear me preach. Just always remember that, and women, also remember that we are imperfect. It is very important to do all you can to live up to your divine nature, but at the same time, do not beat up on yourself for your imperfections. In fact, that goes for everyone.
Anyway, this world is getting scary, but that's why we must do the work the Lord has called us to do. We need to build strong testimonies, and even stronger faith in our Savior. I'll leave it at that. I'm starting to feel all "preachy", and we can't have that. I love you all!
Love, Chris

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Sons of Mosiah Dotting The Earth . . .

Dear Sons of Mosiah,

I'm glad to hear that you are getting shipped all over the world! It begins now! We are going to dot the earth! Hmmm...I almost sound maniacal...well, keep in mind that us dotting the earth is a GOOD THING. So, Carter to Taiwan, Tanner to Denmark, and me in Nebraska! This is great! Oh, and nobody be fooled, I am definitely in the most exotic place of the bunch.
Well, we still have many other Sons of Mosiah that we are waiting to see shipped out! I can't wait to get a globe and place a pin where our forces are. Of course, I can always put a large one in Utah. Just because you aren't on a full-time mission, doesnt mean you can't be a missionary. So many of you are in different phases in life, and even if a mission isn't part of that, you can still be servants of the Lord and bring people unto Christ. I know many of you are going to school, some of you are married, others of you are working, and some of you doing who knows what--but many of you are still doing a great work. Keep it up.
Other good news! I didn't want to say before, because I didn't want to jinx it, but ANDRE GOT BAPTIZED!!! It was great! Yet another soul entering the kingdom of God! I'm way happy for him. This man overcame smoking--which by the way, is harder for a lot of people than giving up nearly anything! I knew a lady in Omaha who had given up meth, but was still struggling to give up smoking. I've heard of many other similar stories. Even Andre had tried to quit before, but it wasn't until we came that he accomplished it. Now, trust me, Elder Hayes and I couldn't get anybody to stop smoking! What do we know about it? We aren't professionals, and we havent' had that problem. However, watching people quit who could never quit before we came, has been a huge testimony to me. The atonement of Christ, and the Spirit that travels with us, grants amazing power to those who need it. It gives them a strength that nothing else can. What a miracle!
Well, I love you my brethren. Have a great week! Talk to you later.

Love, Elder Christopher Petersen

Monday, May 10, 2010

A Mother's Day Message . . .

Dear Sons of Mosiah,

Well, I hope everybody enjoyed Mother's Day, and honored their mothers and grandmothers as they should. I think it's a wonderful holiday. The Lord has definitely made it clear that the calling of motherhood is a sacred calling, and one that carries so much responsiblity. We should be extremely grateful for them. I'm grateful for mine, though I feel the need to repent. I wasn't so great at showing it at home. I guess a public confession makes me feel a little better about it. I repent, then call to repentance. That's my job.
Still, isn't it a curious thing that the people you don't want to upset the most are mothers and wives? Lol. Men, if you upset your mother or wife, you might as well feel the wrath of hell. Call me crazy, but from my little bit of experience, it's true. Don't do it. Love them and care for them. Now, I've never had a wife, obviously. I can only imagine what it's like, and make comparisions to similarities in my life. Anyway, all I'm saying is, let's hold women up with high respect, never demeaning them, or doing anything to intentionally hurt them. It's no good. These are Daughters of God, and I don't know about you, but I don't like to make angry the mortal father of a girl--much less God. So let's give them the respect they deserve, okay? Sweet. And by the way, don't just give them the respect for fear. That's not the message I mean to convey. Give them respect because they deserve it. They really do.
Anyway, my life is going crazy at the moment! I couldn't tell you the adversity you feel as a missionary. It's an experience that has to be lived. Still, the work goes on in it's glory! God created a perfect gospel. Now if only more people would give up the things of the world, and accept it! However, I do have to say, it's no easy thing. Watching people change is so amazing, and sometimes I wonder if I could do it myself. There are days where I've asked myself whether or not I would have accepted the gospel, if I were on the other end of this. Would I really listen to these men? Luckily--or possibly even intentionally--I was placed in an LDS Family, and put into an environment where I could gain a testimony of my own. However, not everybody is that lucky. These people need us to reach out more than ever! If we've ever needed the Lord, it's now.
I love you all. Keep strong.
Love, Chris

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Receiving comfort from the plan of salvation . . .

Dear Sons of Mosiah,

Hmmm...what to talk about this week? I've got good missionary news, but I think it will have to wait till next week. I want to tell you about it AFTER it happens, rather than before. Don't want to jinx the awesomeness.
Well, I got to go to a funeral yesterday. It was interesting. This woman wasn't a member, but she absolutely loves the missionaries! Her son is a member, and he's an interesting guy himself. He even served a mission. At the time, he thought he would have to sell his car to get money to serve a mission. Then his parents told him not to sell his car, and that they would pay for it. So even though they aren't members, they knew the work was good, and this was the kind of great people they were.
Sister Case died at 91? years old, I believe it was. She lived a long life, which is good. About a week and a half ago, my companion and I gave her a blessing, by request of her son. She was unconscoious at the time, and it was rather awkward, I must admit. She was hooked up to all sorts of things. She had tubes coming from seemingly everywhere. It was awkward because her son wasn't there at the moment, and she wasn't conscious but I guess was coming in and out of consciousness previously. I was afraid she would wake up in the middle of the blessing, and freak out or something. However, she didn't, and it was an interesting experience.
I annointed her head with the oil, and the feelings you have for people as a missionary, are very interesting. You just love people you've never even met. It's the strangest thing. However, what got to me, was somehow while participating in the blessing, I felt as though she was going to die. Hey, call it all the tubes if you would like, but somehow, though I didn't want to admit it, I felt as though she was going to pass away. Her time had come.
Well, a few days later, we got a call from Brother Case, and he told us that she was doing well. She was awake, and talking. We went to visit her, and while visiting, she said she was very happy we could make it. She repeated it over and over again. She was obviously quite weak, but her personality still came through a little bit. She also had her country music playing in the hospital room. She loves country. It was a good visit, though she was so quiet, she was hard to understand. It was an interesting experience.
Eventually we received the call from her son that she had passed away. They were expecting it. The doctor had told Brother Case that it was "the calm before the storm". Brother Case then requested us at the funeral, and wanted several missionaries to be the Pall Bearers. President Kunz of course, gladly authorized it. It was a strange experience, seeing as most people at the funeral weren't LDS, and neither was the sister that had passed away. I gave the opening prayer, and realized how little there seemed to be to say. However, the Plan of Salvation was a large comfort at this funeral, and was taught to all in attendance. It was a good experience, though I'm sure many of them did not know what to say about it. All I know is that Sister Case was a good woman, and the Lord is merciful in all things. He loves her more than anybody at that funeral does. She has done a lot of good in the world, and she will be justly rewarded for it.
My companion dedicated the grave, which was cool. I would have been way nervous, but he did it like a pro. It was a good dedication.
I guess the whole point of this is that I want each of you to ponder the Plan of Salvation. It gave me a good experience, and a good opportunity to ponder the Plan of Salvation just a bit. It's strange looking at death from the perspective of a nonmember. The world truly needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Love you all!
Love, Elder Chris Petersen