No Sons of Mosiah this week. I forgot to bring what I was going to
write. Yeah...however, I hope everyone is keeping happy. Love you
guys!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Work of God is Never Frustrated . . .
Dear Brethren,
I have much I wish to say to you next week concerning some of my discoveries during my personal study. It reminded me you, and the work that we are doing. I was actually really reading about the sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. I wrote down some impressions that I had as I was reading. I will hopefully bring those next week, and share them with you all.
I do not yet know what to say, so I probably will not say much this week. The work here is picking up, which is absolutely wonderful. Things are going forward. An interesting lesson I learned last week, that I will probably say again in my next email, is that truly the work of God is never frustrated, but only the work of man is frustrated. I laugh at the old saying, "If the church isn't true, the missionaries would have destroyed it a long time ago". Haha! Of course, that is only referring to those missionaries who weren't really doing what they ought to on their missions. God truly has given us power and authority if we will but use them. Preach My Gospel says to not be shy about the power and authority we hold. You should read it. It's at the beginning of Preach My Gospel.
Anyway, I will have more to say next week. I love you all!
Love, Elder Christopher Petersen
I have much I wish to say to you next week concerning some of my discoveries during my personal study. It reminded me you, and the work that we are doing. I was actually really reading about the sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. I wrote down some impressions that I had as I was reading. I will hopefully bring those next week, and share them with you all.
I do not yet know what to say, so I probably will not say much this week. The work here is picking up, which is absolutely wonderful. Things are going forward. An interesting lesson I learned last week, that I will probably say again in my next email, is that truly the work of God is never frustrated, but only the work of man is frustrated. I laugh at the old saying, "If the church isn't true, the missionaries would have destroyed it a long time ago". Haha! Of course, that is only referring to those missionaries who weren't really doing what they ought to on their missions. God truly has given us power and authority if we will but use them. Preach My Gospel says to not be shy about the power and authority we hold. You should read it. It's at the beginning of Preach My Gospel.
Anyway, I will have more to say next week. I love you all!
Love, Elder Christopher Petersen
Monday, March 14, 2011
Become as Little Children . . .
Dear Brethren,
News on the front, there was just another baptism here in Broken Bow--only if you want to get technical it "doesn't count", but if you ask me, all baptisms count. It's another soul brought to Christ. His name is Tryon, and he's eight years old. Most of his family are members of the church, but for one reason or another, he was taking forever to be baptized. He will be turning nine this summer, so my companion and I were like, "what the heck?" and then we went into their home, and came out with plans for him to be baptized on Thursday. However, the most impressive thing is that we didn't have to do much. Just our presence made Tryon say to his parents, "I wanna be baptized", before we even brought anything up. Then we got to work it from there.
It was actually such an awesome experience for me, and I was amazed at the example that this young man set for me. He was continually persistant that he wanted to be baptized. Apparently they had talked about it many times, but this time he was determined. It's strange, because I know that my knowledge is far greater than that boy who has a mere eight years under his belt, but I realized how much more willing he was to simply submit to the will of the Lord. He probably doesn't comprehend to the degree that I do, the baptismal covenant, or the principles of the gospel, but his faith is outstanding. I could not believe how happy he was. He just wore a constant smile, simply knowing that what he was doing was right, and that he was doing the will of his Father in Heaven. I hope that we can all become like that.
Jesus Christ said, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 18:3). He continued, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4).
King Benjamin, a great king in the Book of Mormon, taught: "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."
Truly children are to be not only our students, but our teachers. In my couple of times visiting this family, I doubt that I have taught him nearly as much as he has taught me. His example was great. The scriptures teach us that we are to become as this boy is. We are to become as children--not childish, but submissive as a child is. How hard this journey is! Sometimes it seems impossible. but that is why in the sermon delivered by King Benjamin, he strictly included: "...through the atonement of Christ the Lord...". That is the only possible way we are to become a Saint, or become like a child. We must always remember to utilize both the cleansing, and enabling power of the atonement. I'm working on it myself.
Love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Christopher D. Petersen
News on the front, there was just another baptism here in Broken Bow--only if you want to get technical it "doesn't count", but if you ask me, all baptisms count. It's another soul brought to Christ. His name is Tryon, and he's eight years old. Most of his family are members of the church, but for one reason or another, he was taking forever to be baptized. He will be turning nine this summer, so my companion and I were like, "what the heck?" and then we went into their home, and came out with plans for him to be baptized on Thursday. However, the most impressive thing is that we didn't have to do much. Just our presence made Tryon say to his parents, "I wanna be baptized", before we even brought anything up. Then we got to work it from there.
It was actually such an awesome experience for me, and I was amazed at the example that this young man set for me. He was continually persistant that he wanted to be baptized. Apparently they had talked about it many times, but this time he was determined. It's strange, because I know that my knowledge is far greater than that boy who has a mere eight years under his belt, but I realized how much more willing he was to simply submit to the will of the Lord. He probably doesn't comprehend to the degree that I do, the baptismal covenant, or the principles of the gospel, but his faith is outstanding. I could not believe how happy he was. He just wore a constant smile, simply knowing that what he was doing was right, and that he was doing the will of his Father in Heaven. I hope that we can all become like that.
Jesus Christ said, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew 18:3). He continued, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4).
King Benjamin, a great king in the Book of Mormon, taught: "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."
Truly children are to be not only our students, but our teachers. In my couple of times visiting this family, I doubt that I have taught him nearly as much as he has taught me. His example was great. The scriptures teach us that we are to become as this boy is. We are to become as children--not childish, but submissive as a child is. How hard this journey is! Sometimes it seems impossible. but that is why in the sermon delivered by King Benjamin, he strictly included: "...through the atonement of Christ the Lord...". That is the only possible way we are to become a Saint, or become like a child. We must always remember to utilize both the cleansing, and enabling power of the atonement. I'm working on it myself.
Love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Christopher D. Petersen
Written March 7, 2011
Dear Sons of Mosiah,
I don't have much to say today. There aren't really any doctrinal
subjects that I wish to discuss or anything. I just wanted you all to
know that I love you, and am proud of you for all that you do. Keep
happy, and keep up the work.
I am serving in Broken Bow, Nebraska, now. There are not even 3,500
people here, according to the sign with the population on it. The
surrounding towns are even smaller, and I'm going kind of crazy
because there isn't even a Walmart here. However, the people here are
really nice, and I look forward to working with them. Here in the
Kearney Stake, the Stake President makes a big deal out of trying to
get members to stay here in the Stake to help it grow. In fact, he
tells the missionaries to go home, find wives, and move back. Lol. I'm
not planning on that one. Still, I have to say, this place almost
seems like it came out of some old book or movie. Toria, if you are
reading this, Broken Bow should totally replace Carbondale. Lol!
Either that, or I have a few other places in mind. (For all of you who
don't know, we were working on a book. That's what I am referring to.)
Anyway, I hope you are all keeping happy. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder
Christopher D. Petersen
I don't have much to say today. There aren't really any doctrinal
subjects that I wish to discuss or anything. I just wanted you all to
know that I love you, and am proud of you for all that you do. Keep
happy, and keep up the work.
I am serving in Broken Bow, Nebraska, now. There are not even 3,500
people here, according to the sign with the population on it. The
surrounding towns are even smaller, and I'm going kind of crazy
because there isn't even a Walmart here. However, the people here are
really nice, and I look forward to working with them. Here in the
Kearney Stake, the Stake President makes a big deal out of trying to
get members to stay here in the Stake to help it grow. In fact, he
tells the missionaries to go home, find wives, and move back. Lol. I'm
not planning on that one. Still, I have to say, this place almost
seems like it came out of some old book or movie. Toria, if you are
reading this, Broken Bow should totally replace Carbondale. Lol!
Either that, or I have a few other places in mind. (For all of you who
don't know, we were working on a book. That's what I am referring to.)
Anyway, I hope you are all keeping happy. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder
Christopher D. Petersen
Written Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Dear Sons of Mosiah, my fellow brethren,
This week has been an interesting one here in Columbus. Transfers just took place, and I am going to Broken Bow, Nebraska. It is in the western part of our mission, so it should be interesting for me. I am definitely not a cowboy, and it got described to me as a "cowboy town", so we'll see how that goes. It has been interesting being here in Columbus for just shy of six months, and I have really grown to love the people here. I am really going to miss them, however (at least for some of them), this is not goodbye. I am convinced I have made some life-long friends, and I believe that the Lord has a work for them to do too. You already know that Jake Williams who we just baptized recently, is now in Utah, and will be attending school at UVU. As well, I have other great friends--especially Josh Johnson, Jana Hager, and Scottie Leifert. Though they are not yet baptized, I strongly believe they will be. They told us last night when we went to say "see you later" to them, that they could not go away from this religion, because it would always be in their minds what they know they need to do. I plan on coming back to Columbus, but they also plan on coming out to visit in Utah. Josh even wants to be in the next movie we make from "The Series" (Divisions being the only one we have made so far). It's way awesome. I know we have found more brothers and sisters in the Lord, and for those of you that are, or will be serving missions, I am sure you will find us some as well. Bring them all home into our family.
I have learned a lot from being here and serving a mission. I have gained a great love for people in my life, both past and present. I appreciate all of you, and am extremely happy for the things you have done for me in my life, and also what you have done for each other. Keep being an example of the believers, and being my brothers and sisters in the Lord. We have such a tight bond, and I hope that bond will always remain. On missions, people often try to measure success on how many people we have enter into the waters of baptism. Though that is a goal that is worthy, and though we are called to baptize, I had an interesting realization last night. We are called to bring people closer to Christ. If we do this, we are succeeding as missionaries and as people. The impact we make cannot be measured in a mere two years. Two years makes up only a tenth of my life so far, and far far less for a whole life time--and even less in the eternal perspective. Brethren, we carry the world. Never in the history of man has a group made more impact for the good and well-being of mankind than Christ's true church. Jesus Christ leads this church, and He truly leads us where we need to be to do the most good. I have a testimony of that now. I wondered for a while, as I watched all of these investigators struggle, if I was really helping them. So few of them have been baptized--but many of them have been brought to believe. Josh, Jana, Scottie, Shannan, Katie--all of these individuals have not yet been baptized, but they believe, and I believe in Christ who knows His sheep, and will call for them. He knows their lives, and He has prepared them. They will come and be part of our family.
For the longest time I feel I always paid too much attention to the justice of God, and not on His mercy. I have known He is merciful--and that the atonement is real--but I guess it just never clicked. I was pondering this, when I realized something wonderful. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much, and they will do EVERYTHING in their power to let us into the Kingdom of God. Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him. I knew that, and I was teaching that, but I hadn't really thought about it. He loves us, and will do everything He can to bring us back. Jesus Christ has done, and will do, everything He can to bring us back to Him. I forgot to bring my scriptures into the Library, but there is one time I recall where Jesus sat looking over Jerusalem and with sadness he proclaimed how oft He had tried to bring the Jews in, like a hen gathers her chicks, and the would not come. He mourns when we will not come. Many of you are probably thinking, "yeah, I knew that". So did I, I thought, but somehow it seems I understand even more--and I believe I will continue to learn even more. It is such a miracle how it is the simple principles of the gospel that are so profound, if we will just take the time to think about them, and try to really understand them. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want all of you--each individual. They know your pains, and cry with you when you cry. They hurt with you, and want you to be free from the heavy burden of sin. Oh how touching is the mercy and love of a Father, and our perfect Brother. Understand, for all of you who have ever felt a grief or anger toward God, thinking that He doesn't want you because of the way you have lived your lives, that He does love you, and want you.
I love you all brethren. God speed the right!
Love, Elder Chris Petersen
This week has been an interesting one here in Columbus. Transfers just took place, and I am going to Broken Bow, Nebraska. It is in the western part of our mission, so it should be interesting for me. I am definitely not a cowboy, and it got described to me as a "cowboy town", so we'll see how that goes. It has been interesting being here in Columbus for just shy of six months, and I have really grown to love the people here. I am really going to miss them, however (at least for some of them), this is not goodbye. I am convinced I have made some life-long friends, and I believe that the Lord has a work for them to do too. You already know that Jake Williams who we just baptized recently, is now in Utah, and will be attending school at UVU. As well, I have other great friends--especially Josh Johnson, Jana Hager, and Scottie Leifert. Though they are not yet baptized, I strongly believe they will be. They told us last night when we went to say "see you later" to them, that they could not go away from this religion, because it would always be in their minds what they know they need to do. I plan on coming back to Columbus, but they also plan on coming out to visit in Utah. Josh even wants to be in the next movie we make from "The Series" (Divisions being the only one we have made so far). It's way awesome. I know we have found more brothers and sisters in the Lord, and for those of you that are, or will be serving missions, I am sure you will find us some as well. Bring them all home into our family.
I have learned a lot from being here and serving a mission. I have gained a great love for people in my life, both past and present. I appreciate all of you, and am extremely happy for the things you have done for me in my life, and also what you have done for each other. Keep being an example of the believers, and being my brothers and sisters in the Lord. We have such a tight bond, and I hope that bond will always remain. On missions, people often try to measure success on how many people we have enter into the waters of baptism. Though that is a goal that is worthy, and though we are called to baptize, I had an interesting realization last night. We are called to bring people closer to Christ. If we do this, we are succeeding as missionaries and as people. The impact we make cannot be measured in a mere two years. Two years makes up only a tenth of my life so far, and far far less for a whole life time--and even less in the eternal perspective. Brethren, we carry the world. Never in the history of man has a group made more impact for the good and well-being of mankind than Christ's true church. Jesus Christ leads this church, and He truly leads us where we need to be to do the most good. I have a testimony of that now. I wondered for a while, as I watched all of these investigators struggle, if I was really helping them. So few of them have been baptized--but many of them have been brought to believe. Josh, Jana, Scottie, Shannan, Katie--all of these individuals have not yet been baptized, but they believe, and I believe in Christ who knows His sheep, and will call for them. He knows their lives, and He has prepared them. They will come and be part of our family.
For the longest time I feel I always paid too much attention to the justice of God, and not on His mercy. I have known He is merciful--and that the atonement is real--but I guess it just never clicked. I was pondering this, when I realized something wonderful. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much, and they will do EVERYTHING in their power to let us into the Kingdom of God. Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him. I knew that, and I was teaching that, but I hadn't really thought about it. He loves us, and will do everything He can to bring us back. Jesus Christ has done, and will do, everything He can to bring us back to Him. I forgot to bring my scriptures into the Library, but there is one time I recall where Jesus sat looking over Jerusalem and with sadness he proclaimed how oft He had tried to bring the Jews in, like a hen gathers her chicks, and the would not come. He mourns when we will not come. Many of you are probably thinking, "yeah, I knew that". So did I, I thought, but somehow it seems I understand even more--and I believe I will continue to learn even more. It is such a miracle how it is the simple principles of the gospel that are so profound, if we will just take the time to think about them, and try to really understand them. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want all of you--each individual. They know your pains, and cry with you when you cry. They hurt with you, and want you to be free from the heavy burden of sin. Oh how touching is the mercy and love of a Father, and our perfect Brother. Understand, for all of you who have ever felt a grief or anger toward God, thinking that He doesn't want you because of the way you have lived your lives, that He does love you, and want you.
I love you all brethren. God speed the right!
Love, Elder Chris Petersen
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