Lost and Found

Lately I have been reading a lot out of the New Testament. I love the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ! In Matthew 10:39, Christ says that, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." This one single statement hit me pretty hard. Being a missionary, we have to forget about ourselves and, in essence, lose ourselves in the work. As we make Christ and His gospel the center of our lives, we will inevitably lose our worldly cares.
It made me think of the General Authorities, or leaders, of our Church. Many of the Apostles we have today had, at one point in time, a profound role in society. Most were highly respected and sought after in their individual fields! But when the call came to be a Disciple of the Savior, they didn't hesitate to throw it away for their new calling. That is love and dedication, my friends. Just as the Apostles Christ called during His ministry, they didn't think twice about what they were leaving behind.
It is amazing to me to see when we center our lives around Christ, everything else will either fall in to place or fall out of our lives. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to be a full-time servant and representative of Jesus Christ! It's the best! Lose your life for His sake. And you will find it!

The Reason for Being

Today my companion Elder Santos and I had quite an interesting experience, or two. First, we get told that what we believe and base our lives upon is not true. Well, we're used to opposition and it came as no surprise that not everyone will believe what we boldly proclaim. We felt bad that he came to that conclusion, but it didn't change a thing we believe or affect our faith in the restored Gospel. After we left that young man's house we made an attempt to approach this older gentleman and ask if we could share a brief message with him. A simple no would have sufficed, but he carried on to tell us that what we were doing was wrong and we should be ashamed of what we are doing. He proceeded to tell us that we are brain washed and know nothing outside the world of the Mormon faith. That was an assumption, because my companion and I know very well what other respective denominations believe. Both of us coming to the conclusion that we have found the fulness of Jesus Christ's everlasting Gospel and the joy that it brings in this faith. Never did we want to argue with or contend with this gentleman. We respect other's opinions. That being said, we did want to set the record straight in the most polite manner we could deliver the truth. We are out here inviting others to come unto Christ. We DO NOT force anything on anyone and we respect why and how people choose to live their lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. We are out here because we know that what we have is true. And it is very real. It has blessed our lives immensely! And we want others to have it as well. That, my friends, is why we serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as His missionaries.