This week was a bit of a roller coaster. There was a part of the week where I felt like I was ineffective and an unprofitable servant, but the Lord showed me how he carries us, and that this is not our work, but His work... And that I need to do a better job recording the lessons we teach, heehee.
We had a bunch of meetings this week, so that was a large contributor to the feeling of uselessness. It was good for me, spiritually, though. We had a Megazone conference, where multiple zones get together, and we receive training from President and Sister Reynolds, as well as the Assistants and whoever else President chooses. I left the meeting with more questions than I received answers. My most pressing questions were: how do I increase my faith, how do I come to know the will of God for me, and how do I use the gift of discernment.
Part of what's behind it is that I want to be a priesthood bearer who works miracles, like the early Latter-Day Saints, or the disciples of old. The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so the disconnect must be with me. In order to work a miracle, it must be in harmony with the Lord's will. I need to use this discernment so that the Lord can better tell me what He wants me to do. I also need to have the faith to officiate in any blessing or ordinance. I guess for a while I've felt a chasm between my faith and that of, say, the Brother of Jared, or Joseph Smith, for example. I can just feel a difference, but I haven't been able to put my finger on how to bridge that gap.
I really lost myself in the scriptures. I had/have a deep hunger to know. I went into the Topical Guide, and looked up every single reference under *Discernment, Spiritual,* taking detailed notes about what I found. The next day I took those notes and compiled them into a single note, and the Lord gave me a "gift of discernment 101." I now know the basics of how it works, and it's fantastic. I feel like Heavenly Father is preparing me to be shown into my place in His kingdom . I also feel that He has reawakened this desire in me to learn because I'm going to need this gift soon. I'm working on *revelation* now, and *faith* will follow, and I can't wait to see what the Lord will teach me. On my mission, I've really learned the importance of studying the scriptures. I want to bear my testimony to you, that together with prayer scripture study connects us to God as if He were standing there teaching us Himself. The Lord has taught me many things through the scriptures, and I won't give up my studies for anything.
Lately I've felt a heightened increase to give my life over to the Lord, and the Spirit has borne witness to me that the Lord can make far more of me than I myself can. I've prayed really hard and decided that I haven't invited the Lord into every aspect of my life. It never occurred to me that the Lord would want to be involved in my martial arts or storytelling, so I've resolved to pray before I do either. I'm in a time right now where I am seeing parts of my Patriarchal Blessing come to pass, and it's magnificent . My heart is full. I know that when we draw near unto God, he truly draws near unto us.
This is Javi. His story is absolutely amazing. He joined the church when he was 10, and grew up hanging out with missionaries. When he turned 18 and showed up to a youth activity, the new Bishop locked him out of the church. That same afternoon, some of his nonmember friends invited him to hang out, and that's when he started smoking and drinking, and he got involved in gang activities. Soon, he left for America. He spent five days in the desert, the last two or three without water. At one point, he collapsed and was about to give up and die, and he said to himself 'I'm going to hell. That's it.' Then, he told us, something in him said 'no, it's not.' He picked himself up, and kept going, and now he's here. His dad kicked him out of the house when he came back to church. Javi did it anyway, because he knew he needed a change. Now he's quit drinking, he's doing well with not smoking, and an active member. I've never seen anyone more humble, nor anyone so changed. He's 20, like me. He texted us when we were in Megazone, and told us that he wants to serve a mission. It means a lot to both Elder Benitez and I that we get him out on a mission, so we're going to be working with him a lot.
Tell everyone at the reunions that I say hi, and that I love them all, and will see them in fairly short order.
We also moved church buildings this last Sunday. Boy was that hectic- I didn't really get to go to Priesthood, because I was helping the Branch Presidency set up the printer, and I had to teach the youth Sunday School class while my companion went to Gospel Principles with an investigator. The lesson was on preparing to make covenants in the temple. Great lesson, smart kids.
When are class registrations again? October? Just curious.
I'm also on a healthy streak. I bought a bunch of salad last week, and an Asian ginger and sesame dressing that's really yummy. You'd be proud, mom ;)
Well, that's pretty much all on my end of things.
Love,
Elder R Brandt Hull
We had a bunch of meetings this week, so that was a large contributor to the feeling of uselessness. It was good for me, spiritually, though. We had a Megazone conference, where multiple zones get together, and we receive training from President and Sister Reynolds, as well as the Assistants and whoever else President chooses. I left the meeting with more questions than I received answers. My most pressing questions were: how do I increase my faith, how do I come to know the will of God for me, and how do I use the gift of discernment.
Part of what's behind it is that I want to be a priesthood bearer who works miracles, like the early Latter-Day Saints, or the disciples of old. The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so the disconnect must be with me. In order to work a miracle, it must be in harmony with the Lord's will. I need to use this discernment so that the Lord can better tell me what He wants me to do. I also need to have the faith to officiate in any blessing or ordinance. I guess for a while I've felt a chasm between my faith and that of, say, the Brother of Jared, or Joseph Smith, for example. I can just feel a difference, but I haven't been able to put my finger on how to bridge that gap.
I really lost myself in the scriptures. I had/have a deep hunger to know. I went into the Topical Guide, and looked up every single reference under *Discernment, Spiritual,* taking detailed notes about what I found. The next day I took those notes and compiled them into a single note, and the Lord gave me a "gift of discernment 101." I now know the basics of how it works, and it's fantastic. I feel like Heavenly Father is preparing me to be shown into my place in His kingdom . I also feel that He has reawakened this desire in me to learn because I'm going to need this gift soon. I'm working on *revelation* now, and *faith* will follow, and I can't wait to see what the Lord will teach me. On my mission, I've really learned the importance of studying the scriptures. I want to bear my testimony to you, that together with prayer scripture study connects us to God as if He were standing there teaching us Himself. The Lord has taught me many things through the scriptures, and I won't give up my studies for anything.
Lately I've felt a heightened increase to give my life over to the Lord, and the Spirit has borne witness to me that the Lord can make far more of me than I myself can. I've prayed really hard and decided that I haven't invited the Lord into every aspect of my life. It never occurred to me that the Lord would want to be involved in my martial arts or storytelling, so I've resolved to pray before I do either. I'm in a time right now where I am seeing parts of my Patriarchal Blessing come to pass, and it's magnificent . My heart is full. I know that when we draw near unto God, he truly draws near unto us.
This is Javi. His story is absolutely amazing. He joined the church when he was 10, and grew up hanging out with missionaries. When he turned 18 and showed up to a youth activity, the new Bishop locked him out of the church. That same afternoon, some of his nonmember friends invited him to hang out, and that's when he started smoking and drinking, and he got involved in gang activities. Soon, he left for America. He spent five days in the desert, the last two or three without water. At one point, he collapsed and was about to give up and die, and he said to himself 'I'm going to hell. That's it.' Then, he told us, something in him said 'no, it's not.' He picked himself up, and kept going, and now he's here. His dad kicked him out of the house when he came back to church. Javi did it anyway, because he knew he needed a change. Now he's quit drinking, he's doing well with not smoking, and an active member. I've never seen anyone more humble, nor anyone so changed. He's 20, like me. He texted us when we were in Megazone, and told us that he wants to serve a mission. It means a lot to both Elder Benitez and I that we get him out on a mission, so we're going to be working with him a lot.
Tell everyone at the reunions that I say hi, and that I love them all, and will see them in fairly short order.
We also moved church buildings this last Sunday. Boy was that hectic- I didn't really get to go to Priesthood, because I was helping the Branch Presidency set up the printer, and I had to teach the youth Sunday School class while my companion went to Gospel Principles with an investigator. The lesson was on preparing to make covenants in the temple. Great lesson, smart kids.
When are class registrations again? October? Just curious.
I'm also on a healthy streak. I bought a bunch of salad last week, and an Asian ginger and sesame dressing that's really yummy. You'd be proud, mom ;)
Well, that's pretty much all on my end of things.
Love,
Elder R Brandt Hull