The past week I have enjoyed many opportunities to learn and to grow. There were many challenges that came up this week, but I have been able to see the blessings of them all. I have also learned for myself that little sleep as a missionary is quite a challenge. We had exchanges on Saturday with the Traveling Assistants. These Assistants to the President are missionaries who are great leaders. They are called Traveling Assistants because they are responsible for the Spanish learning and speaking that goes on in the Texas San Antonio Mission. They travel all around the mission and accomplish assignments from the Mission President. An exchange is when we switch companions for a day in order to learn new ways of planning, studying, finding, and teaching so that we can improve our own areas. The exchange with the Assistants required that we drive very far and get little sleep. However, I was grateful because I had the opportunity of spending an entire day immersed in Spanish.
I love this opportunity I have to be a missionary; especially in the Texas San Antonio Mission. Our Mission President truly is a man of God who is inspired and strives to assist us in increasing our faith and testimonies. About a month ago President Slaughter gave us a packet to study during personal study everyday. He explained that a testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is founded upon four cornerstones: 1) the true nature of God the Father and Jesus Christ; 2) the divine calling of Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God; 3) the validity of the Book of Mormon; 4) the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Kingdom of God on earth. We have spent a week studying each cornerstone and understanding the importance of each. Last week we studied the last section of the packet “Knowing the Church is True; Being True to the Church.”
At the beginning of this week we received an email from President Slaughter with the following parable:
“Imagine, for a moment, a paradisiacal island in the middle of the sea, far removed from the reach of any civilization. The people often speak and read of this paradise island, and would–so they say–give anything to find and settle it.
Imagine also, one ship–the Sephinah–the only ship that is able to withstand the rigors of the sea; and one captain–Sar–the only captain who knows the way and has the crew to man the Sephinah to the desired destination.
Now imagine all the different people. Many are delighted to find that there is a way, and so they board the ship and heed the crew. Others, however, are conflicted; they can see the ship is greater than any they have ever seen; yet they simply cannot bring themselves to board a ship that has an organized crew; they prefer to do it their own way. They begin to build their own vessels–plastic rafts, wooden canoes, tin boats. There is one more group–these have read about a people who have taken the ship before them, followed the crew, and arrived safely at the island; and now having read such stories, they feel this is sufficient, and there is no need to board the boat themselves.”
President Slaughter explained that the island is a representation of eternal life. The Sephinah is the restored Gospel of Jesus Chirst. Its crew is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, captained by Jesus Christ himself. It is His ship; He commands His crew.
As a missionary I have come across many of the people spoken of in the parable. Many feel that “organized religion” is not something that is necessary for salvation and thus they seek for other ways to make it to the “paradisaical island.” Lately, most of the people we meet are in the mindset that the Sephinah is not the only ship that can make it to the island; every ship ever made has parts that are just as strong as the Sephinah, therefore those other ships will be fine. These are those who say, “I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might be true. But I will never believe it is the only true church.”
To such, the Lord, Jesus Christ, has responded: “[This is] the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” (D&C 1:30). Now, that is not to say that every aspect of every other religion is completely and utterly false, for they do contain parts and pieces of truth. However, Elder Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy noted:
“What it does mean is that this is the only church that has all the truth that has been revealed thus far in this dispensation–the only church that has the ordinances necessary for exaltation and the only church that has the priesthood of God to perform those ordinances with divine validity.”
Part of our study was on a talk titled “What is the Blueprint of Christ’s Church?” by Elder Tad R. Callister and I would like to discuss parts of that talk. Elder Callister spoke of a blueprint he and his wife had made for building their house. The blueprint was unique and molded to satisfy the necessities of his family. He explained that such a blueprint, if compared to every house in the world, would match only one house–their house. Elder Callister compared this to the Church which Jesus Christ himself established while He was on the earth. If we took the blueprint of the Church established by Jesus Christ and compared it to every church in the world–comparing every aspect of organization, teachings, ordinances, fruits, and revelations–only one church would match it exactly. That church being the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Callister then began testing such a bold and arrogant assertion beginning with the Organization of Christ’s Church.
“First, Chirst’s Church was founded on apostles and prophets. When Paul was writing to some new members of the Church, he said that they were now ‘built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone’ (Ephesians 2:20).”
Apostles are essential to the organization of Christ’s Church. They hold all of the priesthood power necessary for the salvation and exaltation of mankind. They keep the doctrine pure as they teach and make corrections to what others have said to keep us from being “carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). To assist the Apostles in such a work, Jesus Christ called men to which he gave the name Seventy (Luke 10). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints matches such a blueprint of Apostles, Prophets, and the office of Seventy.
We can also test the Church against the Teachings found in the blueprint of Christ’s Church. Elder Callister asked:
“Are God and Jesus the same Being, as taught by much of the Christian world, or two separate Beings? What does the blueprint say? The number of references in the Bible to the separate identity and separate roles of the Father and the Son is staggering. In the Garden of Gethsemane…the Savior declared, ‘Not my will, but thine, be done’ (Luke 22:42). This is the grandest act of submission the world has ever known. But what submission would there have been if there was no other Being to whom He could submit–if He and the Father were one and the same Being?”
After his humble and earnest prayer, Joseph Smith learned the truth about God and Jesus Christ. He saw God the Father standing next to Jesus Christ, the Son, and he spoke with them. Elder Callister explained,
“On that glorious day the heavens shattered the man-made myths of the past about the nature of God and revealed and confirmed the simple truth as originally taught in the blueprint: that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have a oneness of goals and will but a separateness of identity.”
Elder Callister then compared Ordinances found in Christ’s Church.
“What does the blueprint say about the manner in which the gift–not the temporary presence, but the permanent gift–of the Holy Ghost is given after someone is baptized? …The scriptures reveal the manner in which that ordinance is to be performed: ‘Then [Peter and John] laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost’ (Acts 8:17). …Once again the blueprint and Christ’s restored Church are in perfect harmony.”
The talk given by Elder Callister goes through many cases where the Church of Jesus Christ matches that which was restored by Joseph Smith. A point which I found to be incredible was that the Word of Wisdom which Latter-day Saints now follow is not something new. In fact, Christ has always given His people a Law of Health and His apostles have always taught about the sacredness of our bodies.
“Because of this, the members of Christ’s Church had certain health laws they obeyed, such as certain restrictions on drinking wine, found in Ephesians 5 and 1 Timothy 3. In accordance with this divine law of treating our bodies like temples, Joseph Smith received a health law from the Lord for the members of Christ’s restored Church, known as the Word of Wisdom.”
Nothing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not match the original Church established by Jesus Christ himself. This Church is true. It is of God. It is the only Church that has all of the parts, pieces, truths, ordinances, doctrines, teachings, fruits, etc., contained within the primitive Church of Jesus Christ. There has never been a question about it in my mind. If you have questions, I encourage you to solicit answers from your Father in Heaven. I encourage you to read the scriptures; the blueprints which have been given. I encourage you to speak with the missionaries, for they know how to help you find the answers. If you seek proof, if you seek evidence of the validity of this Church, read, watch, or listen to the talk by Elder Tad R. Callister.
Now that I am a missionary and I see the power, strength, and blessings that come from living the Gospel and being true to the Church, I feel as though I need to shout it from the mountaintops for all to hear. I feel as Alma in chapter 29 verses 1-2:
“O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon the face of the earth.”
I pray that you all may be able to find the blessings which our Father in Heaven is ready to give. I pray that you all will feel an increase in your testimonies and your relationship with God as you humbly seek Him in sincere prayer. I pray that you all may feel His love.
Elder Burdge
I am forever grateful for the opportunities we have had to teach many people and for the miracles I have seen in my encounters with them. For about two weeks we have been teaching a man whom I will call John in this email. Elder Bala Perez and I were visiting a less active member one day and we had some extra time before our lesson. We decided to knock on a few doors in the neighborhood to pass the time. Most people didn’t answer. Eventually, we came to John’s door. As he opened it, he said, “I’m an atheist. Sorry, but have a good day.” I replied, “Well, sir, as missionaries we love doing service. Is there anything in your yard or some house work we could give you a hand with?” With a chuckle, John responded “You should have come yesterday. I did all my yard work then.”
Last week we received a call from the assistants to the mission president letting us know that I would be transferred to a new area “where you will need to help lift and strengthen the missionaries there. We’ll be watching how you do and look forward to seeing what you can accomplish next.” I have been transferred to an area near San Antonio called Culebra Creek and I am working with a missionary from Guatemala named Elder Bala. I will miss Sunset Valley dearly but I am grateful for the chance to grow and hasten the work of salvation.
Wednesday was my birthday. I am not someone who enjoys celebrations or even acknowledgments of my birthday because they make me uncomfortable. But this year was different. First of all, I appreciate all of the birthday wishes I received and I am grateful for the love which was expressed in them. I was also able to feel loved by members of the Sunset Valley Ward. The Obregon family insisted on celebrating my birthday with Elder Vazquez and I. Sister Obregon prepared a delicious meal and they made a German Chocolate cake just for me. Such a gesture helped me feel quite loved on my birthday. More than that, it helped me realize and understand the connection and truth that we are all brothers and sisters of a loving Heavenly Father. This family treated me as their own because they have an abiding love for the Gospel and through the Gospel they have a love for all.
This past week has had many ups and downs but we are always pressing forward. Something that has really stood out to me is that there are always people to find who are interested in hearing about the incredible Gospel that has been restored to the earth. Elder Vazquez and I were going by many potentials on Tuesday and decided to go by a young man I had met on exchanges several weeks prior.
The past week has been full of progress and learning. We had a zone conference where we learned what we are made of individually. As the meeting started, President Slaughter told us that there weren’t words to explain what we would be learning that day. The best he could think of was that when an orange is squeezed, what comes out will be orange juice. He compared it to us as members of the Church and missionaries: when we are in confrontational situations or just teaching in general, what are we putting forth? The missionaries split off into groups where we did role plays of a variety of situations. I learned that often we have automatic responses to things when we should first think and be guided by the Spirit. For example, when someone tells us that Mormons aren’t Christian, usually our first response is to prove them wrong and say, “Yes we are.” Such a response just leads to arguing and we leave the presence of the Spirit. I learned that when interacting with others, it is not important to tell them what I know. I am here to help those around me increase their knowledge and come closer to Christ.
Blessings come as we actively work to receive them. We must go out and try to obtain them in order to demonstrate to the Lord our desires. As we act in faith we buy more oil for our lamps of testimony.
