Do we know our Master - Week 63

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone had a really great week! Things are moving forward pretty good here in caldwell. We were able to take a few more of our investigators to the temple this week so in total we were able to bring about 7 different investigators I hope that we are able to continue them forward on the right path!  Now its back to the normal style of missionary work here with the Meridian Temple finished, but it was really a wonderful experience to be able to participate in it. 

We had a baptism with one of the investigators that Elder Pettijohn and myself had taught last transfer so that was really cool! I was able to play the cello at her baptism and im getting pretty excited to play some Christmas music!

My thoughts from this week come from 

Mosiah 5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?-- 

I really love this verse because In order to know our Master Jesus Christ we have to serve others and as we serve others and come to obey the commandments of God we will come to know our Savior even more! I would invite each of us to ponder what more can we do to serve the maser more in our daily lives. I know that as we do this we will be able to come to know our savior and have a stronger relationship.

Keep smiling!

Love, Elder Gerrard

Week 62 - Leaf questions and Root Answers

Man so you know how every once in a while you hear about how the missionaries are soo busy that they have to suffer malnutrition to survive? well that happened this week haha we had to cancel a dinner appointment eat at like 4:00 one night and then skip multiple lunches throughout the week. But I cant complain! The Lord for sure strengthens you and provides for you while you are doing his work. I think about the numerous times we were out in the cold winter and it wasnt that bad at all when you were talking with people and sharing the gospel you were filled with all of that warmth so it was pretty good! Right now we have 4 people on date in our are which is pretty awesome and we are working with about 10 investigators at the moment so we spend alot of time teaching. Which is really enjoyable but requires alot of prayerful pondering to ensure we are doing and teaching the right things to progress the work and to be spending the right amount of time with the right people. 

Elder Benavides is pretty awesome I have enjoyed being with him. I really have nothing to complain about. Im at that point in my mission where its just WORK HARD. Which is really nice. I can see that the Lord has definitely put people in our path because we are simply ready to receive them!

We also have a baptism this Saturday for one of the investigators that me and Elder Pettijohn taught in our Young Single Adult Ward. So that will be super awesome to see here get baptized. We also had the opportunity to see one of the investigators that I taught one time over skype in my last area in Meridian with Elder Hamel. So its cool to see the work moving forward! 

My thought from this week comes from the Jacob 5 (one of my favorite chapters honestly)

Our mission president shared a story he heard in a mission president meeting. It talked about Elder Neilson and how when raising his girls he was approached by questions from his daughters that consisted of Can I do this? how long does my skirt need to be? Can I hang out with these friends? etc. Elder Neilson calls these questions "leaf" questions. Instead of answering these questions with "leaf" answers such as yes or no. He decided to answer them with a root question. Such as tell me your relationship with your Heavenly Father? Tell me how you feel about your Savior Jesus Christ? etc. By asking these root questions we begin to help all of us answer these leaf questions. I love this because we find ourselves asking these leaf questions all the time when it comes to living the gospel. Should i listen to this? Should I watch this? Is it okay to eat or drink this? Is it okay to do this with my family on the Sabbath? All of these questions tend to be asked over the course of our lives whether we ask them or someone asks us these questions. 

It reminds me Jacob 5:21-25

21 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.

22 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.

23 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.

24 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.

25 And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and the otherpart of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.-- 

We all want to be able to produce the fruits that are good when the Master comes again. and no matter what kind of person we are (what type of soil)  as long as we are able to nourish our roots we will be able to bring forth that good fruit. Although if we allow pride to creep in like the last tree we will find ourselves with Good and Bad fruit because we couldn't allow ourselves to answer our root questions the way we should have allowed us to. 

Keep smiling!

Love, Elder Gerrard

Tender Mercies - Week 61

This week was a really quick one thats for sure. We were able to fill our truck bed full of pumkins twice. So we had a total of 64 pumpkins. We have been giving to others. Its been really fun! We had some tender mercies. It amazes me how the Lord really does put people straight in our path that are soo prepared. Its really that simple. We just need to talk to them. We have some people lined up to go with to the temple open house which should be a really fun time! I know this email is kinda lame this week. 

Catch you all next week.

Charity more than just service - Week 60

October 30, 2017

Hello Everyone,

I hope we are all doing well! Today is a breezy fall day in Caldwell Idaho! Pretty soon im sure we will start to see the first snow of the year! It blows my mind to think how quickly everything has gone! The year of 2017 has truly flown by! Transfers were today and I found out I will be staying in Caldwell for another 6 weeks (Dec 5). Im sad to see that Elder Pettijohn will be going to Nampa South Zone, but my new companion will be Elder Benavides! He is from Connecticut. I'm excited to learn from him and see what the Lord would have us do in this area. We have had a wonderful and busy week as it seems to always be. We were able to take 4 investigators to the Meridian Temple Open House! One of my favorites was our investigator Abdullah. He is from the Middle East and he doesn't speak English much better than an elementary school student, but he knows enough to be taught the lessons. We took him through the temple and he said," I wish you could speak my language so I could tell you more than simply Im very very happy" The temple reminds me how powerful the spirit can be in places that aren't dedicated or blessed. In all reality we can have the same spirit of the Temple Open House in our own homes we just have to allow it! We have almost given out 80 pumpkins in the last 3 weeks. Its been wonderful to see the light in peoples eyes when they register that its for them! 

This week we were also able to set 3 baptismal dates with some of the people we are working with and hopefully we will be able to see them move forward so they can be prepared to make that promise with God. We have also been reaping the reward of diligent service. We taught two new investigators that we found in one of the nicest parts of our area at 8:45 at night. We walked around the corner and found the wife working outside in the dark, and she has been prepared by God. All of her questions about church and religion and the purpose of this life are all essential questions we invite our investigators to ponder and pray about! So it was fun teaching them:) 

My thought of the week comes from my study of charity in the Book of Mormon. 

I was reading in 2 Nephi 33:9-12  

9 I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation.

10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.

12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.

I have been striving to understand what it means to have charity. It's soo much more than just doing acts of service. As I have begun to learn more its also about seeing others as Heavenly Father sees us. And that requires us to hope for us to stay and enter in the gate of Eternal Life. We need to see all of our Brothers and Sisters as striving to be on that path to have joy and to be able to repent. The beginning point for all of this is Believing in Christ. For those that are not of our faith and allow that to be the divide between us, Nephi explains it simply that if they believe in Christ they will come to know his words (The Book of Mormon) to be true also. May we also do the same and establish with all those around us that we are disciples of Christ and it is He that we obtain a forgiveness of our sins!  - Elder Gerrard

Elder Gerrard and Elder Benavides (From Connecticut)

The Beautiful Meridian Temple 

Finding our way through a corn maze