It was an interesting week. We had two baptisms and a couple
of interesting discoveries. But unfortunately it was a pretty dismal week in
all other regards.
I'm glad for the things I learned this week. The mission has
given me a lot of opportunities to see me own weakness and defects and also a
lot of opportunities to put things into perspective. Perspective gives us
understanding and understanding is something vital for our eternal progression.
I like the book Our Search for Happiness, by M. Russell Ballard. One of the things Elder Ballard writes about
in that book is understanding. He makes some really good points - it's really good book to read.
This week I heard about the experiences of some people who have gone through
some horrible stuff. There are so many people in this world that are suffering
from abuse and hunger and loneliness, mental problems, bullying, violence, and
every other wicked thing that exists in the world today.
We are blessed with the Light of Christ and the influence of the Spirit in our lives, and that makes us want to help people in desperate need. We feel
that we can't do enough to resolve their problems, which is true. We can do all
we can, but just like a doctor cannot restore the leg of an amputee, we cannot completely erase the pain of people who have gone through so much suffering. A doctor can replace the leg with a
false one, which is a blessing and an improvement to the person's quality of life, but he can't restore the damaged leg.
What is so wonderful about the Atonement is that it restores
everything to a perfect state. It erases all evidences of wounds physically,
but maybe even more awesome (I use that word to describe the awe I feel at the power the Atonement gives us. This is for Naomi because I know she doesn't like that
word) is that it also erases all evidences of spiritual and mental wounds. How
that is done I can't say. I know that it is possible because of the suffering
Christ went through in Gethsemane, something we should gives thanks for
continually, but I can't explain how it works.
I don't know how people are going to be able to overcome the
feelings of hurt that they have had all their lives. That, however, is the
promise of the Atonement. There is a book called The Infinite Atonement
that was written by Tad R Callister, that Bishop Krouskop encouraged me to
read, I unfortunately never did it. I want to read it afterward my mission, though. I have
it on the shelf that is in my room. I would encourage you all to read it. I
can't personally say if it is very good or not, but I encourage you all to read
it nonetheless because as the title implies, it teaches about the
overreaching power of the Atonement.
Understanding the Atonement, as it says in Preach My Gospel, and applying its blessings in our lives, as Bishop Causse said in a visit to our mission last August, gives us not only more love and appreciation for Jesus,
but also more desires to share the Gospel with those around us. I would
encourage you all to read Chapters 12 to 16 in Mosiah. I was reading
these this past week in my personal study. Lots of times people said that
Abinadi is such a great prophet because he bore his testimony at the price of
his life. Reading this again taught me that he not only did that: he also testified and revealed truths about the Sacrifice of Christ and the power
it has regarding our salvation, specifically our resurrection. It would be good
to read for Family Home Evening.
I'm sending some interesting pictures. Some are of a church we found in the far end of our area.
The other is of the pet of a less active member we are trying to reactivate.
The others are of baptisms that we had this past week.
I'm hoping that this
coming week is better not only for me but for all of you. I'm glad to hear that
you have been called and set apart as temple workers, Mom and Dad. I look forward to hearing
about your experiences. I'm sorry to hear about what Trump is doing with families on the border. I saw the Church`s statement about the situation. I'm glad that you stood for what was
right, Sam, but like you saw, some people just can't be convinced.
I love you all
very much and look forward to hearing from you all next week.
Love, Elder McMurray
