MTC Week 1 (Feb. 26-March 6)

I had this massive insight regarding the first few chapters of 1 Nephi. If you think of it like a parable, it represents people's quest for the gospel, or truth. Nephi and his brothers are sent to retrieve the Brass Plates (scriptures, which represent the gospel). They try to ask Laban (who represents the world, or the Natural Man) for them, but almost die (spiritual death). They try to buy the Brass Plates, but they almost die (you cannot buy truth). They're discouraged, and some (Laman and Lemuel) are bitter and angry about their failure to retrieve the gospel. It isn't until they receive a message from the Lord (an angel, symbolizing the Holy Ghost) that they get back up and try again. Nephi, following the Spirit, slays Laban, despite his reluctance to do so (he purged himself of the Natural Man, or Worldliness), and is now able to receive the Brass Plates. 

I've also heard some fantastic new scriptures, like D & C 121: 9 (my friends stand by me!). I don't have the time to quote all of them, but I have them in my journal. I forgot it, so you can expect more next week. 

I was reading my Patriarchal Blessing one night, and I realized that it said I will be blessed with the Gift of Tongues! It specifically says I'll have that gift so that I can share my testimony! That's something I want to do really badly. It's hard to believe I've only been here 8 days... we've already learned so much Korean. My district can pretty much read and write it, and we can teach very simple lessons. Our Elders were right; we started teaching (in Korean) on Friday! It's incredible how blessed we've been. My head constantly feels like it's going to explode because we're learning so much. I'll have to write some Korean sentences in my handwritten letter home so Brother Chun can read it for you. I'm loving the MTC. There's such a strong spirit here, it's no wonder we're being blessed so powerfully. We're all so united in purpose. I cannot thank Mission Prep enough; I must think back to those lessons everyday. I have a strong testimony of that class now -- stronger than before. They really know what they're doing. It's given me such a leg up on everything. It's hard to not get discouraged about your Korean, but we have to remember the advice of our teachers -- don't compare to others, but to your past ability. And when I think back a week, I couldn't do virtually anything in Korean. I've been so blessed. All of us have been. We say prayers before class, before lessons, before meals, in Korean! They're basic sure, but we're learning. Did you know, we spend over 12 hours in class most days? My first day here, they got me my language materials, processed me, then BOOM! I was in class. In the MTC we "SYL" meaning Speak Your Language. Whenever we know the Korean for something, we say it in Korean. It really helps us get a handle for the language. Our teacher, Sister Allen, speaks almost exclusively in Korean. That was difficult at first, but has since become a blessing to our district. Something we had to learn early on is that we're not learning Korean -- we're learning the gospel in Korean. We're not learning Korean so that we can speak the language, we're learning Korean so that we can share the gospel. I don't know the word for car, or house, but I already know Holy Ghost and Fullness of the Gospel. My studies in Japanese have also helped me, because they use the same Subject Object Verb sentence structure, and the particle markers. I love all of you, and want you to know I am thriving in the MTC. My testimony and conversion process has progressed in leaps and bounds. I pray for all of you (in Korean!), and love you so dearly. 

Until next week, 

Elder Austin Lynn