5th Letter from the MTC

This week has been fantastic, as usual! The biggest highlight is certainly the Sunday Evening Devotional. We were graced with the presence of Brother David Archuleta and Brother Richard Elliot! Richard Elliot is an accomplished organist, and plays for both the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and his own performances. David Archuleta is David Archuleta. They both shared some of their talents, bore their testimonies, then performed together. It was incredible.

In other news, since three weeks have passed, our District Leader changed. The first three weeks it was Elder Ostermiller (the tall one), then it was Elder Ely (his companion) and for our final stint at the MTC, it's me. As District Leader, I check mail, lead the District in discussions, attend Branch Councils, and Leadership Training Meetings. It's been going well so far. We have a wonderful branch where everybody clicks well and gets along. The Branch Presidency constantly comments on how we have such a special spirit, or how well we're put together. I know I certainly consider myself blessed.

I finished the Book of Mormon last Sunday, and now I'm moving on to D&C! Hopefully I'll be catching up to the family soon.

We hosted again on Wednesday, and it started snowing! That's actually happened a few different times since I've arrived, but it always melts by the end of the day.

It's absolutely ridiculous how much Korean we learn each week. There are days when my head feels like it's just going to blow up from all the new information it's taking in. It is truly miraculous.

Our lessons with our progressing investigators have improved, mainly because we've learned how (literally, we've learned more about how to use the language to) teach from the Book of Mormon. 

I've been practicing piano a lot, during my additional study times, and I'm going to be playing for our Priesthood meeting in two weeks (two because General Conference is this Sunday, then we have a special Easter Morning Devotional the week after). I wish that I had been more diligent about keeping up with my piano playing (I can hear you saying, "I told you so," from here). But, I will be musically fit by the time I leave the MTC!

It's funny how we have so much going on every week, but when I look over my journal and go to write, there's not a lot to share. I suppose that's mainly because we spend hours and hours in class studying Korean and the gospel. A lot of my insights are short personal ones, but there's a topic that I've been drawn to lately.

It reminds me of an analogy our teacher, Sister Allen, used after Korean class. 

You're going to the party of the century. As you're walking up the block, you see two people. You tell them, "The party of the century is right over there! Just go to that corner and turn three feet! It's the best thing ever!" And then they go, but they only turn two feet. You tell them, "Why didn't you turn three feet?! The party of the century is right there! You just have to turn one more foot!" 

Of course, the metaphor is obvious, and similar to one Christ used, when telling the Parable of the Marriage Feast. The frank truth is that the things that are helping me, the things I'm learning, the things that are preparing me for the future, are gospel principles. When I live the gospel, I feel better about myself, love others more, am more willing to sacrifice for others, and am more driven to improve. It improves my life in every aspect, because that's what it's meant to do. 

It's a gospel of improvement, a gospel of action. In 1 John 4, near the end of the chapter there's a verse that basically says, "Whoever says he loves God, but hates his brother, is a liar." If a person truly loves God, then they will love their 'brother,' because we're commanded to love each other, and when you really love God, you'll love the things He loves, which is all of us, His children. Sadly, there are lots of hypocrites and liars in the world. It depresses me that there are people who profess to be Christian, but only attend church on Sunday. That's not being Christian. A true disciple seeks to be like their master, and lets their teachings change their life. Those false followers are an embarrassment to those who truly are seeking to live like Jesus, and live the principles of love and service He demonstrated. We watched this fantastic video by Elder Bednar called "The Character of Christ," and he stated it really simply: "Christ turns outward when others would turn inwards." I want to be like that. 

One of my favorite topics to learn about lately is the future, in the sense of building a better future. I was reading this old conference talk from the 70's, and the man (Paul H. Dunn) said that, "We who are older speak of building a better world, but our progress is slow. Real generosity to the future lies, then, in giving all that we have to the present." 

I thought that was genius. If I want to build a better tomorrow, then I need to do everything I can today. That's why I'm here! I finished reading the Book of Mormon last week, and found a great scripture in the Book of Ether, 12th Chapter, 4th verse. Paraphrasing, it says that those who live the gospel "have hope for a better world." In D&C 25:10, it's said that we "seek for the things of a better" world. It really reinforced to me that this is a gospel of hope. Anybody who reaches out to Christ can find their heart's deepest desire fulfilled, so long as they obey His commandments. 

And really, if you love God keeping the commandments will follow. He gives them to us because He loves us. Everything boils down to that. In 1 John 4, it says quite frankly that, "We love him because he loved us first." We're not exercising mighty faith and believing in an unknowable god, but we're returning the feelings of devotion and care we've already received from him, of which all things bear testimony of, as Alma said. Heavenly Father sent Jesus, who volunteered, to die and suffer for us, so we could come back. God is, above everything else, love. Heavenly Father loved us enough to risk losing a few of us, and giving us the chance to make our own choices. I have been learning so much about the characteristics of Christ, and of God, through both my personal scripture studies, and reading "Jesus the Christ" at night. It's incredible. I love the way Christ treats children, and how he talks about them in Moroni Chapter 8. It's really one of my favorite things about the gospel. Little children are "alive in Christ." They don't sin, and they have no need of baptism or repentance, because they're not accountable for what they do. Christ used His strongest language in condemnation of those who harm children: "And whosoever offends one of these little ones, it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck and he be dropped into the ocean." That's a paraphrase, but the basic ideas there. He says it'd be better for a massive stone to be hung from their neck, and to drown in the ocean. Christ is constantly demonstrating his love for children, such as when he blessed them one by one when he visited the Nephites. 

I had a massive epiphany regarding God's treatment of children: He teaches us to care for them, and emphasizes their importance, because all of us are *His children.* He's teaching us to treat children the way He treats us, and He's telling us how He feels about us! He wants us to raise children right and protect them, because He went through that same process with us, so long ago! He's teaching us by example! It humbles me so greatly, and I'm filled with gratitude when I think that one day Heavenly Father will put a few of His children in my care. It's also distressingly sad to imagine how He feels when children are so grossly mistreated. It's no wonder there are so many talks about "Saving the Children," "Thinking of the Children," "Helping the Children," and a multitude of such things. However, those sad events are only temporary, because all people will one day stand accountable for every tear they caused another to shed, every injury they caused, every hurtful word they spoke. At that time, they will be judged by the God of justice, and those who withhold mercy will similarly be denied mercy themselves. All things will be made right in the bright morning of the Second Coming, after the dark night of iniquity. That's the wonderful catch-all of God's plan. 

Until next week, 

Elder Austin Lynn