It's not about going to the celestial kingdom, it's about becoming a celestial person.
This was the crux of a spiritual thought we shared with a member family last Sunday evening. We had a wonderful meal with them, then we were able to talk with the whole family -- including their less-active father. We'd talked to the Sister earlier that week, so we knew heloved baseball. Keeping that in mind, I presented a spiritual thought somewhere along these lines... Since I was young, my family's gone to a number of baseball games. But, our team never won! That was disappointing, but I've come to realize that what mattered the most was the experiences we had together, the family time.
Then, last year, out of the blue, our team -- the Kansas City Royals -- started doing well! They made it all the way to the championship game of the World Series, where they took second place. Nobody was expecting that.
In life, we don't always expect the blessings that come to us, nor can we determine exactly when they'll come. In the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Some blessings come soon. Some blessings come late. But, for the faithful, they come."
I don't think that "salvation" or "eternal life" is going to the celestial kingdom. Rather, I believe it's becoming a celestial person. Similarly, if we just live, we're missing out. It's our privilege and mission to experience life. It's not always about whether your team's winning or losing -- sometimes it's just about who you're spending the time with, and if you're having fun in the summer.
Then, who knows? Maybe next year your team will win the World Series.
Last Monday, we actually visited the Sister, Ha Song Hi (하송희), and talked with her for quite a while on her doorstep, which led to our meal invitation. Working with members is so important!
Tuesday, we went to our weekly service project, accompanied by one of the young adults in the ward. He's always been something we keep a close eye on, so it was really rewarding and reassuring to see how much he enjoyed giving service, even in an environment where it's easy to feel awkward and out of place.
On Wednesday, we had interviews with President! That was a really good experience. At the very start, he asked me about training. We talked about that for a while, and President told me that while he couldn't be certain I'd be training, since the number of Elders coming in next transfer is so low, he knows that I'm ready. That meant a lot to me, since training is one of the biggest responsibilities in the mission. He told me that, furthermore, he felt I was ready for any position in the mission -- from assistant to office elder to zone leader to trainer.
One vision I've had since the beginning of my mission is to be a missionary that President Morrise can trust, that he can use in any situation or position, and know that I'll do it effectively. What interviews did for me was take me by the shoulder, and say, "Yes. I do." So, I guess it's time for some new goals!
On Thursday I went on exchanges with the zone leaders, and had the opportunity to sit in on a district training about promisingspecific blessings when teaching. That's something I can definitely do better on, so I really appreciated it. It's a double-edged sword though; sometimes we're afraid of promising something that won't come, and being mistaken. I thought about that, and I said something that the others really liked: "Sometimes I think, "Wow. I want to be Dan Jones, 'one of the greatest missionaries in this dispensation.' Or Wilford Woodruff, or one of the other missionaries we read about in church history, who perform miracles and convert thousands. Then, I catch myself thinking, "Well, that was nice, back in the day." And I forget that that's what the people in their day said -- talking about the Apostles. Or what the people in the Apostles' day said, talking about the Old Testament prophets. Sometimes we forget that the day of miracles is ongoing, and the only thing that stops us from participating, is ourselves."
Friday was consumed by weekly planning and a meeting with the bishopric. Those meetings are intrinsically valuable, in the sense that we're able to coordinate with the ward leaders, and receive advice on how to help our investigators, as well as how to help the ward.
Saturday was the first session of stake conference, and boy was it great! During the priesthood session, both Elder Lee, one of the senior proselyting missionaries, and President Morrise spoke. Elder Lee gave a powerful talk exhorting members to involve themselves more in missionary work. He also made all of the missionaries laugh pretty hard when he stated, "Ammon didn't go around giving people his card and asking them to call back if they need help." You wouldn't believe how often missionaries have to do that! And, we rarely get calls. There's a more effective way to do missionary work -- and that way is through members. President gave a good talk about Preach My Gospel, and it reminded me how valuable it is both for members and missionaries.
Another enjoyable facet of stake conference was that Elder Koichi Aoyagi, of the Asia North Area Presidency, was presiding. He came to our mission last year as part of the mission tour, and we had a great time with him. He had to speak through a translator, so we had a Japanese man speaking to a Korean, and then we had to translate in our heads! Wow.
The Sunday session was also really good. Sister Morrise and President Morrise both spoke (in Korea, of course). We were so proud of Sister Morrise; she's definitely not fluent, but she certainly knows how to write a talk and figure it out! Her talk was about gratitude; and President talked about inviting, which is our main purpose as missionaries. We invite people to come unto Christ. In everything we do, there should be an invitation. I'm glad that he talked about that, because that's something I forget to do sometimes, and it really is vital to help others.
That was my week, in a nutshell. I love all of you!
Elder Austin Lynn
