Monday, December 31, 2012

Elder Banner's Christmas letter



Christmas Letter: The Character of Christ
Elder Josh Banner

               MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I cannot believe that it is already Christmas again! I swear that it has not yet been a year since the last time I wrote a Christmas letter! That was soooooo fast! But I am excited for the opportunity I have to, once again, be writing a Christmas letter to you. I know that if each of you decide to read, study, and (most importantly) pray to get what you need out of these scriptures and experiences it will benefit you. But I know you are thinking, “Well Elder Banner was long winded and liked the sound of his voice before the mission. Now he has been living with a deaf person for 4 months, this will be long...” That might be true..... I apologize! Ha ha
               Like last year I decide that, though severely limited by budget, I can still share with you that which is my most valuable possession, my knowledge and testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we now celebrate Christmas; which is a wonderful time to remember His birth, His life, and the wonderful gifts He provided for us; I will try and explain things I have learned of Him. I will try to be brief but this is a subject that is complex and detailed. I may ramble on for more than I intend and for that I apologize.

               I want to start this with a quote from Elder David A. Bednar. He said, “Learn of Christ, not just about Him.” It is very important to note that distinction. We are all familiar with what Christ did, but who of us is familiar with who Christ is? What is He like? What is His Character? Only through knowing who Christ is and why He did what He did can we begin to emulate and live like Him. That is the subject of our study today.
               We start this more specific study with a quote from Elder Neil A. Maxwell who said, “There would have been no Atonement except for the character of Christ”. Now, that is an interesting statement. Why? Why would the Atonement be impossible “except for the character of Christ”? The answer is that without constantly living in accordance with this character, Christ would not have been sufficiently prepared to take upon Him the infinite burden of the Atonement. But, again, why? What is this character and why is it so important?

What is Character?

               In the Oxford English dictionary it explains character as “...the sum of the moral and mental qualities which distinguish an individual or race; mental or moral constitution; moral qualities strongly developed or strikingly displayed”. Brigham Young, when testifying of the truthfulness of the Bible, emphasized the importance of the charterer of Christ by saying,
               “...the Bible is true. It may not all have been translated aright, and many precious things may have been rejected in the compilation and translation of the Bible; but we understand, from the writings of one of the Apostles, that if all the sayings and doings of the Savior had been written, the world could not contain them. I will say that the world could not understand them. They do not understand what we have on record, nor the character of the Savior, as delineated in the Scriptures; and yet it is one of the simplest things in the world, and the Bible, when it is understood, is one of the simplest books in the world, for, as far as it is translated correctly, it is nothing but truth, and in truth there is no mystery save to the ignorant. The revelations of the Lord to his creatures are adapted to the lowest capacity, and they bring life and salvation to all who are willing to receive them.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 124)
               So Brigham Young said that the Character of Christ is one of the simplest things in the world. Why then is it not more commonly known? This is not a new question. Joseph Smith spoke of this in his famous King Follett discourse. He asked the audience, “What kind of a being is God? Does any man or woman know? Have any of you seen Him, heard Him, and communed with Him? Here is the question, perhaps, that will from this time forth occupy your attention. The apostle John says, 'this is life eternal' – to know God and Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent.” (See John 17:3 and King Follet Discourse [HC 6: 302-303]) If our purpose in life or 'life eternal' is to know God and Jesus Christ and if that is the only way we can rightly 'take upon us the name of Christ' and be like Him, then what is His Character? Who is He? What is the Character of Christ?

The Character of Christ

               Elder Maxwell commented, “Jesus' character necessarily underwrote His remarkable atonement. Without Jesus' sublime character there could have been no sublime atonement! His character is such that He "[suffered] temptations of every kind" (Alma 7:11), yet He gave temptations "no heed" (Doctrine and Covenants 20:22).
               Someone has said only those who resist temptation really understand the power of temptation. Because Jesus resisted it perfectly, He understood temptation perfectly, hence He can help us. The fact that He was dismissive of temptation and gave it "no heed," reveals His marvelous character, which we are to emulate (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:22; 3 Nephi 12:48; 27:27).”
               Elder Bednar shows us more clearly by saying, “Perhaps the greatest indicator of character is the capacity to recognize and appropriately respond to other people who are experiencing the very challenge or adversity that is most immediately and forcefully pressing upon us. Character is revealed, for example, in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress.” And thus we come to realize that character is shown, demonstrated, and exemplified by looking, reaching, and turning outward when the natural and instinctive response is to be self-absorbed and turn inward. That is the Character of Christ.

Examples of the Character of Christ

               If that is the Character of Christ, where can we find examples of it? Let's turn in the New Testament to Matthew chapter 4 to start. In verse 1-9 we read about Jesus, having concluded His forty days of fasting in preparation for His ministry, being tempted of the devil. The devil tempts Jesus three different times in succession and Jesus resists the temptation every time. Now following a forty day fast the Savior was probably more than a little bit weak, and after each successive confrontation with the devil the Redeemer must have been emotionally and spiritually drained. With that in mind, please read verse 11 which says: “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” Now that is great, following these experiences angels came to strengthen Christ. I know I would have appreciated that as Christ must have. But is that how it happened? Now, with the help of modern revelation, we can see a better example of the Character of Christ. The Joseph Smith translation of verse 11 says: “Then the devil leaveth him, and now Jesus knew that John [the Baptist] was cast into prison, and he [Jesus] sent angels, and behold, they came and ministered unto him [John]”. What a remarkable example of the Character of Christ. Christ, in the midst of trials Himself, turned outward in compassion and thought of John and sent angels to comfort him.
               Another example is found in 3 Nephi where it explains Christ coming to visit His “other sheep” (John 10:16) here in the Americas shortly after His resurrection. He came to them, established His church, called the 12 apostles, and taught how to perform ordinances such as baptism, explains the doctrine of Christ, delivers the Sermon on the Mount, and then explains many other things. He then tells them that He has to leave them. At this point we are in chapter 17. He [Jesus] “perceives that [they] are weak” or in other words tired or overwhelmed by all of His teachings. They needed some time before they could learn again. Christ notices that, advices them to go to their homes so they can ponder and ask God for understanding to prepare themselves for His [Christ's] next visit. He then explains a little of what He is going to do. He is to go back to his Father and then to the lost ten tribes of Israel along with more of His “other sheep”.
               We then read in verse 5-8: “and it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them. And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy. For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.”
              Instantly Christ turns outward in compassion and love to those who merely “desired Him to stay”. They didn't say anything. They didn't have to. The Master was able to perceive their desires and instantly turned out to help and heal them. He didn't think of all He still needed to do, He still had a full plate. He had already spent hours of His time teaching these people but was willing to stay longer. There was no turning inward and thinking what He wanted, he immediately turned outward to help, to love, and to be an example for the multitude and the record says, “and He did heal them every one”. For even greater examples of this Character I would encourage you to read the last half of 3 Nephi Chapter 17.
               But one of my favorite examples occurred following that which took place in Gethsemane. Having just sweat great gouts of blood while taking upon Him the sins, pains, and suffering of the world. Christ returns to find His apostles asleep. They couldn't wait with Him “one hour”. He gently rouses them just in time for another of His apostles, who had betrayed Him, lead soldiers to arrest Him with a servant of the High Priest. Peter, in an attempt to avoid the inevitable, cuts off the ear of the servant of the High Priest. What is the pain of losing an ear compared to all the pain from sin and all of the pain the whole world would eventually feel? Nothing right? Yet Christ, in the midst of the most terrible agony that He would ever bear and more than any of us could even imagine to bear, reaches down to lift the servant and then heals his ear.
               That is the Character of Christ! That is who He is! That is what He does, every time! He will always turn outward in love and compassion to help those are in need! Especially when it is hardest for Him, it doesn't matter what is happening to Him, what pain He may be experiencing, He will always turn outward. Now, imagine this, when we accepted our baptismal covenant we agreed and promised to take upon ourselves His Name. That means to be like Him! Now, is that even possible? With what we have learned about the Character of our Savior, can we accomplish that? The answer is we can! But it takes a little bit of work and desire.

How to emulate the Character of Christ

               It is interesting to note that the core, the root, of the word character is the word ACT. That is fundamentally important! As we have seen through our Great Exemplar, the nature and consistency of how one acts reveals in a powerful way his or her character. With Christ, we know that He is one that “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). The key to building, developing, and cultivating a Christ-like character is consistently turning outward in love and compassion to help and lift others, to go about consistently “doing good”.
               If we, in our individual lives, are able to “[put] off the natural man” meaning resist the impulse to turn inwards and think only of self, and “[become] a saint through the Atonement of [Him who we are trying to emulate]” (Mosiah 3:19) which means turning outward in love and compassion to help and lift others, then we can take upon ourselves the very character of Christ. This is not a big thing or one single event. These are not horrible experiences every time. These are the little things. This is helping others through the midst of our own trials. This is going and tucking in your children after a long day when you are ready to sleep. This is helping someone on the side of the road when you had a long day at work. This is helping a friend feel better when you are personally struggling with something they don't know about or don't care to see. This is saying yes to that person that asked you to a dance when you would rather go with someone else, but you know how much it would mean to them who asked you. This is that missionary going to teach the gospel and serve others even though he or she is homesick and knows all the help they could give at home. This is visiting those who don't get many visitors when you feel you don’t have time. This is stopping what you're doing to give someone a hug that needs it. This is pausing your conversation to say hi to someone who looks like they are having a bad day. That is the Character of Christ!
               We do not need to take upon us the agony of sins and remorse and pain of the world to follow the Savior. We do not need to be punished, hated, and abused to follow the Savior. We do not need to travel half-way round the world to follow the Savior. We can lift where we stand and help those in need as the situation arises. We can emulate the Character of Christ merely by consistently acting in the way that He would.
               Now can you imagine what this world would be like if everyone tried this? There would be no war, there would be no regret, there would be no murder, no thievery, no lying, no inequality, and there would be no situation wherein any of us would ever feel alone or unloved. That is one solution to all the world's problems.
               Here is an experience that was shared by Elder Bednar that describes the type of person we could become through constantly living and acting in accordance with these principals.
               Let me now briefly share with you two memorable experiences from my service as a stake president that highlight the relationship between our actions and a Christ like character.
               Early one summer morning I was showering. My wife called to me in the middle of my shower and indicated that I was needed immediately on the telephone. (This was before the day of cell and cordless phones). I quickly put on my robe and hurried to the phone. I next heard the voice of a dear sister and friend informing me of a tragic automobile accident that had just occurred in a remote area involving three teenage young women from our stake. Our friend indicated one of the young women had already been pronounced dead at the scene of the accident and that the two other young women were badly injured and presently were being transported to the regional medical center in Fayetteville. She further reported that the identity of the deceased young woman was not yet known. There was urgency in her voice, but there was no panic or excessive alarm. She then asked if I could go to the hospital, meet the ambulance when it arrived, and assist in identifying the young women. I answered that I would leave immediately.
               During the course of our telephone conversation and as I listened to both the information being conveyed and the voice of our friend, I gradually became aware of two important things. First, this friend's daughter was one of the young women involved in the accident. Our friend lived approximately 35 miles from the hospital and therefore needed the assistance of someone who lived closer to the city. Second, I detected that the mother simultaneously was using two telephone handsets--with one in each hand pressed to each of her ears. I became aware that as she was talking with me, she was also talking with a nurse at a small rural hospital who had initially attended to the three accident victims. Our friend was receiving updated information about the condition of the young women in the very moment she was informing me about the accident and requesting my help. I then heard one of the most remarkable things I have ever heard in my life.
               I faintly heard the nurse telling this faithful mother and friend that the young woman pronounced dead at the scene of the accident had been positively identified as her daughter. I could not believe what I was hearing. I was listening to this good woman in the very moment that she learned of the death of her precious daughter. Without hesitation, and with a calm and most deliberate voice, our friend next said, "President Bednar, we must get in contact with the two other mothers. We must let them know as much as we can about the condition of their daughters and that they will soon be in the hospital in Fayetteville." There was no self-pity; there was no self-absorption; there was no turning inward. The Christ like character of this devoted woman was manifested in her immediate and almost instinctive turning outward to attend to the needs of other suffering mothers. It was a moment and a lesson that I have never forgotten. In a moment of ultimate grief, this dear friend reached outward when I likely would have turned inward.
               I then drove to the hospital with a concern in my heart for the well-being of the two other beautiful young women who had been involved in the accident. Little did I realize that the lessons I would learn about Christ like character--lessons taught by seemingly ordinary disciples--were just beginning.
               I arrived at the hospital and proceeded to the emergency room. After properly establishing who I was and my relationship to the victims, I was invited into two different treatment areas to identify the injured young women. It was obvious that their respective wounds were serious and life threatening. And the lovely countenances and physical features of these young women had been badly marred. Within a relatively short period of time, the two remaining young women died. All three of these virtuous, lovely, and engaging young women--who seemed to have so much of life in front of them--suddenly had gone home to their Eternal Father. My attention and the attention of the respective families now shifted to funeral arrangements and logistics.
               A day or so later, in the midst of program planning and detail arranging for the three funerals, I received a phone call from the Relief Society president of my home ward. Her daughter had been one of the victims in the accident, and she and I had talked several times about her desires for the funeral program. This faithful woman was a single mother rearing her only child--her teenage daughter. I was especially close to this woman and her daughter having served as both their bishop and stake president. After reviewing and finalizing several details for the funeral of her daughter, this good sister said to me, "President, I am sure it was difficult for you to see my daughter in the emergency room the other day. She was severely injured and disfigured. As you know, we will have a closed casket at the funeral. I have just returned from the funeral home, and they have helped my daughter to look so lovely again. I was just wondering ...why don't we arrange a time when we can meet at the mortuary and you can have one last look at her before she is buried. Then your final memories of my daughter will not be the images you saw in the emergency room the other day." I listened and marveled at the compassion and thoughtfulness this sister had for me. Her only daughter had just been tragically killed, but she was concerned about the potentially troublesome memories I might have given my experience in the emergency room. In this good woman I detected no self-pity and no turning inward. Sorrow, certainly. Sadness, absolutely. Nevertheless, she reached outward when many or perhaps most of us would have turned inward with sorrow and grief.
               Let me describe one final episode related to these three tragic deaths. On the day of her daughter's funeral, this Relief Society president from my home ward received a phone call from an irritated sister in our ward. The complaining sister had a cold and did not feel well, and she basically chewed out the Relief Society president for not being thoughtful or compassionate enough to arrange for meals to be delivered to her home. Just hours before the funeral of her only child, this remarkable Relief Society president prepared and delivered a meal to the murmuring sister.
               We appropriately and rightly speak with reverence and awe of young men who sacrificed their lives to rescue stranded handcart pioneers and of other mighty men and women who repeatedly gave their all to establish the Church in the early days of the Restoration. I speak with equal reverence and awe of these two women--women of faith and character and conversion--who taught me so much and instinctively reached outward when most of us would have turned inward. Oh how I appreciate their quiet and powerful examples.”
               On my mission I have seen many examples of people who have taken upon them the Character of Christ. Most are not as dramatic as those above but they are just as important and awe-inspiring. From those who say, “We can feed you whenever you don't have a dinner” to one person who, after being in a car accident that was not his fault but resulted in him breaking a few bones in his neck, turned around soon thereafter to serve the members of our branch in ways too numerous to mention. There is no thinking of self in either of these instances or anything in between. In all those who emulate the Savior choose to self others without thinking only of self.
               We can all become like Jesus Christ by doing these small things to help others. This has become one of my main focuses and I hope I was able to present the information in a way that can help you understand the importance of these principals. I love you all! I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to know each of you! I am truly grateful for that! I know this is possible. We can become like the Savior! I love my Savior. He is real; He came here and was born of Mary more than 2,000 years ago. He grew up, went about doing good, and satisfied all that was asked of Him, both by those here and His Father in heaven. He loves each of us and took upon Him our sins and all that is not perfect in our lives and then died for us. He suffered, bled, and died for me that I may be comforted and be able to repent of all of my mistakes. As He has for all of you. He suffered for everything that I have done wrong. He was buried and rose on the third day to break the chains of death and Hell. He paved the way for us to become like Him and live with Him, our Heavenly Father, our families, and all those whom we love forever. I love Him. I know He lives. I have never seen Him but feel as if I have. I know He loves me and would do anything to help me as He would for you. I know this is His church once again established on the earth and nothing gives me as much joy as being out here, serving Him. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Judge, and our Advocate with the Father. He is Emmanuel, the great I AM, Jehovah, the Way, and the Light. He is the Bread of Life and the Water of Salvation. He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. And it is with His name I testify that these things herein are true. With His name, Jesus even the Christ, Amen

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

December 18, 2012


Oh what a week! It was a pretty crazy one and a lot happened this week!

On Tuesday, we were finally able to meet and have a lesson with Leah and Adam. Leah is a hard-of-hearing woman that Elder Nelsen met on exchanges but we have been struggling with getting a hold of her. We finally did, and had a really good lesson with her and her husband! It was a normal first lesson but a good one! We have a lot of hope for Leah and eventually for Adam! They are both really good people and we are excited to get to know them! Hopefully we can start meeting with them more frequently!

Also on Tuesday, during our ASL class, we had a non-member show up that had some questions for us. She is a very nice girl named Heather and she also is hard-of-hearing and trying to learn sign language because she is going deaf. She is also very, very intelligent! She is in the middle of school to become a doctor or a lawyer (she hasn't decided yet) and as such, asks questions that (this sounds prideful but I am just being honest) normal missionaries have a really hard time answering. So we had a good conversation with her and answered a few of her questions. By the end,  she said something that I thought was pretty funny but kind of sad at the same time.  She said, "You two are the first....normal missionaries I've ever met. You are chill missionaries; I thought that was an oxymoron. The rest are....bat crap crazy." So that was interesting. Personally, I don't think she took the time to get to know the other missionaries enough but I am happy that I am normal!

One of the big things that happened this week was that we went to New Mexico! That was fun! That was my first time being over there and it was very interesting. We went to contact some people on the way and then we spent the night with Elder Kim and his new companion. It was really fun! It was so freaking cold out there! Being in New Mexico....made me happy I live in Tucson! Ha-ha Well....I need to say that a different way. Being in Lordsburg made me happy to live in Tucson. We also went to Silver City which was really nice! It was in the mountains and reminded me a little bit of central Utah. It was really nice! It was a very fun trip! We had a real good time with the other missionaries! Elder Kim and Elder Heiner went with us to Silver City and while we were there we saw Sister Waters and her companion and spoke with them for a little while and it was like a district reunion! It was really fun! We didn't go out there just for fun but it was really fun! We really enjoyed it!

The next thing to comment on was our Branch Christmas Activity on Friday. That was an interesting experience! Ha-ha It was President Krakowiaks responsibility and so the two of us helped him plan it a little bit during the week but then we kind of left it up to him.  Two days before the activity he found out that he had to work so the running of said activity was moved to us.......yep. It was good! It was a successful activity in which around half of the people there were non-members. It just stressed the two of us out a lot over things that didn't need to happen! Just little things that was hard to deal with! Anyway, it was a very good activity and we learned a lot from it! We went from one interesting and potentially stressful activity and into another one that happened the day after.  It was out of the frying pan and into the fire!

On Friday morning, I received a call from a member of the Rincon stake and he had an opportunity for us. Somehow he had found out that there was a funeral to be had on Saturday where the daughter of the deceased mother was deaf and they were looking for an interpreter. I tell you, if that wasn't such a good missionary opportunity I would not have accepted that assignment. I was very nervous for that all Friday and Saturday morning. One of the only things I knew about the situation and everything is that I would be interpreting for the only child of the deceased mother. I was not excited about that. To really understand my apprehension you would have to understand interpreting. Interpreting is a very interesting thing and for the interpreter (at least for me who hasn't interpreted for long) it is a weird experience in which you develop a "special friendship" for those you interpret. This due to the fact that through the whole time you stare into the other person's eyes and are their only source of communication and information. I cannot explain it very well but I was nervous to go to a funeral where I would have to stare into the eyes of this women for the whole thing and relay every (at that point painful and tender) memory of her mother. On Saturday morning we had that funeral. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. It was very hard but it was a great learning experience. My first non-Mormon funeral I've ever gone to was one that I had to interpret for! Ha-ha they are a very nice family and I really enjoyed the opportunity of getting to know them! It was not a very long service and for the most part the women I was interpreting for was very strong. She was crying of course but not too bad which helped me to be able to get through it! But at the end, after everyone left, and as she went to give her last respects to her mother, she broke. it was awful! I felt so bad for her! Very few times can I describe experiences wherein I am associated with a tortured soul in the midst of agony. That was one of those times. Afterwards I briefly had the opportunity to share my testimony with her that this is not the end. That she will see her mother again. But I'm not sure if it was able to get into that troubled heart. It was an interesting experience.


Other than that not a lot happened, Elder Nelsen was sick yesterday so we stayed home and I was able to finish one of my books that was amazing! I think that is the first Sunday I have completely missed church in over a year! It was weird and I did miss it! I wanted to be there! Ha-ha But that's life. Also, we will be getting our new missionary, straight from the MTC, either today or tomorrow! I'm not sure which at the moment. As I think about that, I find it slightly odd that within 4-5 days of the Hobbit coming out I get a new greeny. I think I am being watched over and encouraged not to do anything I am not supposed to. Ha-ha Well, That'll do it! Ha-ha ;) And that was our week! It was a really crazy one! I hope yours was great as well!

Till next time,

Elder Banner

Monday, December 17, 2012

December 11th, 2012


Hello and good morning!! Half-way......that is an interesting thought. Sorry this letter is late, yesterday morning around 4 I woke up and was very sick. For that reason we stayed home and I slept in until around 1:30 so we were not able to go emailing yesterday. Ya I know, I must have been really sick to miss p-day! ha ha

Anyways it was a good week. I will start with last Wednesday. Last Wednesday we had a zone meeting with the new zone. It was interesting to see this zone being so young. I'm not sure if I explained last email but this zone in incredibly young. 11 of the 19 are less than six months and 4 of them are being trained! It is crazy! I am the 5th oldest and I am only at a year! But anyway, with that in mind, I am so excited for this zone! That room had a different feel to it which was really exciting! (I guess it is all the greeny fire in the air mixed with the smell of fear ha-ha) But I think this zone will actually do some great things!  I guess this is kind of experiment that President is doing being that in a few months we will get so many young missionaries due to all that are leaving! It is interesting as I've noticed (and don't take this as bragging) that nothing in this zone happens without my knowledge, and in most cases, my approval. I guess that comes from being in the same area for as long as I have but it is a humbling experience. It has made me reflect on all that I am doing and all I could do for the zone. It was interesting to realize that (especially with a zone this young and more importantly with my greeny that I will be getting next week) I have a lot of power and influence to determine how these missionaries start their missions. I thought that if I just screw around, not respect/listen to the zone leaders or anything like that it could have a bad effect on those youngins. But if I were too support them and all the other missionaries and be the type of missionary I should, I could help them on their way and build them up. It was a really humbling thought and I decided to be better and to do my best.

The next thing I need to comment on is about Friday, my one year mark! That in and of itself is a crazy time! That is a weird thought to know that it is half-over! I can't believe it! But the interesting thing about Friday is that I didn't even realize that it was my year mark until right before I went to bed. For that reason I didn't do anything fun or crazy (maybe a good thing)! I had an Elder from my MTC district call me on VP Friday night to give us a referral, and the two of us talked (signed) for a long time about the first year. What's funny is a few times he mentioned that it was our year mark in a round-about way but I still did not even realize it until after I spoke with him. The year mark/half-way point of a mission is an interesting time. The last two weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching. I have looked back on my mission thus far; over the good, the bad, and the in-between. I have looked at all I have accomplished and all that I have failed on. I have looked forward and thought about what I want my mission to be. It has been a real sobering experience and it is times like these that change you as a person. I didn't normally think of things like the zone thing that which was mentioned above. And yet, that has been my focus for the last few weeks. Those have been my thoughts pertaining to the year mark.

The next thing to mention is that Elder Nelsen and I were asked to give talks in the YSA 2nd ward on Sunday. That was something I was really excited about actually! That was my first experience to give a talk using my voice since my mission farewell over a year ago and.....as much as I love sign language.....it was very nice! Ha-ha Even though I am comfortable and now good at the language it is still so much easier to express myself using my language! It was a fantastic meeting! Our topic was "The Infinite Atonement" which added more to my excitement! The meeting started off pretty good and spiritual as it is every week during the administering of the sacrament in a singles ward. Then Elder Nelsen and I went up to the pulpit and I stood next to him and spoke into the mike as he gave his...."talk". His talk, in and of itself, was more spiritual uplifting then most sacraments I have been to thus far in my journey through mortality. If that was the entire meeting I would have gone home satisfied and happy. He really set the tone. After that it was my privilege to speak and, if I do say so myself, that might have been the best talk I have ever given! Ha-ha (let me take a little break and lay down as my neck is getting tired from holding up my big head!) Though all I brought up to the podium was a paper with the quotes I was to use, the Spirit brought to my mind all that I had prepared! It was defiantly Him that was giving the talk as I started to explain about a certain experience in the MTC that was really hard for me and explain how I was able to receive the strength to overcome that particular trial through the Enabling Power of the Atonement. I had not planned this part and was a little shocked at my sharing of it until after sacrament when two different people at two separate times came up to me and said that they were heading to the MTC soon and were worried about that very thing. Through me and my experience the Holy Ghost was able to comfort and teach them. It was really cool! After my talk we had Brother Warren get up and share his thoughts and testimony of the Atonement. It was a perfect ending to the meeting as he pulled everything together and shared a strong testimony of the Atonement. Him being one of the most Christ-like and charitable people I have ever met made it that much better as, at least for me, he is an example that we can become as such. It was probably the best sacrament I have been since Elder Bednar came to the MTC on Christmas. And that will probably never be topped in my lifetime! Ha-ha

The last thing I need to talk about is the East Stake Christmas Cantina that they had on Sunday night. It was a Christmas program with songs and everything. Most of the songs and everything was actually written by a member of the Stake a few years ago so that was really cool! It was actually really really good! I really enjoyed it! I was interpreting for it and it was interesting being that had people from the entire stake watching me. And watch they did....I think more of them were watching me then the people who were up there talking! It is good that I am not self conscious at all! Ha-ha But it was really good! I am actually really comfortable interpreting like that now! It was a great experience to have!

That was our week! It was a really good one! I hope yours was as well!

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