Hold Fast to it Tighter Than Anything Else You Can Put Your Hands Around.

MY DEAR, DEAR FAMILY!!!

       

        It’s getting chilly I must say, but as the seasons change it is always a nice time to appreciate new things.

        The mission is becoming sweeter than a Twinkie!!!  We got back from our zone conference late last night. MAN WAS IT AWESOME!  Elder Evans from the First Quorum of the Seventies (he is also the director of the missionary department for the church) has been on a mission tour the last 9 days and conducted our conference. POWER. He spoke to us directly and frankly for about 5 hours. President Von Stetten (our mission president) also addressed us and informed us that the mission is really changing up.  As a result our approach to the work is being shifted. Our areas are being cut in half in some places and even more in others. For our little town of Puthaditjhaba that means our work area will become even smaller!  But I’m all game.  I mean one has to be. There is a lot of excitement, and undoubtedly a little groaning. Listening to some of the requests being put on the missionaries now, and the complaints coming out, you just think to yourself about how one ought to handle change. Simply, we need to trust the spoken words of the Lord as His called servants speak them.  We need to trust that this is what must be done and do it with full-hearted faith and effort. The work is sooooo sweet! 

        Man… MOM, DAD, JORDAN and all my other family and friends both known and those whom I don’t know but might be reading this: There is nothing more sure than the gospel of Christ. In fact, there isn’t anything physically that is more sweet than the words in the Book of Mormon. This book is DRENTCHED with the spirit of the Lord and anyone who has been blessed to be able to hold it and read it cannot deny its validity and divinity.  Hold fast to it tighter than anything else you can put your hands around. The promises, principles, doctrines, applications, stories and lessons are all for US!  This book is for our benefit and most importantly for our happiness.  Read it, then read it again, then do it again mom, dad, and Jordan :)

        Please thank everyone you can for their love and prayers for me. I’m getting heaps busier which means my business with writing letters has really slowed down. I got a short and powerful letter from Elder Baxter.  Love that guy!  I’ll try to send him a letter too, but maybe you could pass on my love to him for the time being.

        Dad, I’m so glad you’re not physically hurt, but I have to say I’m glad you were hurt by your pride (see foot note below). I myself read and soaked in that chapter too not to long ago.  Man, there is power in humility, or whatever the “anti”pride is.

        I am soooo excited for you guys to call this Sunday.  To talk to you on the phone only twice a year (once on Mothers Day and the other at Christmas) makes it so treasured.  I’m giddy with excitement!  I have not much time left to write, so I’ll be sure to save my comments until we speak.

I love you all HEAPS!

With Love,

Elder Gold...

AMANDLA!!! (ANC Sloagan which translated means ‘Power’)

Footnote From Mom:

        In the letter above my son makes a comment to his father stating how glad he is that Steve was not physically hurt, but glad that he was hurt by his pride.  Let me explain.  This was in reference to an incident that happened this past week.  While riding his motorbike down a fairly busy street a guy driving a pickup truck deliberately tried to run Steve off the road … twice.  The story was told of how Steve followed the driver and confronted him about his actions.  The confrontation was only that of words and ended with that, or so he thought.  Steve talked of the lessons he had learned when he stated, “I’m smart enough to know that all things shall pass. So I was trying to talk myself down, telling myself it did not matter in the big picture. Then I started thinking how I should have reacted and if I learned anything… My best option would have been to just avoid the accident (like I did) and then immediately forget about it. Revenge is such a prison. I lost 20 minutes of my sanity and my life by trying to “get back” at this guy. And did I “teach” him anything? Probably not.  And what business is that of mine anyways? He thought I had done something wrong because he thought I was speeding. Then he retaliated against me. I was not in the wrong until I allowed my anger to overtake me. I could have crashed when my brakes locked up. I could have got into a fight with the guy if he turned out to be younger and meaner . . . And I could have had a heart attack.”

        The natural man would instinctively approach the situation with retaliation and confrontation, simply driven by a need not to be bullied.  Society would say, “Yes, he is justified.”  However, pride and judgment ultimately are the driving force of those actions.  Yet, one who follows a path of empathy and humility would not react in anger.  Walking away from tough situations can be the more difficult path, especially when society wants us to believe that by doing so you are weak and spineless.  Being bullied is never right or fair, but there are ways without warfare to combat the enemies.  The cool part to this story is how Steve came to understand a deeper lesson through the scriptures.  He shared a story from the Book of Mormon of a society of people who were very violent and contentious, being the cause of much warfare and death.  With humility and a willingness to change their ways, they were converted to the ways of God and chose to call themselves ‘The People of Ammon’, after the missionary who taught them.  With peaceable and repentant hearts they made a convent, or promise, with God that they would never again take up weapons against their fellow man.  To show God their commitment to this covenant and to help them to not easily be tempted in breaking that covenant, they dug a deep pit in the earth and buried their weapons.  When word of their conversion eventually spread throughout the land, a contending group of people eventually attacked this unprotected tribe.  Rather than defend themselves, and breaking their covenant, the ‘People of Ammon’, with honor and loyalty decided they would rather die.  However, God promised to protect and preserve them through the actions of their sons, 2000 of whom had not made any covenant to lay down their weapons.  These young men had not entered into the covenant as their fathers did, and therefore chose to take up arms and defend the liberty of their people.  These 2000 Stripling Warriors (plus 60 additional son’s of the Ammonites) as they were called, marched into battle against an army far greater in number.  These young men found strength in God through their unwavering faith taught by their mothers.  And with courage, obedience and great faith, they were able to defeat the enemy and preserve their people.  Not only did the promise to be protected stand true, but also only two hundred of these valiant young men were wounded and not one perished. 

        In concluding Steve’s brief explanation of this remarkable scripture story to Landon in his letter he writes, “This is a great lesson to me – and very timely since I just had this motorcycle incident. I claim to be a follower of Christ, and yet I let a simple misunderstanding get out of my control.  I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn that your father is still human, but trying hard to be Christ like…. and patient and forgiving. If you can learn from my mistakes, you will be all the wiser for it.  So, If you are tempted to retaliate against another for unfair treatment, consider your Christ-like options so you won’t need to apologize later.”

        I love the examples I am witness to as I watch a father and his son step into the light of understanding through humility and a desire to know what God would have them do and become.  All three of the boys in my life(young and old) are trying to put the natural man aside and follow heavenly council through the scriptures.  Landon bears testimony of the Book of Mormon and how very important it is for all to read and gain direction from it.  It is a companion to the bible and stands as another Testimony of Jesus Christ.  I too would wish all to open its pages and be amazed…be inspired, that your lives may also be directed towards the light.

DID LIFE  COME  WITH  A  MANUAL ?

Did life come with a manual? 

A strange, yet simple thought. 
 Would you be very happy 
If something you just bought 
Had no instructions to it

And left you on your own

To figure out it’s uses?

You’d soon be on the phone

Complaining to the maker

That you can’t live without

This very important guidebook

They so rudely left out.

Not that you really need it

Cause if it wasn’t gone

You’d throw it in a closet

And just continue on.

But just to know it’s there

In case this thing should break

Or have any kind of problems

Of stress it couldn’t take.

So, did life come with a manual?

The Maker surely knew

That we would have some problems

And troubles as we grew.

He had a team of writers

Who helped him with the task

Of compiling all the knowledge.

You may recognize this cast

From way back in time

To mention just a few

There were Moses and Isaiah,

Nephi, John, and Matthew.

  

Yes!  Life came with a manual.

But, how many of us care

To take it off the shelf ?

Or, do we just leave it there

Until we feel we need

To fix a broken heart,

Or find out why our problems

Tend to always start?

You still can call the maker

If troubles you can’t mend.

But don’t be too surprised

If you’re told the answers in

Your manual, that too often

Is only opened when

Life’s a little broken

or you’re troubled from within.

      

                               A.E.Gold -  March  1998