email dated 5/19/2009
I don't have much time today. Yesterday we didn't get the chance to do our email because it was another Uruguayan national holiday, which are just about every 2 weeks. The cybers that were open were packed full of jovenes playing video games and we couldn't get in. But I still need to send you all a line or two so that ya know that I am alright.
That is cool that Luke will learn Spanish now. 3 for 4! Christian will be the last, but watch, he will end up going to Japan which is where we all secretly wanted to go. There are huge benefits for serving in the United States so I hope that Luke remembers that. Your packages arrive quickly and intact, there is even same day delivery if you want it. The food is not a severe culture change that gives you gastritis. You still get to learn a new language and a new culture. It is a fun call. Look out Hartford, Connecticut, because another Elder Shepherd will now walk the Earth.
Elder Layton and I are doing alright in our area. I would like to find more investigators and I would like the ones that we have to get baptized. Any questions?
Just kidding. It is going well. We have some fun investigators and some fun families that we are visiting. I hope that this next week we have a baptism of a girl named Karitza. Her parents are both members from their teenage years but haven't been to church since. They are both police officers as well. They are so nice and they invited us for dinner the other day by surprise. I love visiting them. It feels like we are visiting investigators because we are teaching the lessons all over again because it has been years since they have been to church. The girl is 11 and goes to a 7th Day Adventist private school, where she learns much true doctrine and one big not true doctrine, which is the piano key that the Adventists pound to death: The Sabbath Day. I never thought I would have to tell an 11 year old that Sunday worship was not an evil invention of men. But she understands and her parents only send her to that school because the public education isn't very good. She loves primary and I think if we don't set her baptism for next week it will be for the week after. I hope to be here for it.
Maria Elena is a 50 year old woman who believes the Book of Mormon is true because it is by the power of that book that her atheist niece was converted and baptized. Her big fear is committing to baptism because she has been catholic her whole life, although she doesn't practice. She will come around. She loves the Book of Mormon and so we will keep reading it with her until she gets baptized.
Mario and Silvia need to get married.
Joana needs to get married.
Alvaro needs to quit smoking.
We need to find new investigators so that we don't fill all of our time teaching eternal investigators, as they are often called in the mission field.
That is the news on the area.
I am a really old missionary now. 19 Months old. That is getting up there. I hope that y'all "reckanize" the significance of that number. 19 is the number of years that John Stockton played professional basketball.
I live in a house of four, the other companionship is a Peruvian and a democrat from Fillmore Utah named Elder Roper. Elder Roper is a good man and I love him very much. It is like hanging out with Dad only 30 years younger. I imagine he is a missionary like unto the Elder Paul Shepherd of the 1970s. I don't know how to explain it but he reminds me of dad and it is fun. I have told him that a number of times. I love Elder Roper for his compassion for others.
I am in good hands and I am healthy. I hope that all-y'all are having a good time doing the things that you are doing. I am happy and working hard. Keep me in your prayers. I love you!!
Andy
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Foreordination vs Predestination
email dated 5/11/2009
This week we got to teach a woman named Dale from Florida. She is very rich and has a grand piano in her 11th floor apartment on the beach. She gave me a Coke and I was grateful. Well, Dale is very well versed in her bible. She is better versed in the scriptures than any other person I have ever had to teach while on the mission. I enjoyed bringing my English scriptures and the chance to speak my native tongue while preaching the gospel.
She read 3 Nephi 11 as we had marked for her and she got very excited that Jesus had visited a peoples in the American continent. The idea fascinated her and excited her. She loved that He came to the Land Bountiful, as it is written. She then referenced us a scripture in Daniel about a Beautiful Land. She said upon reading she really enjoyed and found fascinating the "Mormon idea and doctrine". She asked "I am not saying that it isn't possible that there be more scripture, but I just would like to know if you have any way in the bible of showing that there could be more scripture." I asked her first to define scripture and we agreed that scriptures are the words of the prophets for the benefit of men. Okay, good. I then showed her that in Matthew it says "thus fulfilling the saying that Jesus would be a Nazarene." and then demonstrated that nowhere in the entire Old Testament does it say that Jesus Christ would be called a Nazarene. We know a prophet said it, but where are his words. The Bible is merely a collection of books, not necessarily every book any prophet ever said. I said that the Old Testament makes mention of the Book of Nathan the prophet at the time of King David. Where is the book of Nathan? Would not the words of this prophet be considered scripture? After I had said this she was really interested. She said so. "I am really interested to know a little more. But do you have a verse that would cite and say that there will be another significant scripture. I tend to think God would have to warn us in the Bible somehow with the Bible being such a crucial piece of Christianity." I agreed and took her to Ezekiel. After explaining that the Lehites that left Jerusalem were of the lineage of Joseph we read the passage in Ezekiel about the prophet taking a stick for Judah and writing upon it (Jesus being of the tribe of Judah and the people in Jerusalem), and another stick for Ephraim and writing upon it, and then putting them both in one hand. I then put my Book of Mormon on top of my Bible and said "prophecy fulfilled!" SHE LOVED THAT!! I have never taught anybody here on my mission that would have know that Jesus was of the tribe of Judah, or that there would even be any significance of being from any tribe for that matter. I have never in my entire mission needed to use that scripture because nobody here in Uruguay really asks us those questions. It was a lot of fun.
Well Dale loves the idea of the Book of Mormon and is gulping it right up. She reads and she cross references with the Bible. She continually said, "The one thing that the Book of Mormon does such a great job on is going into profound detail of the doctrine. That Nephi brought out the interesting and very true point that no other Christian has been able to explain to me about the opposition in all things." (2 Ne 2) She would appear to be a golden investigator huh? But we have a doubt.
Predestination. She ate up 2 Nephi 2 but she didn't like how Lehi said that "men are free to choose." She said that nowhere in the Bible is the word "agency" mentioned. She essentially believes in a scripted world of predestination, but she doesn't accept the Calvinist doctrine because they don't take it far enough for her liking. She essentially thinks that since God knows everything, He placed you in your world and He knows what you are going to choose, and so therefore you really have no say in the matter. You were scripted to play that role. No agency.
And here I arrive at the difference between Predestination and Foreordination. I tried explaining to her that she was really close to understanding, but that "we Mormons" use a different word entirely which is "foreordination". She asked "what is the difference?"
The difference is Agency. Foreordination takes into account the first estate of our existence. Life didn't begin here on Earth nor does all choice end when we die. We chose to come here. We made character developing choices in our first estate. God knowing our characters and what he wanted us to learn in this life was able to position us in the best possible place for us to learn and grow. The difference between Foreordination and Predestination is that nobody is destined to fail in the true doctrine of the Plan of Salvation. We may not be able to understand everything about it, but we do know that by Judgment Day, that last day, we will have all faced equal opportunity. Instead of saying that "All men were created equal" I prefer now to say that "All Intelligences were created equal". Along the path of this 3 Act plan, we all get the fair chance. It is obvious that we don't all get a fair chance at mortal life. But God is just and faithful. We need to understand the purpose of our existence which is to become like Him. And how is He? He knows the difference between good and evil and ALWAYS chooses good.
I said all of that to her and she had no problem with a preexistence or the idea of becoming like God. She still wont let me say the word Agency and I had to fight to get the word "choose". But we finally got it when I asked "Can God then not choose? Will you try and take His power to decide what to do? Did He not choose to create the world? Did someone make Him do it?" Obviously not. "Therefore, if we are to be like Him we too must learn the difference between good and evil, and be capable of choosing the good for ourselves." I think she will get it. She was coming along but we had to go and didn't have much more time to teach.
It is a deep doctrine and I am looking for more insight. We cant understand everything. Read Mosiah 4:9. That will take the headache away. I have been trying for days to figure out the difference between foreordination and predestination. I am getting there.
Gotta go. Love you all!!
Andy
This week we got to teach a woman named Dale from Florida. She is very rich and has a grand piano in her 11th floor apartment on the beach. She gave me a Coke and I was grateful. Well, Dale is very well versed in her bible. She is better versed in the scriptures than any other person I have ever had to teach while on the mission. I enjoyed bringing my English scriptures and the chance to speak my native tongue while preaching the gospel.
She read 3 Nephi 11 as we had marked for her and she got very excited that Jesus had visited a peoples in the American continent. The idea fascinated her and excited her. She loved that He came to the Land Bountiful, as it is written. She then referenced us a scripture in Daniel about a Beautiful Land. She said upon reading she really enjoyed and found fascinating the "Mormon idea and doctrine". She asked "I am not saying that it isn't possible that there be more scripture, but I just would like to know if you have any way in the bible of showing that there could be more scripture." I asked her first to define scripture and we agreed that scriptures are the words of the prophets for the benefit of men. Okay, good. I then showed her that in Matthew it says "thus fulfilling the saying that Jesus would be a Nazarene." and then demonstrated that nowhere in the entire Old Testament does it say that Jesus Christ would be called a Nazarene. We know a prophet said it, but where are his words. The Bible is merely a collection of books, not necessarily every book any prophet ever said. I said that the Old Testament makes mention of the Book of Nathan the prophet at the time of King David. Where is the book of Nathan? Would not the words of this prophet be considered scripture? After I had said this she was really interested. She said so. "I am really interested to know a little more. But do you have a verse that would cite and say that there will be another significant scripture. I tend to think God would have to warn us in the Bible somehow with the Bible being such a crucial piece of Christianity." I agreed and took her to Ezekiel. After explaining that the Lehites that left Jerusalem were of the lineage of Joseph we read the passage in Ezekiel about the prophet taking a stick for Judah and writing upon it (Jesus being of the tribe of Judah and the people in Jerusalem), and another stick for Ephraim and writing upon it, and then putting them both in one hand. I then put my Book of Mormon on top of my Bible and said "prophecy fulfilled!" SHE LOVED THAT!! I have never taught anybody here on my mission that would have know that Jesus was of the tribe of Judah, or that there would even be any significance of being from any tribe for that matter. I have never in my entire mission needed to use that scripture because nobody here in Uruguay really asks us those questions. It was a lot of fun.
Well Dale loves the idea of the Book of Mormon and is gulping it right up. She reads and she cross references with the Bible. She continually said, "The one thing that the Book of Mormon does such a great job on is going into profound detail of the doctrine. That Nephi brought out the interesting and very true point that no other Christian has been able to explain to me about the opposition in all things." (2 Ne 2) She would appear to be a golden investigator huh? But we have a doubt.
Predestination. She ate up 2 Nephi 2 but she didn't like how Lehi said that "men are free to choose." She said that nowhere in the Bible is the word "agency" mentioned. She essentially believes in a scripted world of predestination, but she doesn't accept the Calvinist doctrine because they don't take it far enough for her liking. She essentially thinks that since God knows everything, He placed you in your world and He knows what you are going to choose, and so therefore you really have no say in the matter. You were scripted to play that role. No agency.
And here I arrive at the difference between Predestination and Foreordination. I tried explaining to her that she was really close to understanding, but that "we Mormons" use a different word entirely which is "foreordination". She asked "what is the difference?"
The difference is Agency. Foreordination takes into account the first estate of our existence. Life didn't begin here on Earth nor does all choice end when we die. We chose to come here. We made character developing choices in our first estate. God knowing our characters and what he wanted us to learn in this life was able to position us in the best possible place for us to learn and grow. The difference between Foreordination and Predestination is that nobody is destined to fail in the true doctrine of the Plan of Salvation. We may not be able to understand everything about it, but we do know that by Judgment Day, that last day, we will have all faced equal opportunity. Instead of saying that "All men were created equal" I prefer now to say that "All Intelligences were created equal". Along the path of this 3 Act plan, we all get the fair chance. It is obvious that we don't all get a fair chance at mortal life. But God is just and faithful. We need to understand the purpose of our existence which is to become like Him. And how is He? He knows the difference between good and evil and ALWAYS chooses good.
I said all of that to her and she had no problem with a preexistence or the idea of becoming like God. She still wont let me say the word Agency and I had to fight to get the word "choose". But we finally got it when I asked "Can God then not choose? Will you try and take His power to decide what to do? Did He not choose to create the world? Did someone make Him do it?" Obviously not. "Therefore, if we are to be like Him we too must learn the difference between good and evil, and be capable of choosing the good for ourselves." I think she will get it. She was coming along but we had to go and didn't have much more time to teach.
It is a deep doctrine and I am looking for more insight. We cant understand everything. Read Mosiah 4:9. That will take the headache away. I have been trying for days to figure out the difference between foreordination and predestination. I am getting there.
Gotta go. Love you all!!
Andy
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
All I Need is a Miracle
email 5/4/09
I am still in Montevideo and now my companion is Elder Shawn Layton from Globe, Arizona. We are going to get along very well. He is a funny guy, he ran cross country in high school, and we like talking about running and may actually do a little bit of it in these coming weeks. He looks a lot like my cousin Brady, I think, and we both have about the same amount of time in the mission. We will have a good time.
There aren’t many new and exciting stories to tell; we continue to do what we do.
I have been thinking a lot about how to increase faith. I was wondering if increasing faith is just merely reading more scriptures and saying more prayers. It always seems that is the answer that we are pointed to. I am finding that increasing faith obviously is involved with our works, but I consider reading and praying some of our works. Then there is keeping the commandments and upon keeping said commandment we gain faith in the principle of that commandment. Okay, now where do I go? I am not perfect, but my sins are generally omission and not commission. Where do I go?
I found it!! My vocabulary. That is how I am going to increase my faith in the next months. Faith is the opposite of doubt. Faith and fear cannot dwell in the same mind at the same time. Fear and doubt and negativity hinder faith. My goal is to take all the negative words and phrases out of my vocabulary. Obvious examples would be not complaining and not saying bad words. But there are also more subtle ways at it. For example: "Is your husband home?" accompanied by a quizzical look and tone of voice. Compare it to: "I assume your husband is home, isn’t he?" accompanied by nodding your head. I am still asking the same question with the hopes that a man will be in the house so that we can go in, but it is harder for them to lie to me with the second one. They have to have a harder heart to lie to the second one I think. And that is because I say it in a more positive way. Positivity and positive attitudes in vocabulary as well as actions will increase faith. After all, they are outward manifestations of the faith that is within us.
It is strange to me that 5 months have already passed since Christmas and that I get to call home this week. I completely forgot until I read Mom’s email today asking when I would call. That just goes to show you how fast time goes by. I hope you all recognize that this will be my last phone call home as an Elder. Woot woot!
We are still trying to get Alvaro to quit smoking so that he can be baptized. We try planting all sorts of seeds of faith in him by saying things like, "When you are baptized you will have the opportunity to prepare to go to the Temple so that your family can be sealed forever." If we teach temples we say that. If we are teaching about prayer we say, "After you are baptized you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost so that you will be able to be more sensitive to the answers brought you by the Holy Spirit." We keep our eyes on the prize. It is a matter of patience. But I sure do love him and his wife Celeste!! And their children who live in the other ward have already been baptized as well. Alvaro is the last one to finish the family.
Ummm...What do you want to know? Is there something you are all dying to know about Uruguay? I will tell you that I have yet to see the effects of the economic crisis down here. My dollar is the same peso that it has always been and the prices have stayed relatively the same my entire mission. I keep expecting a crash or something but it doesn’t happen. I think that you all back home in America should remember to have hope and faith that things will improve and be back on the up and up. If you obey the commandments you will prosper in the land. (Every page of the Book of Mormon)
Si yo supiera que escribirles... lo haría de inmediato. El problema es que yo he escrito tantas cosas a ustedes que ni sé que es lo que debería escribirles a ustedes. Les quiero mas que puedo expresar. Cuídense!
Take care of thyselves!
Andy
I am still in Montevideo and now my companion is Elder Shawn Layton from Globe, Arizona. We are going to get along very well. He is a funny guy, he ran cross country in high school, and we like talking about running and may actually do a little bit of it in these coming weeks. He looks a lot like my cousin Brady, I think, and we both have about the same amount of time in the mission. We will have a good time.
There aren’t many new and exciting stories to tell; we continue to do what we do.
I have been thinking a lot about how to increase faith. I was wondering if increasing faith is just merely reading more scriptures and saying more prayers. It always seems that is the answer that we are pointed to. I am finding that increasing faith obviously is involved with our works, but I consider reading and praying some of our works. Then there is keeping the commandments and upon keeping said commandment we gain faith in the principle of that commandment. Okay, now where do I go? I am not perfect, but my sins are generally omission and not commission. Where do I go?
I found it!! My vocabulary. That is how I am going to increase my faith in the next months. Faith is the opposite of doubt. Faith and fear cannot dwell in the same mind at the same time. Fear and doubt and negativity hinder faith. My goal is to take all the negative words and phrases out of my vocabulary. Obvious examples would be not complaining and not saying bad words. But there are also more subtle ways at it. For example: "Is your husband home?" accompanied by a quizzical look and tone of voice. Compare it to: "I assume your husband is home, isn’t he?" accompanied by nodding your head. I am still asking the same question with the hopes that a man will be in the house so that we can go in, but it is harder for them to lie to me with the second one. They have to have a harder heart to lie to the second one I think. And that is because I say it in a more positive way. Positivity and positive attitudes in vocabulary as well as actions will increase faith. After all, they are outward manifestations of the faith that is within us.
It is strange to me that 5 months have already passed since Christmas and that I get to call home this week. I completely forgot until I read Mom’s email today asking when I would call. That just goes to show you how fast time goes by. I hope you all recognize that this will be my last phone call home as an Elder. Woot woot!
We are still trying to get Alvaro to quit smoking so that he can be baptized. We try planting all sorts of seeds of faith in him by saying things like, "When you are baptized you will have the opportunity to prepare to go to the Temple so that your family can be sealed forever." If we teach temples we say that. If we are teaching about prayer we say, "After you are baptized you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost so that you will be able to be more sensitive to the answers brought you by the Holy Spirit." We keep our eyes on the prize. It is a matter of patience. But I sure do love him and his wife Celeste!! And their children who live in the other ward have already been baptized as well. Alvaro is the last one to finish the family.
Ummm...What do you want to know? Is there something you are all dying to know about Uruguay? I will tell you that I have yet to see the effects of the economic crisis down here. My dollar is the same peso that it has always been and the prices have stayed relatively the same my entire mission. I keep expecting a crash or something but it doesn’t happen. I think that you all back home in America should remember to have hope and faith that things will improve and be back on the up and up. If you obey the commandments you will prosper in the land. (Every page of the Book of Mormon)
Si yo supiera que escribirles... lo haría de inmediato. El problema es que yo he escrito tantas cosas a ustedes que ni sé que es lo que debería escribirles a ustedes. Les quiero mas que puedo expresar. Cuídense!
Take care of thyselves!
Andy
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Suspense Must Be Killing You
email 4/28/09
Well, I didn’t have time to write last week. The P-Day just didn’t give what it needed to in order to provide me time to write. I am sure you have all been in suspenseful terror wondering if Elder Shepherd had a baptism this last week as was planned. He did.
We had a baptism on Saturday. A woman named Stella Gomez, 36 years old and single. Not Estela as we thought, but Stella. She is really cool. I just think it is great that her name is Stella, like the Tennessee Williams play. "STELLA!!!!" She bore her testimony and said, "I have noticed that since the missionaries have been coming and that I have been reading the Book of Mormon that I am changing. I am more patient and it is hard to explain, but I have been changing and I feel like a better person. I can now say that I know the Book of Mormon is true." Up till this point it was really good and I thought, "Wow! That is such a great testimony!" and then she added "It is harder for me to say that I know Joseph Smith was a prophet because I have been Catholic my whole life, but I can say that I believe he was a Messiah, as well as this...Monson is his name right?" ... It is funny after all is said and done. It is difficult for new members with all the terminology and vocabulary. She meant well and was sincere. The spirit was still there. And she is great!! She reads everything we give her. And she LOVES reading the Book of Mormon. There is a light in her eyes that wasn’t there. She goes to church every week, participates in all the classes, has questions, seeks answers, etc... One of the best investigators I think I have ever had. We just taught her this last week about the Temple and she loves the works for the dead. She wants to get started on Family History right away. She is a truth seeker. And those that seek the truth will find it.
My companion Elder Marroquin has hit the end of the road. He is headed for Lima, Peru this week and I am staying in Montevideo. My new companion is to be Elder Layton from Arizona. I have talked to him once before at a Zone Conference and he seemed like a really cool guy so I am pretty excited for this transfer. I am sad that Elder Nordgren is going home, who also lived in this house of 4. He went to my high school and it has been fun having him around. He was like a piece of home for me right out here in Montevideo, Uruguay. But he also has finished his mission and the thought that this weekend he will be sitting in West Jordan makes me feel somewhat trunky. But don’t worry, when I employ the word trunky I believe it has a very different meaning than many persons think that word means.
This new transfer looks promising. We have some good investigators and I intend on inviting all of them to be baptized tomorrow. We can never know if they will progress until we invite them to be baptized and go to church. The ones that refuse will likely not progress at all. If they say, "I am catholic and I will never change", I try to teach a little and gauge them for any level of listening or understanding, but if I see their hard hearts stay hard then it is likely we won’t continue teaching them. I am starting to find out that there are enough people prepared I don’t need to fight with the overly stubborn and hard hearted. That is why I always try to invite them to be baptized on the 1st or 2nd visit. The worst they say is “no,” often they will say, "I need to learn more" which is a really great sign, and sometimes they say "yes". Either way, it keeps the missionary work moving when we invite them to action. Are you taking notes Luke?
I also need to take a quick minute to wish a very happy birthday to Grandpa Shepherd! Que los cumplas feliz! You are young yet. Take care!! I love you very much!!
I need to go now. I hope that everyone is well. Pray for me as I am constantly praying for you. I love you!
Andy
Well, I didn’t have time to write last week. The P-Day just didn’t give what it needed to in order to provide me time to write. I am sure you have all been in suspenseful terror wondering if Elder Shepherd had a baptism this last week as was planned. He did.
We had a baptism on Saturday. A woman named Stella Gomez, 36 years old and single. Not Estela as we thought, but Stella. She is really cool. I just think it is great that her name is Stella, like the Tennessee Williams play. "STELLA!!!!" She bore her testimony and said, "I have noticed that since the missionaries have been coming and that I have been reading the Book of Mormon that I am changing. I am more patient and it is hard to explain, but I have been changing and I feel like a better person. I can now say that I know the Book of Mormon is true." Up till this point it was really good and I thought, "Wow! That is such a great testimony!" and then she added "It is harder for me to say that I know Joseph Smith was a prophet because I have been Catholic my whole life, but I can say that I believe he was a Messiah, as well as this...Monson is his name right?" ... It is funny after all is said and done. It is difficult for new members with all the terminology and vocabulary. She meant well and was sincere. The spirit was still there. And she is great!! She reads everything we give her. And she LOVES reading the Book of Mormon. There is a light in her eyes that wasn’t there. She goes to church every week, participates in all the classes, has questions, seeks answers, etc... One of the best investigators I think I have ever had. We just taught her this last week about the Temple and she loves the works for the dead. She wants to get started on Family History right away. She is a truth seeker. And those that seek the truth will find it.
My companion Elder Marroquin has hit the end of the road. He is headed for Lima, Peru this week and I am staying in Montevideo. My new companion is to be Elder Layton from Arizona. I have talked to him once before at a Zone Conference and he seemed like a really cool guy so I am pretty excited for this transfer. I am sad that Elder Nordgren is going home, who also lived in this house of 4. He went to my high school and it has been fun having him around. He was like a piece of home for me right out here in Montevideo, Uruguay. But he also has finished his mission and the thought that this weekend he will be sitting in West Jordan makes me feel somewhat trunky. But don’t worry, when I employ the word trunky I believe it has a very different meaning than many persons think that word means.
This new transfer looks promising. We have some good investigators and I intend on inviting all of them to be baptized tomorrow. We can never know if they will progress until we invite them to be baptized and go to church. The ones that refuse will likely not progress at all. If they say, "I am catholic and I will never change", I try to teach a little and gauge them for any level of listening or understanding, but if I see their hard hearts stay hard then it is likely we won’t continue teaching them. I am starting to find out that there are enough people prepared I don’t need to fight with the overly stubborn and hard hearted. That is why I always try to invite them to be baptized on the 1st or 2nd visit. The worst they say is “no,” often they will say, "I need to learn more" which is a really great sign, and sometimes they say "yes". Either way, it keeps the missionary work moving when we invite them to action. Are you taking notes Luke?
I also need to take a quick minute to wish a very happy birthday to Grandpa Shepherd! Que los cumplas feliz! You are young yet. Take care!! I love you very much!!
I need to go now. I hope that everyone is well. Pray for me as I am constantly praying for you. I love you!
Andy
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