Hey guys!
This week has been a good, and a bit of a crazy,
one for me, as I'm sure it has been for all of you! We've been able to have a
lot of lessons throughout it. Unfortunately, none of our current investigators
are currently progressing because they aren't coming to church still. But Sina,
one of our investigators who has interest in baptism, has apparently started to
pray, which I think is really awesome. I expect that we and he alike will see a
lot of good come from that. Mauricia and Louis have been tricky to meet with,
but we have a lesson with Louis scheduled for tonight. I hope that works out.
We also have a lesson planned for a family tonight at 6:00! I'm
very excited for that! Meanwhile, Kingsley is still a work in progress.
We're walking through The Restoration lesson with him very slowly to see what he
believes exactly and what he doesn't. But yeah. That's my big update for
now.
I said goodbye to my trainer, Elder Warner, on
Tuesday. It's weird to be done getting trained and to have a "regular" schedule
(Not a huge change. Just an extra hour, but still). He was a really good
companion, and we enjoyed these last few months quite a bit. My new companion
seems pretty cool. His name is Elder Lewis, and he's from Utah. He's about 10
or so months into his mission.
Now, I heard that Donald Trump will officially
be the next President of the United States of America. As anyone would expect,
people are raving about it here. We've gotten a lot of contacts jumping into
the topic of the election as soon as they detect my obviously American accent.
It's been pretty funny (although we tend to hear strictly one side of the
argument). As much as I would like to share my stances with you folks and
people who talk to us about it here, I must remain impartial as a missionary.
Besides, many of my former-colleagues in high school got plenty of that already,
so this is hardly a mystery, but I will pretend that it is.
However, there is something that I've noticed a
lot that I would like to write a little bit about. I've heard this in many
ways, shapes, and forms since the start of the election, from those who are or
are not LDS alike, as well as from a good number of missionaries that I have
spoken with. I'm talking about the thought that the world is simply going down
the drain, and that we as individuals can't do anything about it. I've heard
many people say that worldly degeneration of morals and values will only bring
to pass the Second Coming, even perhaps at a quicker rate than the dormancy or,
better, improvement of morality and integrity, and it has been implied or even
boldly stated that we need to "just let whatever happens happen". A more
secular idea has been spread as well--being that individuals have little to no
effect on the direction of society and that it will simply run in a set downward
course.
These ideas, however, must be broken.
Pertaining to the Second Coming belief I just mentioned, it is a great and
righteous hope to look forward to the day that Christ will come again. I am
joyful for those who can feel that way, and I am not in any way saying that we
shouldn't be anticipating it. It's something that we as members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be, and something that all righteous
and good people are, happy about. I'm looking forward to that day as well. But
the world is already "wicked enough" for that to happen. A general authority
said that we find the same, if not worse, calamities here now than found in
Sodom and Gomorrah--and through modern technology, these are not only localized,
but globalized, abominations. And there is the idea kept by many non-religious
or LDS people that it's pointless to try and create change in a society much
bigger than oneself. Whether spoken out loud or merely thought in the heart, I
think this is quite commonly-held.
To the religious or secular alike, the survival
of the morality and integrity of society rests on those who stress those
characters already in their family and personal lifestyles. I don't believe
it's our job to stand back and watch, hoping that things will simply get better
or worse and that, regardless, some day it will all end. It will indeed end,
yes, and we look to that day with hope, but there are still people, communities,
and even nations in the world that need help--politically, physically, socially,
and spiritually. There are people in the world who need the gospel. We have a
great work to do. And on the other hand, part of the reality of our mortal
situation, which I'll add is sometimes a little frightening, is that Satan will
not stop his quest to corrupt the world and destroy the spirits and joy of all
those who live on it. He has an agenda, and his forces are ever trying to
accomplish it. The good news is that the righteous will prevail in the end,
that Christ will come, and that Satan will be bound. But we must be constantly
vigilant and active in carrying about God's work until that glorious day!
What can we do? That is an individual question.
Perhaps one that we need to be praying about if we don't know. But we can
certainly start by doing the little things. Serve. Work. Be honest. Cherish
your families. Do what you can to make society better. And pray for the
leaders of our wonderful country. Regardless of who the President is, who fills
the seats in Congress, or who the judges of the Supreme Court are, it is and
always will be the job of us as citizens to stand with morality and integrity,
to act selflessly for the betterment of the country, and to uphold the divinely
inspired Constitution and select leaders who will do the same. I hope that if
we do all we can for the world around us, keep the commandments of God, and seek
for personal, spiritual perfection, we will find the day of the Second Coming to
be a glorious and indescribably beautiful day.
Wow. That was a lot of writing. But, I meant
every word.
I love you guys. Thanks for the prayers,
Emails, and general support for all of us out here. Wish our investigators luck
this week to COME TO CHURCH.
Love,
Elder Wallentine
Local Citizen Jumps Through Glass Wall at Bus
Station Like an Absolute Madman.
Here's a picture of my trainer and I. His
family asked for proof that I actually existed (Their inquiry caused me to have
an existential crisis of course).
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