Hey!
Hope you guys are doing well! Things are going pretty well over here in
the Nuremberg Motherland. We have been finding some really cool people, and I
feel that we will be having success with them. I can see some problems that
could be had in the future, and we will be trying to help them overcome them,
but I think to say that this would be a major hindernis right now would be
more-so conjecture than anything else. However, they are things to be taken
care of.
We met one pair of guys named Michael and Robby from the U.K. and South
Africa. They're cousins and we have had some awesome conversations with them.
In addition to that, we have met another man from the U.K. named Joseph, whom we
have also taught. He is super receptive and we all thought the Plan of
Salvation would be very powerful for him. I think he enjoyed it, and he said he
would be baptized on the 23rd if he found out it all was true and got things
figured out, so we will see how that rolls!
The district has been doing awesome, though. We have been meeting a huge
amount of people, and the other Elders and Sisters are doing a phenomenal job at
finding new people and setting dates. I really have been impressed. There is
also a nice balance of older and newer missionaries in the district, which is
also cool. I don't know which one of those I am, though. In addition to that,
the zone is doing well! I am able to hear a lot of about Bayreuth, my second
area, which I am really happy about. It seems the Elders there are doing a
fantastic job at finding people and they have a few that they are working with
for baptism.
This week, I read yet again in one of the most chilling parts of the Book
of Mormon. In fact, I read in the book of Mormon--for those of
you who may not be entirely familiar with the book, there is a book in the Book
of Mormon titled "Mormon". So I hope I made it clear that I truly read in the
book of Mormon. This first paragraph is probably pointless.
I find Mormon to be a truly heart-wrenching story. Perhaps that is because
the two preceding books both give accounts of exceeding obedience and joy among
the people and of the preaching of the gospel in the land of the Nephites and
Lamanites. We read beforehand that "surely there could not [have been] a
happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of
God" (emphasis added), and we read in Mormon that such a state was entirely and
utterly annihilated by the peoples' own wickedness. In Mormon 5:17-18, he wrote
about his people as follows:
17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their
shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.
18 But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven
before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or
anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are
they.
Mormon further laments in 6:17-20:
17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord!
O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms
to receive you!
18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But
behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.
19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and
wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!
20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your
return.
I can't imagine the feelings in his heart as he witnessed degeneracy in his
society grow like a plague, even until it caused the very foundations of
civilization as they knew it to collapse under it.
Why, in sometimes vivid imagery, would Mormon decide to put this story in
the book? What do we stand to gain from studying and talking about the
destruction of this ancient people? As I thought about this in my study, I
thought about the state of our civilization now. Is it possible, perhaps, that
Mormon and son Moroni were attempting to warn us of the many dangers that
would ultimately cause societal destruction in our day? We live in the time of
the last days. There will probably be increasing crime, chaos, and catastrophe
as time goes onward. These together are forming a great danger for degeneracy
for us and those who surround us, and we see increasing divisions and chaos,
riots and mobs included, rising in many cities in the world today. We may look
around and ask how we can put a stop to all of this, hopefully before it is too
late.
Friends, in this increasingly tumultuous world of filth and danger, where
nations threaten nations and people riot in the streets; where plagues of
hunger, thirst, sicknesses, and pride sweep through populations; where we see
ever-more calamities arising from the sea and from the land and the sky; let it
be known among all this, that there is only one thing that can bring lasting
peace to this world, and that can save us from these dangers, likely physically
but certainly spiritually: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank goodness, God has
delivered a way out of this to us in this time. In His great mercy, he has
extended to us an invitation to follow Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, and He
desires the happiness of all of us through obedience to Christ's Gospel and the
ordinances thereof. Many people, Latter-day Saints or not, are already familiar
with the gospel and teachings of Jesus Christ, and if that be the case, we must
focus on expanding our understanding of it. The full gospel of Jesus Christ,
and the ability to carry it out, has been restored in this time. We invite all
to come unto Christ and partake of His peace and love. In these difficult
times, he will give us peace "not as the world giveth", and the strength to
endure and help others along the way. I know that and I will continue to try my
best to invite people to partake of it.
Thank you for again having the long-suffering to actually read [a part of]
these letters! I hope all is well and that you guys are enjoying your American
food!
Recht schönen dank,
Elder Wallentine
This is my "I don't know what I am doing" face:
