The Two-Way Stumblingstone

HELLO MY FELLOW HUMANS. WHAT HUMAN THINGS HAVE I DONE THIS WEEK? HA. HA.

Sorry about that.

Unfortunately, nobody came to church this past week. But man, I feel we invited them like crazy. We will see about next time. We're finding like machines out here and working with members, it's just that the potential investigators we are teaching are going through the sifting machine and showing that the interest isn't really there.

So, we will keep rolling. There's no brakes on the Darmstadt train.

We had an awesome zone conference about the Book of Mormon. I've tried to recount the times I've read it on my mission. I have read it enough that I can't count the number on my two hands. I'm happy to say that doing so has caused it to become the keystone of my testimony.

Two old foreigners were chasing each other around the town center the other day. I think one of them wanted money from the other. I contacted them and they're not interested, just so you know.

We visited a member named David this week. He's from Nigeria. I found out throughout the course of the appointment (which leads us 9 times out of 10 to eat wonderful spicy beans) that Africa is my land. Africa is my land.

Seriously, though, David is on YouTube. Look his videos up! He's awesome! I've attached a picture below.

I saw an automated pepper-grinder at a family's house this week. That blew my mind.

I saw a man punch a wall in the train yesterday. And, of course, that changed my life.

We also had a lesson with a man this past week who has a very strong faith in the Bible. He invited us in, gave us his pizza (that's how you know he's good), and listened to the first half of the first lesson. However, he had extreme difficulties in the second half once we began sharing the newer things of the Gospel, such as the restoration and the Book of Mormon. He said that if there were new things, or truths that have been restored, they would surely have been mentioned by Christ or other people in Biblical times.

The prophets have described Christ as "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word". I've come to the conclusion that Christ is a two-way stumbling block. I will explain what I mean. 

He, in one direction, proved to be tremendously difficult for the Jews to accept as new truth. His new doctrine was rejected by many because of the hardness of the law and the hearts of the Jews existing before His time. 

Going the other direction, however, we see a second application to the nickname. We today sometimes seem to use Christ and His doctrine as found in the Bible as a barrier between new truths and ourselves. People stumble when they assume that their current knowledge is sufficient and lose drive to search for any additional wisdom (a spiritual and temporal truth, I'd say). Just as He proved then to be a stumbling block to those who had not believed in Him earlier, so is His name used to neglect additional teachings that, ironically enough, come from Him today (Although, at first glance at least, people don't realize that these are His teachings). 

Jesus has taught: For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. I personally accept this to apply to learning--that if we seek to learn, we shall increase, but our increase is stopped and we may even forget that which we already know if we take it for granted and become complacent in searching.

What's the point of me writing this? That's a good question. Actually, I had go remind myself just now! The point is that we always have something to learn. I don't care who you are, whether you're President Nelson or Pope Francis, a Mormon or a Baptist, a Muslim or a Jew, we all have some truth already and we need to learn more! We need to be willing and excited to continue in that great path of education in all things, that we may receive the blessings that most surely come therewith. Learn something(s) new this week!

ALSO, THIS IS CRAZY.  

In Germany, at least in Hessen, they have school programs called "Waldkindergarten". It's school for young children, but they host it in a forest instead of in a building. The kids bundle up very well so they can adjust to colder and wetter weather, and they spend the entire day outside going from camp to camp to learn.

It may be harder for parents because their kids come home covered in dirt, but I think that's still a really cool aspect of German culture. Gets kids outside.

Love you guys!

Elder Wallentine