Family and friends,
It sounds like the west is having lots of issues with fires and I am really sad to hear that! I hope that all my Oregon family and friends are staying safe!
Another great week gone by!! There were a few more exciting things that I will try to mention. First, we received great news that our area president, Elder Martino, is going to do a mission-wide video call with us this next Sunday! I'm pretty excited for that. President Pingree said that he invited him when they were accounting and he said he would love to talk to us! We were all able to get questions sent in that he will answer for us. Since the seasons don't change here, I decided to get some fall decor. So we have a new center piece! I'll send a photo of it. Mom would be really proud of me for picking it out :) Last week we also did exchanges. My first was with one of our zone leaders and it was a great day! We were able to set up a few lessons after receiving referrals. Some of them are with families and that will be very exciting! Then later in the week I had exchanges with the other elders in our district. They are actually the ones who assist the housing and vehicle coordinator. We are down on senior couple missionaries so there is lots to do with those two elders running around the mission and getting housing appliances fixed along with stuff for cars. So the day that I went on exchanges with one of them was quite the adventure! First we had to drop the pickup off at an auto shop to get it fixed. And in the meantime we went with the president's assistants to make a few trips and get some things done. After that we had to go back and get the truck and pick up lunch. We had to eat quickly and then we went to IKEA to get some shelving and dressers for other houses in the mission. We are going to have over 300 missionaries by December!! So we had to go to IKEA with some other missionaries to have them pick out the shelving they needed. After that we went to Walmart to grab some chairs and then we went to get that shelving unit installed that we picked up. Anyway, it was a crazy day with lots of in-between stuff. It was fun though!! We received news that we might be able to do in person church meetings soon! It sounds like the maximum they will allow is 50 people. Our branch is about that size anyway so it shouldn't be much of a problem having them all there haha. And yesterday was especially great because we got to watch the live face to face with Elder and Sister Rasband! I loved it!!! We watched it as two combined districts so it was a great way to end the sabbath! I encourage you to see it if you haven't yet!! https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/broadcasts/face-to-face/rasband-restoration?lang=eng
There were some great things that I took from the session with Elder and Sister Rasband. The theme of it was the first vision/ restoration. One thought I had recently was about Joseph Smith and his process he went through while establishing the Lord's church again here on earth. Elder Rasband answered some questions about testimonies and that reminded me of the process of Joseph Smith receiving his testimony. I thought of how important it is to note how his attitude and testimony shifted over time. When he began his search for truth, he was so lost and curious about what church he felt like he should join. He claimed that he was seemingly lenient toward one denomination but it wasn't satisfying enough. He was struggling with these decisions while he came across the famous verse from James. He said that had such an impact on him, even more than he felt could come upon any other person reading the Bible. So he took the council and did, in fact, ask of God for a greater understanding and wisdom. When he did, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him in the sacred grove. He received the unanticipated response that none of the churches had the correct doctrine. Keep in mind, up to this point Joseph Smith was 14 years old which is still young enough to be fairly influenced by ministers and other adults that obviously had much more experience than he did with religion. Yet, he was steadfast in his testimony that he received. He said that even as a boy, he would not deny the new found faith and testimony he received. He was told to forget those foolish things and that they were fake. Joseph did not make up the first vision. As young and as confused as he was before the first vision, it would not be logical with him being so interested in religion to make something up and be so set on this idea without a fraction of a doubt that he was right and that he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Just as the Lord promises us, He had that same promise for Joseph. That promise comes from Helaman 5:12 which is council given to the sons of Helaman from long ago. Its idea is that if we maintain a testimony built upon a foundation of Christ, we will not fall and we will not be knocked over. Joseph was a living example of that. His foundation was of the correct doctrine of Christ, that it gave him a strong foundation that even as a boy he could not be shaken. Joseph Smith is the epitome of that example. He went from an unlearned farm boy to perhaps one of the most intelligent people to ever walk the earth. He didn't write the Book of Mormon. He translated it by the power of God. Add all the scripture together that he ever translated and wrote. Read that and you will see the power of God manifested in Joseph Smith. Between his Bible translations, the production of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and all his discourses, you cannot deny the hand of God in that work. Never once did he deny the existence of God, or did he ever take any revelation back that was given from God. Gaining a testimony and building on it is a process. It takes effort. In the face to face with Elder and Sister Rasband, Sister Rasband answered a question about why it's often difficult to hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost telling you the church is true. She answered that it's because something so great does not come so easy. If all we do is put in one hour of effort to read the scriptures and pray, it most likely won't be enough. It needs to be a day to day pattern. It needs to be lengthy. You need to live what you learn from the scriptures. More light is given from grace to grace as we learn then live. Elder Kelbingat has mentioned that the Lord is not as concerned with what happens during your studies as He is with what happens as a result of them. That is true. Live by the truth you learn and act in faith to receive more. Be humble enough to accept the idea that we may not understand everything right now. Elder Rasband said the other night that we often need to put questions on a shelf to save for another time. It's also important to not let your testimony hinge on a question regarding something that isn't as important. Let the hinge be on the Savior. The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince us that Jesus is the Christ, as stated in the introduction. If we can conclude that the Book of Mormon is true and inspired from God, then we can conclude that Joseph Smith was in fact a prophet of Him who inspired the book. That would mean that the proper authority to delegate and lead in the Lord's church has been passed down from Joseph Smith to president Nelson. All the keys were given to the apostles during the time of Joseph Smith. They therefore maintained that authority to receive revelation on who to appoint as the new president of the church. This pattern has been repeated these last couple hundred years. If we then have a testimony that this is the Lord's church and He is at the head of it, then we can know that all revelation received to the leaders is inspired from God. Joseph Smith is an example that is very needed today. There is more to come and we will all need strong testimonies to survive! Revelation continues in the church today. To say that isn't true is the same as saying that God does not answer prayers nor gives knowledge to us. But He does answer prayers and He does help us. I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I am glad that I can be forgiven by Him. I would be so lost without that forgiveness. I know that I am far from perfect, but I will keep trying.
I love you all!! Stay safe!!
-Elder Markham
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