Back Again

Hey Readers,
I'm sorry for the long absence. Life is busy; here's an insight paper:

Insight Paper the Fifth

Mosiah 28: 3-4:

3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.

4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast of forever.

Because I am a very young freshman (I’m still seventeen), my mission is more than a year away. And yet, seeing many of my friends receive their calls and paying more attention to the letters that my older brother writes from his mission in Switzerland, my mission feels very close upon me. Each time I think about it, the magnitude of responsibility born by a missionary becomes increasing apparent. Though I have faith that I will be able to magnify that responsibility when the time comes, I feel sufficiently inadequate that I’ve stepped up my preparation. I’m trying to improve in all aspects of my life so that I am well prepared to serve an honorable two years.

One such aspect is the ability to maintain the right attitude towards everything, keeping an eye single to the glory of God. It saddens me to hear about missionaries who lose perspective and go about the work with the wrong attitude, refusing to work hard, seeking their own glory and recognition, or adopting any other prideful attitude. They forget the Lord’s reasons for missionary work.

The sons of Mosiah are great examples of missionaries who kept the right attitude and proper perspective in their service. I am inspired by the fervent love they bear for their fellow men and the complete gratitude they give to the Lord for his mercy and forgiveness. Their motives are so pure and righteous. Having suffered the misery of sin themselves and experienced the joy of the atonement so acutely in their own lives, their compassion is such that they are willing to give fully of their own time and talents to help others avoid the pain they felt. Their Christ-like love is amazing. I am trying to learn such charity myself.

Most importantly, they are humble. Pride seems to be the cause of most maladjusted attitudes among missionaries, but the sons of Mosiah have stripped themselves of pride. They are constantly aware of the mercy that has been shown them and they never forget the gravity of their past sins. They understand the power of the atonement and have humbled themselves before the Lord. Because of their humility, the Spirit was able to “work upon them,” communicating to them the sweetness of forgiveness and increasing their abilities. The presence and power of the Spirit was the source of their enormous success. The Spirit only came through their righteous and humble attitudes. In the coming thirteen and a half months, I pray that my efforts to prepare will help me to become like the sons of Mosiah, and more importantly, like my Savior Jesus Christ, full of love and humility.

I'm going to try to do a better job of posting. You ought to get some good morsels during Thanksgiving break, which is coming up! I can't believe how quickly time is going by.

Here's a song that I really really really like. The music video is interesting. The beat and chorus are amazing:



Love,
Christian