The "Incomprehensible Joy" of a Mission - Part 1 - Meeting Tops Girl

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 4 - a classic for missionaries - it teaches that anyone who embarks in serving the Lord, if he does so "with his might," then he "layeth up in store that he perisheth not."

When looking at the footnotes for this phrase, I noticed once that it referred to the story of Joseph in Egypt. Think through this story with me: The inspired Joseph lead Egypt in saving food for seven years. It probably seemed a silly thing to do. Times were great! There was so much food! Why save it? But, sure enough, a famine came. This food storage saved Egypt.

When embarking in the service of God, we create something of a spiritual food storage. As a missionary I have see miracles. Without question, I have seen more miracles in the past 18 months than in the 19 years prior. These become my "store." Eventually, the spiritual famine will come. It always does. It will be then that I can draw from the food storage I've been accumulating during this bounteous spiritual harvest of a mission. The short teaching of King Benjamin stands out to me: "Remember, and perish not" (Mosiah 4:30).

I have been pondering a lot over Alma 28:8 lately. It reads (with my own emphasis clearly added):

"And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their INCOMPREHENSIBLE JOY."

In the next series of posts, I would like to share some of my favorite stories from my mission. No question about, there's been a lot of tough spots. But I don't think it's by mistake that this verse describes "sufferings," "sorrows," and "afflictions" - three synonyms for "really crappy time" - and only one word for "really good time." There's a lot of really crappy times out here. However, I absolutely refuse to believe that it was by accident that the good times as much more powerful language than the bland words for crappy times. The joys of a mission truly are incomprehensible.

For the sake of those who I talk about, I will be changing the names of everyone but myself.


I have found that most of my greatest stories occur when our plans fall through. Why is that? I have no clue. It's frustrating sometimes, but it really always turns out for the best.

This story is one of those times.

I was serving in Warsaw, a small town of about 5,000-6,000 people where every person is glad to tell you that they have more cows than people. Elder Bradford and I had a night nicely planned out. In fact, it was set to be an over-crowded night. When the first appointment fell through, it wasn't a big deal. When the second and third fell through, it became a bigger issue. By the late afternoon, our evening was empty.

After thinking of things we could do for a while, we decided our best bet was to go to the church and just use their computers for some internet proselyting. By the time we walked there, though, we found out that no one was there and the computers were locked in a room we didn't have access to. We sat in the chapel, trying to come up with something we could do to keep ourselves busy.

Eventually, we came up with an idea: We would just go through our phone and call any contacts we didn't recognize. Really, it seemed pretty silly. The phone had been in Warsaw for years; who knows who could be in our contacts. But, we went ahead with it. Most of the numbers were disconnected; the rest went to answering machines. After a couple dozen calls, though (we started a Z and worked our way up!), we came to the contact "Tops Girl." (Haha, that name isn't changed. It's REALLY what she was saved as!)

Tops is a grocery store that's really popular out here in New York. A contact that has a name like

"Tops Girl" is not the most promising. I was about to skip over it, when I decided it was as promising as anyone else; who knows, it might even still be a connected number.

Not only was it still in service, but someone answered! I introduced myself and said I was a missionary for the LDS Church. I asked if she remembered meeting with the missionaries. Apparently three years ago, she worked at Tops and the missionaries had got her number... and never got ahold of her. I asked if she would be interested in meeting up sometimes, and to my amazement, she said yes! Not just halfheartedly, she said, "Yeah... I'd like that actually!"

We talked a little more about the basics of LDS theology and her own religious background. What she said next, I will never forget:

"You know, it's weird that you called today. I was raised Christian, but I kind of fell away as a teenager, and my life's been going downhill. I feel like I'm pretty much at rock bottom now. But, this morning, I said a prayer for the first time in years and just asked God for a way out. A couple hours later, you guys called."

I assured her that this was no coincidence. Elder Bradford and I proceeded to meet regularly with

"Let us now go... and see this thing" - Following the Example of the Shepherds

In my last post, I talked a lot about the Wise Men. I quite liked thinking through the idea that I wrote about, so if you haven't read it, you should. Just click here!

But, if we are going to talk about one stereotypical aspect of the Nativity scene and pull out some deeper meaning, we have to do the other, as well. I want to talk about the Shepherds.

Anyone who has seen A Charlie Brown Christmas has heard Linus perfectly recite the classic announcement of the angels to the "shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8):

"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:10-12).

Immediately following, concourses of angels appeared, praising God, thrilled at the peace that was soon coming to the Earth.

Put yourself in the shepherds' shoes (sandals?). It was springtime, the sheep were in birthing season. It was the middle of night, the shepherds were busy and tired. They had things to do, lambs to birth, excuses that could easily be made. But, rather than making excuses, they said, "Let us now go... and see this thing" (Luke 2:15). They "made haste" (Luke 2:16) and came to the find the Son of God laying in a manger, just as the angels had said.

Here is where I want us to think. The Messiah had been awaited throughout the history of Judaism. However, the scribes at this time were expecting something flashy, something grand. They didn't just want a Redeemer, they wanted a Deliverer. They wanted a King who would eradicate foreign powers from Jerusalem.

They did not want a baby boy born to poor parents in a manure-ridden stable.

However, when the Shepherds saw Jesus and His mother, something clicked for them. The very next verse says they ran all over Jerusalem telling everyone about this new Boy. It's interesting, for we see the exact same thing at the beginning of John, when Phillip invites Nathanael to "come and see" the Christ (John 1:46). Within verses, Nathanael is testifying that Jesus is surely the Son of God.

As missionaries, we don't go around toting titles as the smartest most educated scholars. We can only invite people to "come and see," asking them to "now go... and see this thing." Just as the Shepherds and

Seeing the New Stars

Starting yesterday, I embarked on reading the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as well as tidbits of 3 Nephi by Christmas. In one month, reading just about six pages a day, I'll have read the most intimate accounts of the Savior's personal ministry on the Earth. Because of that, expect a whole bunch of blog posts focused on those five books over the next month!

The first one, though, is very Christmasy. One of my favorite parts of the whole Nativity story is the Wise Men. In the opening four verses of Matthew 2, we read:

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born."

Many wonderful things have been and should be said about the diligence of the Wise Men seeking the infant Son of God, traveling long and far to meet this promised Child. But something slightly different hit me this time around.

See, let's go through all who are involved in these passages: The Wise Men, obviously. Herod. All of Jerusalem. All the chief priests and scribes of the people.

The Gospel According to Matthew was aimed primarily at showing Jews that Jesus of Nazareth really was the long-awaited Messiah. As such, he constantly refers to Biblical prophesies which Jesus fulfills.

The point is, the prophesies were there, yet neither Herod nor anyone in Jerusalem including those to whom the responsibility belonged to understand the scriptures recognized the new star. They didn't even notice.

In the pictures of this scene that I've included thus far, I don't really believe anyone would miss the star. It's obnoxiously huge. That's how the art always portrays it, though, right?

What hit me as I read this story, though, is that the star likely was not nearly so noticeable. No one in Jerusalem apparently noticed it. Not even the priests and scribes! The Wise Men must have been looking for it. Consider the following pictures:

I feel like our lives are often like a starry night. There are so many stars, it is almost impossible to differentiate one star from the next, let alone notice any new ones. Whether those stars are random distractions (television, video games), genuine good uses of time (family matters, careers), or even full-on gospel activities (church, scripture study), it really doesn't make a difference. Less remarkable to me than the fact that the Wise Men followed the star is that they noticed the star. Let's be real, who in their right mind wouldn't go

Do Scriptural Miracles REALLY Matter?

Here are a few quick questions, easy enough to answer. Answer them personally.

• Does it matter that Jesus Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene three days after being laid dead in a tomb?
  
• Does it matter that the Savior and His Father appeared to Joseph Smith in a grove of trees behind Joseph's farm house?
  
• Does it matter that we have the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and other accounts of God's dealings with men and women here on Earth?
  

I could ask a few other questions, but you get the point. Or so you think. I'm going to give an answer that you might find surprising: Maybe not. 

Now, don't get to uppity, I will explain!

Spiritual experiences are powerful. They allow us to feel God's love, grace, and almighty power. They show
us that there is a Being out there who knows us, hears us, and is willing and maybe even eager to interact with us. They can confirm our hopes or they can point us in directions that we have never imagined. 

But the three questions all refer to other people's spiritual experiences. I'm sure having a resurrected Messiah appear to Mary was pivotal for Mary. I'm sure having the "two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description" was life changing for Joseph. Other stories found in scripture show people who develop dramatic and powerful relationships with deity, be it the story of Moses, of the Brother of Jared, of Nephi, or of Paul the Apostle.

Here's the real kicker, though: None of this matters if we don't have our own spiritual experience as a result of these events. By this, I mean solely as pertains to our life here on Earth. Clearly, if the account of the Savior's resurrection is true and if the story of the Restoration is true, they will affect all of us in the end. So, like I said, for the sake of this post, I mean these things only matter in mortality if they lead to a spiritual experience of our own. If we don't get a spiritual confirmation, a witness from our Heavenly Father that these events are real, then they will never change us here in mortality.

2 Nephi 33:1 teaches, "For when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." See, when we teach with the Spirit, the Spirit testifies of truth. When I learned of the resurrection of the long-

Alma War Chapters - Maybe they are worth something after all! - Part Three: Go Back the Way You Came

The first time I ever sat down to really read from the Book of Mormon was at a church campout years back. They challenged us to read Alma chapters 43 through 63. This covers a whole series of battles between two ancient American people. At the time, I was a high schooler and was just pleased that the scriptures actually had some cool action. In these chapters, I learned that there were some people who were both God fearing and still pretty cool. In high school, that was about all I needed to know.

Later, I started loving doctrine. Therefore, I started dreading the war chapters of Alma. I wanted to learn, not just be entertained. 

This time through the Book of Mormon, though, I'm realizing how silly I am.

In the next few posts, I want to discuss some real doctrines and lessons that I have learned by applying the stories of the Alma War Chapters into my life.

For Part One of this series, click here.

Go Back the Way You Came

This one I'm going to go a little unorthodox. We are going to be the Lamanites. I know that isn't what you aspired to become in Primary, but go with it just this once.

In Alma 58, Helaman leads a little chess match. He is strongly outnumbered in a battle that he knows he can't avoid. (In fact, that's another great lesson... I might do that for my next post!!) After he receives comfort from the Lord, he gets together with Gid and Teomner and they come up with a strategy to lure the Lamanites out of their strongholds. While Gid and Teomner are hiding in the woods, Helaman takes a small army towards the Lamanite city Manti. The Lamanites, seeing that the Nephites "were not strong, according to [their] numbers," (Alma 58:15) thought it well to leave their fortresses and attack.

See that? The Lamanites left their fortresses. They left the place where they were strongest. Now, we could
use the analogy that that is leaving the Church. That would be detrimental. But I want to focus on more subtle abandonment of safe-places. When we lower our standards just a bit, we lose the Holy Ghost and are left largely alone. We leave the spiritual protection that has held us up. I could apply any number of commandments here, be it chastity, Word of Wisdom, Sabbath Day observance, the law of tithing, honoring our parents, raising an eternal family, pornography, backbiting, murmuring, and on and on and on. The principal is the same.

As you probably could foresee, Helaman calls for his army to retreat, right into the woods where Gid and Teomner are waiting with backup. Rather than just attacking the Lamanite force, though, the Nephites did even more. Gid and Teomner killed a few important stragglers in the army, then went right for the heart. Rather than paying any attention to the army now chasing Helaman, they went and overtook the entire city of Manti. Verse 22 explains this wonderfully:

"Now this was done because the Lamanites did suffer their whole army, save a few guards only, to be led away into the wilderness."

"Led away." Alma had used that same phrase when counselling his son, Corianton. In Alma 39:11, Alma says, "Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish things; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart."

Satan likes to lure us out of our fortresses by making the armies seem small.

"Everyone else is doing it."