General Epistle the Sixth

Sept 9, 2013


Hello, y'all!

I will start by saying that this week has gone by slowly. I think it may be because of all the walking. But it's good for us and for members to see us out walking. Also, it may have gone slowly because I'm new to the area and trying to figure out the routine and the way Elder Ririe works.

We have plenty of members to work with. Most of them are some kind of engineer. We drop by randomly and try to encourage them in their missionary work. We don't tract for some reason. One neighborhood is gated, so I understand why we don't do it there. But the other four are not. Perhaps it's because everyone is pretty affluent, and so they're not likely to listen. Still, Katy was almost as rich as this area, and we found plenty of investigators through tracting there.

One awesome thing about Legends is that we are fed every night. I invite y'all to feed the missionaries. It's great to get to know them and you will get blessings. 

We mowed an excommunicated person's lawn this week. She is trying to come back into the Church, which is great. But her lawn was horrible. The backyard was full of tall weeds and fire ants. I got stung for the first time in my life by a bee while I swept her porch. Yes, I have lived in a shell my whole life and never been stung. We finally got it cleared out and looking better, but it still needs work.

As a side note, fire ants suck. A sister missionary was standing near one of their nests and they bit her legs. She ended up scratching in her sleep until her leg bled. 

Since we live with a nonmember in a small room upstairs, we have no desks. This means we study in our beds. I have fallen asleep every morning during study. I also have dozed during planning. Perhaps I should sit on the floor to study....

Last night was a CES devotional. It was pretty good, talking about the youth of the noble birthright. Gabby, the recent convert, came to it and was taking notes furiously. We are working on getting her to do baptisms for the dead soon. She wanted to take family names, but her father denied permission to do work for her grandparents. 

This week I'm studying about knowledge. Last week was patience. Be warned: when you pray for patience, you will experience things that try it. It's like praying for humility. Unless you're serious, don't do it or else you will receive experiences to try and test it.

In Preach My Gospel, it says that "Strengthening their understanding of the doctrine of Christ will do more to increase their trust in you and to build their excitement to do missionary work than anything else you can do."

It's referring to members. Since understanding the doctrine of Christ will help people with their missionary work, let me point out some things about the doctrine of Christ. 2 Nephi 32 talks about the Doctrine a lot. It points out that we need to have faith, repent, be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. 

Faith--->Repent--->Baptism(covenant)--->Holy Ghost

This is enduring to the end, or, in other words, this is the Doctrine of Christ. Understanding the idea that we have a Savior to save us from spiritual and physical death, through these first principles and ordinances, will help us understand the importance of missionary work, the ultimate goal of which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man by inviting others to come unto Christ. The course of the Lord is indeed one Eternal round, and this is it: the Doctrine of Christ.

I'll let y'all chew on that for a bit.

Just know that we are part of the great work to accomplish God's purpose. Each soul is precious, and not soul ought to be forgotten. 

May Heavenly Father help you in your efforts to increase in faith and to repent. I type this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sincerely,

Elder Murdock

General Epistle the Fifth

 Sept 03, 2013

 

Hello everyone!

I got transferred! I'm in Spring, Texas in an area called Legends. The ward is small geographically, but has a large member base. I went to church and they had to open the curtains. We're pretty sure it's going to be split soon. 

Katy was great while it lasted. I don't miss driving so much because drivers here are crazy. We're walking now and my feet hurt, but I know I'll get used to it all. I'll likely have to get a bike sometime soon so we can bike to an appointment is necessary. 

For my first dinner we went to a recent convert's house. He cooked hot dogs and chicken on the grill. His wife, who has been a member for a long time, is pregnant. She has lost the children in the past, so hopefully this one will be born healthy and strong. It was great to be received so warmly. People really do love the missionaries. =)

Labor Day was fun. We went to a stake center near the mission office and played softball. A recent convert was there grilling for us. When it got too hot, we went inside and some people played basketball and volleyball. I walked around and talked with people, since I don't play basketball well and the volleyball court was already filled. There were lots of missionaries there. 

It's so great that, no matter where we go in the world, we can feel at home if we find the saints. I haven't felt very homesick at all, and some of that I attribute to the fact that the wards I've been in have been great. The church is the same everywhere. 

There was a baptism on Saturday for a young woman in this area. Her name is Gabby Cartgena. She had a friend in high school who converted. Then she decided to join, but couldn't until later because of her parents. She has expressed the feeling that joining the church is like going home. I think it's a wonderful reminder that we all need to be welcoming and accepting of people. If there's someone at church or at a church event that you don't know, approach and introduce yourself.

A guy in a car stopped us as we were walking on Sunday. He asked us if we had literature. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. It was random, but great. It's amazing how some people will just do that kind of thing.

" There are chances for work all around just now,

Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, "Sometime I'll try,"
But go and do something today.
'Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love's labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known."

~Will L. Thompson.

   I love that hymn, especially lately. 

There are opportunities all around. We just need to open our mouths. I think I already mentioned that the Lord just wants us to try. It doesn't matter right now if they say 'yes'. It just matters that we tried. Please, prayerfully consider those who you could talk to about the gospel. Meet a neighbor you've not met and become their friend. Be involved in the work and with the missionaries in your area. Remember, they are away from home, too, just like me. They want to feel the love of their ward and the people they work with. They want to work.

We have a wonderful opportunity to share this gospel. The doctrine of Christ is that there is a Savior who was the Sacrifice and who is the Mediator for us. The gospel is nothing less than that doctrine. We all are trying to accomplish God's purpose of eternal life and immortality for us all. If that is our goal, then extending an invitation to a friend to come to church should be no problem. We will see them with the Lord's eyes and recognize their eternal potential. 

We are all called. We are all enlisted. This gospel is the truth that everyone seeks, and we have a duty, and ought to have a desire, to share it. If you have no desire, pray for such. We can do it through the grace of Jesus Christ. His Atonement is not just redeeming, but enabling. We can rely on it to have courage and strength enough to fulfill our covenants. That's my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Elder Murdock

General Epistle the Fourth

Hi,  here are some pictures
it goes thus from left to right:

E. Bartholomew(Just left)

Sister Butterfield

Sister Ogden

Sister Filikitonga

Sister Murphy

Sister Ririe(My new comp's cousin)

Sister Cecil

 Aug 26, 2013

Aloha from Texas!

Life moves forward at a fast pace. It seems like it was just last week that I arrived at the MTC. Now I've been out for two transfers and I'm almost done being trained. It's a good reminder that every hour and every minute counts out here, and not a one should be wasted.

This epistle may be short; we have to go pick up some other missionaries soon.

This last week we felt busy, but there is not much to show for it. We did have some cool experiences, though.

We've been helping a woman become active again. On this last Wednesday, she got her temple recommend renewed. Then, two days later, she came to the temple with us. Also at the temple that evening was a family who was baptized a year ago here in the Katy Mills ward. They were receiving their endowments. The next morning, Saturday, we got to go to the temple again because Elder Bell has a convert from a former area going through for the first time. Afterward we went right to the sealing for the couple from the night before. Needless to say, it was an awesome, spiritual experience that I will remember.

The picture attached is Elder Bell, myself, and Brian. Brian is a friend we made out here who just went to the Provo MTC. He will be serving in Brazil Santa Maria.

Anyway, I hope everything is well. Remember to keep pushing the work forward. It has been hastened, and we're all in this together.

Adios.

Elder Murdock