How Do You Say "Korean" in Sign Language?

Big news everyone! I'm getting transferred again! Yep, I'm going to Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley! I'm also serving in a deaf ward! Yep, I suddenly have to learn sign language. In addition to that, I'm going to be a zone leader now... and the Zone I cover includes the Korean district. Many of the Korean Elders speak almost no English... So I'll probably have to learn some Korean too. Yeah the stress level in my life just tripled lol. My new companion's name is Elder Lyman. I've met him a few times before, and He seems like a great missionary. Other than that I don't know much about him. From what I've seen though, I'm sure he and I will get along great. Because transfers are today though, I have hardly any time to write. I hope you'll continue to pray for me! Now I'll be needing them more than ever. I so appreciate all of your support. Love you all!

The Source of All Light and Truth

I have been thinking a great deal about light this week. I'm sure many of you have heard the story about the professor and the student. A Philosophy professor at Princeton university got up and told his class "I just wanted to let you all know before we start, that I do not believe in God. Anyone who believes in God is a fool, and we will not be discussing anything religious in this class, are we clear?" A return missionary, who was in the class, stood up and basically bore his testimony to the professor. He told him that he knew there was a God and that He loved every one of us. The professor sneered and said "God loves us does He? Let me ask you this, where does everything come from?" The student answered: "From God." Professor: "Where did evil come from?" Student: "From... God." Professor: "Ah. So all of the evil things in this world, whether it be terrorist attacks, the Holocaust, kidnappings, murder and rape, all came from God. How can you possibly say that God is good and that He loves us when He made all these horribly evil things? If there is a God, He must be evil, for all evil comes from Him." The student felt ashamed and had no response, so he sat down.

Then, a second student (Also a return missionary) stood up and asked" "Professor, may I ask you a question?" Professor: "Ah. Another believer. Yes, if you must." Student: "Is there such a thing as heat?" Professor: "Yes." Student: "Is there such a thing as cold?" Professor: "Yes of course there is." Student: "Actually, you're wrong professor. There is no such thing as cold. You can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

The student then asks further: "What about darkness Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?" Professor: "Yes. What is night if not darkness?" Student: "You're wrong again professor. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

Professor: "Alright then, what's your point?" Student: "Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed." Professor: "Flawed? How so?" Student: "You say that evil came from God, but in reality, evil is just a word we use to describe the absence of good, or the absence of God in someone's life. God didn't create evil, He created good. When we choose to turn away from Him, and to stop following the path He wants us to take, we start losing light in our lives, and all that is left is darkness, just as if you dimmed the lights in this room. Evil is not the opposite of good, merely the absence of it."

My point with this story is to illustrate the importance of the light of the gospel in our lives. When we choose to turn away from the teachings of Jesus Christ, meaning loving one another, serving each other, etc. we allow darkness into our lives. When we come closer to Christ, however, we gain more light in our lives, and things become even more clear and wonderfully bright. Christ Himself said: "I am the light and the life of the world." That is completely true. Christ is the source of all light, or truth. Draw near to Him, and He will give you light to find your way through the darkness of earth life. Move away from Him, and all that will be left is darkness. I know that Christ lives, and He will give us the light we need if we but come unto Him. Love you!

Learning to Love Others without Judging

This week has been a good one! We were able to go to a baptism on Saturday, and that was an amazing spiritual experience for us. I also was the one who got to interview the woman being baptized for baptism. I love being able to perform those interviews. They are always such amazing spiritual experiences. I have only done two of them so far, but I have another one coming up this week, and I am so excited for it! We also taught a lesson this week on judging. I feel like I always learn more about the lesson I'm teaching than the people I'm teaching it to. One of the biggest problems in the world today is stereotyping, or when we think we know someone's situation but really we don't. Sometime we take one look at someone and think we know everything about them. For example, we'll see a beggar on the street and we won't give them money cause we assume they'll spend it on drugs or alcohol (Not that I'm saying you should always give money to people like that. Just an example.) Or we see a big guy walking down the street with chains and a big Mohawk and start to feel nervous, like he's a really mean person. It remind me of the movie Shrek (I used to watch that EVERY SINGLE DAY with Kyle), when Shrek says "People take one look at me and go 'Ah! Help! Run! A big stupid ugly ogre.' They judge me before they even know me." In a funny way, that illustrates what I'm talking about. President Monson last year gave a talk to the relief society about Charity, and not judging others unrighteously. I would encourage you to go online a read that talk again. We all have problems with stereotyping, or judging others unrighteously. I know that if we work on seeing the good in others, rather than what we assume to be their flaws, that our lives will change. "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which He hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we will see Him as He is; that we may have hope; that we may be purified even as He is pure. Amen." (Moroni 7:48) Love you all!

Mothers Day Phone Call Home

Happy Mother's day yesterday! It was such an amazing day for me. I was able to talk to all of the people that I love the most and have made the greatest impact on my life. It was such a wonderful experience. I really can't even describe the joy I felt as I talked with everyone. The only you can really know what I'm talking about is if you have served a mission of your own. I am so lucky to have the family that I do. I know without any shadow of a doubt that families are completely ordained of God, and that He organized us into families so that we could learn how to love, serve, and better understand how our heavenly Father feels about each and every one of us. I love the scripture in Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." If you really think about that scripture, God isn't just saying "I like making men able to live forever." He is saying "The thing that brings Me the greatest joy, and the thing that I strive for the most out of everything else I do, is to raise My children, to teach them how to love, and to bring them home again to live with Me forever someday." Yes, God is the almighty ruler of the entire universe, but He is a Father first, and a ruler second. He loves us, and He wants us to find joy and happiness in this life, as well as in the life to come. I can honestly say I have come to know Him much better as I have been out here serving His mission. I love Him, I honor Him, and I will trust Him forever. To all the wonderful mothers and women of the church out there, thank you for everything you have done and continue to do. Your actions do not go unnoticed. They are recorded by angels in heaven. You have made more of a difference than you even realize, and someday, you will look into the eyes of your heavenly Father, and He will personally thank you for helping Him to raise His children. Love you!

The Los Angeles Temple, Trainer Training and Service Projects

This has been a fantastic week for me. This Tuesday, I was able to go through the Los Angeles temple with all of the other missionaries in my zone. What an amazing temple. I've never been through a temple like that one before. The spirit was powerful, and I was inspired to work even harder. That was one of my best experiences this week, but I also was able to attend a training for trainers and their new missionaries on Wednesday. We learned being an example to our companions, as well as the members in our ward, so as to inspire them to be the best disciples of Christ they can be. The other cool thing that happened this was a mission-wide service project called Mormon helping hands. All of the missionaries in our mission, as well as members from throughout the mission, went to different locations in the mission to help with service projects. The missionaries in my zone and I went to a high school and helped rip out all of the sod and bushes in front of the school. There were at least 250 people there, members and nonmembers alike. There was also a news crew there, with a reporter and everything. They interviewed a few of the members there, and talked about the church and what we were doing. It was SUCH a good publicity boost for the church. I was happy to be a part of it. I have also been very busy with training Elder Ackley and doing the District Leader stuff. Everything has been going really well lately, I can only hope that things will continue to improve. Love you all!