Week 41: A Visit from an Apostle of the Lord


February 22, 2023

I'm doing a bit better. Beginning yesterday night I've received a lot of answers to the questions I've had and just a lot of reassurance in general. This past week was probably one of the hardest I've had so far (I look back at the photos we took this week and I can see the toll this months taken on me). We had so many plans for the week and only two went through. We knocked so many doors and talked to maybe 3 people, made a lot of calls and 1 guy half listened to what we were saying. And that was for the whole week. Stuff like that. We worked so hard everyday but we saw no progress, and that was a drag on top of everything I was trying to sort out before. But last night we had an amazing mission devotional given by Elder Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and I received a lot of much needed guidance and motivation.

I'd like to share a few things I learned from him and then some more things I've learned this past week specifically.

I'm only briefly going to go over these things for a number of reasons, but the first thing he told us is that "No one else can make us whole." Of course referencing to Jesus Christ. I've received good counsel and I've felt loved by friends and family alike, but there's a wholeness that only Christ can give. I've felt this wholeness when I was baptized, when I take the sacrament, and especially through the repentance process.
He also taught us the difference between a "Child of God" and to be an "Heir to His Glory" also referenced in the scriptures as a Child of God. I thought about this a little bit. Much like we are all children to a father, there lies a difference between a child and an heir. So what are the requirements to become an Heir to God's Glory? Well the missionaries near you can enlighten you on that topic. One comment I will add, that Elder Renlund mentioned is that the blessing of being an "Heir to God" is equally available to every person. How many of you or people you know can honestly say the Mormon missionaries have never knocked on your door. If they can say no the chances are higher that they have, but they weren't home when it happened. I can say for myself I've knocked almost every single door in some of my areas, and that's just in the course of 3 months. Imagine almost 200 years of missionary work in almost every square inch of the planet. That's just during this life, I haven't even mentioned missionary work in the afterlife (you will not be able to say you never received the opportunity). 

This last thought is a personal experience. Naturally when you hear you're going to receive a visit from an important person, you'd be excited right. So I was pretty excited to hear we'd get to hear from Elder Renlund (I say excited but really I've been very exhausted, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Excited means I made it there hoping for miracles to help me out of this rut, and I did receive the miracles I needed). The moment I caught just a glimpse of Him, I felt the familiar comfort, peace, and clarity of mind that we recognize as the Spirit. I knew that if I could immediately feel the Spirit just by looking at him, that he must truly be called of God to further His work on the Earth today, and this is when I truly felt excited to hear what he had to teach us.

These are some things I learned from Elder Renlund that I felt might be most important to share in this moment.

Some things I've learned this week is that maybe I've been pushing myself too hard. I say maybe sarcastically because looking back it wasn't super great for my health. I mentioned about how I appear in photos recently, it's obvious. That's how bad it was getting. But doubling back to what I mentioned last week is that we are weak. We were created to be that way. What I recently learned is I'm not the only one. Before the mission I didn't care to really talk to people or reach out for advice or help, but on Monday I needed to ask what other missionaries do when they're passing for a difficult week (or month). Expecting them to be on a whole other level of consecrated missionary than I thought myself to be, I was surprised to hear them tell me that they took some time to themselves, to cool down, relax, and really enjoy the time they spend here in the mission. Looking back I haven't given myself time to relax since I've gotten to this area, and it's been taking its toll.

I've realized that a lot of us are like this. Sometimes we put really high expectations for ourselves and we push and push and push so hard, we don't cut ourselves slack, or give ourselves time to rest and relax. Something my dad shared with me is that "you will never speak to anyone more than you speak to yourself in your head, be kind to yourself." I'm not hard on anyone else like I am to myself. Often times it's because I think I know myself, and I think I can always do something better. The truth is that yes, in the future you can improve, but you've done the best you can. Cut yourself some slack and know that Christ died so He could take care of the rest. A quote that Elder Renlund gave to us is that Christ will always have mercy for those of us that are weak (that is all of us). What He doesn't tolerate is rebellion. The difference is that when we are trying, that is us doing the best we can do, and that is all Christ asks of us. When we don't try, or we choose to do contrary to what we known is right, that is rebellion.

I feel a lot better than I have this past month or so. I've learned a lot about how it's not necessary to be perfect, just to want it, and do the best we can. The rest is made up by Christ. That is the beauty of the Atonement He made for us.

I know that God loves you. That is why He sent His Son to die for you. So that through Him you can be whole. We can't do it by ourselves. That's why He gave us Christ. God is all loving. God is One of mercy, and compassion. This is the core of everything we teach as missionaries. Everything we do in the Church is so He can help us more. These are things I knew even before coming here to the mission. This is why I'm here, to share the comfort I've found thanks to Him, and the wholeness that comes only through Him. These things I share in the name of the Son, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

~Elder Owens






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