April 21, 2014

This week was pretty normal. Did missionary stuff, set goals to be more obedient, studied the scriptures. I have really been gaining a larger appreciation for the Bible out here. I don't understand how people believe anything but the truth when they read the Bible. It's all there! Every basic point of doctrine is in the New Testament. I guess I am being unfair though, not everyone reads with the spirit like we always try to do. I am growing to love the words of Christ. Any attempt to describe him as "gentle" or "stern" or "bold" fail. He is simply perfect. His response in every situation does not follow some script, but is adapted perfectly to the situation and people involved. To follow Christ is to love everyone, and rely on the spirit to know what is needed to help them. Makes me realize how impossible it is for me to become like Him on my own. I truly need him every hour.

Our investigator Steeves is doing amazing. He was at church yesterday and in Gospel Principles class he got up and gave a powerful explanation of why he prays. He told about how his spiritual side had been dying for years, but one day he decided he needed to come back to God. He started praying to God to help him develop a closer relationship with him. Shortly thereafter he met Elder Castrejon and Elder Rock (I replaced him) at a bus stop. He began meeting with us and bore testimony of how he has felt his relationship with God grow and strengthen. He is preparing for his baptism on May 24th. He is a boss.

Marcel is doing ok. Still having issues. We are going to play Monopoly today with him for P-day. He claims to be un-beatable, but we will see about that. He is still on the fence. He feels the truth and importance of the restored gospel, but just can't let go of this one thing. We pray a lot for him.

My advice to Jordan this week is the same advice you gave me before my mission Mom. She should start getting up and going to bed now. The schedule provides for eight hours of sleep, which is plenty, in fact missionaries spend a third of their mission asleep! It is more about getting into the flow of it. The MTC provides a good place to get through the adjusting phase, but it would be beneficial now, when the stuff you doze through isn't so important. There is a missionary I know (it's not me don't worry) who doesn't go to sleep on time and doesn't get up on time. He loses his study time every morning and is struggling spiritually as a result. If getting up on time and going to bed on time is a challenge, now is the time to start. (Sorry Jordan, I know that is not what you wanted me to say).

As for the whole camera thing, yeah if it drives up the price then don't send a camera. I can just be a big boy and buy one myself :) 

Not to much else going on. Just a normal week. Love you guys so much!!

Elder Hardy

p.s. forgot to bring my camera today

April 14, 2014

Hello!!

Not going to write as much this week, I have some catching up to do. Had a good birthday. Somehow everyone in the ward knew about it and it was a big deal, then Elder Castrejon started telling people on the bus about it to start conversations. So glad that I'm trying not to be a poop anymore!

In other news, nothing new happened. Time to catch up.

Elder Hardy

Here is me

1. Eating my birthday lunch

2. With Elder Messinger, a close friend and mentor on my mission.

3. Me with my birthday cake I think.

Sorry for the weird format on the photos. I am not sure why the camera uses that file type. I've been thinking about just getting a new one. The memory card doesn't come out (so annoying!!) the pictures aren't always the best quality, and it is super picky about which computers it likes. Might just go buy another one. Don't know though.

here are some more:

1. Elder Ballard. He is really strong and likes to bake bread. We call him Peta.

2. Me. In the distance is the Canadian parliament. 

April 6, 2014

I figured out who Paige looks like: she looks like one of those girl actresses playing Peter Pan. That is it. That's been troubling me for a whole week.

In other news I loved General Conference so much!! You are very perceptive Mom, I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk on gratitude. I have been really hard on myself for the last few weeks, and I need to be grateful; more grateful for both trials and miracles. One such miracle is that our Investigator Steeves (pronounced Steve) accepted a baptismal date last week, and randomly showed up to general conference on Sunday. He stayed for the Sunday morning session, and the lunch and baptism afterwards. We were starting to worry about him since he has been super busy with finals and we hadn't seen him in a week. That was a miracle.

A trial this weekend was that Marcel is having a super hard time. His date is the 19th of this month, but he is having a really hard time about the history of the Church, especially pertaining to the priesthood. He really wants to join the Church, but just has that standing in the way. We have talked about it several times, but he isn't satisfied. We are going to see him this week with a member in the ward who had a similar problem. Hopefully his testimony and story will touch Marcel more than little white and born in the nineties me can. He needs our prayers. He is a truly elect son of God, and knows the Church is for him. I'm not allowed to ask you guys to fast for him, but I love that man and have fasted several times for him already.

This is going to be embarrassing, but I am FINALLY beginning to understand what Dad keeps telling me: 100% obedience brings spiritual power. I have not been a disobedient missionary, far from it, but I am beginning to see how much better I can do. It took me asking my companion how I can overcome my fears. He told me to start being more obedient. It makes so much sense to me now. If I want my faith to grow, I have to use it. It does affect everything whether I truly work out in the morning, rather than lifting our barbell a couple of times then dozing on the couch. Having a good study EVERY morning can help my investigators, and is how I can change who I am. I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure that out. At least I am starting to get it now.

As for the package, I haven't gotten it yet. The Zone Leaders forgot to pick up the packages. The Calender, don't really matter to me. Just pictures of the family is perfect. Thank you so much. I am doing fine for clothes. I will probably start needing more next spring, but for now I'm fine. At least I didn't make the mistake of putting in bleach like Elder Smith. His shirts have big yellow streaks now. Love you guys so much. Looking forward to Mother's day next month.

Elder Hardy 

March 31, 2014

Hello family!!

Sorry if this little letter is a little scatter-brained. I just got ranted at by some guy in the library for like ten minutes about how untrue the Book of Mormon is. He clearly hadn't read the book, and he really didn't have any good points, but my train of thought has been scattered like leaves in the wind. Seems to happen that way. He is far from the first person to do stuff like that (I've told my stories of being physically assaulted already I think) and will be far from the last. I just really shouldn't have quoted the Bible at him though. It wasn't the right thing to do, so the spirit left. Thus I couldn't answer his attacks (of course) and I just had to sit and take it. Lesson learned I hope.

Anyway, to answer the questions:

1. Were you able to go to the Temple last week?

            Yes I was. I was the last one into the session. It was awesome to get to do it again after so many months. A big refresher and I learned a lot.

2. Is there anything in particular you need/want for your birthday? (The package with your cord in it should be arriving in Montreal tomorrow)

         I don't know. Some more pictures for sure. Maybe a calendar. I'm not sure if that was one of the things you suggested I bring but I refused, But like a calendar with pictures of you guys on it would be cool. I don't really "need" anything, so don't go overboard or anything. 

3. Have you had any interesting/uplifting experiences street contacting?

         Not worth telling. Still really struggling with it. It's teaching me humility. The problem is each time I get humbled I get proud of how humble I've become and I end up back at square 1.

4. Do your companions know that you have a beautiful singing voice?

         Yes.

5. Is there a Costco near you?  If so, does your card work?

         yes and Yes. We go there about every other week since my companion doesn't like it.

6. Are you being transferred?

         No. Both me and Elder Castrejon are staying for another transfer.

7. Do you still study French every day as part of your study time?

         Yes. We try to speak french among ourselves, but it's hard when you don't use it with everyone else.

8. Since you are serving in a YSA ward do you use social media (Facebook, etc) to communicate with your investigators?

         Yes. We get a whopping 15 minutes on Facebook every day. Great way to find less-actives.

9. Have you learned to cook anything new?

In Ottawa? No. With my previous companion I learned a few recipes. The only one that stuck was french toast though. I forgot the others.

10. Where will you watch General Conference?

            At the church, hopefully with our investigators.

Finals are starting up so things are going to get slow for a bit. We committed two investigators to baptismal dates this last week though. Marcel committed himself to the 19th of April (really hoped he would pick the 12th). He is so ready, he just has to overcome some concerns about the priesthood in church history. Steeves also accepted a date for the 24th of May, which was an awesome surprise. We thought he was going to drop us, but it turns out he has been reading and praying, and wants to join. The spirit was so strong when we extended the commitment. He has a ways to go with his beliefs, but he seems to have the humility to make it.

That's about it this week. Love you guys so much! Hope you have a good week. So happy that Jordan went to the temple. Never stop going there Jordan. Every opportunity should be taken to attend. Especially during these last few weeks. The closer we get to God the stronger we become, and nothing brings us closer to Him than making, renewing, and keeping covenants with him.

Love!

Elder Hardy

March 24, 2014

Bulgaria?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! What language do they even speak there? Bulgarian? 

Wow what a call! How amazing! What's even more amazing is how right it feels. I'm not sure how, but it is almost as if I saw it coming even though I didn't. I know T will do amazing things there. As much as I wanted him to come be with me, I know that the Lord sends people to those that need them, not to those that already get to spend eternity with them. 

I am super pumped to have heard Tanner's call! I've been waiting for like forever. Leaving in August? Dang. That means we will overlap by a few months over three years. My year mark is in June and my year-to-go mark is on May 26 (HOW DID I ALREADY GET SO CLOSE TO THAT WHERE DID MY FIRST YEAR GO??!!) I try not to dwell on my death day (we call finishing our missions dying out here) because each time I do I realize how little time I have to become the missionary I want to become. Treasure the time on your mission, both of you with calls. We call a mission a sacrifice, but since I came out here I've realized that it is just another one of the tremendous blessings that the Lord just keeps dumping on his children when they are obedient. King Benjamin was right, and it's unfair! Every blessing is connected to a commandment, but I often feel that the stick is lopsided. Every time we try to serve him he blesses us so much more than we really earned. It just keeps on coming until all we can do is thank the Lord for his goodness and keep obeying. 

Sorry I'm going to rant on this subject for a minute. People, even in the Church sometimes, People see sin as moving us into the negatives on the slide-scale of life, and obedience and blessings bringing us back to zero on the scale. This view makes us seem entitled to blessings and doesn't give enough credit to the Lord. Yes sin moves us backwards, but so does a simple lack of diligence. When we obey commandments and seek to apply the atonement we don't rest at "where we are supposed to be" we rocket up into the stratosphere of the positives. If we don't maintain our level of diligence and obedience we don't get to keep that level of blessings. We slide back to zero, and as we sin we then enter the negatives. Thus will all men be judged according to our works. Not according to whether we we stayed above zero, for in the end every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. All will eventually accept his sacrifice and repent, whether in this life or in spirit prison. None (save the sons of Perdition) can escape the grace of Christ, which will gather all of God's children, cleanse their sins, and drag the wicked, writhing in the agony of insufficiency and unpreparedness, back into the presence of the father. The wicked will then wish that the rocks and the mountains might fall on them and hide them, that they do not enter the presence of their God. Thus We are not judged by whether or not we are in the negatives, but by how far into the positives we go. The ordinances and covenants we make allow God to pour out blessings even more abundantly. The Atonement of Christ CANNOT be a passive thing. Today is literally, as Amulek (or Alma?) said, the day to prepare to meet God. The minimum is the telestial kingdom, and we use the gospel to climb from there. Thus Satan's plan is brought to even greater folly with this understanding. Without agency the telestial kingdom was all we could merit, if even that.

Sorry about that guys. That is the culmination of everything I've learned out here about the gospel suddenly and unexpectedly being thrown onto the screen. I hope you'll forgive me, and correct me if my understanding is not correct.

Had a good week. Transfer calls this Saturday. Probably won't move.

Love you guys!!

Elder Hardy

March 17, 2014

Hello Everyone!!

So happy to hear about you guys's great time up in B.C!! I hope Ronnie broke his wrist. Then I will be the only brother who hasn't broken a bone. I'm also super excited to hear about Jordan preparing for the temple. Just remember a few things: the recommend questions are the minimum. We won't feel 100% worthy to be there until we are in the Celestial kingdom. It's only through the atonement of Christ that we can ever be remotely worthy to enter that building anyway. Also pay close attention when you go. There are answers to many questions, and the more knowledge we have, the larger and more powerful our testimony can be. 

Speaking of temples, We get to go to the temple on Friday!!!! The Montreal temple is closing for 13 months in May (doesn't reopen until just after I finish my mission!) so they are trying to give everyone a chance to go through a session at least once on their mission.

If you haven't gleaned it from the last letters, these last few weeks have been tough for me. I am really trying to fully submit my will to the will of the Lord, and it is hard. I get very frustrated with myself as I see my weaknesses and struggle to overcome them. I know that my biggest obstacle is pride. My desires need to change and become the Lord's desires, and this is only possible if I am truly humble.  I need to be able to humble myself, but I can't seem to do it. Right now I am running off of a rule I set for myself: If I don't contact, I don't get to eat. That has helped some, but it is not the proper way to truly change myself.

I don't have as much to say today. Just if you guys have any advice on the subject I would really appreciate it. Our investigator Marcel is really progressing well. The ward has begun to absorb him into itself socially (he is playing in the volleyball tournament and everything). His date is the 29th, and he is progressing solidly towards it. Just keep him in your prayers that he makes it.

Love you all. I know that the Lord has stretched forth his hand this one last time to restore his gospel.

Elder Hardy