Week 21 - Hope
Super crazy good week. I learned a lot about hope and how it is the
antidote to discouragement. My companion Elder McCarl is a really
spiritual guy. When I told him I was discouraged, he told me the next
day that he felt inspired that I should read the parable of the vineyard
in Jacob 5. He said "don't ask me why, I just felt like I should tell
you." Well let me tell you, it was EXACTLY what I needed. I realized how
much I could relate to the master of the vineyard when he sees bad
fruit and asks, "What more could I have done?" I realized that when I
feel sad when the people I love don't progress like I know they can even
despite my best efforts, that that is exactly how the Lord sees me when
I don't progress like I can. He cries when I don't make the decision to
follow Him and be as happy as I could be. What I loved was how each
time there was bad fruit, the master of the vineyard moved forward in
hope and eventually there is good fruit. How grateful I am that the
Savior has not once given up on me and not once will he ever say I'm not
worth His effort. That's the kind of hope and patience I want to have.
The way Paul puts it, "Ye that ploweth should plow in hope." No effort
is wasted in proclaiming the gospel if it is done in faith with hope of
the harvest in mind.
An another note, Jimmy
one of our investigators came to church!! Woot woot 🎊🎉 It was super
awesome and he wants to meet like two or three times during the week!
The guy is catching fire!
Hope you all have an incredible week.
Love,
Ă„ldste Denton
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P.S. Aldste Denton also included this story in additional email......
Oh you ready for a story?
So we had an investigator
in church yesterday. Super Awesome. He also said he'd come to the YSA
FHE tonight. His name is Jimmy. Anyways, it was our branch conference
and the entire mission presidency was there since Sundsvall is part of a
district not a stake. What a day for Jimmy to come to church, right?
President Youngberg talked to him right before the meeting and then
right after asked him if he had learned anything. So in Priesthood one
of the members of the presidency started telling a story. He's from
Göteborg or Gothenburg for the English speaking folks. Anyways, he
served his mission in England at the exact same time as his twin brother
who served in a different mission in England. The last six months of
his mission, he got transfered outside of his mission boundaries to be a
zone leader with his twin. During that transfer, Gordon B. Hinckley
came and toured their mission. He spoke to all of them in a room
together. He stopped in the middle of his address and looked right at
these two brothers and said "You're the Mattson twins, aren't you." Then
he said to everyone else in the room. "Excuse me while I talk to just
these two for a minute." Then he told them that Sweden hadn't had much
action for years. In the early days of the church, hundreds of thousands
of saints came from Sweden to Salt Lake and it was one of the most
successful spots for missionary work at that time. Then he told them
"When you go back to Sweden, you tell them there's going to be a second
harvest in Sweden that will be greater than the first." That was in
1972. These two spoke with President Hinckley in 1981 while serving as
stake president and bishop or something when he came to visit and asked
if he remembered them. He didn't recognize them at first, but when they
told him who they were he said, " Yes I remember, and I remember what I
said to you. That was inspiration and I'm sure it will happen. There
will be a second harvest." He talked about millions of people joining
and staying faithful to the end. He also mentioned a cleansing process
that would proceed it. Then in 1997 President Eyring came to Sweden and
I don't remember what for, but president Eyring was speaking to a big
audience and in his talk he said "President Hinckley told me to say that
there will be a second harvest in Sweden and he told me to say that it
starts now. That those who believe it will happen will experience it and
those who don't will miss out on its blessings." Since that time,
there's been action in Sweden. Lots of congregations have shrunk, scores
have become inactive, and some have
apostatized from the church including this
man's twin brother. Doesn't this all sound like your reading the
Book of Mormon? So I had heard all of these things before I even left
actually. I didn't know any of the places or people, but when I got my
call I got a letter from the mission office telling this story about the
two twins and the promises of a second harvest and also a dedicatory
prayer offered by Elder Monson in the 60's rededicating the land of
Sweden for missionary work which promises a second harvest. Pretty intense
right? It makes me think of Jacob 5 where when the master of the
vineyard wanted good fruit, he would dig, dung, prune, graft, and cut
off the evil branches in order to produce good fruit. That looks like
exactly what's happening here. Especially in the mission. Standards are
raising like crazy in our mission. Apparently this mission is totally
different than it was even a year ago. The type of missionaries coming
in are dedicated and right now there are sooo many young missionaries in
the mission. President Younberg is new since the summer but he's
already raised the standard of obedience wayy higher and keeps raising
our sights. Elder Ballard also spoke to all of Europe after he had also
made a visit to Stockholm in November or October and told everyone in
Europe to believe in miracles and to shun apathy. He told us a story of
calling down rain in Ethopia when he was a seventy. Also, I have had
like four different members over the last two weeks ask me and my
companion for one or more Books of Mormon to give to their friends. The
members here are feeling the momentum. We also had a Sweden wide fast a
few Sundays ago for missionary and reactivation work. We had a guy call
us a few weeks ago who said "Hi I am a resting member of the church, but
I want to come back. Can you help me with that?" He had an interview
with president Youngberg on Saturday and now he's going to become an
Elder in April. Hasn't missed a Sunday in over a month.
I hope you understood some of that. But the point is, Sweden is seeing miracles, and it's going to see more.
Love
Ă„ldste Denton
Pictures this week
Fresh cuts
Trying to see if something was wrong with our church's receiver... couldn't see anything, but it was a cool picture!
