Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
April 20 Letter
Hey,
I did get the exercise equipment. Thanks. I've already been using it a lot because they just recently closed the gym temporarily for repairs, and it won't be open again until after I'm gone. So, it was like perfect timing. I don't how I'm going to get it to Mexico, though. It's too heavy to pack. I'll probably have to ship it or something.
Elder Glenn L. pace gave an amazing talk at last week's devotional. I really felt like it was at least a partial answer to my prayers. It was so personal and sacred that he actually requested the MTC not record it. It was about the love of God, nothing I haven't heard about before, but he spoke so sincerely and shared some very personal experiences. I'm still not feeling super comfortable with sharing the Gospel with everybody, but I think I'm getting closer. It's hard for me to deny the feelings and experiences I've had.
Learning the language and the doctrine has been the least difficult part, by far, of this whole MTC experience. The emotional and spiritual things have been far more challenging. I just keep pressing forward with as much faith as I can. I have learned so much here at the MTC.
I just sent you guys some pictures today. So, you should get them by Friday or next Monday. I think it takes about 5 business days for regular mail. I feel like I never have much time to write very much to you guys. If you want me to write a more detailed letter, let me know.
Oh, actually, mom, I can't call on Mother's Day. They don't let you do that while you're in the MTC because there are just too many missionaries. I'll get to call you like a week later though, from the airport.
Tell me more what's going on with the family. How was Jamaica? Is Sean excited for FSU? How is everyone doing in school? What sports is everybody playing? What are you guys planning on doing this summer?
P.S. Tell Dad he better not mess up the Honda before I get back. I want to drive it so bad!
Love you all,
Elder Graham
I did get the exercise equipment. Thanks. I've already been using it a lot because they just recently closed the gym temporarily for repairs, and it won't be open again until after I'm gone. So, it was like perfect timing. I don't how I'm going to get it to Mexico, though. It's too heavy to pack. I'll probably have to ship it or something.
Elder Glenn L. pace gave an amazing talk at last week's devotional. I really felt like it was at least a partial answer to my prayers. It was so personal and sacred that he actually requested the MTC not record it. It was about the love of God, nothing I haven't heard about before, but he spoke so sincerely and shared some very personal experiences. I'm still not feeling super comfortable with sharing the Gospel with everybody, but I think I'm getting closer. It's hard for me to deny the feelings and experiences I've had.
Learning the language and the doctrine has been the least difficult part, by far, of this whole MTC experience. The emotional and spiritual things have been far more challenging. I just keep pressing forward with as much faith as I can. I have learned so much here at the MTC.
I just sent you guys some pictures today. So, you should get them by Friday or next Monday. I think it takes about 5 business days for regular mail. I feel like I never have much time to write very much to you guys. If you want me to write a more detailed letter, let me know.
Oh, actually, mom, I can't call on Mother's Day. They don't let you do that while you're in the MTC because there are just too many missionaries. I'll get to call you like a week later though, from the airport.
Tell me more what's going on with the family. How was Jamaica? Is Sean excited for FSU? How is everyone doing in school? What sports is everybody playing? What are you guys planning on doing this summer?
P.S. Tell Dad he better not mess up the Honda before I get back. I want to drive it so bad!
Love you all,
Elder Graham
April 13 Letter
I couldn't believe you called the MTC. Haha. I've been gone for like three weeks, and I didn't write to you one week. That's ok. At least I know my mommy loves me. Im actually feeling much better now, although still trying to figure some things out. Thanks for recommending D&C 6. Those verses, 22 and 23 are some of my favorite scriptures.
My new companion, Elder Garcia, is great. He's also my district leader. Well, at least until Friday, I think. Im getting to know him a lot better now that we're companions, and he's really cool. He's just a down to earth, cool guy, and he's always so full of energy. It's hard not to laugh and be in a good mood around him. It's amazing how close you can get to someone when you spend every minute of every day with him. I miss my friend from Mexico (Elder Banuelos), though. He already left and is serving in California. He told me I have to come to Mexico with him after our missions. He's hillarious. I miss my old companion too, but hey I'm going to have lots of companions. I'm glad the ones I have had so far have been good.
Everyone who's served a mission and has written to me seems surprised that we can't ever leave the MTC anymore, but I guess its not that big a deal to me just because I never had the opportunity to. We actually can walk around the temple on Sundays if we want. I am starting to feel a little isolated, but its not too bad. I've got pretty much everything I need here. The days are long and pass slowly as we pretty much sit around studying all day, but the weeks fly by. I can't believe I'm into my fourth week, or fifth Hmm... Im not even sure. See what I mean?
Please apologize for me to anyone that has written to me and hasn't received a letter back from me yet. P-days seem to just fly by so fast.
I did get your beef jerkey and your cookies and your easter goodies. I wish I was hungrier, and the MTC didn't stuff me so much. I actually gave a whole bag of beef jerky to my old companion that he took with him to Peru because he liked it so much. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for all the yummies.
Shoot! They really don't give us enough email time. Can you plese have Marc write something to me. I really want to talk to him, but I'm not sure what to ask him about. Just tell him I miss him so much, and I think about him every day.
Love, Brett
My new companion, Elder Garcia, is great. He's also my district leader. Well, at least until Friday, I think. Im getting to know him a lot better now that we're companions, and he's really cool. He's just a down to earth, cool guy, and he's always so full of energy. It's hard not to laugh and be in a good mood around him. It's amazing how close you can get to someone when you spend every minute of every day with him. I miss my friend from Mexico (Elder Banuelos), though. He already left and is serving in California. He told me I have to come to Mexico with him after our missions. He's hillarious. I miss my old companion too, but hey I'm going to have lots of companions. I'm glad the ones I have had so far have been good.
Everyone who's served a mission and has written to me seems surprised that we can't ever leave the MTC anymore, but I guess its not that big a deal to me just because I never had the opportunity to. We actually can walk around the temple on Sundays if we want. I am starting to feel a little isolated, but its not too bad. I've got pretty much everything I need here. The days are long and pass slowly as we pretty much sit around studying all day, but the weeks fly by. I can't believe I'm into my fourth week, or fifth Hmm... Im not even sure. See what I mean?
Please apologize for me to anyone that has written to me and hasn't received a letter back from me yet. P-days seem to just fly by so fast.
I did get your beef jerkey and your cookies and your easter goodies. I wish I was hungrier, and the MTC didn't stuff me so much. I actually gave a whole bag of beef jerky to my old companion that he took with him to Peru because he liked it so much. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for all the yummies.
Shoot! They really don't give us enough email time. Can you plese have Marc write something to me. I really want to talk to him, but I'm not sure what to ask him about. Just tell him I miss him so much, and I think about him every day.
Love, Brett
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Brett's 2nd Letter, April 6
Sorry for not writing to you last week. In all honesty, I've just had a lot of things on my mind lately.I still dont feel ready to go out and preach the gospel. Good thing I am in here for another 5 or 6 weeks. Everything else is going great though. I love my companion and my district. We have way more fun together than I would have expected. I'll try to send some pictures home within the next couple weeks. My companion is leaving tomorrow for the MTC in Lima, Peru, which really stinks becasue he's so much fun and we teach really well together. Plus, noone else speaks Spanish as well as him in the district, and all the native Spanish speakers that were only here for three weeks are leaving too. So, I"m not going to be able to practice as well. They definitely keep you busy here at the MTC, and they feed you so much! I definitely see how a lot of missionaries gain weight while there at the MTC. Tell Kenny to not worry though, I work out almost everyday with one of my roomates. He's really into fitness and health. But speaking of staying in shape, I would really like it if you could send me one of the resistance band things with the handles on the ends and my pull up bar (I forgot it at home). Everyone tells me Puebla is nice. One of my friends, Elder Banuelos, is from Mexico and he says he loves Puebla. I"m not sure I"ll get to go there as soon as scheduled (May 10) though because they've been having a lot of problems lately getting Visas for Mexico. All the Elders assigned to Mexican missions in my branch that were only here for threee weeks and are leaving tomorrow are all going to different places in Utah for now because they haven't gotten their Mexican Visas yet. My time's almost up. Se y later!
Love, Brett
Love, Brett
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Brett:s First Letter
Hey Everybody! I spent most of my 30 minutes of email time today just trying to set up this account. So, I'll be brief. First of all, you should know I am only allowed to write and email letters on my preparation day, which is Tuesday. So, if you don't get a response from me right away that's why. Anyway, the MTC is okay.The days are long. Most of the time I'm in a classroom or studying on my own somewhere. I leave my room at 7 am and return at 9:30 pm. It's gotten better as the week has gone on though. My companion is Elder Samuelson from Sandy, UT but his mom is from Lima Peru. Im really glad I got paired up with him because he is the only other one who speaks spanish in my district. They put me in the Intermediate Spanish district which means Im gonna have to be here for 9 weeks, but my companion leaves in 3 weeks to Lima, Peru to the MTC in Peru. So, I am not sure what they're planning on doing with me once he leaves. My other two roomates might be my companions. All of our roomates and I (there are 4 of us in a room) get along really well. We're always laughing and having fun together. My whole district gets along well actually. There is a Spirit of love and unity here at the MTC. Having a ompanion 24/7 is hard. I would like some alone time. I gave my companion a blessing last night because he was feeing really sick. Fortunately, he's getting better very fast. Enough about me. What's everybody been up to lately? My old BYU roomate who works at MTC told me BYU beat Florida in overtime. YA!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Brett's Farewell Talk
Brothers and Sisters, we have a Heavenly Father who loves each and every one of us more than we could possibly imagine. We are his literal spirit children, we were with him before this earth, and we can be with him again after this life. We each have something divine within us and, therefore, we are each capable of far more than we can comprehend. This is the message I want to share with you and with the world. It is the message that lifts spirits, mends broken herts, and gives hope to those who have none. It is the message which fills one's life with purpose and a desire for continual self-imporivement. And, if applied properly, this message can be a source of great strength and power in dealing with life's many challenges.
Once again, I tell you that God loves you more than our human minds can comprehend. He loves us so much that he created this beautiful earth and all life on it for us to enjoy. He has blessed us with physical bodies similar to his own. He allows us to feel pain so that we can know peace and sorrow, so that we can know joy. He has given us the ability to act for ourselves and the freedom to choose good or evil so that we can increase in understanding and knowledge and learn that we are happiest when we choose good over evil. This gift is so sacred and so central to our Heavenly Father's plan for us that he will usually not even prevent another from misusing his free will to oppress, abuse, or otherwise harm another person. He will, however, always strengthen the victims of another's bad choices if they will but ask. Though we reamin physically separate from him in this life, our loving Heavenly Father pleads with us to come unto him spiritually through prayer and he stands ready to answer the questions we cannot seem to answer for ourselves and to bless us with the things we need most when we humbly and sincerely ask. He ofers the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to learn and grow in this life and the next until we become like HIM, our Heavenly Father. He has promised us all that he has and is. But the greatest expression of the love our Heavenly Father has for all of his children was given when he allowed his Only Begootten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer on behalf of every person that had and that ever would live on the earth and to be crucified in complete innocence. Without this miraculous expression of divine love, there would ultimately be no purpose to our existence and no way to experience true happiness as there would be no resurrection and we would all remain in sinful states, unable to ever have our sins forgiven and return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In addition, we would have nowhere to turn for relief beyond our mortal capacities in times of distress, poor health, or weakness. Christ not only took upon himself our sins; he also suffered every pain, affliction,and sorrow that would be felt by anyone in this life. It is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that God is able to comfort and stgrengthen us.
"And he shall go forth , suffering pain and affliction and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upom him death, thay he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities" Alma 7:11-12
What I'm tryimg to demonstrate to you is that love is at the center of everything God does and is. Even his commandments are manifestations and testimony to his love for you. Many believe that if God truly loved them, he would be pleased with them regardless of whether they choose good or evil and that he would not allow them to suffer the natural consequnces of their own sins. These people do not truly understand God's love. While God loves all of his chilren, even the wicked and rebellious ones, true love never supports self-destructive behavior, and God is not pleased with us if we stray from the path of our eternal progression and thwart the very purpose of our coming to this earth. His purpose is not to reward and punish merely for his pleasere; his only goal is to help us along the path to becoming perfect, as He is. That is his work and his glory regardless of what we think we need or desire. I like the way C.S. Lewis described it:
"We are a Divine work...something that God is making, and therefore something with which he will not be satisfied until it has a certain character. It is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less...To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask God that he should cease to be God: because He is what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled by certain stains in our present character, and because He already loves us, He must labor to make us loveable...We are bidden to put on Christ, to become like God. That is, whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we think we want...He gives us the happiness that is...To be God-to be like God and share his goodness...These are the only...Alternatives. If we will not learn to eat the only food that the universe grows...then we must starve eternally.
Nevertheless, sometimes we get so caught up in all the specific shoulds and should nots that we miss the bigger picture and the key to becoming more like our Heavenly Father. Christ criticized the religious experts of his day for this very reason. We can avoid this problem and rest assured that we are doing God's will if we remember to focus, once again, on love. Jesus declared the first and greatest commandment to be "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" God did not give this commandment because he needs us to love him: he gave it beause it is the key to becoming like HIM. As President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, said "His power nad glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny or even defile his name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration. No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh how do we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are and who we will become." Coupled with the second great commandment, which Christ declared "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," much of the confusion and disagreement over God's will should clear. For "for on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." They should be at the center of everything we do if we wish to be true disciples of Christ. President Uchtdorf also said, "When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ become more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavnely Fatehr becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden." A passge of scripture in Moses, Chapter 7 illustrates how dissapointed God is when when we fail to obey these two commandmdnts, especially the second one...
But we don't have to be perfect today. As long as we are giving our best effort the Lord will bless us right now with peace of conscience, comfort in our trials and strength in our adversity, guidance for our lives, answers to our prayers, and true joy. He will also bless us with eternal life and exaltation when we have moved on from this mortal realm. We should be grateful that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has made it possible for each and every one of us to have these blessings as well as countless others and to become like our Father in Heaven, even when we repeatedly sin. God's love is so great that he, who is perfect and omnipotent willingly forgves our sins, pays our debts, and makes our weaknesses srengths when we come unto him through humble prayer and then strive to do what is right. No matter how others feel about us or how we feel about ourselves our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ stand ready to lovingly and mercifully receive us if we but do our part and seek them. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God (Romans8:35)
Once again, I tell you that God loves you more than our human minds can comprehend. He loves us so much that he created this beautiful earth and all life on it for us to enjoy. He has blessed us with physical bodies similar to his own. He allows us to feel pain so that we can know peace and sorrow, so that we can know joy. He has given us the ability to act for ourselves and the freedom to choose good or evil so that we can increase in understanding and knowledge and learn that we are happiest when we choose good over evil. This gift is so sacred and so central to our Heavenly Father's plan for us that he will usually not even prevent another from misusing his free will to oppress, abuse, or otherwise harm another person. He will, however, always strengthen the victims of another's bad choices if they will but ask. Though we reamin physically separate from him in this life, our loving Heavenly Father pleads with us to come unto him spiritually through prayer and he stands ready to answer the questions we cannot seem to answer for ourselves and to bless us with the things we need most when we humbly and sincerely ask. He ofers the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to learn and grow in this life and the next until we become like HIM, our Heavenly Father. He has promised us all that he has and is. But the greatest expression of the love our Heavenly Father has for all of his children was given when he allowed his Only Begootten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer on behalf of every person that had and that ever would live on the earth and to be crucified in complete innocence. Without this miraculous expression of divine love, there would ultimately be no purpose to our existence and no way to experience true happiness as there would be no resurrection and we would all remain in sinful states, unable to ever have our sins forgiven and return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In addition, we would have nowhere to turn for relief beyond our mortal capacities in times of distress, poor health, or weakness. Christ not only took upon himself our sins; he also suffered every pain, affliction,and sorrow that would be felt by anyone in this life. It is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that God is able to comfort and stgrengthen us.
"And he shall go forth , suffering pain and affliction and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upom him death, thay he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities" Alma 7:11-12
What I'm tryimg to demonstrate to you is that love is at the center of everything God does and is. Even his commandments are manifestations and testimony to his love for you. Many believe that if God truly loved them, he would be pleased with them regardless of whether they choose good or evil and that he would not allow them to suffer the natural consequnces of their own sins. These people do not truly understand God's love. While God loves all of his chilren, even the wicked and rebellious ones, true love never supports self-destructive behavior, and God is not pleased with us if we stray from the path of our eternal progression and thwart the very purpose of our coming to this earth. His purpose is not to reward and punish merely for his pleasere; his only goal is to help us along the path to becoming perfect, as He is. That is his work and his glory regardless of what we think we need or desire. I like the way C.S. Lewis described it:
"We are a Divine work...something that God is making, and therefore something with which he will not be satisfied until it has a certain character. It is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less...To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask God that he should cease to be God: because He is what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled by certain stains in our present character, and because He already loves us, He must labor to make us loveable...We are bidden to put on Christ, to become like God. That is, whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we think we want...He gives us the happiness that is...To be God-to be like God and share his goodness...These are the only...Alternatives. If we will not learn to eat the only food that the universe grows...then we must starve eternally.
Nevertheless, sometimes we get so caught up in all the specific shoulds and should nots that we miss the bigger picture and the key to becoming more like our Heavenly Father. Christ criticized the religious experts of his day for this very reason. We can avoid this problem and rest assured that we are doing God's will if we remember to focus, once again, on love. Jesus declared the first and greatest commandment to be "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" God did not give this commandment because he needs us to love him: he gave it beause it is the key to becoming like HIM. As President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, said "His power nad glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny or even defile his name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration. No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh how do we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are and who we will become." Coupled with the second great commandment, which Christ declared "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," much of the confusion and disagreement over God's will should clear. For "for on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." They should be at the center of everything we do if we wish to be true disciples of Christ. President Uchtdorf also said, "When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ become more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavnely Fatehr becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden." A passge of scripture in Moses, Chapter 7 illustrates how dissapointed God is when when we fail to obey these two commandmdnts, especially the second one...
But we don't have to be perfect today. As long as we are giving our best effort the Lord will bless us right now with peace of conscience, comfort in our trials and strength in our adversity, guidance for our lives, answers to our prayers, and true joy. He will also bless us with eternal life and exaltation when we have moved on from this mortal realm. We should be grateful that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has made it possible for each and every one of us to have these blessings as well as countless others and to become like our Father in Heaven, even when we repeatedly sin. God's love is so great that he, who is perfect and omnipotent willingly forgves our sins, pays our debts, and makes our weaknesses srengths when we come unto him through humble prayer and then strive to do what is right. No matter how others feel about us or how we feel about ourselves our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ stand ready to lovingly and mercifully receive us if we but do our part and seek them. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God (Romans8:35)
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