This week has been another fast one. Things have just been going so
fast recently, I hardly remember anything unless it is monumental. So
it is a good thing I have been writing in my journal and am keeping all
my letters. Dad, how much of your mission do you remember? Was most of it a
blur? I don't remember too many stories from your mission, do you just
not remember many like I feel like I won't one day? There are a few
things that I do remember this week though that have been rather large.
We went the the Nationals game to represent the church at the kick off
of the service thingy which was great and a ton of fun. I always love
going into DC, especially on the metro. We had a zone conference that
lasted 8 hours-ish, but it was great because President Riggs taught a lot
of it and he is pretty stellar. Both Mom's, my and probably your prayers
came through. I so deeply respect and love my leader, which makes it
10000000000 times easier to want to obey rules and do the things he
asks. I don't know what would have happened otherwise, I guess Ill just
be grateful for what I have. We talked all about prayer and it was
great, because I really really like prayers and it is one of the very
most basic points of the gospel that really resonates with me.
Have you seen the new Mormon message series entilted Daily Bread?
You should if you haven't and do some cool family home evening on it and
make everyone be there. It talks about the necessity of daily communion
with God in the same way we need daily food and water as sustinence or
we cannot survive. Through dwelling in the presence of God we can
provide the sustinece our spirit needs to not only survive but to
flourish. We need to elevate ourselves to a higher plane of spiritual
sensitivity and strength. When we pray daily, really conversing and
sharing with God while letting him respond, we can elevate ourselves.
When we thoroughly read and study the scriptures in a new way applying
them to our busy lives we can elevate ourselves. When we simply love one
another and show that God loves them through our own actions we can
elevate ourselves. We must continue progressing spiritualy. If we are
not climbing upward towards God we are falling down the other way. I
have seen this in particular with one Man in particular. His lack of
daily interaction with God with real intnent is holding him back. He is
sooo soo soooooo close to baptism. His wife was recently baptized and he
has even told us that he knows that everything is true. He just does
not have a strong enough personal feeling to make a promise with God,
which is fair enough, but we and he knows exactly how he can get that
feeling. He just won't do it. This saturday
we had one of the most spiritually intense lessons I have ever had on
my mission. We showed all the right scriptures with powerful testimony
with so much love and happiness directed by 4 missionaries (the sisters
are teaching the family with us). After all this from us and his wife, he
would not pray. We invited and invited but he wouldn't come down to his
knees to pray with us. I tried grabbing is hand to pull him down to
pray with us and then we waited and asked for literally 45 minutes on
our knees. Forty minutes of that waiting in silent prayer pleading with
Heavenly Father to give this man whatever he needed to begin praying. It
is so frustrating; I think this is what is holding him back,
because he can't truly obtain that conviction to commit if he doesn't
act first, it is just not how God works. Obviously this isn't your
trouble but I would challenge you and the family to do better in your prayers.
Find ways to change them and truly make them in the name of Christ,
using His words and His desires for your surroundings. I know when we
make an effort to change ourselves and transform our desires, God will
make it possible.
I love you all so much. Keep doing what I know you do.
Love,
Elder Bigelow
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