Defined, Refined, and Redefined

Dear friends and others

I really like poetry

And haikus are quick.

So I'll write in them

For part of this mass message.

For your enjoyment.

It might also be worth a try

To write limericks (I don't know why)

But I find them so simple,

like popping a pimple

I'll write them until my brain fries.

I will now commence

Telling stories from this week:

I don't have any.

At least, not good ones.

But Skyping home was awesome.

I love my mother.

I've thought about humility,

And my thoughts lead me now to decree

Please don't beat yourself up

That's dispiriting stuff

Rather, follow God's will cheerfully!

That's right! I thought a lot about humility this week! I also thought a lot about diligence.

Preach My Gospel makes an excellent companion to scriptural studies. It contains a lot of doctrine and understanding of the scriptures that has been compiled into an easily understood format that makes it an invaluable source for understanding principles. Seriously.

So, here is a quick thought about humility: Humility is not thinking how awful you are. No, it is understanding that you rely upon God while also submitting cheerfully and willingly and fully, without reservation, to His will, while forsaking our own will. I would like to propose that Mosiah 3:19 is a very good scripture relating to humility that provides useful insights as to what humility really looks like. Mosiah 4:11-12 is also of invaluable assitance in regards to understanding humility as well as the associated blessings.

One thought I had regarding diligence was that true diligence is consistent. It's not just an infrequent and spasmodic burst of zeal, but a continued outpouring of effort and energy in the Lord's service. It requires complete focus. It also requires effective and efficient planning, an aspect most people overlook.

Anyway, sorry to bore your minds into submission, that was not my intent. Our investigator pool is growing, which is good, but we have not made much progress (although we met a wonderful guy at McDonald's and have been teaching him there). We also had 4 less active members come to church last week, which was at least something. Working with the ward council can be very effective when everyone does their best.

 I don't have much time left, nor do I have anything left to say. So until next week, same time, same author, peace out.

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Elder Benge