Unsavory Salt Savvy

    Holy canoodling, Olympia is awesome! Just as a reminder to those of you with short term memory loss, I was transferred last week to the Olympia 2nd ward last week to be with Elder Hathaway. Elder Hathaway is really awesome. I really like him as a companion, and he has a great work ethic. This is going to be an awesome transfer. Recently, I have been thinking about the strange things that I say. Those of you who know me know that I often cycle through different "catchphrases", and favorite words, and things like that. For example, some words I have gone through periods of obsession over include (but are not limited to): Smooch, dotard, baby/babies (that one is a perpetual favorite), smoochenheimer, meister, writhe, ridonculous, "C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la pomme de terre", destroyed!, Babo, and so on. I know there were more, but I can't think of any now. Anyway, you get the point.

    Some of my favorite sayings and words now include: Tokinis (Bikinis for your toes), Smokini (smoking bikinis for your toes), Holy Toledo, salty ("That guy was way salty"), bub, "What the what?".

My all time favorite new saying is actually one that has helped me get through rough and difficult circumstances: "I asked for this in the Pre-Earth Life!"

Why do I like that? Well, it's true. We are all here on the earth because we chose to come down to earth. We new we'd be challenged and opposed and hurt and scared and whatever. We relished the thrill of a challenge, but mostly we were awed by the idea that our Heavenly Father would help us to experience the happiness he enjoys. I am so grateful for this earth life. Yes, it is hard, but it is so worth it. 

Speaking of such things, the mission life is also like that. I asked to have some challenges, and yes there are challenges. However, I have had some of the happiest experiences of my entire life out here, and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. So yes, I love it out here. Speaking of challenges, we met a lot of salty people this week. Salty, of course, because they had been sprinkled with sodium chloride crystals, and they... oh wait. That's not true. Actually, in this sense, many missionaries use the word "salty" to mean that people are angry, easily peeved, ornery, unkind, etc. Needless to say, we meet a lot of salty people. This week especially we met some salty people. And when I say salty, I mean slug-killing, Levite-sprinkling, table-toppping salty. Mmmmm... pretzels. However, I was also thinking about how salt is used in the scriptures. Matthew 5:13 reads:

 

13 ¶Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Salt was used in Old Testament times as a symbol of the covenant "The salt of the covenant". We, as the salt of the earth, are the covenant people. Take some time to just think about your covenants. Do we really understand how important they are? The most powerful being in the entire universe has made us promises that we can receive through obedience, and they are guaranteed. Don't take your covenants lightly, or else your just unsavory salt, that just makes all of us savorily-salted-people really salty, doesn't it?

Have a great week!

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Elder Benge