18 Months And What Do You Get? Another Day Older And Deeper In Debt

First of all, I would like to wish you all a Jolly Easter! I am so grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and for His Resurrection. We do not have to suffer any of our pains forever, neither spiritual nor physical, because of Jesus Christ. 10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. (2 Nephi 9:10. See also, vs 11-16)

So yes. I am very grateful for Jesus Christ. Without him, this life would have no purpose, and we would have absolutely no hope.

I reached my 18 month mark this week. It is very strange to see how far I have come, and also how quickly time goes. I definitely don't feel like God is indebted to me because of my mission, but I instead feel even more indebted to God for his many blessings. It reminds me of Mosiah 2:21-24

21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

Life is pretty amazing. We were blessed these last few days to finally find a few new investigators. We were very grateful to find them to teach, because Glenna dropped us this week and so did our only other investigators who were even close to progressing. It was sad, but agency is necessary.

We also met an amazingly humble less active this week who struggles with an addiction related to the Word of Wisdom. He humbly told us of his struggles and meekly pleaded for our support and help. The Spirit filled us all as we testified of Christ's mercy and his power in helping us overcome our temptations, sins, and weaknesses. I am excited to meet with him again and help him overcome this hurdle in his life. It is so nice to meet humble people. It is such a blessing to be called to teach the pleasing word of God to the poor in spirit who are willing to listen. There is no greater call.

May you all have a wonderful week.

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Elder Benge