My sons:
I hope everything went well yesterday getting people to church.
Here's a Christmas question... What resolutions are you making as to how you will live the rest of your life?
In all of your comings and goings, it might be easy to miss a tremendous opportunity that is before you on a daily basis. It is that of determining how you will interact with the church for the rest of your lives.
Will you come home and stay focused on living your life in an upright manner all the while staying true to the covenants that you have made? It's certainly easy to slip into complacency without any effort. I hope that you will use your time on your mission to look inward and make some personal resolutions that are meaningful to you and that you are willing to sacrifice to make happen.
As you read the scriptures, you will become aware that all of us risk losing our testimonies if we fail to do the basics. That's why prayer, scripture study, and taking the sacrament every week are so important. It's the little things that "keep [us] in the right way, to keep [us] continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of [our] faith."
My trainer on my mission was Jed Packer. He was amazing - maybe the best mission companion I had while I served, although I had some good companions. As you know, a few years ago, he lost his daughter Clarissa to cancer. For a period of time he had a lot of questions that led to bitterness and frustration. I get it. If I lost one of my kids, I would feel the same way. One day shortly after her death, he was reading the scriptures and as he read, he received personal revelation that gave him the strength to carry on. This allowed him to re-focus and get his thoughts back on track.
We all have times when we need to hit the reset the button. I know I have those times in my life. But, the measure of the greatness of our character is our ability to recognize the need to change and then our ability to make those corrections.
Give it some thought as you go through your daily walk as missionaries. Be willing to check your pride and make course corrections. Isn't that what repentance really is?
Just so you know, I have no doubt as to your ability or desire to live the gospel the rest of your lives. I just have been thinking about this because I see certain situations that people get themselves into and it makes me look at myself and ask how committed I am.
I love you,
Dad
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