Hi everyone!
This week has been great! This area is super busy, and we are looking
at having two baptisms this next week. Good things are happening.
So, this is my last full week in the Utah, St. George Mission. On the
1st, I will be a Provo missionary. I'll try not to break anything
(like the mission, for example). Anyway, next week we will have
interviews with the new mission President. That is both exciting and
terrifying. What will he be like? What kind of rules will he make for
the mission? What kind of person is he? Naturally, we are all a little
curious. But, of course, no matter what he is like, he has been called
of God to be the Provo Mission President, and that is enough for me.
The Mormon Miracle Pageant is going on this week. I have never seen
it, but I have heard about how great it is. We will be going down to
Manti on Friday to see it, and I am super excited. We went on
Saturday, but we just stayed to greet people; we left before it
started.
Something happened yesterday, that has happened a thousand times, but
for some reason really struck me this time. We went to contact an
inactive man, who told us to go away, and said something to the effect
of, "I served a mission; I know what it is all about; leave me alone."
Seeing that tore me up inside. This man had been exactly where I am
right now, with the fire of the spirit burning in his soul, testifying
to the world of the truth of the Gospel. What on earth happened to
cause such a change? The answer: very little.
This past week was zone conference, and our mission President spoke to
us about obedience. He talked about the very little things, that over
time cause a huge change in us. Daily prayer, scripture study, the
small acts of obedience, will over time transform us into sanctified
disciples of Jesus Christ. On the flip side, failing to do those
things will over time degrade us to the point that we will lose the
spirit. When that happens, our vision becomes clouded, and the
adversary easily leads us away from our Father in Heaven.
So when the time comes to choose, we absolutely cannot afford to move
even an inch! Because one bad choice becomes two, then a dozen. You
know what happens to a snowball when it rolls down a hill.
The Savior has commissioned us to be perfect, even as He and the
Father are perfect. Obviously, none of us are, but should that keep us
from trying? Will we ever be perfect if we never try? Of course not.
Perfection may not be possible through our own power, but as we deny
ourselves of ALL ungodliness and offer our WHOLE souls as an offering
unto God, then we are perfected through the power of the Atonement.
Nothing less will work.
This is coming from a person who is anything but perfect. I know
exactly how hard it is. But is it worth the effort? Is it worth the
pain? Absolutely. The cost is nothing when compared to the reward:
everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.
I love all of you. When I get to that place that God has prepared, it
is the wish of my heart to see everyone I love there. And I know that
it is through obedience to all of God's commandments that we can all
be there one day.
Elder Miller
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