Jacob 1:7-8

June 24, 2014

Hi! I chose those scriptures for the subject because they explain our purpose as missionaries perfectly. So if anyone is confused about what missionaries do, there ya go. 

This week was great! I'm a little bit upset right now because I forgot my planner at home and I had written a ton of stuff in there to tell y’all about. But I’ll do my best to remember. This week was a good week, we had three exchanges. On Tuesday I was in Bentonville with Elder Ingledue. On Wednesday I was in Bella Vista with Elder Hardman a brand new missionary. And on Friday we blitzed the area with the assistants. So it was a very hectic week but it was awesome. We did a lot of good work. We have a new investigator named XXXX. She is a member referral from a family here in the ward. I didn't get to teach her because I was in Bentonville that night. But she sounds awesome. Really interested, really sincere. 

It's getting harder for me to know what to write in these emails. I mean we pretty much do the same thing every week. Pretty much. Maybe another questionnaire is in order haha. 

Something I have been thinking a lot about recently (hopefully I didn't already tell y’all about this thought) actually comes from that scripture I put in the subject line. The phrase "bear the shame of the world" means a lot to me. After observing the way we choose to live our lives as Latter-day Saints or followers of Jesus Christ, it's easy to see that we are not normal. In many ways we are rebels in society today. We do not conform to social norms. We don't follow the crowd. Our standards remain on a higher level. That’s the way it has to be for a disciple of Jesus Christ. And it's not easy! We cannot be like those in Lehi's dream that taste the love of God and then turn away in shame because they can't handle the mocking or insults from the great and spacious building. We have to stand tall for what we know is right. We have to endure to the end. That's where real joy is found. Real happiness is found in living the gospel. I Love this work so much! And I love all of you! :)

Love,

Elder Sherwood