Hey family!
This week has been a other great week in the OC! (not Orange County, but OREGON CITY!) Elder Quinton and I have been working really hard to try and teach as many as possible. Missionary work is missionary work. It doesn't matter if we are bringing less actives back to church or inviting anyone into the fold. We have been promised from C.Scott Grow a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, if we spend 50% of our time working with less active members and 50% of our time with investigators, we will have more baptisms. While we haven't seen any baptisms, Elder Quinton and I are positive the work that we are doing is showing our faith to get those baptisms. They might not come at the time I'm here, but they totally could though. As long as we are doing all that we can, we are doing what the Lord asks of us. Elder Quinton, and I were at a meeting with other missionaries, the stake presidency and President Ward (one of Pres. Morby's counselors). President Ward asked Elder Quinton and I what our secret was in teaching so many lessons. We told them it was the coordination the ward had with their missionaries (us).
The ward is 100% behind us. We did have to earn the wards trust, but once the ward is behind missionaries, they give us referrals, (less active and non member), they treat us nice, give us great dinners and the work increases! Elder Quinton and I do work very hard, but it is partly because of the ward too that we are teaching and having success. We haven't had any baptisms, but there are some we are teaching who are close. (We even have one with a date right now).
Missionary work is hard. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes. I strive to be obedient, but I'm not always. I want to be, but sometimes I let the my body win instead of my spirit. A common phrase in missionary work is, "Do the hard things". I'm really learning what that means. Self mastery, it's hard, but everyday I'm working on it. Life is about progressing, but not at the rate we want, but the rate our Heavenly Father wants us to be at. I know I can always do better. But I am glad for all the hard work Elder Quinton and I put in. Right now Elder Quinton and I are leading the numbers in our zone. That's great, but we always can be doing better. Missionaries never want to plateau. Once we think were good enough, or we know everything, that's where pride kicks in.
Missionaries teach and testify, not bash. (this is how I'll start my story)
Elder Quinton and I picked up 2 new investigators, Sacha and Jeffery, who live in our apartment complex (well, Sacha does, Jeffery is just friends with him.) We have got to know them pretty well. They are both music majors at Clackamas Community College (C.C.C.). Sacha is Evangelical and Jeffery is Nazarene. They have shown us around the music building (it's cool cause the college is in our area) and we have talked about missionary work and more gospel topics. They want to hear the discussions, They are kinda familiar with the Book of Mormon. They have read a bit of it. We asked Sacha at C.C.C. if he had any questions about our religion so that we can focus on those. He went off on how we can't hold the priesthood and about Melchizedek and the Aaronic Priesthood. He did it as nicely as he could but you could tell he had some passion behind what he was saying. We told him very nicely that we could totally talk about that at the next lesson. He had some interesting questions that, at that time, I didn't know the answers too. I never really thought about exactly what he was saying, I just knew that the Priesthood was restored and it was true.
I am grateful for the scriptures. I am grateful for the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. They all explain the priesthood so well. They all witness of the truth. We just have to find it through scripture study and prayer. I know the Priesthood was restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Love,
Elder Morgan
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