October 25, 2021

From Ben - 'Heaven's Light"

The core moments of this week are...

We were able to help a less-active lady's husband heave-ho some wood into their house for the winter.

Elder Hartman was the guy who brought me the wood in a wheelbarrow, and I was the guy that launched the wood through the small window, and had to bend over to do so.

It took about an hour to get all the wood in, and I had been stooping for about that entire time.

It was at that moment that I realized what happens to someone's back if they launch wood through a small window, while stooping over, for an entire hour.

My lower back just about gave up the ghost, and I came to understand the expression of what "back-breaking" work meant.

It was awesome to be able to help this Sister though.

During the heave-hoeing I was able to befriend her 4 and 2 year old daughters. They were so adorable. They even helped pick up a couple logs of wood and hand them to me. The two year old had this unbelievable smile. Like, I've seen children smile, but when this little child smiled, my soul smiled, then I smiled, then the world was better. Oh man, I totally underestimate the power of a smile sometimes.

We were also able to conduct an exchange!

I traded places with Elder Baek and went with Elder Erickson and Runquist to Northbay.

On the drive towards North Bay, I got talking to Elder Erickson. Turns out he grew up in Glenwood! What a plot twist!

Grandma and Grandpa Smith, he told me that you guys were his Sunday School teachers! Jace Erickson is his full name.

Anyhow, during the drive, we got on the topic of Musical Theatre (heck yah)

He revealed to me that he had the entire Broadway Musical of The Hunchback of Notre Dame on his phone.

I caved harder than I ever caved before.

It was unbelievable.

And to throw some context in, the Broadway musical is a little more intense than the Disney music to say the least.

But my goodness.

They do this really cool thing with Quasimodo, where, when he speaks, he really struggles to do so and sounds "half-formed" in his efforts, but when he sings and reveals his own thoughts, it is beautiful and clear.

Esmerelda and her kindness to Quasimodo had me in tears, Frolo the Arch-Deacon was real spooky, and the Latin Choir in the background was unbelievable.

However, after all is said and done, my conscience whispered to me that it was a bit too much, and a bit too intense. So I'll have to re-evaluate my music standard and expectations.

However, it did lead me to think about the Quasimodo's around me, and in what ways I'm a Quasimodo too.

One if the lines he sings is

"No face as hideous as my face, was ever meant for heaven's light"

but then follows with, because of Esmerelda's kindness and love.

"But then suddenly an angel has smiled at me, and touched my face without a trace of fright"

Christlike discipleship is not a respecter of persons, nor does it judge by appearance.

And I don't think it is actually that difficult, nor are there a shortage of opportunities even on a daily basis, to be an Esmerelda or angel for anyone around us who may be feeling "half-formed" in looks, health, faith, confidence, or in any way. It's our covenant upon Baptism to, in someway, show the downtrodden, and those that mourn "heaven's light"

(Says I from my soapbox)

Give that Musical a listen to. It's a good one.

We also made a journey to Temiskaming, which is a two and half hour drive for us, but we've been neglecting the branch, so we had to check in.

One of the older Sisters there made us an unbelievable lunch, and helped us in our visits to some of the members. She's an angel.

We had to leave before it got too dark because, as it turns out, there's a serious danger of hitting moose in the night.

The ultimate miracle of the week was when we invited two of our friends, Wendy and Aila, to be baptized on November 27th!

Pray for them, and pray for me and Elder Hartman.

We're going to have to help them with some Word of Wisdom struggles, and we need to be able to teach them in a way so they will understand.

Pretty exciting

I've recently been really trying to personalize the Atonement of Christ. I realized that I had never really made it an object of prayer, so I've begun seeking some divine aid to help me out (I guess we can't just logic our way to understanding eternal truths sometimes) so I'm pretty excited to understand it better.

(It's not like it's the most important doctrine of time and all eternity right?)

Also, I've realized that my weekly email can hold me accountable for the goals I'm setting!

So a couple of the goals I've set are.

- one conference talk a day about the Atonement

- 5 chin-ups every time I walk through the doorway with the chin up bar

- Pray to know how to be more confident, and for more confidence

- Journal writing daily.

Have a grand week all!

Love you!

- Elder Smith

1) What happens at the end of a full day of Social media finding.

2) Some Wendys that our sweet French Grandmother neighbor gave us money for.

3) Elder Runquist enjoying the company of a turkey that jumped at his outstretched arm.

4) An epic picture that I got of Elder Hartman while we were washing Giselle's windows.

5) Me looking like a goon. A goon from the 80's.

From Dad - A regular week

Sorry for the late letter. It's been one of those weeks where I couldn't think of anything to write in my journal.

That being said, the week-end was a good one especially as Mom and I were able to go to the temple on Saturday morning for the first time in a while. It was so peaceful. One of the interesting things that had changed since we last went was they changed the seat colors in the telestial and terrestrial rooms. When the temple was first built, it was very monochromatic inside with most everything being shades of white. Since that time, murals have been added to the telestial room with nature scenes and then this time, the telestial room seats are now maroon and the terrestrial seats are gold. What struck me was that it really changed the feel of the room and made it much more visually appealing. While white is symbolic of purity and I love that most temples are white outside, the variety of the new color made me appreciate the experience so much more. It underscores the importance and joy of change and variety in our lives. I suspect that heaven is full of variety and probably colors we don't even comprehend right now.

The girls enjoyed going to a youth conference Friday night and Saturday. Friday night was launch pad and Saturday was pumpkin carving, refugee package assembling and a talk by Jackson Payne. They had a fun time and Mom and I enjoyed some time together. We've gone out for breakfast 2 Saturday's in a row now.

Lately my family history project has been to try and get my journal entries in a format to print out in book form. It's been a bit frustrating finding the right format and place, but hoping to make it happen this week. One of the side effects of doing this is the chance to read back and remember. What strikes me is that despite all the challenges of any given time, if you give it a few years, it is almost always resolved and a whole new set of challenges is in front of you now. I think that's why the Book of Mormon teaches so often the importance of remembering our fathers and learning from the past.It helps us see both the Lord's hand in our lives and that it is true that if we trust in him and keep moving forward, things work out if we keep trying.

Here's a pic from my journal when I was 7: