January 30, 2023

From Ben - Our Joyful Responsibility

Oh man, spending time on campus is dangerous. 

Elder Mercado and I get to see all the wonders and adventures of the university life, and I cannot lie, my brain is beginning to fantasize being a student myself. 

From sport events and clubs and many opportunities to learn at higher levels. 

Golly, it thrills my soul. 

So, this week involved fending off the sneaky 'grass is greener' mindset. 

If I'm unable to magnify my assignment and calling right now, how can I assume that I will in the future? 

If I can remain dilligent and focused on the responsibilities and stewardships I'm involved in right now, then, with confidence I can assume that I will for new ones to come. 

As a student. As an employee. As a friend. As a father.

But it sure is fun to hear from so many different perspectives. 

Athiesm, Catholicism, Islamism, Protestantism, Hinduism, and so many more. 

Overall, I feel a greater appreciation and respect for each person's individual experiences. 

Few YSA truly understand, or have yet sought to discover what they believe or why they believe what they believe; but, every once in a while, we will find someone who has started that journey, and has bound themselves to a course of action, and who know what they believe..

The difference between the first individuals to the second is stark. 

Those who are firm in their beliefs after conciously choosing to be firm have a wholeness of character to them.

Now, we still want to add to and increase the truths they have discovered, but there is genuine power in being committed to a course of action. 

The same criteria applies for us in the church as well. 

It's important for us to know what we believe, why we believe it, and how we can claim such beliefs. 

As we explore and seek and pray to understand, the logic of the Restoration of the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints becomes diamond clear.

In its temporal components, but more importantly in its spiritual.

When we have a clear understanding of our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, and their characters, in light of our own relationship to them, free from incorrect cultural and personal assumed notions, we find an invincibility in our resolve that grants us power to overcome the world. 

Identifying and eliminating these incorrect assumed notions is a necessary and exciting part of repentance.

We, as the Church of Jesus Christ, claim a full understanding of the God's character, not based on theory or wishes, but based on core evidence and clear doctrine through the Book of Mormon and living Apostles and Prophets. 

We aren't guessing or dreaming. We know. 

No other church has such evidence or any reasonable claim to such a knowledge.

This is not to flaunt or flex or boast. 

It means we have a joyful responsibility to deeply and truly understand the privileges, gifts, and knowledge we've been given, then, with as much unfeigned love, persuasion, cheer, optimism and long-suffering we posses, to share it with our brothers and sisters who will benefit from similar knowledge. 

This is backed up by an unchanging personal love from our Heavenly Parents and Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, who unfailingly support us to the degree we let them. 

Often, who I am is not on par with the knowledge God has given 

Such is the why and gift of daily repentance.

The new zone composition introduces new challenges. 

We have three brand new Sister missionaries, and I'm kinda nervous for them. 

That first week of the mission can hit really hard, so we're really seeking to help these Sisters know they are seen, known, supported and appreciated.

We've got some champion Sister Training Leaders, so they deserve most of the supporting credit. 

It feels bizarre to look at newer missionaries and be thinking "man, they are going to make such a difference in these next two years" and realize that I won't even be hear to see any of it. 

Bonkers. 

I love each of you! 

- Elder Smith

1) I love this Elder. He's a goon

2) Action shot mid call to invite a friend to church

3) Exchange with a hero, Elder Barrus

4) I totally left our car door open in an A&W parking lot for 10 or so minutes. Kinda tough..

5) Out of door pic with the upper floors of the batcave

6) Action shot on campus, blazing through the halls.

7) The Oakville District

8) On campus again. Amen. 

From Dad - Abby's an adult now!

Dear Benjamin,

I hope this finds you well and happy. I'm grateful for the opportunity we've had this last week to video chat and want you to know how important you are to our family. Your example of faith and diligence impacts us all in unseen and powerful ways. God bless you for your commitment to serving your Heavenly Father.

The most significant event this week of course has been the celebration of Abby's 18th Birthday. We did the traditional breakfast in bed, then went out for dinner at the Sicilian Pasta Kitchen with Josh, Madison, Sam and Garret joining us.

Her most significant (and expensive) present was a new Apple iPhone allowing her to replace her fully cracked android phone. Goodbye bloody fingers!

It has been an amazing year for her that held some significant milestones in her life including: 

• Obtaining a drivers license, freeing up Mom and I from lots of driving
• Developing a fun and exciting relationship with a boy, Derrik, er I mean Garret , who we are all coming to really appreciate and like for his choices to live standards and to treat her with so much respect and acceptance. 

• An exciting and independent (with Mia) trip across the world to Sweden and the cultivation of (hopefully) a lifelong friendship with Rufus.
• An absolutely spectacular leading performance in Mama Mia where she showed the world what an amazing voice she has.
• Leading the YW of the ward and inspiring them to learn and live the YW theme.
• Choosing to sing in the Leduc choir with her dad with minimal bribing (DQ for the win!).

Needless to say, we all love her so much and are proud of her choices and we're excited for her future potential and adventures.

One of the interesting results of Abby dating Garrett has been some important questions regarding different beliefs. A couple of questions that have been helpful for me to dig deeper into have been the following:

1. Why should we strive for the Celestial Kingdom if we can take it easy and still gain a kingdom of untold Glory in the Terrestrial or Telestial Kingdoms? Doesn't that take away the motivation of avoiding "Hell"? Found some good study material here: 
2. The nature of the Godhead and the differences between traditional Christian concepts of the Trinity vs. the teachings of the Church about the Godhead. My initial findings in studying this topic is that we are in fact not so different at all! Check out this definition for the encyclopedia Britanica: "Trinity, in Christian doctrine, the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead." Sound familiar?

So somehow Mom finally convinced me to get a chiropractic treatment this week. As you likely know, I'm traditionally a Chiro non-believer, but the circumstances came together as I was already going to be in Leduc and had plans to go out shopping with Mom on Saturday afternoon, so I grudgingly agreed to try out Jordan Watson's brand of Chiro. I have to echo Paul's words to King Agrippa "Almost thou persuadest me to believe in (Chiropracticy)". His method is quite different from Bejji Peterson's method of using a clicker. We discussed it and Jordan's personal opinion is that while it may work great for smaller kids and babies, clicking chiro is a placebo for most adults. Then he proceeded to demonstrate for me what "real" hands on chiro means. A number of cracks and life threatening twists later and I left the clinic with Mom feeling like a new man. We'll see how long it lasts!

Something else of note that I came across recently. Tyler may be aware of this. The craze in AI since last November has been an AI Bot application called "ChatGPT"... have you heard of it? I first heard of it in one of my Airdar calls when we were looking for some information about crowdfunding options. One of my co-workers who is a member of the church quipped that he actually put his sacrament meeting topic in and it wrote him a decent short talk! It's getting a lot of attention especially from an educational viewpoint.

For example here is what it produced when asked about the Trinity:

"In Christianity, the Trinity refers to the three persons of the Godhead: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are distinct from one another, but they are also one in essence and nature, co-eternal and co-equal. The doctrine of the Trinity is considered a central tenet of Christian theology and is believed by many Christians to be revealed in the Bible. The concept of Trinity has a profound impact on Christian theology and has been a source of much debate and discussion throughout the history of the church.

In summary, the Trinity is the belief that there is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are distinct but are one in essence and nature."

  

Here's another query "What do lds missionaries do":

LDS (Latter-day Saints) missionaries are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who volunteer to serve a full-time, unpaid mission, typically for a period of 18 to 24 months. They are sent to various locations around the world to share the teachings of the LDS Church with others and to help people learn more about the Church and its beliefs.

The main activities of LDS missionaries include:

1. Proselytizing: This involves going door-to-door, talking to people on the street, and using various other methods to share the teachings of the Church with others.

2. Teaching: Missionaries teach people about the Church's beliefs and doctrines, such as the nature of God, the purpose of life, and the importance of families.

3. Service: Missionaries often participate in various forms of service, such as helping to build or repair homes, participating in community service projects, and providing humanitarian aid.

4. Study: Missionaries spend a significant amount of time studying the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and other Church literature in order to deepen their understanding of the faith and to be better prepared to teach others.

5. Following a schedule: Missionaries are expected to follow a strict schedule, which typically includes waking up early, studying, teaching, and going to bed on time.

It's important to note that the mission of the LDS Church is to share the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the missionaries are there to help people understand the Church's teachings and to help them come closer to Jesus Christ.

Interesting tool that is sure to produce controversy but also, if used correctly, can help discover and use information quickly. Just another hint of the miraculous time we live in, even the fullness of time when the Lord is pouring out his spirit on the earth resulting in the best of times, and the worst of times.

Hope this week is one of those best of times for you, Ben!

Love,

Dad