Ben's Mission to Toronto

From Ben - The Mark, The Machine and Marriage "Hey, uhh. Elder Smith?" "Yeah, what's up?" "I think you have a GIANT HOLE in your pants"  "What?!" (feels back of pants) "Oh shoot, you're totally right. Guess I'm high-priesting it to church"  R.I.P. both of my suit pants.  I've neglected fixing my first set, which got hooked on a staple about a year ago, and have relied on my second set.  But now, both have bit the dust, and I've been compelled by my circumstances to find a place to fix them up.  So shall it be.  One of the great pit-falls of missionary culture (which I have definitely participated in to my chagrin) is the tendency to look at other faiths and religions, and to no-one's credit, somewhat pick them apart in a humorous but belittling way.  "Ere we are aware" we offend the Spirit and it patiently waits until we come to our senses and restore the conversation to a more Christlike tone.  There i...

From Ben - Divine Calculations She'd been having a tough morning. She had some questions on her mind for her Father in Heaven, and hadn't found answers.  She skipped out on her morning college classes and thought to just hop on a bus, intending to sit by the window with her ear-buds in, to think, listen and silently pray.  The bus rolled along its designated route, passengers leaving and entering at regular intervals.  As the bus quickly rolled on, in a way similar to the thoughts of her mind, two short fellows entered the front folding door, scanning their Presto passes and making their way in.  Both having on some beat up dress shoes, a Sunday looking fit, glasses and some satchels strapped over their chests.  " These guys look familiar"  she thought...  Elder Wack and I had a day emptier then my wallet most times, and had a four hour block of nothing smack dab in the middle of our schedule.  "You want to go explore downtown, riding busses and t...

From Ben - Hallowed Conversations Temple: "A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth.  Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness . " (Bible Dictionary) It's been a great gift to be with the missionaries I am currently with.  I get to spend most of my time with Elder Wack (sounding like Vock), my German companion, but also get to room with an Elder Ochoa and Elder Britt.  Unlike the Batcave, a giant labyrinthine household, Oshawa is a small basement suite.  Because of both proximity and the lack of rooms to escape to if desired (there are two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom to share amongst the four of us compared to Hamilton's eight rooms) we have been compelled to talk more often with eachother.  Most conversations I've...

From Ben - Reality's Threads "He's an absolute genius"  I thought.  I went on an exchnage with a particular Elder, and he had been explaining, clarifying and expounding religious subjects of every kind for multiple hours on our exchange.  From Old Testament scholarship, Catholic Heirarchy, nationwide politics, restoration teachings and many nuanced and valuable connections throughout - it was such a brilliant display of an intellect refined and sharpened, and I was a great benefactor of it.  He had such a genuine love of learning and a courageous desire to know the truth.  I asked him questions about how he thought and how he learned and gleaned valuable insights on how to love the process of acquiring knowledge even deeper.  He led me to a super fun resource, the BYU studies website, which grants us open access to some of the most recent scholarship and literature being produced by that Univeristy  (Check it out, it will thrill your intellectual life)...