"As a man thinketh, so is he"

October 28, 2013

Hey everyone!!

First things first...I'm staying here in Lo Prado 2 with Elder Breed for 6 more weeks!! President wanted me to finish his training here in Lo Prado and I'm grateful for that.

We are blessed every week to have quite a few investigators attend church. That has been great for Elder Breed and I. 6 investigators came to church yesterday although our goal was 10-20. That's how many committed themselves. You know how we as humans are....flakes. Elder Breed and I have a goal to have 10 si o si in church this Sunday!! I think something that we have been able to develop here in Lo Prado 2 with the Lords help is always focussing on church and baptism with everything we teach. Those are the two main points that we focus on to help our investigators have that vision of coming to church and being baptized. It has helped us a lot so our investigators progress towards baptism and know that they have to do it by coming to church. We have to BELIEVE as missionaries that we can baptize and have progressing investigators cuz if we dont...No progressing investigators and no baptisms. "As a man thinketh, so is he." I love the talk "Only an Elder". Here are the parts that I love...

Only an Elder
By Bruce R. McConkie

Brethren, what think ye of the office of an elder? Someone asks: "What office do you hold in the Church? What is your priesthood position?" An answer comes: "Oh, I'm only an elder." Only an elder! Only the title by which a member of the Council of the Twelve is proud to be addressed; only the title which honors the President of the Church, who is designated by revelation as the first elder; only the office to which millions of persons are ordained in the vicarious ordinances of the holy temples. Only an elder! Only the office which enables a man to enter the new and everlasting covenant of marriage and to have his wife and children bound to him with an everlasting tie; only the office which prepares a man to be a natural patriarch to his posterity and to hold dominion in the house of Israel forever; only the office required for the receipt of the fullness of the blessings in the house of the Lord; only the office which opens the door to eternal exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world, where man becomes as God is. Only an elder! Only a person ordained to preach the gospel, build up the kingdom, and perfect the Saints; only a minister whose every word is scripture; only the holder of that office which carries the privlege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, of having the heavens opened, and of communing with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, and of enjoying the communion and presence of God the Father and Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. Only an elder! Every elder in the Church holds as much priesthood as the President of the Church. No apostle can or will rise higher in eternity than the faithful elder who lives the fullness of the gospel law. What is an elder? An elder is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. He holds the holy Melchizedek Priesthood. He is commissioned to stand in the place and stead of his Master-who is the Chief Elder-in ministering to his fellowmen. He is the Lord's agent. His appointment is to preach the gospel and perfect the Saints. What is an elder? He is a shepherd, a shepherd serving in the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd. It is written: "And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God." (Ezek 34:31) It is also written, and that by Peter, the first elder in his day: "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder. "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." "And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Pet 5:1-4) Know this: elders, who are standing ministers in the Lord's kingdom are appointed to feed the flock of God, to take the oversight of the flock, to be examples to the flock. What is an elder? "And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together." "Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question-unto what were ye ordained?" "To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth." (D & C 50:10, 13-14) An elder is the Lord's representative sent forth to teach his gospel for the salvation of men. Who can measure the worth, the infinite worth, of a soul, a soul for whom Christ died? And yet, is not the soul of an elder worth even more, for an elder is his minister to bring many infinitely precious souls unto him in the kingdom of his Father. Do all elders feed the flock of God, take the oversight thereof, and stand as examples to the others in the sheepfold? Hear the prophet answer: "Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?" "The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost." "Therefore, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand." (Ezek. 34:2,4,10). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth. It is not a democracy, not a republic, not an oligarchy, not a dictatorship, not any form of government except a kingdom. it operates from the top down. The Lord speaks, and his servants obey. The elders go forth, and the people are taught. Our great need, the charge that is laid upon us, is to perfect the elders so they can feed the flock, lest the sheep perish for want of the word of God. The number one need within the Church today is to reclaim the elders so they, in turn, can "feed the flock of God." An elders quorum should be a school of prophets, a place where every elder and prospective elder learns what he and his family must do to gain peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. But in all this, there is reward!  "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." "And he that reapeth receiveth wages." (John 4:35-36) "Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God." (D & C 6:3) "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth to you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father." (D & C 15:6) Let us now, however, return to our theme, which is: "Brethren, what think ye of the office of an elder?" Only an elder! Only the office held by apostles and prophets in this life; only the office that they will have when they come forth in immortal glory and enter into their exaltation; only the open door to peace in this life and a crown of glory in the life to come. Only an elder! Only an elder in time and eternity! "What are we to understand by the four and twenty elders, spoken of by John?" The revealed answer: "We are to understand that these elders whom John saw, were elders who had been faithful in the work of the ministry and were dead." (D & C 77:5) Now, let us hear the words which John wrote relative to those who were faithful elders while in this life and who are exalted elders in the realms ahead: "Behold, a door was opened in heaven. And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne." "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold." (Rev. 4:1-2, 4) Only an elder! "They had on their heads crowns of gold." Moses prayed, "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!" (Num 11:29) Well might we pray: "Would God that all the elders among the Lord's people would be faithful, that they would feed the flock of God, that they would take the oversight of the flock, that they would be examples to the flock-all to the honor and glory of that God whose ministers they are." In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

This week I am going to share parts of this talk and help my District have the vision that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has for His children here on earth. It will be great for us to have a powerful and united District as we combat against Satan with much more power than he will ever be able to withstand with our diligence, obedience and effectiveness in His work.

Thoughts/Highlights of the week:

Hugo and Ana didn't get baptized this week. Ana needs just a little more time to be able to grasp this gospel and be able to make a covenant with her Heavenly Father to follow Him and His son forever. Hugo was right there, but in the end, he said that he felt like he wasn't ready to do it quite yet...He said that he knows he has to be baptized, but needs to have a stronger testimony. I think he's ready right now!!! Elder Breed and I have been encouraging, motivating and helping Hugo feel the Spirit so he can be baptized. Somtimes he still thinks that following the commandments are simply rules that the church has. His testimony will come from more prayer and fasting.

Our new investigators are doing well! Actually 3 of our investigators that went to church (Javier, Nico and Francisco) are some of our new investigators. A lot of our investigators have decided not to progress for different reasons but Elder Breed and I are still gonna keep searching and searching for His elite sons and daughters.

Got your Halloween package...thanks!

The members in Lo Prado 2 give us lunch (since that's the biggest meal here in Chile) from Tues thru Sunday at 2pm. We then have one hour to eat and then work from 3-10pm every day non-stop...at 10 we plan til around 1030-1040 and then eat dinner! at 1130 we're in bed beat tired!!

On Mondays (P-days) we don't ever go to restaurants. We usually eat in the house. Sometimes we eat completos or churrascos on the go. Sometimes when we go to malls we eat fast food...the best fast food restaurant here is BK for sure...the fast food here is definitely not the same.

Favorite meal here is asado (BBQ) or pure de papas con carne.

Good job Tarryn on NHS! I'm proud of you :)

What I miss from the states is GOLFING!!!!, mama's home cookin, sportscenter, golf channel and my family and friends!

All I want for Christmas is money so I can send my converts a little gift :)

I'm lovin my mission that's for sure. There's so much to do and so little time. I hope you all have a great week!! Thanks for your support. I'll be on the driving range in about an hour and that's gonna be SWEET!!!

Love you!!

Elder Jenson